Andrea Patten

Virtual Summer Job?

Jan 152013
 

Have you made your summer plans yet?  Whether you are fortunate enough to be planning a family trip or trying to put together a decent child care plan, the school year is coming to an end and ‘what to do about summer’ has probably been part of your recent thinking.

While babysitting and gardening are still options for a lot of kids, technology has certainly opened up some additional possibilities.  Seriously… so many of us joke about how much more intuitively middle and high school students are able to organize our laptops or set up a quick website.   Why not let them?

Let them help you make a list of some of those aggravating “to dos” that are cluttering up your office or your hard drive….  whether it’s labeling and uploading digital photos you’d like to share ,scanning documents,  re-tagging blog posts for better SEO or setting up a FaceBook page for your business, the best person for the job may be closer than you think.

What other digital chores would you like to get some help with?  What do your kids have to offer?  You may even want to help them share those skills with family and friends.  What do you think?

How Are Those New Year’s Resolutions Holding Up?

Jan 152013
 

If it takes twenty-one days to develop a new habit… then it’s probably time to give those New Year’s plans a little ‘push.’

While I tend to favor adding small changes throughout the entire year, I also enjoy the boost I get from knowing there are lots of other people trying to improve at the same time.

If parental example is our children’s strongest teacher, what does your experience with change (in the form of New Year’s Resolutions) teach your kids? Are you teaching them to take a ‘crash diet and quit’ approach to change? Or, are you providing them an example of consistency and self-discipline that will help them learn to change? Or some sort of ‘tortoise-and-hare-jumpstart-on-the-way-to-new-habits’ combo, perhaps? When implementing change, consistency counts.

Even activities that may not be daily can still follow consistent patterns. Take a look at the patterns and rhythms of life in your family. What routines do you have for things like homework, spiritual practice, independent reading, recreation or family meals? How about for saving money, grocery shopping or vacation planning?

Talking with your kids about the manner in which small, daily choices can add up can help them understand that there is a great deal of the future that is totally under their control.

Showing them is irrefutable.

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Want help developing healthy new habits with your kids? Be sure to check out our new Parenting Toolkit with lots of ways to build skills with your kids.

To my neighbors, Thank you (via Kindergarten Bullies)

Jan 152013
 

Sometimes I run out of ideas…. sometimes I’m lazy…. but sometimes the others whose blogs I follow have much more to say than I do. Thanks, Beth.

To my neighbors, Thank you Our neighbors are amazing. They are a diverse group of people, conservative and liberal, religious and not, married and single, parents and grandparents,  older and younger. We don't always agree, we have different opinions, we care about different things.  Some have several children, some have one child, some have none.  There are little children and older children, pets and no pets, cats and dogs.  We all look out for each other, we all care ab … Read More

via Kindergarten Bullies

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