It began with the idea of getting my kids more engaged in philanthropy.
In my house, I sweep up gravel on a daily basis. It’s at the front entrance, the back door, and the areas in between. It’s in the kitchen, the main floor bathroom, the laundry room. It’s everywhere.
I can tell when I’m in a mental rut because my inner voice harps on me all the time. It defaults to a negative view of every action or decision I make. It chides me, questions me, mocks me openly. It also tries to convince me that others perceive me in the same disapproving way.
This summer, our family conducted a Freaky Friday, reverse Leave it to Beaver type of experiment.
I stared at the shoes trying to hide my disapproval. They looked like moon boots. They belonged on an astronaut making his first walk in space not on my little man’s feet.
During the Fall and Winter months, we tend to have A LOT more of what we like to call… ‘Appetizer Nights’. It’s exactly what it sounds like – we eat appetizers for dinner! Let’s be honest here, kids love finger foods and so do adults! So ‘Appetizer Night’ has quickly become a regular occurrence on Sunday nights in our house. (And trust me, I’m not complaining!)
I was at our family doctor’s office recently for my youngest daughter’s three year check-up. As we always do at annual check-ups, she turned her computer monitor so I could see where she fell on the growth curve. She was in the 90th percentile for height and 93rd percentile for weight. Whoa! Both of my girls had always scored high on the growth charts, but that usually tapered off by three years of age. This was clearly not the case for my spirited little one!
Our boys love going to the park. And we love taking them to the park! They love swinging. They love climbing! In fact, they love climbing up the slides as much as they like sliding down them. They’re energetic, social kids who always seem to find a group of other kids who are up for a game of tag, or hide and go seek, or manhunt, or “grounders”. (whatever that is!)
As a teacher and tutor for over 10 years, I have heard the statement “I hate homework” more often than I would like, and not just from students. There has been a lot of negative press surrounding the much maligned “homework” recently. In fact, it has been getting a bad rap for decades. Everyone is touting studies that show little or no correlation between performance and homework, while others say that any evidence that does exist between improved achievement and homework lacks a true causal link. This is particularly the case for elementary-aged students.
Like so many parts of motherhood, the first day of school is bittersweet. Your heart melts at the sight of your child walking along with a backpack that’s half their size. You feel proud as they walk through the doors of the school – maybe timidly, or perhaps bravely forging ahead. You know you’ll miss them, but you breathe a sigh of relief at the return of structure and routine. It’s complicated, as all things parenting are, and we all feel it a little bit differently.