Book Recommendations

Making Sense of the World Through Reading

My girls are trying to figure out life by living, learning, testing, playing, fighting, and reading. Reading is the cool trick we do every night before bed. After a long day of living, learning, testing, playing and fighting, it’s like a much needed form of therapy, but the relaxing, entertaining variety (if there is such … Continued

Book Recommendations / How You Can Help

Kids, Food, Cooking, and Books

I imagine a long time ago, cavemen and women gave their cave children some food, whatever it may have been, and those cave children duly ate it. Task accomplished. Done. Now everyone start looking for more. Here in America in 2013 things are a might bit different. Just a might. Now that we live in … Continued

General / Book Recommendations

Opening Day Sunday!!!

People, it’s almost over!!! Winter is almost over! I did not learn this from the Weather Channel, the Farmer’s Almanac, Punxsutawney Phil or the calendar. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel because I know that Sunday is… OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON!!!! Nothing says summer like the roar of the … Continued

General / Book Recommendations

Idioms Take the Cake!

At our house no one is ever hungry, they are “staaarving!” No one is ever tired, they are “exhaaaausted!” That’s how we roll. To just say things straight would be “sooo incredibly booooring!” And we are not just prone to hyperbole either, we like all types of colorful language, especially idioms. Idioms like… Quit dilly-dallying … Continued

General / Book Recommendations

Children’s Books as Art

Recently, while at the library seeking new reading material for my son, Emmett, two books jumped out at me. Each had an enticing title, intriguing subject matter, and captivating imagery. And Then It’s Spring and Peaceful Piggy Meditation grabbed my interest, and without hesitation, I checked them out and nestled them into our stroller. Though the books are … Continued

General / Book Recommendations

Bedtime Math?

Time magazine recently reported on “Why Math Is the Hot New Bedtime Reading.” WHAT? Everyone knows how we here at CLiF feel about books and reading. And I have a particular soft spot for the soothing, relaxing, entertaining bedtime read. I mean, I have been reading my kids into a sleepy stupor for as long … Continued

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General

Fun Activities for Mid-Winter Break

Ah. The much needed mid-winter break. Who doesn’t need a little rest from the hectic day to day of the school schedule right now? I know that teachers worry that reading and writing skills will slip over break and kids will return to school at the end of the week two steps behind. If you … Continued

General

Kids and Potty Talk

Watching your child develop language skills is definitely one of the great joys of parenting. My five year old is picking up big, grown-up words every day, and it is fun watching her figure out how to use them. But, as with any new skill your child obtains, there are definitely drawbacks. When they learn … Continued

Book Recommendations

An Amazing Thing About Love

Love is amazing for many, many reasons. One reason is that love is one of the very few things in life that you get more of when you give it away. Typically speaking, when you give away your cookies, you have fewer cookies. If you give away your time, you run out of time. But … Continued

General

Storytime Chaos

Storytime at the library. It paints an enticing image: stylish stay-at-home mom, peppy grin, hip outfit, adorable bright-faced child, a healthy snack in her bag, a stack of books in her arm, and endless patience. She quietly enters, sits on the floor while her little one piles neatly into her lap, and they gaze cheerily … Continued

General

The Very Sweetest Part of My Day

This job of being a full time mom is pretty hectic. There is a lot of running around, picking up, dropping off, talking, listening, soothing, managing, feeding, etc., etc. So with all that going on what would you think would be the sweetest part of my day? Would you guess that it’s the first ten … Continued

General

Too Cold to Play Outside Official Scavenger Hunt

Too Cold to Play Outside Official Scavenger Hunt Official rules: To win this game, you must collect everything listed, without help from an adult. Some of these will be difficult, so use your smarts and imagination. You have lots of time, but don’t get distracted. You should check things off of this list as you … Continued

Book Recommendations

What Mommy Likes and Why

My kids have been pressing me lately for an explanation. Some books have found their way into our home and my girls just LOVE them… and I don’t (to put it mildly). “Why, Mommy? Why don’t you like Barbie Princess Charm School?” “Why won’t you read the Rainbow Fairy book again?” “Why do you always … Continued

General

An Ode to Sick Days

When I was a little girl sick days were a mixed bag of good and bad. First, you woke up feeling sick. That’s bad. Then you realized you might get a delicious day off from everyday life. And better yet, a day off alone! Your siblings would still have to go to school. Mmm, peace … Continued

General

Two Wild Boys Become Quiet Readers – for a Moment

I don’t like it when my house gets too quiet. As the mother of two little boys, silence makes red flags go up in a hurry. I have become quite talented in tuning out the everyday sounds of fights over whose truck is whose and whose turn it is to play with the fireman. I … Continued

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General

One Family’s Literary Resolutions for 2013

2012 was a pretty good year. The year our girls learned to swim and to ski. The year our older daughter started kindergarten and became an “emergent reader.” Another year our old dog survived. We had some ups and downs, but mostly ups. Not too shabby. Of course, we can always improve. Onward and upward, … Continued

General / Book Recommendations

Lyrically Alluring Reads

A few months ago I tasked our readers with an important assignment: help me find books that I can read repeatedly without losing my sanity. For those of you who missed my first blog post, feel free to read it here. The gist of my request was that I now have a (just-about-in-only-one-week-where-did-the-time-go) two-year-old who has … Continued

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