My boys love books with which they can sing along. Over the years we’ve collected a large number of such books. These are books where someone has taken a song – generally a well-known song, illustrated it, and published it as a book. The result is the fun of singing, all of the words right there on the page (in case you don’t know them all), and beautiful illustrations to go along with them.… Continue reading
Family
Family Game Night: Parcheesi
Our family loves to play games together. And as my 5-year-old’s strategy skills build, we’re able to play more and more complex games as a family. Our family’s current favorite board game is Parcheesi.
In this game, your goal is to move four pawns from your start position into your home. On the way, you can capture your opponents pawns for a significant bonus, or you might be captured and back sent back to the start yourself.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Create a Master Packing List
We recently returned from a two-week trip to visit family. My husband was on the road for the two weeks before we left, and returned with only one day at home between his business trip and the departure for our family trip. All that to say, the planning and packing largely fell on my shoulders.
While I spent some time the week before we departed preparing myself for the trip, I didn’t worry about packing. … Continue reading
Why I Give My Kids an Allowance
Each week we give our boys an allowance. We don’t tie receiving this money to anything in particular. We consider doing chores and helping around the house to simply be part of living within our household; it is not reason for payment. I think it’s important for kids to have their own money to spend, and I think the time to start an allowance is whenever they begin to realize the purpose and power of money.… Continue reading
10 Ways to Encourage Imaginative Play in Children
Do you want to encourage your children to engage in imaginative play? In that case, I’m generally of the theory that less is more.
Kids do not need fancy costumes or toys in order to pretend. While this picture shows my son thoroughly decked out in a costume, kids can have just as much fun without such things. Dirt, sticks, rocks, and anything else they find outside are generally enough. … Continue reading
Sprouts: Healthy to Eat and Easy to Grow
My 9-year-old son grew some chia sprouts as part of a project in which he was learning about families of plants.
It was extremely easy to grow the sprouts. He half-filled a small container with potting soil. He sprinkled a bunch of chia seeds over the top of the moist dirt. He then set a folded up, wet paper towel directly on top of the seeds, covering them completely. … Continue reading
Working Alone Instills Confidence in Kids
Last week my 4-year-old decided to build a block tower. He wanted to build a tower that went “way above [his] head.”
First, he asked if I could build the tower with him. However, I was busy cooking. I told my son that he would have to wait until I finished or he could do it on his own.
Then he went to ask his big brother’s assistance. … Continue reading
The Wonder of Sleeping Outside
As a child there always seemed to be something magical about sleeping outside. There are different sounds. The light is different. There are different smells. The air feels different. When we’re outside, particularly during the night, our sense attune to all of these things that are mitigated or filtered out entirely by sleeping inside a building.
You can, of course, get this feeling by heading out on a camping trip. … Continue reading
Learning by Building a Treehouse
My boys have talked about building a treehouse for years. My older son, in particular, has been captivated by the idea of building his own outdoor living space. And after much planning [mostly on the part of my husband], it finally happened over Memorial Day weekend. There is now a beautiful treehouse deck in our yard.
My husband designed the base and railings, making sure that everything met his strict standards for safety. … Continue reading
Happy Mother’s Day!
A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Enchanted Mamas. You make every day fascinating, and the world a better place.
Screaming and Yelling, by Maurice Sendak
When everybody screams and yells
Who calms them down?
Who rings their bells?
When everybody screams and yells?
The enchanted one. That’s me.
When everybody screams and yells,
There’s nothing to do!… Continue reading