Uncomplicated parenting in a complex world.
I’m guest posting over at Simple Organic today.
As the end of October approaches, so does the annual dilemma for families who choose to celebrate Halloween: how to find that happy medium that allows your kids to have fun and enjoy the day without an overindulgence in candy and sweets.
Here are a few ideas that I hope can help keep parents, kids, and dentists happy this Halloween.
The following post is by editor Kara Fleck.
Storytelling can be intimidating for some parents. They worry that they won’t know what to talk about, how to craft the story, that it won’t be interesting enough to hold their child’s attention. And sometimes, even if storytelling comes very naturally to us, by the time bedtime rolls around, we’re simply too tired to come up with something creative and engaging on the spot.
“Tell me a story” can be a phase that parents begin to dread. But, the truth is, this is one of those areas where we tend to over-think and worry too much. No elaborate plots or theater degrees are needed. Children love simple stories and they love it when we are the ones telling them.
So, I am going to share some very simple ideas for storytelling and give you a few story starters, too. And I’m doing in so in my first ever vlog on Simple Kids.
I’m afraid I was a little nervous and I didn’t speak quite loudly enough in some places and I’m certainly an amateur vlogger, but I hope you’ll enjoy meeting me face-to-face and be able to pick up a few tips and ideas for storytelling that you can use with your kids.
I’m so pleased to welcome back guest poster Angelica Perez-Litwin of Modern Familia.
The power of the sibling relationship is often over-shadowed by the value we place on building good parent-child relationships, friendships and marital relationships. The fact is that no bond is typically longer, stronger or more comforting than that between siblings.
As parents, it is easy to focus on the day-to-day bickering, conflict or rivalry, and loose sight of the tremendous long-lasting impact that sibling relationships have on our children. Here are a few reminders (based on research) why we should continue to honor and foster loving relationships between our children:
Because brothers and sisters typically spend a lot of time together, they are one another’s first playmates and companions. As a result, sibling relationships influence both social and cognitive learning:
:: Older children serve as effective role models and teachers: Older children, despite the age difference, always serve as role models and teachers in a variety of pro-social skills, such as helping, sharing, and cooperation. Language development and communication is also influenced by the presence of older siblings.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
The following is by contributor Amy Anderson of Let’s Explore.
My youngest daughter is a collector and a saver. Her favorite thing to do is head outside with a bucket and gather acorns, rocks, leaves, and sticks. We come back from any walk or trip to the park with full pockets.
I have dreams of shadow box frames and other beautiful displays, but for now we have a few simple systems in place for storing and displaying all the nature goodies my two girls collect.
As much as I love pine cones, acorns, sticks, and leaves, I do not want my entire house filled with them. Since my girls do a lot of collecting, I like to have plentiful outdoor storage containers.
