Gina Ogden

fun on rainy summer days

3 Ideas for Fun on Rainy Summer Days

By / 3 minutes of reading

We picture summer as a sunny and hot time of year. Our kids spend a lot more time outside, and they get in lots of active play. So a rainy day or several rainy days can bring all of this activity to a halt. In this case, we parents are likely to hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” complaint. So without the standard summer activities available, we need a few backup ideas to help our kids with indoor summer activities. Let’s look at 3 ideas for fun on rainy summer days. Build an Obstacle Course Challenge your kids to build an …

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communicate with your kids in a positive way

How to Communicate with Your Kids in a Positive Way

By / 5 minutes of reading

Summer vacation is a wonderful time for kids, but sometimes we parents have a harder time with it. The routines that come with school days or preschool are gone. Often, parents have to come up with things to do. Parents have to lead in getting responsibilities accomplished and in finding fun activities for each day. In all of the additional chaos of summer vacation, we can become less patient and maybe a little more grumpy. It’s easy for any parent to fall into this. So when we are swimming in chaos and so many expectations, it’s good to have some …

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Kids' Mental Health in Hard Times

Think About Kids’ Mental Health in Hard Times

By / 4 minutes of reading

The news is hard to hear this week. It’s been difficult for quite a while now. Each time life is taken so senselessly, it’s another collective punch in the gut. And since it is in the news and it is being talked about, it’s something that we will probably have to talk to our kids about. It’s interesting that these hard events have come during May, a month of focusing on mental health. Certainly such acts of violence against the innocent leave us in a state of trauma. The families affected are going through so much more. So how do …

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National Inventors Month

National Inventors Month Helps Kids to Dream Big

By / 3 minutes of reading

National Inventors Month is for recognizing the people who have changed the world with their inventions. Where would we be without inventors? Every day, we each use several things that someone invented. And it took courage to come up with an idea, design and test it, and then release it to the public. We can appreciate the individuals who came up with these wonderful inventions throughout history, and we can celebrate our own kids’ ideas and efforts to invent too. Do you have little inventors in your home or in your classroom? I know a little boy who always has …

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Keep our Kids’ Brains Healthy and Strong

Ways to Learn and Grow on National Superhero Day

By / 3 minutes of reading

Are your kids into superheroes? They have plenty to choose from, especially with the focus on superhero movies over the last several years. Because of this, many superheroes are now more well known outside of the comic book community than they were before. And we’ve been able to see a wider variety of superheroes, showing us that any of us can rise to our challenges and change the world around us. So how fun that there is a National Superhero Day to celebrate with our kids! Where did it come from? National Superhero Day was started by Marvel Comics in …

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Help Our Kids Expect Success

Look Up at the Sky with Your Kids Today

By / 4 minutes of reading

Today is National Look Up at the Sky Day! What does that mean? Well, it’s a day to take a moment to stop and look up. Instead of moving forward with the rush of our lives, we can take time to notice the sky, no matter what time of day it is, and appreciate everything about that moment. There has been a heightened emphasis on awareness in the last few years. So today, let’s take a moment to look up at the sky. The History The history of National Look Up at the Sky Day isn’t very clear. But it …

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learning about farm animals

It’s a Great Time for Learning about Farm Animals

By / 3 minutes of reading

Little ones love to learn about farm animals. And we parents love to teach them about farm animals. We often ask our kids things like, “What does a cow say?” When we talk about any specific animal, our little ones will burst out with the sound that animal makes. So as we approach National Farm Animals Day on April 10, let’s look at ways to have even more fun learning about farm animals with our kids. Picture Books  There are so many resources available for learning about farm animals. This is a good time to take a trip to your …

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march into literacy

Adding a Little More Poetry to Our Lives

By / 5 minutes of reading

We can tend to think of poetry as being outside of our normal interests. And we can assume that poetry is boring or inaccessible, especially for children. But with April being National Poetry Month, it’s a good time to evaluate these assumptions about poetry and its place in our reading repertoire. And kids can especially enjoy and benefit from poetry. So during this National Poetry Month, let’s consider adding a little more poetry to our lives. Poetry is for kids too The rhyming nature of poetry can appeal to children in the same way as a well rhythmed song. And …

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Celebrate Hooray for Kids Day

Make Up Your Own Holiday Together

By / 4 minutes of reading

The calendar is full of all kinds of holidays, with a reason to celebrate for almost every day of the year. It’s fun to insert these fun days into our schedules, to stop for donuts because it’s a donut day, or to hunt for phone booths or fun landmarks. But on March 26, we will have a different kind of holiday. It will be Make Up Your Own Holiday Day! The possibilities are endless with this special day. It’s a great chance to get creative or to go back and celebrate one of your favorites.  Creativity day If your children …

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Explore Spring and Nature

Celebrate Light When the World is Dark

By / 3 minutes of reading

Spring is right in front of us, and it inspires us to celebrate. But sometimes it feels like celebration isn’t appropriate when there is so much hurt going on in our world. People are fragile right now. Many of us are still waiting for the cold of winter to pass, even with the calendar telling us it’s almost spring. And yet, it really is almost spring! And even with the difficulties and injustices in our world, we can celebrate. In fact, it’s really important to celebrate light when the world is dark. It really is fun to celebrate the beginning …

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