Foundations

People’s lives often turn out as a function of their foundations.  Children raised in secure, supportive, loving environments have a strong foundation that encourages them to grow, learn, explore, and develop.  If someone comes from a home filled with criticism,...

Things I learned while playing Word Games and Sudoku

Every day, I wake up sometime between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. I pour myself a cup of coffee and play Wordle before heading to the AARP website for Wordsearch, Sudoku, and a series of Learn and Earn videos before...

Filler Phrases: The Bane of Eloquent Speech

Everyone has heard them, and most people use them. They are meaningless words and phrases inserted repeatedly into conversations and lectures that can result in group acceptance and prejudicial stereotyping. They are the "but," "um," "like," and "y'know," that act...

Someone else’s hands

My hands are very familiar to me. I use them all the time. I see them everywhere I go. And I take them for granted sometimes. Their shape, size, and color is probably the most familiar thing in my world....

Discipline mistakes and how to avoid them

Disciplining a child can help them grow up to become responsible, conscientious, and happy adults, or it can create a myriad of behavior problems, social maladjustment, and even mental health issues. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for raising children....

Too Many Carrots

New features, new bells, new whistles. Many of us find ourselves struggling to keep up, to understand, to sort out all the options modern life offers. In many cases, I feel as though we are being offered so many carrots...

Without a journal

As a writer, being without a journal feels crippling. It’s amazing what a few minutes with pencil and paper can do for your sense of order and accomplishment. I am a list-maker. Yes, that means I have added tasks to...

Tips for teaching the alphabet to preschoolers

Teaching the alphabet to preschoolers can be a lot of fun. Preschool-aged children love games, songs, and rhymes. Their natural playfulness is the best tool for encouraging the practice needed to master these skills.  Teaching the alphabet to a preschooler...

Tips for teaching phonics to kids

Young children are able to learn a language far more easily than adults. From birth to 10 years of age, children are highly receptive to letter and word sounds, as well as sentence structure, grammar and syntax. As they get...