Make Mornings Easier: Waking Rituals for Kids
Today, Debbie (also of Two Adopt Two) shares tips for creating waking rituals for kids:
Do your kids wake up cranky? Do they complain about (or sleep through) the alarm? Do your mornings begin with chaos and just get worse? Then consider incorporating a waking ritual into your morning. Just as bedtime rituals can help kids transition to sleep, waking rituals can ease kids into the day. Not long after my husband and I adopted our preschoolers (who, at the time, were just as likely to bite us as hug us) we discovered how important waking rituals were for our kids.
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Despite what the Wall Street Journal might think (or rather, portray for the sake of a traffic spike), mommy blogger conferences like Mom 2.0 are not about sleeping in and draining the minibar. In fact, I slept very little and I'm not even sure whether our room had a minibar. Why? Because instead of sleeping and/or draining the minibar, I spent my time soaking in the incredibly talented and brilliant people who attended this conference. I left with a notebook full of professional (yes, Wall Street Journal, professional) ideas, and five life lessons I wanted to share with all of you; they're relevant for everyone.
Happy last day of April! Following my 
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Boys count too. Of course they do. But this fall, I've learned so much about the disproportionate challenges that girls face, most notably through what I witnessed on the ground in 
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Ten days ago, I did something incredibly -- and somewhat unexpectedly -- impacting. I walked a runway 
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Happy Monday everyone -- I hope you enjoyed a wonderful first official weekend of summer! We took a quick trip to celebrate my father-in-law's retirement from ministry. It was major from a quantitative perspective (a 41 year career including 2,000 or so sermons!) and it was also quite moving to be present for his final sermon and to witness the love of the community. What a gift, and I hope all of us experience such connection and meaning in our lives. We're now back and sorting out our summer routine for the week (every week is apparently going to be different around here); here are some handy/fun ideas to consider in this week's 
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I am all about encouraging more play in life (particularly given the amazing weather and since I recently decluttered the playroom) so I'm thrilled and honored to announce my new ambassadorship with 
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Probably due to my denial about the summer's end, I'm a little stunned that today is Laurel's first day of school (and other than some morning grumbling, it went off without a hitch...no tears at drop off!). I know many of you have already started the school year or are starting this week so I wanted to share a few of my favorite tips for making mornings easier, plus some excellent back posts to help with transitions. Because experience with Laurel has taught me that transition can be easy (last year) or challenging over many months (two years ago). Good luck everyone!
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My mother-in-law never runs dry of fun ideas for things to do with Laurel, and during a recent visit, she came up with a brilliant way to get my little homebody outside. She proposed a "penny walk" (apparently something she had learned at camp as a child), where you take a penny and at every corner, flip the coin to decide whether to go straight or take a turn (if at an intersection you could opt for left or right). Laurel was so excited about this idea and before they departed, she decided to also turn the walk into a nature scavenger hunt and constructed the below tally chart (click image below to enlarge). It's a lovely activity when it's nice out, but also would be fun in the rain this week -- no doubt accompanied by a little puddle jumping.
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Since Laurel is academically oriented by nature, this summer I've been all about simply playing and getting her outside and active. However, she loves activity books and they are my go-to item to bring to restaurants and when we travel, and we also use them for quiet time at home. And whether you want to use activity books to warm your child up before the school year starts, or simply want to use them on the go or at home as we do, check out 
Today's 
One of the things that is so sweet about Laurel is that she is so people focused. When she was a toddler, if a friend at day care was crying, she would toddle over and pat them on the back to try to make them feel better. On Sunday she 
Laurel's 
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Given that I spent the majority of my childhood free time toy-free and playing outside, I have always been concerned about curbing material excess in Laurel's life, and aware of how important it is for her (and us) to be active outdoors. I thus was happy and honored to be invited to be part of the National Wildlife Federation's Founding Mothers, a group of women writers who will work to mobilize families outdoors in partnership with the NWF's 
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Laurel and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen together and I continually remind myself to let go of perfection and control so she can really experience the cooking and baking processes. And it’s paid off. Check out my guest post for Michelle Stern’s 
Between recently watching the PBS 
Apologies for my reduced posting this week, but, save a couple of brief 
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This past weekend I finally had a chance to view PBS’s program 
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Back in our sleep deprived (and admittedly clueless) days of early parenting, Dr. Harvey Karp’s 
We’re still not out of the woods with Laurel’s 
Laurel has always been a creature of habit. Her within-day care class transitions always were hard so I thought I was ready for a challenging transition to kindergarten. Turns out I wasn’t prepared for the impassioned sobbing of “I don’t want to go to kindergarten, I want to stay home with you!” (both awake and even in her sleep one night), the magnitude of her distress at drop off, or heart wrenching comments such as “Mommy, you’re so smart you could teach me everything I need to know. PLEASE let me stay home with you.” Not surprisingly, we’ve been scrambling to cope; I wanted to share tactics that have been effective for us this week, plus some great suggestions I received from folks via 
When I was a kid, I so wanted my mom to be involved in school activities. Not surprisingly though, what with raising seven kids and running a business with my dad she didn’t have time. So this week I felt both happiness and more than a bit of nostalgia when my mom helped me teach Laurel’s pre-K class about Korea (the class is studying countries around the world and Laurel asked if I would come in and teach about Korea). The following are notes on what I put together; the general format would work well for any country.
