School Age Kids | Grit and Grace Life

5 Free (or Cheap) Ways to Entertain Your Kids

Ever find yourself on a budget with kids to entertain, especially in the summer months? Seeing that “free kids activities near me” seems to be my number one Google search lately, I’d like to think I’ve picked up a thing or two. So, here are a few ideas that will keep your kids on an adventure while you protect your pocketbook. 5 Free or Cheap Ways to Entertain Your Kids: 1. The Library My personal favorite go-to is the library. They consistently offer storytelling and art projects, and we’ve even gone to Lego building, an animal show, and family board game night at the library—all for FREE. There are usually multiple libraries within driving distance, so I’d recommend trying various libraries to […]

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Follow These Teachers Now for Classroom Inspiration

Instagram Teachers to Follow for Back to School Inspiration

By Molly Dockweiler / Life & Culture

As a teacher, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest looking for lesson ideas, bulletin board inspiration, and so on. What I’ve found on Pinterest looks great, but many of the ideas have never been tested in the chaos of a real classroom. While great in theory, these ideas often flop. My time has been better spent looking through different Instagram accounts of teachers who are in the classroom full time—tried and true—dealing with whatever is thrown at them on any given day. Here are several of my favorite Instagram accounts of elementary classroom teachers who will spark your inspiration for this new school year, as well as additional teacher-oriented accounts for all grade levels. Teachers of Primary Grades (K-2) @aroundthekampfire

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5 Ways for a Busy Mom to Prioritize Intimacy With Her Husband

By Caroline Beidler / Relationships

My husband and I have a new tradition called “sweet o’clock.” We plan out the evening ahead of time, and I make a homemade treat, one of our favorites being a new flavor of homemade ice cream. As soon as the kids go to bed, we smile and head to the kitchen. On tough days (we are currently living through the “terrific twos” with twins), we will hint at our little secret and delicious rendezvous throughout the day. “Sweet o’clock night,” I will whisper as the kids are screaming from their high chairs or doing superhuman squirms to get out of changing their pull-up. I might be ready to pull out my own hair, or have one of those bathroom-cry moments that

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How to Be a Praying Parent Throughout Your Child’s Life

By Marlys Johnson Lawry / Motherhood

Our daughter, Summer, brought him home from college one weekend. They watched March Madness basketball, played video games (in a competitive manner, because that’s my girl), and laughed a good deal. Later that week, we received a thank you note from this young man. And everyone knows that a thoughtfully written thank you note earns huge points with a future mom-in-law. Every. Time. I had been praying for the potential spouses of my son and daughter. That weekend, I was pretty sure I’d met my son-in-law-to-be, Joshua. How fun to bump into an answer to your prayers—in person. Making intercessory prayers for our children is a privilege. It’s a tool from God to assist us in the high calling of rearing our

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the loss of my son is changing how i teach my children healthy emotions

Losing My Son Has Changed How I Teach My Children Healthy Emotions

By Cara Martinisi / Motherhood

I’m a mom of three boys, and while I know from experience that prepubescent girls have their own struggles, I am beginning to learn about the struggles of prepubescent boys. My ten-year-old middle son had one of those days today. It was one of those days where it feels like everything is going wrong. He got his first zit, didn’t sleep well last night, and everything just feels “icky” as he stated it. It makes me feel terrible to see him this way. My initial emotional reaction is always the same, “Quick, make him feel better!” Just as quickly as that thought appears, it fades and my reasoning takes over. In my head, I know that I am robbing him of integral

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My Sons Communicated Better When I Used These 5 Techniques

By Jennifer Schoonover / Motherhood

Communication is a key ingredient in every healthy relationship. I think most of us would agree with that statement, especially when talking about our relationship with our spouse. But what about our relationships with the other men in our lives? By the other men in my life, I am referring to my two sons. Here are 5 techniques I used at different stages of their lives to help them open up and communicate more with me. 1. Ask Specific Questions and Pick the Right Time When they are small, we teach our children to “use their words” to communicate what they need or want and even how they feel. As they grow, go to school, and have interactions on their own, we

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When I Feel Like a Bad Mom, I Pray This for My Kids

By Ashley Johnson / Faith, Audio Articles, Motherhood

(Listen to the audio version of this article here.) “I am not a perfect mom.” I have this thought—well, much harsher versions of it—more often than I’d like to admit. I lost my patience and yelled. I made PB&J for lunch and frozen chicken nuggets for dinner because I cannot seem to meal plan. I was on my phone too much. My house is a mess (better not post any pictures from today—yikes). I tried a “super easy” kids’ activity I found on Instagram that ended in my toddler eating the glue stick and coloring on the wall. I felt stressed out rather than present during our entire trip to the park because the kids were running in opposite directions, and all these

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A Letter to My Daughter on Body Image: May You Love All of You

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood, Audio Articles

(Listen to the audio version of this article here.) Dear Daughter, We are together more than ever these days. I watch as you wake each morning, walk into your closet, and choose an outfit that doesn’t go together. You pull up your leggings without noticing the skin that spills over the tight waistband. You run a brush through your hair and carefully choose a headband or opt for a braid. I passively wonder if you wish for hair opposite of your own in texture and color. But there is no sighing or visible expression of disappointment as you comb through the tangles and frizz. Instead, you smile and make silly faces at your reflection in the mirror. Virtual school ends, and you’re

