Do you make your kids work of over summer break? I do. But it's not what you think. I'm not breaking any child labor laws--don't worry. :) What I'm talking about is not making my kids earn an extra buck here and there (although they do like to do that at Grandma's house!). Instead, it's about teaching them the value of hard work, avoiding summer learning loss, and teaching them that it's not okay to be lazy. Don't get me wrong--they get plenty of time to play, watch TV, play on the computer, play on their tablets, and play with their friends. What we've done is put a system in … [Read more...] about Summer Rules: Aiming for a Meaningful Summer
Rewards
Rewarding Kids for Good Grades (Minus the Big Bucks)
Every three months during the school year, we come to this point where the kids bring home this piece of paper with cryptic marks on it hoping that maybe they'll get some reward for all of their hard work during the school year. And every time this happens, I sigh because I can't reward my kids with money. Let's face it: the economy stinks, and if you're used to rewarding your kids with money for good grades, you might just be breaking the bank nowadays. That's how it is. But this summer I came up with a reward system for reading books, and I felt this might just do the trick for report … [Read more...] about Rewarding Kids for Good Grades (Minus the Big Bucks)
The Best Free Android Apps for Kids (According to us!)
If you haven't already noticed, there is a plethora of apps out there nowadays. So many people are using tablets, touch-screen phones, iPods, and other devices and there are so many choices for apps! Educational apps, game apps, potty training apps (yes, I've used this one!), silly apps, dumb apps...you get the idea. Well if you're like me, you can't just spend oodles of money on apps for yourself, let a lone your kids! If you're having trouble deciding and want to keep things at a minimal cost, here's what we recommend: ColoringBook and ColoringBook 2 (lite) Coloring Books: … [Read more...] about The Best Free Android Apps for Kids (According to us!)