Some of my memorable and colorful photos have centered around children and pumpkins in the fall. 
Sometimes these involved Halloween costumes, perhaps midst colorful leaves.  Other times the photos simply consisted of my daughter, grandchildren or nieces with pumpkins they carved or have ready to decorate.
My nieces sold pumpkins from their garden for several years and had a mound of them near the road in front of their house.  My husband took  lovely photos of the girls midst their pumpkins.
I’ve included some of my pumpkin photos in the book I made, using scrapbooking techniques and my fall poetry.  Those of pumpkins and youngsters …read more

The kids are bickering again. Their voices are rising as they begin to realize the other sibling doesn’t seem to hear them. Before you know it, they’re screaming “Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” at the same time. Now they’re talking at the same time, in high decibel levels, right in front of your face.
It’s time to play referee.
With a kitchen timer.
Sit the two camps down. Grab your kitchen timer and set it for three minutes. Ask Kid Number One to air his side of the story within those three minutes. There should be no interruptions from others, just straight talk from whoever’s got the …read more

It’s getting tougher to get children to exercise with all the gadgets and gear that seem to be tying them more and more to the couch. Some video games may help sharpen mental skills. Some TV shows may help them learn different languages. There is a wide variety of entertainment from the couch that it’s getting harder to get kids out of the living room and into the playground.
How can you get kids to exercise more? Here are some tried-and-tested ideas gathered from friends and relatives who’ve successfully balanced couch potato time with lots of good exercise time with …read more

“I’m bored,” has become a comment I often hear from youngsters.  Unless they can play with something electronic, many kids nowadays feel they have nothing to do.
Being bored wasn’t something we admitted to when I was a child.  Mom or Dad would find more farm work and housework for bored children.  So we discovered all types of hobbies and creative play.
I’ve discovered, too, that bored children often grow up to be bored adults.  So why not encourage hobbies of many types for your children.  Become involved yourself and include your youngsters.  Introduce them to new activities.  These should include a …read more

 “He ended up in prison because he was conditioned for it from childhood,” a motivational speaker said, when talking about the importance of the words we say.  He explained that parents who tell their children they’re no good, they’re a failure, they’ll end up in jail, etc. are conditioning them for these goals.
 The words we say to our children and the way we say them have a great effect.  That’s not to say that we’re to ignore discipline and sugar coat everything.  But if youngsters hear repeated emphasis on their failures and where these will lead, they’re encouraged to plan …read more

Pets! Aren’t they wonderful. I’ve watched my own nieces and nephews with pets, and seen the bonding that can develop. Not only do children learn responsibility in having to look after and care for a pet, they also develop empathy for them, which transfers into many aspects of their everyday lives.
Empathy means you can relate to the animal, (or other person), and understand how things are for them. I think that adults who have enjoyed having pets as children, can often relate well to other people in many different situations.
So, what are good pets for children? Here are the …read more

How are your kids when storms hit town? Tonight we had the neatest lightening display, neat that is as long as you are an adult. As for the children, they didn’t find it so neat. In fact one replied, “Oh great, it’s War of the Worlds.” Yes, he was talking about the movie with Tom Cruise. You know the whole lightening scene where it is continuing to strike in one spot over and over? That’s the scene we had it was amazing.
But as with all storms, I have one that gets very scared. The baby, he’s only 2 and the …read more

When I wrote about grandparents parenting, one of my readers related the joys she’s experienced caring for a grandchild.
Janet shared:
I took care of my grandson from the time he was six months until he was 2 1/2 while his mom returned to work. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to bond with him and to watch him grow.
I watched him crawl for the first time and take his first steps and I helped to potty train him. I will remember these important firsts the same as I remember my own …read more

If a child is severely ill, the last thing you want is to have him or her become disconnected with school. Interacting with other kids can not only help them laugh and feel “more normal,” but it can also speed up their recovery time. A report from CNN says it can also transport home bound kids to the classroom in some cases. All they have to do is log on, and they can see and hear their regular class, their fellow students, and the teacher.

I think this is a great way for kids to stay connected. …read more

Watching the birds around our home or on walks through the neighborhood has fascinated me since I was a child.  My mom, as a parent who called her children’s attention to the birds around the yard of our farmhouse and the meadows where the cows grazed, encouraged my interest in watching these feathered friends.
I’ve tried to pass this interest along to my daughter and grandchildren. I’ve sketched and painted birds, researched them, written poems and stories about them, and watched them build nests around our yard.  For the past couple of years, my grandchildren have enjoyed watching a pair of nuthatches …read more