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Stop People Pleasing Now With Cherlyn Decker – 159

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreDo other people’s opinions affect how you feel about yourself? Often find yourself trying to please others, hoping they will see you as you want to be seen? If so, you’ll appreciate this episode. Darlene Brock and Julie Bender interview Cherlyn Decker—a speaker, writer, and coach who has helped hundreds of women turn their struggles into a source of strength. They discuss everyday battles many women face: people pleasing, mom guilt, and obsessing over what others think of them. Cheryln shares practical tools that can help you turn from these harmful habits, encouraging you to look back on past life experiences for how they “stack” on each

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4 Ways to Build a Successful Relationship With Your Child

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

There are a few things a mother needs to do to secure a successful relationship with her child. Perhaps I need to clarify—a relationship where you will win more than you lose. I have learned it is the most realistic and real definition of success. Because mom, you will win some and lose some. But that’s fine! It doesn’t matter your child’s age, nor whether you have a boy or girl. These 4 principles will apply to all. 1. Get to Know Your Child It seems like a mother should automatically know who her child is. At least, we have those expectations. But the truth is we don’t know. Whatever the day looks like, you are meeting this human for the first

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5 Ways to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Kids – 158

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More The job of “mom” can be tough! A mother nurtures, disciplines, clothes, feeds and does her very best to protect, all while balancing many more jobs both in and out of the house. With each day abundantly filled, do you find it challenging to invest enough time in building the strong relationship with your kids that you desire? Mom, you are not alone! In this episode, we give five ways every mom can build that relationship at any stage of their kids’ lives. We share things you can do to develop their character while making treasured and lasting memories. Darlene (mom of adult daughters, Nonie to

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Why I Stopped Deep-Cleaning My House to Start Enjoying My Kids

By Amber Koehn / Motherhood

There’s an old adage that says, “Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ’til tomorrow, for babies grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.” A long-time friend of mine, who is years ahead of me in the parenting game, sent it to me one afternoon while I was in the middle of a mommy meltdown. I only had two of my four children at the time, and I was exasperated at the thought of never having a clean house again. It was during my full-time corporate days, while my husband was also running a restaurant and attending school full-time to obtain his accounting degree. Cleaning my house was

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Protecting Our Children From Human Trafficking (video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Life & Culture

Christy Ivie, the founder of Christy’s Cause, joins Julie Graham to provide practical, nitty-gritty tips for families to help protect their children from sex trafficking. She offers age-appropriate advice, what signs of vulnerability to look for in kids, and how to protect them from compromising situations. It’s up to us to advocate for the children in our community. If you see something, say something. Looking for more encouragement? Don’t miss: What You Need to Know About Human Trafficking What You Need to Protect Your Child From Sexual Exploitation The Solution to the Sex Trafficking Problem Bible Verses From the Grit and Grace Team on Self-Worth To hear more of Christy’s advice on sex trafficking listen to her interview at This Grit and

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This Is What Justin Timberlake Taught Me About Motherhood

By Katie Cress / Motherhood

Anyone else have the same albums saved on their iTunes account from the (dinosaur) days before streaming services? I must have downloaded Spotify around 2013 because when I’m not paying attention and plug my phone into my car, I’m listening to the likes of Nora Jones, Rascal Flatts, some old school Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake. One of the songs that came on this morning was Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors,” a beautiful love ballad created for his wife. Today, however, I found myself sitting in the Target parking lot thinking on the lyrics to this song, not from the perspective of a love song, but from the perspective of a mother. His words struck me: “It’s like you’re my mirror, my mirror staring back

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Ask Dr. Zoe – How Can I Parent Positively When My Kids Drive Me Crazy?

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Kim’ Asked: How can I parent with positivity? My kids drive me crazy. They refuse to help me or are mean to each other way too often. I find myself complaining to them and about them. Dr. Zoe Answered: You and every other mother who cares about her parenting have asked a question just like this. Not only is parenting the hardest job ever, it requires you to assume a different job description with each child. That’s enough to send you to the crazy bin just when you thought you had it all figured out. I can see why you are drawn to positive parenting, though. It sounds really nice. Like a calm, happy, agreeable family all smiling at each other in

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Sure, It Was a Disaster… But Not a Failure

By Laila Schell / Motherhood

Lately I’ve been feeling like a failure and I just can’t seem to shake it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been with my kids for six months straight and I literally can’t remember the last time the house was clean and quiet. Or maybe it’s because we’re smack in the middle of a pandemic and every single decision I make (or don’t make) has me questioning whether or not it’s the right one, and whether or not some crazy butterfly effect will take place six months down the road, where I’ll look back and realize I have done something terribly wrong. Either way, I just had to sit down and write about it because I have a feeling I’m not the only one,

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What Your Kids Get When You Let Them Fail

By Dr. Zoe / Motherhood

I am not letting you off the hook as parents, but we seriously work way too hard sometimes. I’m talking about myself here. Scenario: I just got back home from taking my son to school. I have a million things to do in the next hour. I get an urgent text from my son saying that he forgot his iPad on the kitchen island (again) and needs it ASAP (of course!). Dilemma: I should really say no and let him learn his lesson, but it kills me that he will get an F because that assignment due today was on his iPad. Then my mind starts racing. This is high school! If he gets an F, it will affect his GPA. He

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