You’ve probably heard people who regularly practice gratitude are happier. “Gratitude not only makes people feel good in the present, but it also increases the likelihood that people will function optimally and feel good in the future.” (Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life). Feeling grateful isn’t […]
Category Archives: Life Skills
Eat That Frog! For Students
If you have a junior or senior in high school, a college student, or your family (like mine) could use some time management tips and encouragement, Eat That Frog! For Students is a quick, informative read.
Chores | Creating Community in Our Homes
An alarm on our Google dot rings; it is five o’clock, time to transition into the last part of the day. While the alarm can be a tad annoying, we need a gentle push in the evening. We are tired, and if we don’t intentionally choose how we spend our time, it’s easy to fall […]
Encouraging Leadership
Today, on a walk with our dog, a flock of Canadian Geese flew overhead. As I paused and watched them go by, I wondered about the lead goose- was it always in front. Turns out geese take turns leading the way. When the lead goose needs a break, it moves to the back where […]
Tending the Life We Have | What Fills Your Family’s Buckets?
My husband and I are reading How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields. Fields’ idea is that the things we need to live a good life are held in three buckets: Vitality, Connection, and Contribution. These containers hold how we care for ourselves, interact with the people we love, and what we […]
Help Kids Spell the Words THEY Commonly Misspell
Do you remember learning how to spell? I have vague memories of spelling lists and spelling bees. We’d line up against the chalkboard, and one by one find our way back to our seats. I was usually the first in the class to sit down. Like math, spelling was something I believed you were either […]
Simple Ways to Play with Words | A Love of Lists
Are you a listmaker? My daughter and I love lists. Like really love them. I don’t know about her, but for me, the act of making a list grounds me. All the items, bulleted or numbered, and organized in rows gives me direction. I don’t have to remember it all. My seven year old recently […]
Teaching Children How to Keep Time
My youngest wants to know how to tell time. We practice by playing a clock game she enjoys, rotate paper hands around a cardboard clock she’s made, determine which number is being called forth by the little hand. It’s a milestone, learning how to tell time, like tying shoes and learning how to read. She’s […]
Kids Learn in the Kitchen | 6 Tools to Get Kids Cooking and Building Skills
My children became interested in cooking when they realized if they learned to bake, we’d have more sweets in the house. While I enjoy cooking, baking is not my favorite pastime. However, our time in the kitchen quickly became a priority when the more I said yes to baking, the more I watched my children […]
Edible Chemistry- Play and Learn in the Kitchen
My children could watch baking soda and vinegar explode all day. Most kids could. It’s fun to watch things bubble, change color, and switch states of matter. Do you know what’s even more fun? Eating your experiments! Edible Chemistry = science + snacks. There is nothing better! Cooking is one of our go-to activities when […]