• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

Parenting for Peace Make no mistake: mothers can change the world. And now is the time for us to realize it. Through recognizing our true nature and innate power, together with the shaping impact of how we bring children to life and to maturity, we can wield timely and imperative healing change. The Dalai Lama said at the Vancouver Peace Summit that the world will be saved by the western woman. In the midst of our global human, economic and environmental crises, we have been overlooking a powerful — perhaps the most powerful — means of changing the world... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by emilyfrischmann

Why They Whine: How Corporations Prey on our Children By Gary Ruskin Web Exlusive Cheryl Idell knows a lot about nagging. She has written reports for major corporations with such titles as the "Nag Factor" and "The Art of Fine Whining." She tells her clients that nagging spurs about a third of a family's trips to a fast-food restaurant, to buy children's clothing or a video. Idell, who is chief strategic officer for Western Initiative Media Worldwide, a major market research firm, speaks with the cold precision of a physicist. "Nagging falls into two... read more

• Last updated 10/8/12 by SavvyHomeschool

In this episode, we chat about our (first ever!) giveaway through CurrClick! We also discuss the overscheduled homeschooler and share our favorite (messy and educational) art and science recipes! This week is Messy and educational! Some links in this episode: Elephant and Piggie books Math Mammoth Fresno Family Kid Activities (lots of art/science recipes) Restore Margin in your Life   To see the full show notes, including a LOT MORE links to all the resources mentioned, please visit our website: The Savvy Homeschool Moms, episode 17. To subscribe to or download our... read more

• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

It’s epidemic these days, an undercurrent of anxiety that thrums at the heart of parenting: Supermom is beset by too much information and too many choices. Do you perpetually feel like you’re a just a little behind the 8-ball, missing some crucial opportunity that’s going to put your child behind? Yikes, we didn’t play Mozart through speakers on our pregnant belly, we didn’t use the latest pre-reading iPad app, we didn’t get in on that whiz-bang college-prep (or high-school prep, or for that matter, pre-school prep) program! If this rings a bell, I feel... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by capnsmak

By Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Issue 117, March - April 2003 For a long time it was assumed that professional success, power, and full-time motherhood were mutually exclusive, and women who took time out of their careers to parent were seen as leaving professional life forever. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. For the first time in 25 years, a growing number of women are choosing to take time out of the workforce to care for their children. The proportion of working mothers who also had infant children declined from a record high of 59 percent in 1998 to 55... read more

• Last updated 9/21/12 by Mothering Editorial

On Stargazing with Children By Kimberly Misra Web Exclusive, October 30, 2006 Marceline Cox once said, "Parents are so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves." I have always loved this quote, but the truth of it didn't really hit home for me until a recent vacation with my family. We were staying in a rustic state park cabin with a woodstove for heat and no private bathroom. It was early October and quite cold—much colder than I had expected it to be. We were out... read more

• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

My mom remembers the distinct feeling of crawling up the basement stairs and seeing the bright blue sky above her. The ceiling was gone. The second story of the house was gone. Everything around her lay in chaos. Gas lines hissed and frantic sirens began to pierce the stunned silence. But in her hands she clutched my brother (then 9 years old) and my sister (then 7). They were safe after hiding under the basement stairs during a vicious tornado that destroyed our neighbourhood in a matter of seconds. Photo courtesy of NSSL The tornado happened... read more

• Last updated 9/17/12 by Laura Grace Weldon

Watch this darling math geek overcoming bullying by choosing self-acceptance. About Laura Grace WeldonLaura Grace Weldon is a writer, editor, conflict resolution educator, and marginally useful farm wench. She is the author of Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything. She lives with her family on Bit of Earth Farm. Check out life on the farm at http://bitofearthfarm.wordpress.com/ and keep up with Laura's relentless optimism at http://lauragraceweldon.com/blog-2/ Posted by: Laura Grace Weldon read more

• Last updated 10/19/12 by Melanie Mayo

Guest post by David Sewell McCann Sparkle Stories is offering a free story JUST for Mothering readers!  Visit their page here to listen to one of their favorite tales for free. When Albert Einstein gives advice about intelligence, we take it seriously. “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” We read his words, and all nod our heads in agreement because, well – he’s Albert Einstein – and because it simply rings true. We have witnessed our... read more

• Last updated 9/16/12 by Beth Berry

This year is a big one for me. It’s a year I thought a lot about when my fourth (and final) daughter was born. “What will we be doing five years from now when we have both a kindergartener and a senior?” I would wonder while nursing or folding laundry or planning the school day for the other two I was homeschooling. “How will we possibly afford the Waldorf school for all four kids, how can I possibly homeschool them forever and how could I possibly make peace with sending them all to public schools?” It certainly never occurred to me that when this day came, we’d be... read more