There is an ongoing competition in town. Every month the first-graders in my son's class compete to see who can read the most books. They record the books/chapters they read on reading logs. At the end of the month, the child who has read the most books/chapters wins a prize – usually a fun magazine - from the teacher.
Like many moms, I set limits for the amount of screen time my kids can have each day. My current standard is 30 minutes of computer or video game time per school day, with a bit more allowed on weekends.
It seems to be birthday party season around our family right now. Our children had three birthday party invitations for this weekend alone, plus our youngest turned 4 on Friday. That makes for a lot of celebrating, gift-giving, and cake-eating.
This past weekend our family headed to George L. Smith State Park, near Metter, with hopes of canoeing in the lake there. The trouble with a family of five, with young kids, is that we don't exactly fit into canoes very well. The rental canoes at the park carry no more than two people each. So with three kids unable to handle a canoe and only two adults, we selected one canoe and one john boat, and off we went.
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How do you handle all of your kid's toys and trinkets? My children tend to be on the pack rat end of the spectrum. They love their stuff. When asked if we can get rid of something, they immediately protest. They will cite the importance of that particular piece of plastic based on its connection to their preschool teacher, for example.
So I have a dilemma. As more stuff comes into our home, other stuff must move out. Do I make the kids decide what to pass on to others or do I decide while they are not home?
To commemorate Earth Day, children enrolled in the YMCA's Pryme Tyme program are participating in an eco friendly activity to help increase awareness and share useful tips that can help everyone go green this year.
The YMCA of Coastal Georgia's Pryme Tyme programs in Chatham and Effingham Counties have coordinated their first Earth Day Grocery Bag Project. Pryme Tyme is the YMCA's off site before and after school care program hosted at local elementary schools. A total of 41 Pryme Tyme sites had elementary school age children participate in this project.
My 3-year-old has 18 more mornings of preschool left before summer break begins, and that has me counting. I was inspired by a book review I read about a book called 20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith. No, I haven't yet read the actual book, but I like the idea of counting our days in order to make the most of them.
Independence... that wonderful, terrible state that kids grow into. Hopefully. But knowing the right combination of caution and freedom to extend in relation to our kids is a big parenting challenge. There is no clear standard, and everyone has different tolerance levels for giving their kids freedom. What is wise to one might appear smothering to another, just as what is reasonable to one might seem careless to another. A lot depends on the child in question.
You've probably seen them – or even posted them - on Facebook or other places: the perfect family photos of beautiful, happy people. It's not so much how they are dressed or what they are doing as it is the feeling they give off. It's that “life is good, we're so happy” vibe. And we're so happy for them, and we “like” their pictures every time.
