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Most favorite gift of our 9 year old birthday boy:
When our youngest read about this game in his Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine, he was immediately sold. After playing the game with him, so was I. This boy loves football and this game brings the different components right to your fingertips. Now, while I am not a huge fan of 'football', I did find the board game entertaining. You need just enough strategy and just enough luck to score the touchdown.
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Remember a world without sticky-notes. Me neither. Since hitting the store shelves these gems have been a regular staple found at my office desk. They've also been known to be found in my car, my bag, and even my coat pocket. A chronic list maker - these slips of paper record my thoughts and help me keep track of the 101 things-to-do on the list-of-mom.
tap and a swipe, I keep track of those little errands and tasks that use to be written on sticky notes. I can postpone items, sort items by topic (work/home), and sync/locate/activate several other features that I haven't even explored yet.
Basically, it's the new sticky-note: without the paper usage and in your pocket at all times. Maybe my phone really is smart after all. While often I hear mothers jokingly refer to themselves as taxi drivers (shuttling children between school, piano, sports, and play dates), I don't often hear them talk about the trials and tribulations of grocery shopping. But wait... I can't be the only mom who has to restock the refrigerator shelves on a never-ending basis. How do you do it? I do love to eat, so grocery shopping isn't a bad gig. However, I have been know to complain that the payoff of this chore can be less than rewarding. To break it down clearly, this is what happens to all the food I buy each week: 
You see... my husband has a mind-boggling metabolism that causes him to burn 3x the amount of calories (when he's standing-still) as the average person does (while running a marathon); my eleven year-old and I shared the same shoes size (for about two weeks in December), but now he's growing at an alarming rate; and my nine year-old appears small for his age, but eats broccoli and edamame like they are candy bars served on Halloween night. That leaves a very small percentage of the food that I plan, purchase, and prepare each week for my very own consumption. Thus, another trip to the grocery store to restock our shelves and I better get a scoop of ice cream that first night or it'll be gone before I have a chance to enjoy it.
best part of this app is the ability to share the grocery list with other members of the household. That means... my husband and I can work off the same list. (He adds 'Coconut Milk' and it shows up on my phone. I mark off 'Water bottle' and it deletes from his phone.) The app also lets us share multiple lists, so we've added 'Grocery', 'Hardware', 'Sports', and even 'Library'. Now, when we are out and about, we don't have to worry about forgetting the list. The list is with us (on our phones- updated) at all times.
It took me a while to get used to carrying my phone in-hand while traveling up and down the grocery aisle, but I like the ability to organize the list by aisle and mark things off my list as I go. Now, I just need need to find the setting that will remind me to eat a few raspberries -- before the boys devour them all as an after school snack. My third grade son and I have been learning to play the recorder this winter. I wanted him to learn a bit more about music, but without adding another appointment/lesson to our family schedule/budget and so turned to the activity that was part of my own elementary school days. A quick trip to the Willamette Valley Music Company and we were up and running for under $10. We purchased a small plastic recorder and a beginning music book.
Just spending 20 minutes, two or three days a week, has been a nice opportunity to tackle this project together. Our boy picked up reading the music notes quickly and has shown quite a bit of curiosity in what is ahead. Here are two of the first songs he has mastered. Little by little, we are learning together.
At the start of this school year, we gave a cell phone to our oldest son. I wasn't sure how this step into big-kid territory would go, but I now feel like it was one of our smartest middle-school moves. Admittedly, we are just dipping our toes into the pool here, but I believe smooth and steady entry into the world of 'teens with cellphone' is the best way to proceed. The phone we gave him was a hand-me-down. As his older cousins have 'upgraded,' they have generously passed on the hardware. The phone, when hooked to a Page Plus Prepaid account, allowed an easy and incredibly inexpensive entry into the world of cellphone use. 
Page plus uses Verizon phones on the Verizon network, but at an amazing no contract price. We've purchased the pay-as-you-go plan of 100 minutes for just $10. Minutes stay activated for a 120 day period. All activation/payment is done through the web from the comfort of your own home and customer service 'live chat' is fast and easy. We've been thrilled with the quality of the plan - six months in and we haven't had any problems.
