education
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 7
I’m back with another update (the 7th!) of what books my kids and I have been reading together. The books I share here are the ones my kids, 2nd and 5th graders, enjoyed and gave their stamp of approval. My feelings are sometimes more complicated. I’m a mom. I overthink all. the. things! First, I wanted to show you a different kind of book. This is my son’s Irish reading homework from a few months ago. Suffice it to say, I have to trust him when he says it’s a story about a monkey drinking milk. Now, onto the book list! The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams We’ve read…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 5
First week of September and I am up to my eyeballs in lunch boxes and homework! Before I completely forget everything that happened this summer, I want to give you the rundown of some books we enjoyed while school was out. It’s not the entirety of what we or they read, but the ones worth sharing. These are the books my (kids age 7 and 10) enjoyed and said, “just one more chapter! Please!” AniMalcolm by David Baddiel We stumbled into the world of David Baddiel when I picked up this book at the airport back in June. AniMalcom is a book about a kid who doesn’t like animals and then…
How I Accidentally Got My Kids Excited for College
It’s the first day of school (WOOHOO!!!), so it seems like an appropriate time to share this story of how I accidentally got my kids excited for college. Come to find out, August is probably the busiest month for tourism in Ireland. It’s quite possible there are more tourists on the island than there are residents. At least it sure feels that way. Dang tourists. (Oh, wait. I’m practically a tourist myself. Never mind. Tourists are the BEST! Except when you don’t walk fast and I have places to be.) Anyway. Let’s just pretend I didn’t tell you how I really feel. My dad and The Junk Whisperer made plans…
You Know You’re a Farmer’s Kid When…
You know you’re a farmer’s kid when… Your dad pulls out his wallet to pay for dinner… just a simple, well-worn wallet… and bits of HAYÂ (yes, hay that cows eat) fly out of his wallet and land all over the restaurant table. All. Over. Then, without missing a beat, he says… “It’s just a little seed money.” Get it…hay seed? What dad can resist telling a good dad joke? Truly, I laughed. It was a pretty funny moment. My dad spends pretty much the entire summer on a tractor making hay. And, yes, that hay seems to get everywhere. And, yes, I’m glossing over how hard this season is for…
A Year Without Grades
My children completed their first year in an Irish primary school. Woohoo! Next year it is on to 2nd and 5th grade. How did that happen so fast? Time is flying, people. Just flying by. When we moved to Ireland almost a year ago, my kids had been attending a terrific public school in the southern United States. Suffice it to say, this year has been a big adjustment for all of us – especially them. Side note: My kids are not in the Irish public school system. They attend a private primary school. I detailed those reasons here. If you’re an expat moving to Ireland, it’s worth the read. My kids…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 4
I was reading aloud to the kids last week while we waited at the train station. My son, in typical fashion, was sitting on my lap and my daughter was sitting on my right. On her right sat an elderly man. I read for 5 or 6 minutes while the kids munched on their after school snack. When they hopped up to throw their granola bar wrappers in the bin, the man turned to me and with a quiet, gravelly voice said, “I remember my mum reading to me when I was a young lad.” I noticed his eyes had teared up. “She’s been gone 5 years now.” With that…
Quick Tip: Teaching Kids to Type
Do you remember learning how to type? Was it on a computer keyboard or a typewriter? I must have been in that transition period during the mid-1990s because I learned both in high school. While I may be in denial about how much time has passed since then, there is no denying I have two sweet children who will need to learn to type much sooner than I did. Between homework and computer games, my kids are doing more and more that involves typing. Train research, anyone? Watching them do the one-finger keyboard peck is oh, so painful. For my 6-year-old it is often accompanied by the “how do you spell” question and then a…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 3
I was snuggling with my son at bedtime recently and thought he’d fallen asleep. I was enjoying the quiet and psyching myself up to do that slow slither out of bed to avoid waking him. Just as I started to stretch one leg off the bed, my son suddenly says to me, “Mom, I had a good day at school.” Sometimes I second-guess our life choices and then one of my kids will say something like this and I think “Phew. We’re okay. It’s all working out.” I was certain he’d had a good day because it was Active Week at school and they had done tennis and gymnastics that particular day.…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 2
The other day my 6-year-old son was standing in front of his bookshelf and I hear him holler out, “Mom! You need to get me some history books!” I was so shocked to hear this come out of his mouth since he spends most of his time talking about farts, Legos and Minecraft that I didn’t even mind that he forgot to use the word please. I have no idea what prompted this declaration, but the next time we go to the library we’ll be sure to head straight for the history section. In the meantime, here are some books my kids and I have read together recently that they loved –…
Morning Affirmations for Kids
Have you ever muttered under your breath “you can do this, you’ve got this, you can figure it out, let’s get this done” before a big interview, or the first day at a new job, or when you have to take your kids for shots, or when you have to roll out of bed and you know there’s no coffee in the house? It’s a mini pep talk! Saying it out loud somehow makes it real and helps us commit to the endeavor. At the very least is helps us kick our behinds into gear. Or the coffee does… Image source) Have you seen those videos floating around the Internet…
