Whatcha working on? Oh, nothing – just playing. They say. Inspired by #rubegoldberg machines we saw last year at the @pghkids (still), they are creating. Do you know what I see? More than just playing? I see collaboration; problem solving; complex cognitive think throughs; experimentation; trial and error; frustration; emotional regulation; communication; big feeling expression; […]

  Hey Loves. I wanted to talk to you a bit about boundaries. See, for a long time I used to push past my own no and allow myself to get bullied into doing things I didn’t want to do – or things that weren’t actually in my best interest. I wanted to please people […]

Tonight, little man fell asleep early, which meant special time with the big kids. I pulled out the thank you notes, cards, paper, and markers and began scrolling some gratitude letter writing – soon they joined in. We listened to the radio while writing and drawing some thanks. I had considered doing a movie or […]

  I loved this visual from Beacon House so much that I drew it in my journal as a reminder. A visual of the way in which a young persons brain develops.   They cannot reach their higher order functioning for awhile.   1. The first part that develops is the brain stem – which […]

I often get questions about age-appropriate gifts for the children on your gift lists. I typically take the time to type out all of the products that are a good fit for your little ones ages and reasons why they are beneficial, but this year I’m sharing my go-to picks for every age group with […]

Children learn best through play. The environment where a child learns can be used as a second teacher or guide. Having the proper tools and toys available makes homeschooling easier on everyone. Knowing that learning is literally, built right in to each of these products helps me stay sane as a single, homeschooling mom of […]

Homeschooling was the educational route that always resonated with me for a number of reasons. But the opportunity and ability to educate the whole child every day was a huge one. �One way I ensure this happens is that I challenge my kids to do something good for each of these parts of them:   […]

I love quality time with my kids. And if my kids are like your kids, each one of them is uniquely gifted, motivated, and has a different set of interests, so naturally, loving them, means honoring all of these pieces when we spend time together. With my oldest, we often enjoy tea time together, sometimes […]

This visual from Beacon House is amazing and such a good reminder of the development of a young person’s brain. Let’s focus on the second part or the Limbic brain, responsible for attachment and emotional development. ⁣⁣When a child is going through a huge life transition or trauma-it makes sense to me that they could […]

Boundaries are so important to your self care, and I know this because I used to put more weight in pleasing people than setting boundaries to take care of me.⁣⁣See, for a long time I used to push past my own “no” and allow myself to get bullied into doing things I didn’t want to […]