Category: Kids

Choosing The Right Fit For School

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

I recently read a story on Facebook about a mom who took her son shoe shopping. Her son had a club foot and this caused a big difference in shoe size between the left and the right foot. After shopping for a bit he finally found a pair of shoes he loved. However this meant that mom was going to need to buy two pairs of shoes in order for her son to have the most comfortable fit for each foot. One big size and one little size because he wouldn’t be able to wear the little shoe on his club foot as it would just be too tight and the likewise the big shoe wouldn’t fit correctly on his smaller foot. The manager realized the dilemma and he purchased one pair of shoes for the child. How great was this experience for this child? I bet he won’t forget this for a lifetime.

I just finished up one of the books I got from our first trip to the library.  This book is by an author that I already have on my bookshelf at home and I was in love when the book started out with the comparison of schools to shoes. It is so very true… schools are like shoes in that there is not a ‘one size fits all’. I mean when we are shoe shopping we try on various different kinds of shoes, if you are like William you may try on every pair in the store, before finding the right shoe. I know I’ve found shoes I really like but they weren’t the right color or they didn’t have them in my size. Most of us will ultimately decide on the most comfortable fitting shoe because we can’t change our feet.

So why do we insist on sending our kids to school when something obviously isn’t fitting right? My kids have been through all of the stages of public school. They usually start out excited and they like to go to school to learn new things. Then somewhere along the line they lose that enthusiasm. They start complaining of tummy aches or other ailments. They go from making A’s and B’s to bringing home mostly D’s and F’s. What happened?

**If you would like the name of the book with my affiliate links then please scroll to the bottom of the post. Continue reading “Choosing The Right Fit For School” →

Family Fun Day: Books, Elvis, Ice Cream, and Another Huge UPS Delivery

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

**This post does contain some affiliate links which help to support our blog.

Oh what a day we’ve had. The kids thought it was gonna be just another boring day but it actually turned out to be quite interesting.

The morning started as it normally does with the exception that we had a cereal day instead of muffins… I just wasn’t in a muffin kinda mood this morning. Nobody complained either. Before breakfast the kids had done a little bit of their summer work books that I’ve printed off for them.

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After breakfast we had some calendar time… do you like our new calendar we got from Lakeshore Learning? This picture was from the weekend. It is quite a bit bigger than our old one and I had a hard time finding a good place to put it. So for now it is in our ‘hallway’ and I put up some new remote control lights to help us see better. These are really neat and I had enough to put one in the closet as well.

After the chores, which included changing/washing the sheets and washing the whites, I had everyone load up in the van. Well first a couple of them had to change clothes because they had already gotten dirty. We also had to brush hair, wash faces, and go potty. Eventually we made it to the van and I had them asking so many questions about where we were going…. but I wanted to keep it a secret. Continue reading “Family Fun Day: Books, Elvis, Ice Cream, and Another Huge UPS Delivery” →

A Pocket Full of Pennies

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If you are close to me then you might hear me jingle when I walk. You might also wonder why or how I’ve come to have a pocketful of pennies. Well if you were one of my kiddos there is a good chance that that jingle means that I’ve caught them being good.

As part of my newest positive parenting technique I’ve decided to start carrying around a pocketful of pennies. Every time I catch my kids doing something good I’ll give them a penny. My kids love money as do most kids and this is a fun way for them to earn a little bit to put in their piggy banks.

Some examples of catching them ‘being good’ would be if big sister is helping little brother put on his shoes without being asked. Maybe little brother found some stickers stuck to floor and he is working on scraping them up without being told. Also I’ve caught them taking care of their chores without being reminded.

Also we have been working a lot on making ‘good choices’. I have one child, in particular, who is extremely impulsive and will make some really ‘bad choices’ on a daily basis. When I see that the kids are making good choices when it comes to something we’ve been working on I may be able to catch them in the act and reward them with a penny or a hug. They love this extra bit of attention and the fact that their piggies are getting quite fat.

Now sometimes they just get a big hug or some kind of ‘atta boy’ in exchange for the deed. I don’t want them to think that they will always be rewarded monetarily for every good behavior that they display. I just want to try to focus more on the good than the bad as sometimes we can get stuck in a parenting rut where it feel like we are just spinning tires and going nowhere.

Please note that I am not an expert in the field of parenting but I do have a little bit of experience in the area.This method of rewarding good behavior seems to be working, for now. I am hoping that this will help to encourage them to demonstrate kindness to one another on a regular basis and learn that being responsible can and will pay off.

 

Weekend Wrap Up: June 9, 2018

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**This post does contain some affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made through the link. These help to support our blog.

So this week has been really good. We’ve made a lot of progress as far as finally getting the house organized and getting our routines simplified. I feel like I can finally breathe. It has never taken me so long to get unpacked and organized after a move before. Just a word of caution to anyone trying to downsize…. it’s probably gonna be a lot harder than what you think!

We have had quite an exciting week that has been packed full of all kinds of planned and unplanned surprises. Keep reading for a brief summary of what we’ve been up to. Continue reading “Weekend Wrap Up: June 9, 2018” →

10 Tips For Water Safety

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It’s officially summer! It’s hot and has been for the past couple of months here in Florida. This means many of us are seeking some cool comfort in the water. Our kids have been learning to swim this summer and they have had plenty of chances to practice our water safety guidelines.

We’ve also been out on the boats a couple of times which can be a bit scary with youngsters but we make sure they understand the rules, and the importance of following the rules, BEFORE they get in or near the water. With so many reports of dry drownings and accidental drownings I wanted to share some of our water safety tips.

  1. NEVER go near the water without an Adult’s permission!
  2. ALWAYS wear your life jacket!
  3. NEVER swim alone or unattended.
  4. ALWAYS get out of the water when you see lightning.
  5. NEVER roughhouse, push, or run around the water.
  6. ALWAYS call for help if you get scared.
  7. NEVER dive or jump in without checking with an adult.
  8. ALWAYS follow the adult’s instructions.
  9. NEVER use the water as a potty.
  10. ALWAYS practice good manners and common courtesy.

While we don’t have a pool we do live on a pond. I’d love to make a sign similar to this one to display our rules. If I do come up with something I’ll update this post. Also remember when choosing a life jacket that you get one specifically designed for your child’s weight. We like to use the ones with the ‘butt-strap’ as my kids call it. It helps to prevent them from slipping out. We like these here and here.

We always make sure to keep a close eye on the kids while swimming and an adult is always within arm’s reach of any child. I read somewhere where a doctor said that most of the drownings he had seen had happened because of a distracted adult! Many times at group gatherings drownings occur because everyone thinks that someone is watching the kids. I try to keep this from happening by making sure everyone knows that they are responsible for their child’s safety.

Have fun and be safe! Remember to wear your sunscreen and bug spray while outside too! Our favorites are the Mineral Sunscreen Spray from Honest and the Babyganics Insect Repellent from Grove Collaborative.

I also posted links to my favorite girl’s swimsuits in this post here, if you are interested.

**This post does contain affiliate links.