Of course, knowing me, you realize the privilege of a cell phone also came to my son with a list of specific responsibilities. Following the lead of many other moms on the web, I drafted a unique contract with my son that met our needs. Any 'air-time' over the basic minimum is his responsibility, which means he has been very, very careful about giving his number to friends. With every text from (or to) him costing him half a minute of 'airtime,' he has selected just one friend to share his number. In fact, the only time he has really used his phone is to call me about a canceled basketball game or a change in pick-up/drop-off schedule. I, on the other hand, have used the text message function to send a variety of messages to him: - "Your report card came and I'm so proud." - "Tough game today. Sorry about the loss. You do a great job of hustling on the court. Your dribbling skills are getting better too!" - "Dad and I sure love you." My sweet boy no longer fits on my lap and is too old for butterfly kisses, but he deserves to be reminded of my love. I'm thinking that love note texts are the 2.0 of lunch box notes, right? This Kid Chaser will do whatever is needed to keep the lines of communication open for a long, long time.
Easy and inexpensive, this quick craft made impressive decorations and can be sized for windows, trees, or door decorations. Proud of his discovery, my son prepped all the materials (paper, scissors, tape, stapler) in our front room, and gave everyone in the family a tutorial. He was a great teacher! Now looking around town, I see we are not the only family who likes this craft. Do you want to join the fun? Here's a Youtube video by kongo204 with all the details: Don't let this post's title fool you... our family entry to middle school has been amazingly smooth. Our oldest son has been navigating 6th grade like a pro. He enjoys most of his classes, makes the best of the rare class he dislikes, and has embraced new responsibility with an eagerness that makes me smile on a daily basis. This year, one new addition to our home is a series of whiteboards that serve as family calendar and to-do-list. Every family member has been assigned a different color and, although I write the main events on the calendar each month, each person adds their own info. as needed. 
The calendar serves as a reminder of upcoming events. My oldest monitors it regularly so that he knows which nights he can work on homework and which nights are filled with family events (meaning he'll need to complete his work in study hall instead).
I also write chores for the boys on their personal whiteboards, and they can expect a "Is your white board clear?" in response to any request to play the Wii. Our youngest tries to complete the chores as soon as they are listed - so there is no delay to screen-time when he's ready. Our oldest occasionally writes other duties on the board as a way of remembering school/club tasks he needs to complete. And... the boys have been known to write "Play soccer with your kids after dinner" on the parent white board. This system takes little work to maintain and has kept me from nagging the boys about chores. Hopefully too, it is the first step in transition the boys to independently managing their own calendar/schedule. Eventually they'll have busy lives and homes of their own. I'll have to add to their lists -- "Call your mother." Thanks to The Busy Budgeting Mama for this one-of-a-kind crock pot meal. I recently bought a large pork shoulder and divided it into two freezer bags for make-ahead meals using the recipe below. Then, pulled from the freezer at a later date, one bag provided an easy and delicious meal for my family-of-four on one of those I-just-don't-have- time-to-cook crazy days.
At the end of the summer, Neighbor Toni gathered all the gang for a tie-dye party. Now, we all now look as stylish as can be in our fresh, bright, tie-dye creations. Here's the gist of this fun project:
My oldest son spent a bit of time this summer reviewing a few math concepts that he'll need to know for the coming school year. His teachers generously lent us the math book, but I found the books filled with more 'practice problems' than actual explanations and so turned to the web for more resources. Jackpot! 
Designed by classroom teachers for grades 3 through 12, this fabulous resources offers video tutorials for both Math and Language Arts. The easy to understand videos (which follow a predictable pattern) offered great instruction in the area of probability. I'm eager to explore the other areas as well.
Free of charge and 'deep' with videos, guided practice, and coach commentary, this video jackpot is a well organized and helpful resource for summer practice AND school year learning for students, parents and classroom teachers! |
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