It’s no secret that teachers’ wages don’t exactly provide a lavish lifestyle, particularly when you consider the hours they put in long after the final bell rings for the day. While teachers can generally choose to spread their wages out over 12 months or the nine months that school is in session, some teachers are taking advantage of their few weeks off during the summer to increase their earnings. If you’re looking for creative ways to earn some extra cash this summer, here are a few innovative ideas that are as enjoyable as they are lucrative. Continue reading “5 Creative Ways for Teachers to Earn Extra Cash Over the Summer”

When your kids have too much energy, it’s easy to open the back door and unleash them into the yard. Maybe they hop on a swing set, climb into a treehouse, play a good old-fashioned game of tag, or jump their little hearts out on a trampoline. However, when the colder, darker winter days roll in, outdoor activity can be limited. How can you stimulate your kids and keep them active when the sun sets at 5 p.m.—or even earlier?
Continue reading “3 Ways to Keep Your Kids Active and Learning During the Winter Months”

School is the foundation for you kids’ education, but learning shouldn’t stop at the end of the school day. As a parent, you can encourage everyday learning by helping your child find an enriching hobby. A hobby gives kids a fun experience with life lessons built right in, but which hobbies are best, and how do you get started?

The best hobbies have a multitude of benefits that include a love of learning, help build physical strength and coordination and develop character traits that are key to success in life. To help your kids find the right hobby for them, Creative Child magazine suggests asking about their likes and dislikes to get a good feel for their interests. You can help by making suggestions, but be open to what they seem drawn to rather than pushing something you choose.

Once they choose a hobby, give them plenty of encouragement and support them by making space in your home where they can practice and store any supplies. Consider encouraging one of these hobbies that are fun and build skills kids will use both in and outside the classroom:
Continue reading “How to Get Your Kid Started With a Fun and Educational Hobby”

Journaling, Intention, and Affirmations

Creativity can take on many forms, and just as easily as we can get in the flow, we can also get stuck outside of it.  Journaling is an integral part of understanding ourselves better, and can also help set intentions. By tracking our ups and downs, along with our joys, sorrows, and worries, we can find solace, release, and comfort. Creative ideas can come from this as well, as we take the time to review and remember where we are at any given moment. A journal can also serve your mindfulness if you write daily intentions and affirmations. “I am open to new ideas”, “Today is a good day to be creative”, “I AM creativity”, or Creativity flows through me” are all excellent and simple.

You may want to come up with something more specific to you and your individuality, which can be turned into yet another creative mental exercise! One great example is starting a fresh page each day with one sentence at the top that motivates you to explore the depths of your own creativity. Here are several other journaling exercises you can try too!
Continue reading “Writing Through The Blocks”