awesome upstander: the anti-bullying game for young kids
I’ve been talking a lot about bullying recently: I wrote a post about how can try to prevent our kids from becoming bullies, and also one about how to make sure our kids are allies in bullying situations. In the latter post I included a quote from Eyes on Bullying that I think bears repeating: “Most bystanders passively accept bullying by watching and doing nothing. Often without realizing it, these bystanders also contribute to the problem. Passive bystanders provide the audience a bully . . .
wittlebee kid’s clothing giveaway
I’ve got a great giveaway today – a box of clothing from Wittlebee! WittleBee is a new company that works as a subscription service for children’s clothes (sort of like the Birchbox for kid’s clothing). For $39.99/month, they ship a box with 6 new kids clothing items to your door. WittleBee has stylists that work with each family to help the clothing fit both your climate and your child’s style. Shipping is free, and each box has a retail value of at least $100. I like . . .
you show me your playlist, I’ll show you mine.
This post was sponsored by Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone. A couple years ago I packed up my CD’s, in an attempt to make the switch to digital music. It seemed like itunes was the way every was buying and storing music. And yet, I was constantly running into issues. Every time I got a new phone or laptop or computer for the family, I had to spend hours watching tutorials on how to get my itunes music from one device to another. Almost always, I would lose my playlists in the transfer . . .
teaching kids to pack their own lunches
Next year is going to be a big transition for our family, with three of our kids now in school 5 days a week. Last year, I felt like packing school lunches was the bane of my existence. I really had no idea how much work was involved. I used to hear people complain about it and wondered . . . really? Is it that hard? And then last year happened and I was daily baffled at how much energy the procuring and packing of food required. We are making a . . .
a parent’s guide to The Odd Life of Timothy Green
In many ways, Disney’s latest family film The Odd Life of Timothy Green defies genres in the current movie marketplace, harkening back to the family-focused films of days gone by. It’s a family movie about a family. It’s not geared towards children per se, but it is absolutely a family film, with a story line and themes that will entertain both kids and parents. It’s not a kid’s film that adults will merely tolerate, nor is it an adult film that children won’t relate to. It . . .
raising allies (preventing the bullying bystander effect)
The following post is sponsored by Chase - a strong supporter of the Bully Project, a program committed to ending bullying and ultimately transforming society. Learn more here. Between recent news stories on bullying and the Bully documentary exploring the epidemic, there has been a much-needed national conversation about the problem of childhood bullying. Much has been said about protecting kids from bullying, and last week I wrote about how we can try to prevent our kids from . . .
ideas for quick gluten-free dairy-free school lunches
I’ve talked a bit about transitioning Jafta to a GFDF diet to help with his sensory processing disorder. We are still finding this diet to be hugely beneficial, and I thought I would share some tips for packing gluten-free, dairy-free school lunches. A couple months ago, I shared some of the foods we typically send in lunches. Most of them involved leftovers or foods that required preparation the day before. Today, I’m sharing ideas for quick school lunches that you can assemble in . . .
mother’s little helper: the podcast
It’s hard to believe that today begins the last month of summer. I’m finding myself wondering where the summer went, and determined to try to eek some more fun out of the next month because so far, it’s just been a blur. Summer as a working mom is an interesting thing . . . I grew up with parents who were both in education, and as an adult it is still blowing my mind that some people (i.e. myself) do not just get to laze about all summer long, but actually have to continue working. . . .
babbabox: the solution for the non-crafty mom (a giveaway!)
I have a really fun giveaway today for a box from BabbaCo.. BabbaCo.is the creator of the BabbaBox, a monthly subscription box for kids ages 3-6. It is filled with projects, activities, books, and digital downloads surrounding a new theme every month. I got to try one of their boxes this month, and I’m a fan. I’ve written before about the fact that I’m a decidedly non-crafty mom. Doing craft projects with kids . . . especially THEMED craft projects . . . is an undertaking I . . .
how to teach empathy to our kids (bully prevention begins at home)
Between news stories on bullying and the recent Bully documentary exploring the epidemic, there has been a much-needed national conversation about the problem of childhood bullying. Most of the conversation revolves around how to make sure our kids are not the victims of bullying, and while I think this is a really important conversation, I also think all parents need to consider how to make sure their kid isn’t the one doing the bullying as well. Any child has the potential to engage in . . .