Joanne writes: As my kids get older, they often invite their friends from the neighborhood over. It’s not uncommon for us to have three or four extra kids wandering around. I admit to be a little surprised that the kids didn’t greet me or my husband when they came over. Such bad manners! Or so I snootily thought to myself. Sometimes I would be aggravated because kids would show up and not only did I not know they were over, I didn’t even know their name. Even worse?  When I greet their friends and get a grunt or muttered, no eye-contact response. Then I realized that I had never taught my kids to greet adults.  So my kids were probably also going to their friends houses and walking right by the … [Read more...]

  Getting Back to Basics! I was just thinking... How many children today even know The Golden Rule? How many parents have forgotten it? We all need to practice it daily. The Golden Rule--"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"--is found in most societies and religions. Most parents find this rule essential for raising children to be compassionate and generous. The best way to teach the Golden Rule is to follow it yourself. Here are some great tips. Step 1 Read aloud Matthew 7:1 or a similar text from another religious tradition Step 2 Explain what the verse means by giving examples. "If you don't like it when someone takes away your toy, should you take away someone else's toy?" Step 3 Draw a … [Read more...]

  Only You No one on Earth Exists quite like you And no one is able To do what you do The person you are The talents you bear Gifts that only You can share Only you have learned From the things you've done Gaining perspective From the battles you've won Times when you've lost Have been priceless too The lessons contribute To what makes you you The rest of the world Can't see through your eyes Which is why your insight Is such a prize Because you are you There are lives you affect Much more than you Would ever expect The things you do The things you say Send ripples throughout The Milky Way You're unique, amazing Like no one else You have the exclusive On being … [Read more...]

Prepare kids for summer break while they are still in school, but if you didn’t quite get to it, you can discuss it now with your children. Read books about summer vacation, summer breaks and summer itself. There are many books on these subjects and you can talk about things you can do before they return to school in September. … [Read more...]

Today’s “KIDZ-LIT” KOOKIE is all about Bad Temper, a Bite-Size lesson in the consequences of behaving badly. There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. … [Read more...]

BITE-SIZE Lessons in Literacy will be a constant on our site. These Little Lessons, are little chunks of knowledge to help build Literacy skills, build on good character, expand communication skills, and strengthen social skills. Little Lessons in Literacy - building blocks to help your child develop all the good habits and  “knowledge nugget kits” in each lesson. Bite-size Knowledge Nugget : MANNERS Manners, Manners, Where have they gone?  The lack of manners and courtesy in children is becoming a worldwide problem and as parents, we are failing to teach our kids the basic rules of etiquette which came as second nature to our grandparents, such as greeting an adult who visited the family … [Read more...]