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Tips for Managing Outdoor Instruction

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Many teachers are reluctant and even fearful of outdoor learning centers or outdoor class instruction. While the outdoors can open more opportunities for misbehaving and minor scraps and bruises, teaching outdoors can be a wonderful experience with the right rules, guidelines, and preparation. Every school that encourages outdoor exploration and has an outdoor classroom area should have a set of rules that the staff has agreed upon. Having a set of rules that is consistently used throughout the faculty and staff can make the outdoors safer and easier to manage by the teachers and students alike. Materials should be checked … Continue reading →

Affordable Ways to Combat the Winter Blues

So much for my New Year’s resolution. I’ve been consuming carbs at a frightening pace while battling severe allergies. Truthfully, I doubt the two are correlated.  Rather, I am blaming the wicked winter weather.   I’d bet a hundred bucks I wouldn’t be tempted to gorge on donuts, French toast and cinnamon buns if I were basking on a beach right now… in a bikini. Winter is brutal here in the Upper Midwest, which is why so many people suffer with seasonal doldrums.  The winter blues can strike family members of all ages, including children.  Consequently, it’s a good idea to … Continue reading →

Keep Your Pets Safe on Halloween

Halloween is fun for humans, especially children. Keep in mind, though, that Halloween can be stressful, or dangerous, for your pet. Banfield Pet Hospital has a guide to Halloween safety that pet owner should read over. It can help you avoid tragedy and a pet insurance claim. It is understandable that pet owners will want to share the fun of the holiday with their pets. After all, pets are part of the family! Pet owners need to keep in mind that there are many things associated with Halloween that can lead to a dangerous situation for your dog or cat. … Continue reading →

What To Put In An Emergency Bag

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Yet another fire breaks out in Utah. It seems that every day there is at least one. It’s starting to get really scary and there doesn’t seem to be any rain in sight. It has been 35 days since we have had any measurable rain. The forecast says we may get some thunderstorms Thursday. In most areas that would be a relief, usually, in Utah, thunderstorms mean just lots of dry lightning. Add that to the already dry conditions and we are looking at even more fires. I’ve written several posts about being prepared for emergencies but that was always … Continue reading →

Independence Day Sparkle

It’s going to be a sparkler-less Fourth of July in our neck of the woods. Thanks to triple-digit temperatures and extremely dry conditions, city officials have banned all fireworks, including my 7-year-old’s favorite sparklers. From what I gather by watching the news, similar scenarios are playing out throughout the United States. It’s simply too dangerous to let every Joe Blow and his pyro cousins set-off fireworks when the fire risk is dangerously high. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to celebrate America’s birthday without having to light colorful explosives. Check out these fun-filled, kid-friendly activities that will add some sparkle … Continue reading →

Reusing Pill Bottles

I guess technically, it is not very green to take prescription medication to begin with, but if you are like me, you see your prescription drug list growing. I have vitamins and allergy medicine that only lasts a month. Then, I throw the bottle in the garbage, go to the drugstore, and get more pills – in another bottle. I don’t know if the druggist will let you reuse a bottle, although I cannot imagine why not if your name was on the bottle. Anyhow, what can you do with all these bottles instead of throwing them in the trash? … Continue reading →

Holiday Sanity Savers for Parents

The countdown is on. In just a few days my daughter’s Christmas break will commence. She delights in telling people that soon she won’t have to endure seven looooong hours a day in a classroom until 2012. I too am thrilled that she will be home, though I know better than to count on the time being stress-free. The first few days of the holiday hiatus from school is filled with giggles and grins, but by day three, I hear more, “Mom, I’m bo-bo-bored!” than “Ho, ho, ho!” Over the years, I’ve learned to prepare for periods of whines and … Continue reading →

Ways to Avoid the Halloween Sugar Rush

(All treat, no trick!) My daughter was just over a year old when she went trick-or-treating for the first time. We took her out at my mom’s insistence. Grandma dropped 50 bucks to dress her first-born grandkid in a Disney Dalmatian costume, and by gosh the neighbors were going to get an eyeful of cuteness whether they wanted to or not. Given my daughter’s very young age, clearly our goal was not to score as many sweets as possible. In fact, when one neighbor handed my costumed child an individual tub of Play-Doh, I nearly shed a tear. Finally, a … Continue reading →

But I Don’t Fit the Homeschool Mold

As I look at various websites that feature information for homeschoolers, I notice the huge number of learning materials that are geared toward a Christian homeschool philosophy. I am a Christian, and I love having so many Christ-centered books and supplements available for me to purchase. I also know that a great many homeschool families are Christian, but this doesn’t mean that every homeschooler is. Homeschoolers come from all religious backgrounds. They come from all ethnic backgrounds. They come from all economic backgrounds. There isn’t a set formula that determines what makes a homeschooler – except for one, and that … Continue reading →

The Jumper

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When our son first began trying to jump it was a very amusing thing. He’d raise his arms and bring them back down. While there was a lot of sleight of hand and misdirection on his part, his feet never left the ground. Over time he’s become better at jumping. It started with raising up to his tip toes and eventually off of one of his feet. These small, but steady progresses towards actually jumping have been fascinating to watch as a human being and even more interesting as the father of the jumping student in question. His first big … Continue reading →