Helping Others And Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches, we often think about preparing the big turkey dinner, eating too much food and watching football games. I also like to remember to sincerely “give thanks” and seek out ways that our family can give back. Today, I discovered a charity that provides food for people who might otherwise go hungry. It’s [...]

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To Motivate the Students…

For those parents of students who need a little motivation to study harder, try this video:

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Great Way for Kids to Get the News

Have you heard about CNN Student News? _____________________________________________ Updated with coverage of the oil spill! Check it out: http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=education/2010/05/27/sn.0528.cnn The site is “a ten minute, commercial-free daily news program” geared to middle and high-school students. If you’ve been looking for ways to get your teens interested in the news, I recommend bookmarking the CNN Student [...]

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Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date: May 23

You know how much my family and I loved Super Mario Galaxy on Wii? We put it on our list of favorite video games of 2007 and even referred to it as the best game of all time. So you can imagine how excited we are about the coming release of the sequel, Super Mario [...]

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A Good Way to Deal With Unwanted Teen Behavior

When I heard Dave Barry’s story about embarrassing his teenage son by picking him up from school in a Wienermobile (true story!), I thought I’d try his advice. He suggested that one of the easiest ways to get attention from teens was to sing. I’d add to that a bit by saying that song choice [...]

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Make Your Car a No-Phone Zone

Did you know that driving while texting is the same as driving after having had four drinks? This fact becomes especially important if you have teen drivers. April 30 is National No-Phone Zone Day, declared to raise awareness about the dangers of using a phone while driving. I’m on board and signed the pledge. Will [...]

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Read a Book, Give a Book

Regular readers of this blog know how much I love books. I’ve co-chaired the Book Fair at our kids’ school for several years, taught Junior Great Books (another program I strongly support) and, for a brief time, considered starting another blog devoted to books. I love books. I encourage my kids (and others’) to read. [...]

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A Life-Sized Mouse Trap (sort of)

If you or your kids are fans of this game or this, then you just have to watch this: __________________________________________________________

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Some Kids Want You to See The Lightning Thief

At their urging, the following is a guest post written by my children: You may have heard of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the movie that came out Friday, February 12, 2010. Many people have been calling it a Harry Potter knock off. To begin with, the book series is not another [...]

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The Lightning Thief – Not Another Potter

Have you heard about this action/adventure movie starring a couple teenage guys and a girl who defeat villains in the midst of great special effects? You know, dark haired protagonist, no glasses. Wait…does he wear glasses? NO, he does not. He most definitely does not wear glasses. Were you thinking of Harry Potter, Ron and [...]

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