A World of Books and Children
Search and enjoy 8 years of posts chock-filled with ideas from It’s OK Not to Share and beyond.
My kindergartener loves pirates, so we concocted a pirate cake for his birthday party. I love the process of turning a child’s wish into reality. The ship was three-tiered, complete with poop deck, bowsprit, topsails, gun ports and a chocolate wafer plank.
I trained both my kids to pack their own lunch boxes before the start of school. The other day I finished my morning routine early and casually asked my 8-year-old if he wanted help.
This one still shocks me. But we need that renegade voice. The one who questions, the one who looks at things from another angle. The one who speaks up, voicing ideas that may be unpopular and certainly contrary to the status quo.
It's another Snow Day for our local schools today. A day of universal rejoicing around here. Of course, unexpected Snow Days add inconvenience for adults. For me, that means scurrying to reschedule interviews and arrange last minute sitters, but most of all I feel relief. My kids now have the Gift of Time.
Our culture loves choice. Ever feel overwhelmed by it all? Go to the grocery store and there are 15 types of bread. Eighty types of snack food. In my grocery store, there must be at least 30 types of crackers alone.
January is cake time in our family. My youngest has a birthday and we have fun making elaborate cakes. For his 4th birthday he asked for a castle cake with a princess coming out of it. Thought you'd like to see the 7-tower castle cake we made as a result.
That's frustrating for kids. "Use your words" isn't enough information. Which words? What do I say? How do I do it? If we want kids to talk out their differences, instead of slugging each other, we need to give them effective words to say.
Last week my writing group met for a joint book signing at a local bookstore. We call ourselves the Powerfingers. And indeed we lived up to the name this month – between us we signed two book deals and a movie option!
I've never been a fan of coloring books. As a child I don't remember liking them, and as an adult they always seemed to me to stifle imagination. Boy, I was wrong. I can tell I was wrong because a child showed me.
It's the season when families converge for the holidays. In honor of Thanksgiving this week, here are some thoughts on helping young children navigate the well-meaning hugs and kisses of relations.
The basic premise: it's OK NOT to kiss Grandma.