Search Results for: blog music to your ears and brain

Jack’s Helping Hand Reaches Out to Offer Support

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What does your child play with? It isn’t easy to find engaging, and appropriate, toys for kids with certain kinds of special needs. Organizations like Jack’s Helping Hand are making things a bit easier for parents, by creating a toy lending library. This is just one of the ways that Jack’s Helping Hand can offer assistance to parents of kids who have special needs. Jack’s Helping Hand is an organization that was created by Paul and Bridget Ready, in memory of their son, Jack. He had a rare form of brain cancer, and lived to be three years old. He … Continue reading →

Adding a Little Sunshine to Your Home

As a new homeowner who is on a budget, I am always trying to find inexpensive ways to add some sunshine to my home. While I have a lengthy to do list of projects such as painting, bathroom upgrades, recess lighting installations, new windows, and other pretty major changes to make to my home, I know it is going to take awhile (maybe years) to get to all these ideas. In the meantime however, I would like my house to feel clean, fresh, and homey. I have found some ways to add color, cleanness and a warm feel to my … Continue reading →

Classical Music for Your Child

Are you looking for a way to introduce your child to fine arts? Maestro Classics will not only introduce your child to classical music it will make your child fall in love with it. I never thought I would hear myself saying “Turn off the Tchaikovsky and go to bed!” Maestro Classics gives a magical retelling of The Story of Swan Lake performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Simon and narrated by Yadu (Konrad Czynski). The music is simply beautiful and the narration engaging. The Story of Swan Lake is magical and grabs the attention of whoever … Continue reading →

Does Your Teen Drive to School?

My parents allowed my brothers and I to share a single vehicle while we were in high school. Three teens (and one tween, who insisted on tagging along) sharing one car–definitely not a pretty situation. Still, that one car provided my parents with freedom some moms and dads only dream of. Not only did we use the car to get to and from school (thus, giving my parents a break from taxi duty), but it also transported us to all of our extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, the car did not escape our teen years without sustaining serious damage (all my older … Continue reading →

Exercising the Brain

What do you think about when you are exercising? You can make exercising zip right on by when you use your brain. I love to exercise, but I have to admit that every once in a while it does become monotonous. This is one of the reasons that I switch my exercise routines around every once in a while. If I become bored too often I will not want to exercise and exercising does need to be consistent in order for it to be effective. When I exercise I either listen to music or daydream. Listening to music is great. … Continue reading →

Are You Walking Hand in Hand in Your Marriage?

Yes, I mean the physical act of being hand in hand when walking together, but also the idea of as the 1950s song says traveling ‘Side by Side.’ By that I mean, are you working together at your marriage? Are you working as a team? It makes a huge difference to the way we cope with the pressures of life, when we can share the load and when responsibilities aren’t left to one person. To me that’s one of the secrets to a successful marriage, traveling ‘the road, sharing our load, side by side.’ No matter what happens and tragedies … Continue reading →

Dogs, Unconditional Love and Mental Health

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I read in the recent weekend paper where our local animal shelter had registered an alarming increase in the number of dogs and other pets being handed in because the owners could no longer keep them. Skyrocketing pressures on the family budget appear to have claimed yet another victim: The family pet. A spokesperson for the animal shelter said that the people who were surrendering their animals claimed that the increased cost of living was making it impossible to pay for the costs involved in keeping a pet. As well as an increase in the number of animals being dumped, … Continue reading →

So, Your Child Wants to Play Guitar

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One day your child comes home from school and says, “Wow, my friend Slash just got a really cool Gibson Les Paul Guitar and a new amp. When can you get me a guitar so we can have a BAND?” Well…let me be the first one to tell you that depending on the model, guitars range in price anywhere from $50.00 (Garage Sale model) to $10,000.00 (Collector’s Edition endorsed by an overpaid, famous musician). At this point it might behoove the parent to inform the child that they would be willing to get the child the $50.00 Garage Sale Version … Continue reading →

Interview with a Graduating Unschooler: Andi Enns Part 1

I was contacted recently by a young lady who had created a guide to unschooling for teens. I found her personal story quite interesting and new I had to interview here. Here is part 1 of that interview. Who was your primary teacher when you were homeschooled? It was a really fair mix between my parents. It depended on what I was learning about and which of them was personally passionate about it. My mom created a lot of theme units for me during my elementary years, about whatever I was interested in. I remember studying insects for a long … Continue reading →

Are Classes for Your Baby Worth It?

Awhile ago I wrote an article in education about how competitive preschools and kindergartens were in New York City. I researched the phenomenon because my husband had to write a recommendation letter for a child in his class (and he teaches three year olds) to get into kindergarten for the ‘08-’09 year! It boggles my mind, and frankly makes me glad that I homeschool. But if preschool is highly competitive and it’s important to get into the right preschool, then you have to figure that a baby must be in training to have the right skills to go to the … Continue reading →