A love of reading doesn’t always come naturally; sometimes kids need a little help As a parent and book lover, I find it frustrating that my 17-year-old son refuses to read. When he and his sister were little, my husband or I would read them a bedtime story every night, as many parents do. Both […]
Editor’s Note
The trust fund
Being honest with your kids is a great investment I’ve been a mom for almost 26 years. With four kids, one with a chronic illness, let’s just say that I have sought out a lot of advice in the last 2.5 decades. From listening to experts on CDs while driving the minivan after I dropped […]
Setting the stage for life
Watching our children grow through the performing arts A few weeks ago, I had the joy of watching my daughter perform at her dance school recital that had been postponed since last June. She will graduate next spring, so this was likely one of her last performances with her ballet school and with the dancers […]
The power of orange
Perspective is a powerful thing By Crystal Murray I’ve been thinking about perspective a lot these last few months since learning about the discoveries of the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children on the sites of former Canadian residential schools. I was driving home from the office on a Friday night, looking forward to an […]
Flex the natural athlete in you
Fuel your kids with the wonders of the great outdoors By Crystal Murray It wasn’t the proudest moment of my elementary school track and field day. I was tucked in under the bleachers peeling away curls of blue paint from the bottom of the seats above my head. I could hear my name being called […]
The March break reset
The pressure to travel is gone, setting the stage for a return to the simple pleasures of a week away from school By Crystal Murray Lots of people are saying lately that they can’t recall the last time they had to pack a suitcase. I actually can remember, but it’s the anticlimactic unpacking that stands […]
Making the grade
A new school year brings challenges like no other—Our Children is here to help as we learn together By Crystal Murray On the morning of the first day of school, I stopped at an intersection as a school bus passed by. Dozens of little masked faces peered out the windows. I could see the curiosity […]
UNCERTAINTY ALL AROUND
With so much out of our control, we should make the most of the opportunities we now have For several weeks now, we’ve all been living in uncharted territory: isolation, homeschooling, birthday parties missed, and the grieving of lost loved ones done quietly at home. But through it all we can find light. We’ve also […]
Love is in the air
Comfort and connection start at home By Tracy Stuart It’s hard to ignore the turmoil around the world. The news we see daily can make for a heavy heart. But we have to remember that we can be the difference makers in our homes and in communities. If we shift our focus on acts of […]