School Age Kids | Grit and Grace Life

When You Want to Completely Change Your Parenting Style

When my husband and I became parents, we had big plans about how we were going to mold and shape our children into respectful and respectable little people. We have now been parents for 10 years, and I have to admit we have learned more and become better parents in the past two than we did in the first eight. Two years ago we added to our family by adopting a 7-year-old boy from China. Adopting an older child from a difficult past means reading lots of books on trauma, attachment issues and the brain. Luckily, I have a great interest in these subjects, so the learning is fun. Putting the principles we’ve learned into practice with patience and grace is not […]

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7 Things Your Daughter Needs for Back to School

By Rachel Graham / Motherhood

You might think this list would be compiled of back to school shopping items or handy gadgets, but we think these points are way more effective for her personal success. 1. A self esteem boost. Tell her how proud you are of her and how much you believe in her. Let her throw a back-to-school party with all of her friends and show her how great the year is going to be. 2. An understanding of her abilities. Invest in something like a Myers-Briggs personality assessment (there are plenty of free online links or “dummy” versions) or a strengths finder book or course so that she can work to improve her weaknesses and grow her strengths. Have her meet with someone who is similar

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Back to School Clothes: 10 Different Ways to Save Money

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money, Motherhood

It’s still summer, your days ripe with swimming and popsicles and vacations, and then you get it … a reminder. Whether it’s from your kids’ school about their uniform requirements or you randomly look at the calendar and realize the days are waning. Before the idea of school preparation ruins the rest of your lazy days and makes you start pinching pennies on summer fun, don’t panic. There are a number of options for saving whether it’s on school uniforms, and even on those designer jeans your teenager is clamoring for: • First clean the closet to find the clothing items that aren’t worn out. For the ones that still fit make a list of possible tops or bottoms to make a fresh

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Is Homeschool Right For You? A Few Things to Consider

By Maggie Bowling / Motherhood

As if it wasn’t hard enough to make choices in parenting—about feeding, sleeping, immunizations, organics and other options that plague parents from day one—there comes a day when we also have to determine what education option is the best for our child. We think age five is going to be a golden age of post-potty-training, semi-independent reading, and the ability to swim and ride a bike without us watching them constantly; instead, kindergarten looms around the corner with its myriad of challenges. How we educate our children is perhaps the most crucial of our parenting choices, or at least it feels that way. There is not only enormous pressure to choose the absolute best for our kids, that which seemingly will prepare

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10 Family Outings That Are Cheap and Fun

By Whitney Hsu / Work & Money

You might be looking for some fun, inexpensive ways to keep your family entertained this season. There are probably some activities in your town, or nearby, that you haven’t thought to try before! Try out these family outings for some fun that won’t cost a fortune! 1. Go to a farmers market. We have several farmers markets within half an hour of our home, and we love visiting them! It’s a great reason to get out of the house, and you can decide how much money to spend. You can enjoy a nice walk around, checking out the goods, even if you don’t want to buy anything. But I’ve often found that I can get some of the groceries I need for a

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An Easy Way to Teach Your Kids You’re the Mom, Not the Maid (Video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Motherhood

— For more mom-ing advice, check out 10 Reasons Why You Should Fight Your Inner Mama Bear, Teaching Your Daughter How to Stand Out from the Crowd, 5 Tips for Managing the Teen in Your Life, Stop Calling Yourself Out on “Mom Fails” ; You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be a Great Mom, and How to Handle Little Boys Who Think They Know It All #gritandgracelife

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4 Don’ts of Great Parenting For Moms

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

What not to do for your child: 1. Don’t fight all their battles. They won’t learn to fight for themselves. 2. Don’t fix all their mistakes. Consequences are one of life’s best teachers. 3. Don’t give them everything they want. What they want may not be what they need. 4. Don’t keep them from all hurt. They will never learn how to heal. Remember, while you’re protecting your child you must also learn to prepare them. The goal is not to only protect them from harm, but to prepare them for life. — For more articles with encouragement in parenting, start here: How to Be a #Girlmom Teaching Your Daughter How to Stand Out from the Crowd Parenting Adult Children—The Great Shift of Motherhood Raising

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5 Tips for Teaching Your Kids How to Pray

