By Rachel Nipper

Even though my Elementary School years are long gone, I can still vividly remember being in fifth grade and my teacher, Mr. Clark, having each member of my class wear a Yarmulke hat for morning recess. He was giving us an opportunity to learn not only what it was like to be different, but also to see how differently people would treat us. After our experience we wrote a short essay, which believe it or not, I still have to this day in my childhood keepsake binder.

By Nickole Podany

I love having things planned out. Being organized, having routines—it makes life easier. You know where each kid needs to be. What they need to bring. When they need to be there.

When it comes to organizing your home, all it takes is keeping up with the small things – putting things away where they go, clearing the dust from various surfaces, wiping down the nooks and crannies. But fall behind, and these tasks can pile up faster than your kids’ mismatched socks.

Living indoors through the winter months is a lot like being on a sailboat without wind - you wish that you could get moving and change the view. So when spring finally comes, your restless kids sail off in all directions, going to sports events, hangouts with friends, and outdoor activities.

If your kids are like mine, they’re very reluctant to get rid of any of their toys, even ones they haven’t played with in years. I’ve found that a week or two before Christmas is the best time to convince my kids to part with a few toys. Here’s why:

It’s red ribbon week at my kid’s school. They’re dressing funny today. I imagine they’ll soon bring home ribbons that say, “Say No To Drugs.”

Great advice.

But I was a kid once, and although I never got caught up in drugs, I still made some decisions I regret. None of us are immune to mistakes. So how do we help our kids get through their young years with relatively few scars?

Just because your kids will be learning about the dangers of drugs and alcohol in school this week doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be involved. Now is the perfect time to talk about substance abuse with your children and candidly discuss the topic. Be ready to talk to your kids about friends and family members that they may know who smoke, and be prepared to answer other questions they might have. Don’t assume your kids know all about it; when I was a kid I worried that my Mom would be pulled over for “drinking and driving” when she sipped on a soda in the car.

Do you remember the first book you fell in love with? Mine was Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck. I never get tired of that book. I can’t tell you how many times I read it as a kid. It made me want to become a writer…of all things. (You’d think it would make me want to become a marine biologist.)

October is National Book Month, but if your kids are like mine they’re already fed up with school reading assignments. One way to help reinforce reading as an enjoyable pastime is to encourage them to read things other than school book assignments, things they actually like. Junior’s fiction and young adult novels are great, but don’t overlook magazines, poetry, humor or even reference books on topics your kids are interested in.

With school in full swing, your kids are going to be bringing back all sorts of display-worthy A+ papers and art projects. After they’ve run their course on the refrigerator or picture frame, it’s time to let go; you can’t keep everything.