Gina Ogden

what labor day is

Do Your Kids Know What Labor Day Is?

For many of us, Labor Day is the official mark of the end of summer. We get the day off, we gather with family and friends, and we celebrate. But do we know what we are celebrating? When my kids were tiny, and they asked me what Labor Day is, I had to stop and think. “Um, I think it’s about working…which is weird because we’re not working, but um…” So as we head into this Labor Day Weekend, let’s be prepared to explain what Labor Day is. Labor Day goes way back to the Industrial Revolution, when the terrible …

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stay positive when things go wrong

Learning to Stay Positive When Things Go Wrong

We all wish that our days would go smoothly and according to plan. When things go wrong, we can get quite frustrated, and why wouldn’t we? It’s really difficult to deal with sudden changes to plans, unexpected illnesses, or life-changing events. Our problems may be at the epic level or they may be at the everyday level. Either way, our problems can bring us down. And while that’s fully understandable, we will all make it through our rough times better if we learn to stay positive when things go wrong. This may sound idealist or impossible, but we aren’t talking …

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bad poetry day

National Bad Poetry Day Is For All of Us

Poetry is held up as a special literary style, a skill that doesn’t come easily to many of us. We admire the brilliance of those who can not only rhyme the ends of their lines, but also keep a consistent rhythm throughout the entire piece. At the same time, poetry can be a little beyond our interests too. But on National Bad Poetry Day (August 18), we are all invited to create our own rhymes, or not, as we make up all the bad poetry that we can come up with. Our kids will have a blast with this one. …

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National Tell a Joke Day

National Tell a Joke Day is Coming Up!

There are so many fun national days to celebrate with our kids, and this one is no exception. August 16 is officially National Tell a Joke Day. Kids love jokes. No matter what age they are, our kids will jump right in when we start telling jokes. And we adults laugh and laugh, even if it’s fake, when we hear the age old jokes we told as children. So on this National Tell a Joke Day, let’s think of some fun jokes to share with our kids. And let’s enjoy laughing together as a family. Laughter has a lot of …

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make special times even when life is busy

Make Special Times Even When Life Is Busy

We all know that quality time with our loved ones is important. But in the reality of everyday life, do you find yourself without a chance to connect with your family or friends? And there are other quality times that we find ourselves needing. Parents who stay home with little ones can feel that they have plenty of quality time with their babies, but could use some good time alone or with a spouse or friends. In our busy lives, how do we connect with our kids in special ways? There are so many demands for our time. And so …

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learn about compassion for animals

Learn about Compassion for Animals

Have You Heard of Dogust 1st? The first day of August, which is right around the corner, is also known as Dogust 1st. When a dog ends up in a shelter, the staff often don’t have a way to know its age and official birth date. So August 1 has become the day to celebrate birthdays for shelter dogs. Shelters all over America celebrate their sweet pups on this day. And it would be a great day to visit a shelter, take part in an event, or have your own activity at home to learn about compassion for animals. The …

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help your children to enjoy reading

Help Your Children to Enjoy 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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ways to make coloring more exciting

Could We Do One Craft a Week with Our Kids?

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

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

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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