One Size Doesn’t Fit All: 3 Activities to Help Kids Understand Learning Differences

Buying a new pair of shoes is a yearly back-to-school tradition for many kids. They go to the store, try on a few styles, and eventually find something that fits them just right. We have to help our students understand that, just as they don’t wear the same shoe or clothing size as all their classmates, their education doesn’t have to be “one size fits all.” Read More

Too Much Screen Time!

School is in full swing and the days are getting shorter and colder. When kids burst through the door after leaving the bus, homework stuffed in their backpacks ready to finish, they’re eager to have some screen time. As a parent of 4 kids I totally understand their desire to unwind. We all need time to relax, and screen time is the perfect activity on a cold fall evening to do just that–tune out and plug in. Read More

Humans are Lucky

Today like every day, I wake up and think, “I’m lucky. I’m happy. I’m not going to get mad at my husband, my four kids or our two dogs Buster Brown and Chewbacca (“Chewie”). But usually I’m fighting the urge to yell before breakfast is over. Read More

12 Easy-to-Remember Halloween Safety Tips

Trick or Treat! You can hear the chorus of voices even before the doorbell rings! Keeping Halloween fun means keeping kid safe. Check out how award-winning author Fritzi Gros-Daillon has used the words “Trick or Treat” to create this easy to use (and easy to remember!) set of 12 safety tips! Read More

Halloween Safety for Kids of All Ages

My soon-to-be teenager has always loved Halloween … almost more than she loves Christmas. For years she started planning her costume for the coming October in early spring. [Apparently she’s not alone in this habit!]

While she worried about the theme du jour, we worried about safety! We wanted her to have fun, but also be safe. When she was a preschooler, Halloween safety meant we traveled door-to-door with her. Now, she reminds us that she is “too old” for us to go with her. So Halloween safety means making sure she knows – and follows – the rules. Read More

Last Minute Halloween Costumes

Well, here we are with days to go and no costumes chosen yet. Here are some awesome last-minute Halloween costume ideas for all different ages! Read More

5 Steps to a Cooler Halloween Costume That Saves You Money, Too!

Books, TV, and pop culture are great places to get inspiration for Halloween costumes. But something strange happens every Halloween: Costume manufacturers promote “sexy” versions of pop culture characters for girls (not only sexy princesses but sexy snowmen and turtles!). Boys don’t get treated much better with gory costumes from TV shows that are in no way age-appropriate (Walter from Breaking Bad for kids?). This kind of off-target marketing to kids seems to work, though, since folks are expected to spend more than $8 billion on costumes and decorations for the holiday. Read More