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My writing has taken me down memory lane recently, and I wanted to share two external posts that are relevant for parents, regarding the lessons we learn and pass on to our kids. I guest posted today at the 
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In May I signed on as a 
Although Laurel’s daycare runs year round, the summer tends to be a time for transition, and the recent departure of one of her friends reminded me of something I loved doing as a child: exchanging letters with pen pals. Laurel’s friend (or actually, her parents) left a colorful paper bag in each friend’s mail pouch with a sweet goodbye letter that included the friend's mailing address and a request to be pen pals. Also handily included: a note card and self-addressed stamped envelope to get the ball rolling.
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This past Saturday was remarkable in that: a) Laurel happily attended a drop-off playgroup with a group of kids she largely was unfamiliar with (she tends to turn reticent around strangers, even little ones); and b) the playgroup essentially was organized and hosted by a 9-year-old (supervised, of course). This concept was fantastic for several reasons: it offered the families of the young guests a means for socialization and separation, it provided a way to teach an older kid about responsibility and earning money, and it gave me food for thought as I mull how we’ll handle the whole new ball game that will be kindergarten, with its vacation stretches and early school pick up days.
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Last night I visited WGBH for a preview of 
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I’m thrilled to introduce new contributing writer 
I know that I’m extremely lucky that Laurel generally is a happy and agreeable kid who isn't prone to meltdowns. But last week, after a fabulous day spent in the Public Garden, followed by lunch at the Au Bon Pain on Boylston Street, the rest of the day was tainted by the crisis that broke out over a giant Easter basket full of candy - strategically positioned at the Au Bon Pain checkout.
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I’m thrilled to introduce new guest contributor and local parent educator 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
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It’s been a crazy, crazy week, but apparently there’s always time to surf. Here’s what caught my eye around the web this week, in my 2nd edition of Love These Links!, where I share clever, resourceful, thought provoking, and/or hilarious links that I think would be of interest to the fabulous readers who peruse Boston Mamas. Enjoy!
Does your child have a tendency to look at life through somewhat darkened lenses? Today, Tracy offers a review of 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
Today, 
For parents seeking guidance on how to negotiate their kids through today’s sexualized commercial culture, tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7pm), Jean Kilbourne and Diane Levin will speak at Simmons College about issues and coping strategies raised in their book 
Looking for a way to communicate with your preverbal baby? Today, 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
Kids can get a bad rap; presumed to be whiny or on the brink of tantrum, and I was reminded yesterday during a meeting with the folks over at 
Opportunities can emerge in unexpected ways, and shortly after 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
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Teaching Laurel empathy has always been very important to us, not only to help curb age appropriate but hurtful behaviors such as biting and hitting, but also simply to help her learn how to be a good friend and family member. And while she has embraced these lessons since toddlerhood (in daycare she always was quick to give a hug or rub a friend’s back if they were sad), we know we’ll need to revisit these themes through her young life. And for parents of tweens, here’s an interesting way to help teach compassion to kids: 
Sometimes I wonder how being raised by a pair of psychologists impacts Laurel. Jon and I definitely have had moments where we stop and listen to ourselves speak, and wonder whether we’re just flat out being too verbose with her. But a couple of new books from 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
Following 
Although the school year is just starting to wind down for many families, for others, the summer months represent a major change: the final phase before kindergarten. Today, 
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Although guest contributor 
Reader Erica from Northampton 
Whether it’s due to laziness, a desire to not rush the process, or not having a 2nd child waiting for the crib (one of my girlfriends needed to transition her older daughter early to a big girl bed when #2 was on the way, and the older child responded by climbing into the crib, removing her diaper, and leaving an unpleasant surprise…), it occurs to me that we’ve had a tendency to let Laurel’s growth - or, let’s face it, claustrophobia – determine her nest transitions. 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
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Few things characterize the tween/teen years like puberty; or more specifically, who has hit it, and who hasn’t. And if you were in the same boat as me and my peers back in the day, your parents didn't prep you for what to expect and when. Today, 
As joyful as it is to parent children as they become increasingly communicative and independent, those developments also can, at times, test even the most patient parents. For those who feel as if they’re running on fumes, head to Lynn Lyons and Christine Cook’s 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners: 
And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:
Are you the parent of a young daughter and are dreading - or already are deeply entrenched in - arguments over questionable clothing choices? Today, 
. Life does eventually settle down after “Thing 2” comes along, but those early days of adjustment can make you feel like the fish, balancing atop a precarious pile of obligations, chores, and well, your children.
($13.95 at Amazon).
