Elementary Articles

[Note: This post is from a monthly parenting column I wrote in 2007 for my kids’ elementary school newsletter. I discovered it recently while cleaning out end-of-school clutter. (Yes, apparently [...]

Initiative is a myth, and I can prove it. Think back to your childhood. Did you do basic household chores without being asked? I’m sure you did because everyone knows today’s moms are perfect in [...]

  We know Easter isn't about the bunnies, eggs, pastels, and chocolate. (Well, maybe its' a little bit about the chocolate...We see you sneaking some out of your kid's basket, along with [...]

Well, it’s happening again. Almost two years ago my family moved from Colorado to Berlin, Germany when my husband accepted a teaching position at a German-American school. At the time I remember [...]

  I recently found out that my daughter's dentist has a child of her own who's had multiple cavities. I actually did a little dance in my head when I heard that. (I really had some sweet [...]

  "I'm bored." No, not me. My kid. That's what he told me. He's bored. Keep in mind that his room is filled with a decent supply of toys. He's also stocked with an amazing collection of [...]

There's a family in my neighborhood that constantly plays together in the street. It's a beautiful thing. I honestly have no idea how they pull it off in their schedules. If I was completely [...]

The homes we spent time in as a kid had a particular feel to them. Maybe it was the way the backyard sounded at night, along with how your grandparent's house smelled during the day. Maybe your [...]

My feet bounced under my chair, my mind raced, and my jaw hurt from chewing my lip. I was nervous and anxious waiting for test results...but not my own. The results were from a test my son, [...]

I didn’t own a car until I was 24 years old. When I finally got one, I thought I was pretty cool because it was a used ’87 Pulsar sports car with T-tops.  (I think I paid $3,000 for it.)  Then I [...]

I'd like to think that tee-ball started off as a good idea. In reality, tee-ball is a one-hour exercise in paying attention. I'll get to that in a moment. But let's first put ourselves into the [...]

Last year I started a project. Wanting to know more about faith (specifically why a relationship with God is important in today’s world), I interviewed a lot of interesting people from all over [...]