Mama J on June 30th, 2009

Your turn!  The purpose of today’s post is to ask your opinions about how stepparents and schools can work together to strengthen the school-to-home connection.  (Yes, I’m looking ahead to fall…or some of you may have kids who go to school year round.) 
You do not need to be registered on the blog to post a [...]

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Mama J on June 28th, 2009

Today is a milestone; one I kept thinking about the entire week prior.  My nine-year-old just left for her first sleepaway camp.  As I told my husband after she was whisked away in the carpool van, “This is harder than the first day of kindergarten.” 
OK, it’s only two nights and three days at 4H camp in [...]

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Mama J on February 23rd, 2009

Sometimes when I need a new perspective, jokes like these make me look at the world a different way.  I hope they give you the same shift.  Enjoy your day! 
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
********
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes [...]

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Mama J on February 17th, 2009

Since this is the time of year when winter gets really long in some places, I thought a post on how to have winter fun with our daughters makes sense.  Why nine ideas?  Because you get to fill out number 10! 
 

Take turns reading a book out loud together.  One of the moms I know at [...]

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Mama J on February 5th, 2009

I have this feature on the latest version of my blog software called QuickPress, and I feel compelled to try it out. You are the guinea pigs for this “Quick Blog” success story on addressing bullying.
One crossroads I think parents face when they learn of bullying behavior against their child is whether or not to [...]

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Mama J on February 2nd, 2009

My title reminds me of Dr. Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish.  Despite my love for this author, alas today’s post is not going to be a fantastical poem!  It does capture my musings about why a small swim club seems to be a better choice right now for my daughter. 
I spent this past weekend at [...]

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Mama J on January 29th, 2009

Oooh, oooh!  How many posts could we do on this topic?  Let’s just
say this is part one of however many we need in the months to come.
My daughter’s elementary school has done a good job of making kids
aware of some definitions and examples of bullying.  This education
started in first grade.  Shocking to me:  this timing [...]

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Mama J on December 19th, 2008

NOTE:  HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
I will post twice per week from now until January 11. 
Happy Holidays!
What do you say when your daughter asks you the proverbial
question:  Do you believe in Santa Claus?
Experience tells us there are many advantages to letting your child
come to her own conclusion.  Some kids get extremely upset when
you reveal what you know.  [...]

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Mama J on December 16th, 2008

In last Thursday’s post I asked for feedback about night fears and
received some really great comments, both on this blog and over my
e-mail.  As comments came in, I was reminded of the importance of
vocabulary.  The term “night fears” is so close to “night terrors” that I
thought it worth distinguishing between the two.
Night fears are concerns and [...]

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Mama J on December 11th, 2008

Today I simply have a question for you all.  I’d love to hear from
parents who have experienced the return of night fears in the eight-
nine-ten-year old age group.  I remember reading somewhere (I am
dredging my memory for the source and coming up with nothing) that
this is a common age for the return of night fears.  [...]

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