I still have the blanket that my brother gave me when I graduated high school and the rolling cart for my classroom my mom got me when I finished my undergrad. They were practical graduation gifts that have gotten years of use. Looking at the current needs of kids and young adults, there are some…
It was 3:30am on April 5, 2015. The fire alarm in our hotel room was BLARING to the point I thought I might go temporarily deaf. We had just moved across the country with a our 2-year-old and 3-month-old and were only 2 days into this new life adventure. Living on very little sleep and…
Sometime in 2017, our family started rapidly accumulating games. In fact, I may have declared that all toys should be banished from our house in favor of games (despite having a 1,3, and 5 year old). And family game night became almost a daily occurrence. Even simple games like Sleeping Queens could be complete in…
This isn’t a political post. In fact, I will never tell you how I feel about guns or the 2nd Amendment. But this is about our kids. It’s about their need to stand up, be heard, and make change as they see necessary and to be better citizens. In high school, I remember both witnessing…
Sitting on the sofa one evening my husband picked up his phone and started scrolling. A mere thirty seconds later he started smiling and laughing. “It’s a great time to be alive, Kara, a great time to be alive. I have an image in my head from when I was a kid and I just searched…
As a teen I sat through an 8 hour class a couple times one month to get CPR training, understand how to Heimlich Maneuver was performed, and to get basic understanding on how to handle emergencies as a babysitter. In fact, the kids I cared for regularly knew that I had my own bag that…
“How much do babysitters cost these days?” My husband asked when we were about to go on our first date after my oldest was born. “I don’t know. I was paid $20 an hour, but that was for 2 kids. So…” I trailed off. My husband’s boss had a teenage daughter that came over later…
The day before the last day in first semester, my kindergartener’s backpack was literally dripping as she walked to the car. And then I found an old lunch box I didn’t even remember her having… of course with furry friends growing inside of it. Gag. Kids can be really gross, disorganized, and in their own…
When we send our children to school each day, we put them in the hands of so many loving and caring teachers and staff. They protect them, keep them safe, and are completely responsible for them as if each kid was their own child. But beyond classroom teachers there is a whole crew of other…
I was a teen nanny and babysitter in high school. In fact, I started watching kids as young as 2 when I was just 11 years old. I am pretty sure I would have never let a pre-teen watch my own children that young; nonetheless, it’s something I did in the summer, on weeknights, and…
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and school staff gift ideas are mine alone. #GiveColorfully #CollectiveBias I grew up in a house of teachers. Each Christmas my parents would bring home a few odds and ends like ornaments or coffee cups with cocoa mixes in them. As…
This year I have spent all twelve months stocking our family’s entryway closet with board games and activities. In fact, we have more board games for kindergarteners in our house than we have broken crayons and spare socks combined… and that’s a lot. Too many days in the past our family was looking for a…