If you are already in a rut packing lunches or are just looking for fresh ideas, here are some foods to send with your child!

Our reasons might be varied, but the sentiment is the same – back-to-school isn’t all fun times and freedom for emotional mothers. But take heart! There are steps you can take to beat the back-to-school blues.

Thinking about sending my baby off to kindergarten makes me want to rewind time and burst into tears!

It’s crazy how some days it feels like my children are listening to EVERY word a person says, yet other days they don’t seem to hear a word they are told. When my children repeat something I wish they weren’t saying, I start to question where they could have heard that from.

What I want to talk about is what to DO with all those school supplies.  There are such great deals available; if you can, buy extra.

So even though my 5-year-old can’t read on his own yet, he is ready for lengthier picture books and beginning chapter books.  I’ll start with some picture book suggestions and then break up chapter books into a couple of categories.

We started very simply when my daughters hunted for the first letters of their names by going on a “letter hunt.” I wrote the letter N on five star-shaped Post-it notes and the letter A on five more. I asked my girls to sit in a special spot out of view from the area I planned to hide the Post-its.

Reading is one of the most important life skills. Yet some children and adults will never know the joy reading can bring. So, how do we instill in our children the love of reading? Here are some steps that we can take to start fueling the desire to read even before they can.

My younger daughter came home from school recently with a library book. It was called “The Book with No Pictures.” She requested that I read it immediately, and I’m not proud to say that I tried to blow her off.

One of the ways that you might consider me “old-fashioned” is regarding thank-yous and showing gratitude.  I am a HUGE proponent of thank-yous, but especially written thank-you cards.  You might disagree.  Some of my close friends do.