Spring Cleaning is more than just cleaning your house for Spring. It’s having a day set aside for everyone in the family to pitch in and help out. Everyone pitching in can help make cleaning enjoyable and stress-free, so I decided to give a few tips that can help you get started organizing and teaching your family the importance of pitching in to do spring cleaning.
So how do we make children into givers?It is up to you as a parent to instill kindness and sensitivity toward others and to teach your children skills that reflect generosity. It is vital that you make sure your kids develop an understanding for others, knowledge about what makes them happy, an emotional connection with giving, and the skills to give.
In 2021, over 21% of adult Americans cannot read. Over half of them cannot read above a 6th grade level.
For many people, today’s world is starting to feel like it was pre-pandemic. But that’s not the case for everyone. Have you lost touch with some of your favorite people in the last two years? Do you miss the conversation, the laughs, the connection with other humans?
If the answer is yes, it’s time to reconnect with your pre-pandemic people.
Life becomes hectic for families in May as children reach the end zone of the school year. There are concerts, plays, projects, and award ceremonies. As your child, and the entire school, go full force towards completing all their objectives for the year, it can be easy to overlook the positive impact teachers have made in our lives.
Think back to some of your most cherished childhood memories. I’m going to bet that a lot of them are centered around summer vacations with trips to visit family, hitting the beach, or enjoying amusement parks. And chances are you’ve been trying to recreate those kinds of memories with your own family. But now that the summer is over, it may seem like those opportunities are fading with the heat.
All of these activities are great opportunities to build memories and bond as a family. The fall also presents you with staycations that you don’t get to try during the rest of the year.
**********
Summer is coming and for those of us who have been tucked away in quarantine, it may seem like we’ve already been on one continuous break with the kids. But, now that distance learning is taking a break, there may be fewer activities for you to keep the kids active. But you don’t want to let them become couch potatoes and video game zombies.
These activities are guaranteed to help you keep the kids from being bored and help you maintain your sanity this summer.
A DIY idea for this is to make your own sprinkler. Get a 2-liter soda bottle (empty) and poke holes in the plastic with a knife or scissors. Then, attach the garden hose to the bottle and affix it with duct tape. Once you crank up the water, it will come shooting out of the holes and your kids can have fun jumping through the stream.
Then, fill the bottle with vinegar, add baking soda, and then quickly cover the bottle opening with a cork. Flip the rocket upside down so it rests on the pencils and wait for the chemical reaction to shoot the rocket into the air.
Get several cans of shaving cream from your local dollar store. Then, use food coloring to dye the shaving cream into different colors. Set up a tarp in the backyard and let your kids use the colored shaving cream to create pictures from rainbows to sky scenes to whatever their imagination can conjure up.
It’s messy fun, and the tarp can be easily hosed down and reused later if the kids want to try this again.
Then place the second rope high enough for your child to use as a handhold as they walk across the lower rope. If you don’t have a pair of trees, you can also use fence posts or poles in a pinch.
This year, we may still be dealing with a quarantine lockdown in our homes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t let your child explore their backyard and turn it into a home summer camp with these activities.
**********
If you’re a mom, then you know just how selfless the job can be. Time can seem like a commodity just as important as money or credit.
But most moms also know that they have a tendency to spend their time on others—balancing family, career, volunteering, and the dozen other myriad activities that make up our day.
What usually gets lost by the wayside is time for yourself. And this can be very dangerous. If you don’t take time to care for yourself, then you’re at risk of running yourself so ragged you can’t take part in the activities you are needed for.
Moms have a rough job, but a rewarding one. But you aren’t good to anyone if you let yourself get worn down by doing too much. Take care of yourself as well as your family and you will be better as a mom in the long run.
**********
In the past few years, bullying has taken center stage as a major problem among our youth. Be it physical bullying in schools or psychological intimidation on social media, this has caused parents, educators, and policy-makers to stand up and take notice.
All of the “zero tolerance” policies in the world, though, will have no impact on children and their behavior unless we begin to teach our kids how to be more compassionate. We have to be able to see our actions and behaviors through the lens of someone else so that we can see how those actions impact others.
If the people of the world could learn to be more compassionate, then a lot of our problems would actually fix themselves. But none of this will become a reality until we take the step to teach this to our children and the younger generations.
**********
It’s autumn, which means the kids are back in school and moms across the country have a few moments of precious free time in between helping with homework, volunteering at school, and chauffeuring the kids back and forth to activities.
But in those few moments of solitude, many of us try to take an opportunity to catch up on some of the books that have been stacking up on our “Want to Read” shelf on Goodreads. With that in mind, let’s do a run through with our pick for the best reads of 2019 for moms:
Every minute for moms is precious. But this year, for National Book Month, spend some time with one (or all) of these great books. You will definitely appreciate the opportunity to recharge your batteries and enjoy some “me time.”
**********
