Being a “Book First” Family
One of the best decisions we made as young parents was to be a “book first” family, which simply means we read the book before we watch the movie.
We discovered early on that this had a number of benefits, and I believe this standard has heavily shaped our now young adult children in some pretty profound ways.
Imagination
When kids read first, their own mind's eye pictures the scene and the characters, and the sky is the limit in regard to their own imagination....
How a Hygge Lifestyle Can Encourage Reading
Hygge (hue-gah), the Danish lifestyle concept that emphasizes finding contentment and coziness in simple, everyday moments, has become a major trend on social media, and I am here for the hygge! As a burnt out, recovering Type A personality, hygge is my preferred speed.
But here's the thing about turning hygge into a curated aesthetic... it completely misses the point.
Real hygge isn't a TikTok aesthetic or Pinterest board compilation. It's not about...
As someone who loves reading biographies and autobiographies about interesting people throughout history, especially about my favorite writers, I love keeping a commonplace book where I record these inspiring quotes and can refer back to them.
I also keep a daily 2-line journal that has 5 years of space and a quote each day from Jane Austen. On days when I only have time to jot a quick sentence or two down, it's there for me by my bedside. And on days when I don't even have the energy for...
Your kids are watching you all the time. They are learning how to live, act, react, handle emotions, schedule their time, determine what's important to them by watching you. And they notice everything. Everything. They notice things about us that we don't even know we are doing and then they rat you out to the Sunday School teacher!
Researcher Sandra Cubillos (2023) found that when parents genuinely enjoy reading for themselves, whether that means curling up with a novel, flipping through a...
I shared in an earlier post about my family’s military experience and my role as a grief and trauma counselor. I cannot stress enough the potential power reading together has in helping children process difficult emotions (adults too).
Books teach empathy, courage, resilience and hope. When children see characters navigating fear, sadness, or loss, they begin to understand their own feelings in a safe and gentle way. Stories give language to feelings and experiences kids may not know how to...
How Good Reading Habits Help Kids Become Confident Writers
In this post, we’ll look at how reading and writing develop together and why strengthening both can help children grow as academically and socially.
Reading and writing are often taught as if they’re separate subjects. Reading focuses on understanding letter, sounds and words. Writing expresses those thoughts and ideas. But the two are closely connected. Reading provides children with the language and structure they need to write....
If you’re like most parents you want your child to feel confident and curious, prepared to handle what school and life may bring. One of the most lasting ways to support that growth is reading.
It’s easy to treat reading as another academic skill. But it does SO much more. Reading strengthens language, supports clear thinking, encourages empathy, and builds emotional awareness and can even lower cortisol levels.
The earlier it becomes part of a child’s routine, the more natural it feels....
My name is Laurie and today is my birthday. I am firmly now in my mid-forties and am currently watching the weeks of my youngest child's last semester in high school fly by...counting down to him leaving for college in August like a motherhood doomsday clock.
Life is about to look very different.
My anxiety for the next season of his life is very real, but so is my anxiety about the next season of mine with him gone. For a woman in this modern age, who did college and post-grad degrees but...