Gina Ogden

help your children to enjoy reading

Help Your Children to Enjoy Reading

By / 4 minutes of reading

Our kids’ reading level and enjoyment of reading can be a hot button topic. And there could never be an article that could answer every individual situation. While some of our kids will be natural readers, others will show less interest, and others will struggle. Your child may end up anywhere on this spectrum. Even so, there are some basics to getting our kids started in reading. There are some ways to encourage a love of reading despite the level of ability. You can help your children to enjoy reading. Be an example The starting point for most parenting dilemmas …

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do one craft a week

Could We Do One Craft a Week with Our Kids?

By / 3 minutes of reading

It can be hard to keep little ones busy. There are only so many things to do, and quite often we turn around and start the same activities over again or give up and turn to a screen. When my people were little, I think we took at least three walks a day because I was tired of playing with them, they were tired of playing with their toys, and I couldn’t think of anything else I could deal with doing. In the struggle to keep our little kids busy, content, and learning, crafts and creativity can be a good …

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teach our kids some responsibility

How to Teach Our Kids Some Responsibility

By / 6 minutes of reading

We all hope to have kids who are caring and responsible. It seems like some of our kids are born with some kind of responsibility gene, while most people have to learn to be responsible. And teaching responsibility can feel like a big battle for parents. Even though these kinds of parenting jobs do feel like battles, it’s pretty important that we take on this fight. Responsible kids can take part in caring for their homes. And this takes some pressure off for us parents. When our kids are responsible, they tend to make better decisions. And now that it’s …

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helping our overtired kids

Helping our Overtired Kids During the Summer

By / 5 minutes of reading

Summer is the season for late nights and national celebrations. It’s a season for fun and a less rigid routine. Even if you’re not participating in late night activities, you’re likely to hear loud voices or music nearby. And in the upcoming weeks, you’re likely to hear the explosions of fireworks going off around your home. With all of these variations and disruptions, your kids are probably getting less sleep. And it probably shows in their behavior the following days. So how can we enjoy summer activities and celebrations with our families while we have overtired kids? Here are a …

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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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National Superhero Day

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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look up at the sky

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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