A Blog By Maria Dismondy
Activities to Stop the Summer Brain Drain
I’ve spent my fair share of time in classrooms. I once spent copious amounts of time and effort learning trigonometry, studying hard in hopes of doing well. Once the class ended and summer started, however, I promptly forgot everything that I worked so hard to learn,...
Kids Can Do Big Things
What are the expectations for kids nowadays, besides attending school and getting good grades? Kids have more voices now than before when I was a child. Today children have essential roles in society. They become activists and can impact the world in different...
Five Simple At-Home Community Service Projects for Kids
With summer now being in full swing, many homes are now full of children that are bursting with energy with the new free time they have until September rolls back around. However, being out of the classroom doesn’t mean that learning doesn’t have to stop entirely– in...
Academic and Social Emotional Pandemic Gaps
Ever since March 2020, we’ve all been doing the best we can. Parents, caregivers, educators--we’ve all had to make enormous adjustments to our lives and how we support our children. With changing guidelines, ever-shifting goalposts, and the daily stresses that have...
How to Spread the Love of Reading to Kids of All Ages
Storytime is a critical foundational step for developing strong family bonds. However, this fun activity helps foster much more than healthy relationships. It helps instill lifelong skills and passions that children of all ages will carry with them well into...
Child-Directed Study—How to Encourage Education and Independence
Think back to when you were a kid. What fascinated you? What were you passionate about? How much time were you able to devote to those topics? For many of us, the act of pursuing our true interests was relegated to small pockets of time in the evening after...
We Are All Storytellers . . . Tell Your Story
When I present workshops during author visits, I remind children that we are all storytellers and they can use their voices to tell their own stories. I encourage them to think about their families as they search for ideas. What better place to start than with your...
Reason for the Seasons
There is a reason for the seasons. I am not a scientist and I won’t get all technical on you but it has to do with the Earth and its tilted axis. As I live and learn, I am finding there are seasons in my own life that have nothing to do with the Earth and its tilted...
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
What do YOU think? Resilience. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger? We each have our story and I wonder, do you believe that saying? I do, when I am far enough away from the trauma or trying times that we had gone through. But when you are in it? Geesh, looking for...
Podcasts for Kids
Podcasts are a fantastic alternative form of media for all ages. With so much amazing content being produced, there are countless choices for every age with a variety of interests. Listening to podcasts is a fun, fresh way to bond and spend time together, and there...
FOMO: Do you have it?
Do you remember a time when you were young and you wanted to be included, but you weren’t? It’s a terrible feeling. It’s strange that now as an adult, it doesn’t bother me much at all. When I first heard of the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) I thought, “That’s...
#BetterTogether
The pandemic was pushing groups of people apart because of their personal views on masks and vaccines, heck, it was dividing families as well. Then we started to see hate and violence against racial groups. Unfair and unjust. I started to pay attention to what, if...
The Contagion to Spread
There is something WE DO want to spread these days and it’s kindness. As a society, we have been challenged in more than one way over the last few years. But something that hasn’t expired is the power KINDNESS has in a home, community and in the world. Let’s dive into...
“Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad…”
"Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it is the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up."Birdee Pruitt One of my very favorite quotes from a movie that is a must...
I DReamed of Making Tacos
My mom likes to tell the story that as a child, I wanted to grow up and make tacos as my job. If you consider the fact that our family eats tacos every Tuesday night, I think my dream has come true! In our family, there are a lot of individuals who do not have college...
Give a Little Bit…Send a Smile and Show You Care
Are you seeing signs of Spring? Today I was walking the dogs and saw four blue jays! If you feel inclined, I would love for you to reply and share your own signs of Spring with me. I saw several of you ordered your copies of books that focus on COURAGE and COMMUNITY....
With so much DARKNESS, Here is LIGHT
Hi all, it’s been awhile since I’ve written a heartfelt message to you! Guess what, this month I am going to be sending you several. There have been so many ups and downs in our world over the last few years, I wanted to spread some LIGHT, since darkness continues to...
3 Ways to Make Reading Interactive for Even the Most Reluctant Readers
Reading is a way to be swept away to another world, learn something new, or even connect with another person. And there are so many ways as a parent or an educator that you can nurture a love of reading in children, and making reading interactive is just one way to do...
Picture Books for Children’s Milestone Experience
A young child’s life is full of “firsts,” and so is a parent’s! One meaningful part of caregiving is guiding children through these first experiences with love and compassion, so that our children can make the most out of these milestones. As parents, caregivers, and...
3 Ways to Encourage Self Love in Children
As parents and caregivers, we love our children so much it hurts. I am known to look at my daughter on our video monitor and tear up. I can’t tell you how many times I have said to my husband, “She is so cute it’s literally painful.” With all the love we have for our...
5 Reading-Based Resolutions for the Whole Family
The month of January is still young, which means if you neglected your New Year’s resolutions this year (guilty), there’s still more than enough time for you to make some! In truth, we can and should be making resolutions on a regular basis, regardless of...
Word of the Year: Rise
2011: Peace2012: Balance2013 Grace2014: Grow2015: Content2016: Play2017: Connect2018: Intentional2019: Focus2020: Beauty 2021: Light This year my word was LIGHT. Here’s a recap on how this word was able to guide me in the many different areas of my...
