Parenting and Kids

Ah, the lazy, hazy days of summer! So I read a whole slew of summer-themed books to write this post and bizarrely, I ended up most drawn to the older ones (as in published in the late nineties or early two thousands) instead of current ones. But after rereading and evaluating them I realized that theyall depict the valuable theme of being resourceful and using the gifts of the natural world to play and learn. None of the characters enjoy any screen time and barely even play with toys; instead they use their imaginations and what they find outside to make the most of their summer vacations. Wouldn’t we all love to say this about our own kids? 

   Summer is here, which is lovely (well, actually it’s a little hot), and as we know most of our kids relish their long-awaited break from school. Of course many of us parents worry that our kids are going to fall behind in their academic progress, forgetting much of what they learned and practiced the year before. Well, I can’t really speak about academic enrichment centers or camps or summer tutoring, but I can give you some good suggestions for helping your kids practice their reading and critical thinking skills. One of the main reasons I loved teaching English Literature was how readily the subject lends itself to teaching critical thinking. Now, through my reading experiences with my preschooler, I’m learning that many of the exercises I used with my high school students work just as well (scaled down, of course) with younger students. Here’s a sample:

Let’s face it ladies, once you have kids you have to sacrifice a lot to raise them right. When they’re newborns, we sacrifice our sleep, our showers, and don’t often…

There are times when you wish you could get your little chatterboxes to stop talking so they can let you have some peace and quiet. And then there are times…

These are five of my all-time favorite children’s books that are appropriate for older toddlers through preschoolers: The Pout-Pout Fish – by Deborah Diesen, illustrated by Dan Hanna I love The Pout-Pout…

I am sadly, I admit with much consternation the harried, haggard mom you see on any of the choicest Hollywood movies. I have turned into a cliche. Hair disheveled, clothes…

We wait with bated breath. I’m surprised she complies. I don’t ponder over it too much and thank my stars the three-year old forever fidgety, whose whispers are oft as…

  A sharp cry from our daughter wakes us up from a deep slumber. As deep as it can get with a 3 year old and an infant in the…

A chronicle of sweet little nothings from my older daughter. Three now – Me “His name is Tintin” She “haha that’s funny. My name is lalala” 🙂 – “Mommy, Daddy…

The world you’ve come in to may very well be far different from what you will grow into. There have been significant events happening around your first month in this…