For Felix’s tenth birthday, we surprised him with 4-day trip to Disney World with his cousins (who are his favorite people on this planet—he was actually more excited to see them than he was to be at Disney World, if that’s possible!).My husband and I are not theme-park people, but we can appreciate the magic of Disney, and decided that we had one trip in us before the kids were too old to
School, Arts & Crafts
Natural, Non-toxic Easter Baskets (Optional: Real Grass!)
The last few years, instead of filling my kids' Easter baskets with tacky plastic "grass" and cheap toys, I've taken the time to make Easter more about the Good Stuff.Here's what's on my shopping (and growing!) list this year, plus some ideas for younger kids.Real Easter Grass! My mom always grew really grass in our Easter baskets when we were kids, and I assumed it was complicated and
Non-Toxic School Supplies
A lot of effort goes into keeping kids safe in school--from sprinkler systems to spongy “concrete” under the jungle gym. If you’re a reader of this blog, you are probably worried about other dangers—and specifically toxins--that might be found in your children’s school.Not all of this can be easily controlled, but you might as well send them to school with only the non-toxic school
5 Days of Healthy Packed Lunches
I hope you all are having a wonderfully relaxing holiday break! I always enjoy the week where my kids have lots of new stuff to play with from Christmas, and stop asking for screens!If you're like me, you're also spending this week getting organized--from new toy storage systems to winter gear organization to getting your various resolutions or intentions for 2018 set up for success.One
Resilience in Children: Why This Matters (And How to Make School Separation Easier!)
Over the last few years, there has been much attention drawn to this idea of "grit" as being a more important predictor of success than brains. I recently sat down with Inna Thomka, a licensed social worker with a decade of experience working with a diverse population, to discuss why grit, which she refers to as "resilience," matters so much and how we can foster it in our children.Maia James:
Aromatherapy for Back-to-School Blues
Felix recently started preschool and while I am mostly excited about this transition, it has not been without some stress and a certain sense of loss. I can't believe his first three years are really over (and that I’ve spent the bulk of them waiting for bedtime...waiting for the weekend...waiting for him to be old enough to go to school!). Because I know that many moms are going through the
