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FHE with Small Children-Strengthening our Family

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I love when simple family home evenings make the best ones. That is my goal by sharing this FHE with Small Children series as often as possible. This past Monday night, we had a family home evening where my kids really listened, the lesson was short, and everyone got to participate. We started out talking about our own family. I asked my kids the following questions: Who is in our family? Do you think we have a happy family? Do we want to make our family stronger? I then told them about The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Since … Continue reading →

Still Reading the Toy Catalogs

My teenagers no longer really play with toys. Unless you count the balls, tennis rackets and sporting equipment which still take up a prime spot near our front and back door entries. Still, I think it is fun when the toy catalogs start to arrive this time of year–both in the mail and tucked between the folds of our local newspaper–my kids get excited to flip through and see what’s out there. Offering critique and opinion, as well as a healthy dose of reminiscing about toys and holidays past. Sure, there is a certain amount of “I never got that … Continue reading →

Creating Your Own Summer Reading Program

School will be out for the summer very soon. The past few years Tyler has looked forward to participating in the summer reading program at the local library both here in Mobile and in New Orleans before the hurricane. While writing an article about this year’s summer reading program, I realized that Tyler might not be able to participate. I’m still trying to get my house together and you can’t imagine the setbacks I have had. We will probably spend a lot of time between Mobile and New Orleans this summer so I am wondering if signing up for the … Continue reading →

Family Storytime Activities

Family storytime should not end when you close the book and announce “the end”. If you’re simply reading to your kids, you’re missing out on a lot of fun activities related to what you’ve read. You don’t have to do the actual activity the same day you read the book, especially since many of us read at night just before bed. You can create activities related to what you’ve read and then work on the activity the following afternoon. When I was teaching Tyler at home I often created activities to match a book that we read. Although we read … Continue reading →

Family Reading Blocks

The other day I made a joke that we should have a family reading block. My 29-year-old niece and I were discussing the fact that the last time she read a book was when she was in high school. My family does not read for pleasure (the newspaper does not count). I never knew this until I moved back home after Katrina. For some reason I just assumed that since I love to read and was a writer to boot, then my family had to have the same literary zeal. But they don’t share my enthusiasm. I’m glad that Tyler … Continue reading →

Learning the Alphabet Part IV

Once my son was able to identify the first letter in his name, he then conquered the task, unbeknownst to me, of writing the first letter in his name.  I was in the kitchen cooking something or other and he said, “Look mom, I made a “C” because “C” is for me!” Even though his “C” was backwards, it was clearly a “C”! I was impressed and very pleased that he took the task upon himself.  I started to think that he might be ready to learn the alphabet. We have all kinds of toys and books that are all … Continue reading →

Down by the Sea

Don’t let a summer trip to the beach go to waste. While your family is having fun in the sun, be sure to snap photos of their adventures in the sand and surf. Pictures of your kids chasing seagulls, collecting seashells, swimming, surfing, sunbathing, flying a kite or reading under a colorful beach umbrella are the heart and soul of a beach vacation-themed scrapbook. In addition to snapping images of your trip, consider jotting down some of the funniest or most poignant memories to feature in journaling blocks. If you don’t have the time or energy to write down anecdotes … Continue reading →

Reunion Layout Ideas

There’s more than one way to spice up family or class reunion scrapbook layouts. Rather than stick with traditional page designs which embrace standard techniques, consider branching out with whimsical approaches. For example, a fun way to document family history is to do so by displaying photos from different decades. Collect pictures of your family members from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s to create a comical timeline that captures how they looked and acted through the years. While a picture may speak a thousand words, it may be even funnier to add personal anecdotes from loved ones featured in … Continue reading →

What Are My Days Like?

Home – based professionals are a diverse bunch, and I am very happy to be a part of the Home Business blog here at Families.com because it reflects the experience and insight of not just one, but three different home – based professionals. The diversity in our experiences makes it more likely that you, our readers, will be able to relate to the things that we talk about. For example, my co-blogger Richele McFarlin wrote this excellent post today about what she does all day, every day. Since families are so different and schedules and priorities vary greatly from one … Continue reading →

Interviews with Homeschoolers: Kimberly McNeely

Today I’m joined by Kimberly McNeely, who shares her thoughts about her family’s decision to homeschool. Thanks for taking time to chat with me, Kimberly. When did you start your homeschool, and what brought you to your decision? We started homeschooling in 2003. I had always said it was something I could not do and wasn’t interested in trying, so our first child started school in a charter school some miles from home. When we subsequently bought our first home in an area even farther away from school, it became extremely time-consuming, and potentially dangerous during winter months, to transport … Continue reading →