By Darlene Brock / Faith

What does it take to make sure your children realize God cares about every little thing in their lives? Here are 5 suggestions: 1. Make it personal. List two things that matter to you and then ask your child to do the same. Explain that if something matters to you, then it matters to God, too. Then pray together. 2. When teaching them to concentrate by closing their eyes and folding their hands, make sure they are not walking at the same time. (Wisdom from Jenn Grassman.) 3. Be willing to pray on the spot. Yes, I have asked God to help me find the specific item on the grocery store shelf—out loud, in front of my kids—because I needed to get

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Should I Homeschool? How I Made That Difficult Decision

By Ashby Duval / Faith

I had the privilege of being both homeschooled and going to public school throughout grammar and high school. There were things I liked about both so this is not a post that in any way endorses one over the other. I truly believe every family has different needs and callings on their lives. As my oldest son, Trooper, approached kindergarten this year, I wrestled with what to do in regards to his education. We can’t afford a private school so that was out of the question. Also, there is a possibility we will be moving to a different county this year so I wasn’t sure sending him to school and having him change mid-year would be wise. I spoke with my husband

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4 Lessons on Failure I Learned from My Kids

By Kitti Murray / Motherhood, Best Of

I’ve learned that failure can be a time-release sort of blessing. We bide our time through the pang of it until it does what we know it can eventually do if we let God use it: transform everything. When my husband Bill lost his job, it hurt a lot. It felt like a failure. This came at the end of the last recession, after quite a few good friends lost their high-level, high-paying jobs and had to live on their savings. Bill’s job was neither high-level nor high-paying (which means we had next to nothing saved), but it was what he loved, and thus it was a blow. Today we both affirm that his job loss was the best thing that could

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Running on Empty, Mom?

By Beverly Whalen / Motherhood

Running on empty, who is going to fill MY tank? I love being a woman, a Mommy, a business woman, and a nurturer……but there are times I just want to be nurtured because I am running on empty! Do you ever have those mornings, you wake up when you just wanted to sleep a little longer? As you turn over, you see…. Cute little eyes staring at you Tiny little fingers poking at you Loud little voices calling your name Mommy, I wet the bed Mommy, I’m hungry Mommy, I can’t reach the cereal oops, I spilled the milk Mommy, I can’t turn the water off in the bathroom Mommy, I had a scary dream Mommy, the dog jumped in the trash

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Discovering Your Child’s Talents

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

You want to sign your child up for activities that develop their talents. Where to start? Before you sign a single piece of paper committing you and that sweet thing you will transport on a weekly basis to some multi-hour event, take time to experiment. Not experimenting on your child, but experiment with your child. Before you begin, make a list of things that might interest them. To maintain the integrity of your experiment, your child needs to do this alone, not be influenced by anyone else, good or bad. Fill the family room floor with activities: Something to build Art supplies Musical instruments Send them outdoors to discover things you’ve already put in place: Sports equipment Sidewalk chalk Magnifier and bug

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When a Staycation is the Perfect Family Choice

By Christi Anderson / Motherhood

It’s easy to get discouraged by all the Facebook and Instagram posts of the incredible vacations all of my friends get to take…Italy, Alaska, NYC, some private island in the Caribbean. Well, I’m a single mom on a budget. And by a budget, I mean I’m about 30 bucks short each month. Which also means no exotic travel, or travel at all. So, when my three kids and I took our vacation last summer we had a staycation. It could not have been more magical and amazing. On Monday morning as I sat on Zuma beach watching my kids play in the surf, I opened an email from my mom and she had bought us passes to Universal Studios Hollywood. Tuesday morning

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Apology to Moms Everywhere

By Tina Brown / Relationships

Dear Moms, Let me take a minute to officially apologize for the times I have judged you or your children. I will readily admit I have not always been the most compassionate toward those with screaming children in a complete meltdown at a restaurant or a store. I’m sure I’m not alone. There are plenty of us who have thought, “I would never let my kids do that” or “when I have kids they will be well behaved”. I still have my moments, but this was before I had nieces in the toddler stages. Before I worked with teenage girls who many times seem (emotionally) around age 5. I’m still not a parent, but I feel like now I understand a little

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