Teaching Values: Integrity and Lies

Integrity is a difficult concept to teach preschool and school-aged children. There are so many components to it, but this week we decided to make it a general sweeping statement: "Doing the right thing even when no one is watching." We addressed this idea by reading and discussing lying. My kids usually lie when they've…

Clearing a Path to Penny

It's hard to see in this photo because it's overgrown, but there is a narrow slate path leading away from the driveway that needed to be cleared. I'm pretty sure this path was one of the reasons we kept getting deer ticks on our legs. And it's a path we use every day, because through…

Sealing Floor Vents for HVAC Efficiency

Luke and I have been trying to make our house more efficient to both save money and the environment. We don't have tons of extra money for upgrades right now, so we've been doing our best to make do with what we have. Two cheap things we did this last month was clean the floor…

Garden Clean-Up, Step 1: Weed Wacking

Really exciting stuff happened here over the weekend on the outdoors front! We have a "garden" that has been eclipsed by weeds. The door's hinges detached, and it's hanging by a zip tie. It's in a great, sunny location and fits in with the ideal that I will be a successful gardener some day. My…

Artful Meditation

As I'm constantly looking for ways to improve my parenting, I admit I head to the Parenting section of the library and check stuff out on the regular. This week we grabbed A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hanh. I think you can see what directions I'm aiming for with…

Racing Windy Vehicles

We got a science experiment kit as a birthday gift earlier this year. It inspired me to come up with this activity for them. It combines force (wind), friction (car wheels) and racing (fun). 1. Have each kid pick a car/truck/tank/anything with wheels (plastic ones worked best; metal ones were a little too heavy). 2.…

Living Room Upgrade: We Got a Rug!!

We got a rug for the living room this week! This room has been a humble-brag struggle, since it honestly has too many awesome features. A giant fireplace, a giant window, and one day- a TV. Three different sides of the room that all some how should be the focus. For months, I've been measuring…

Transplanting Liriope

We had an abundance of liriope taking over the walkway to the door. I wanted to clean it up since the walkway felt narrow and almost claustrophobic. I don't really like feeling plants on my legs as I walk into the house. Here's what we were dealing with: Liriope is easy to pull up. I…

Organizing Kids’ Art Supplies

Today we organized the kids' art supplies. By "we," I mean, I showed the kids how everything has been put away now, and strongly encouraged them to follow suit when they're done coloring/drawing/writing... We have TONS of supplies - coloring books, writing pads, construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, colored pencils, etc etc. I want the…

Leaf Rubs

It's summer! And it is HOT. The kids are home all day, we are not allowed to go anywhere due to COVID, and we're constantly searching for ways to keep ourselves entertained. We have plenty of plantlife around, so I decided to take advantage by exploring and tying it in with some art. Enzo (8)…