Category: Family Life
Choosing Your Child’s Teacher: Pros and Cons
I received an email from my children’s school recently, asking if I’d like to choose their teachers before they all got together and made classroom assignments. Granted, my kids go to a small charter school, so there are only two classrooms per grade, but from what I hear from friends, many schools offer the option […]
Old Wives’ Tales: Fact or Fiction?
You already know that going out with wet hair won’t cause pneumonia, despite hearing your grandmother say just the contrary. And although it’s fun to guess the sex of an unborn child before the ultrasound, we now know that dangling a ring over a mama-to-be’s belly isn’t an accurate way of guessing whether to buy […]
The Search for Green Laundry Detergent
I have been reading recently about the additives and contaminants found in laundry detergents. My favorite detergent has been Tide: The clothes come out nice and clean, and they smell great, too. Unfortunately, Tide is one of the detergents that contain a lot of potentially harmful chemicals, it seems. Reading more about this issue, I […]
Make a Difference for Children in July
If you’ve been looking for a good cause, then July is a good month for you. The month of July is Make a Difference for Children Month, a grassroots call to action for adults to do things that will make a difference in the lives of children one-on-one, in groups, and as a whole. Of […]
Family Volunteer Opportunities
Today is Volunteer Recognition Day, a day when organizations often recognize and reward their volunteers. If you have been volunteering, you might receive some special consideration today. If you haven’t volunteered for anything in a while, it might be a nice thing for your family to do together. While it can be difficult to help […]
Developing Map-Reading Skills
I have, at various points of my adult life, been accused of not being able to find my way out of a paper bag. It’s true: I seem to have very limited spatial reasoning skills, and I also have a hard time reading maps. Does this describe you as well, or are you good at […]
Summertime Car Safety Tips
Unfortunately, ever summer brings tragic and heartbreaking stories about children left alone in vehicles. You already know the dangers of leaving a child in a car during the summer; the inside temperatures can skyrocket in a matter of minutes, with dangerous – and sometimes deadly – consequences. While summer is winding to a close, it’s […]
Summer Health Checklist
Summer is the time when doctors’ offices book up quickly, because parents try to get their kids in for checkups while school is out. I called my kids’ pediatrician the other day to set up their well visits and was given an appointment about 6 weeks from now. This is a good time to be […]
How to Save Money When Dining Out
Most of us strive to serve home-cooked dinners to our families, but sometimes it’s nice to go out for a meal. Some families do this regularly, and others wait for special occasions. One thing is for sure, though: Restaurant meals are usually exponentially more expensive than what you would pay to purchase and prepare the […]
Today is Poetry Reading Day
Today is Poetry Reading Day! Since this year it falls on a Sunday, your child’s school might not be planning anything to celebrate the day. Some poetry reading might be a cozy way to spend the afternoon, but you might be at a loss as to what types of poems to have your kids read […]
