This list is sorted by topic and season, with evergreen topics listed first. To see the full text of any article, please contact me by email: lkrupicka[at]word-crafter[dot]com.
Evergreen Topics:
Seasonal Topics:
Bucket List Living (seasonal & evergreen)
25 Things to Do Before They’re Grown (575-word full version or 204-word abbreviated list for use as a filler)
A fun checklist of what you’re going to make happen with your kids before they’re gone – a family “bucket list” of sorts.
25 Things to Fall For This Autumn (680 words)
This article shares a bucket list of not-to-miss fall experiences that readers can enjoy with their kids. It includes related facts and figures, resources and recipes.
31 Questions to Pump Your Kids Up for School
(845 words :625-word body, with 2 optional sidebars of 166 and 54 words)
These kid-tested prompts work not only for goal setting and getting kids enthused about the school year, but also for spurring meaningful conversations. Includes a sidebar of ways families can put their school year goal lists to use all year long.
Adventures in Fake-cationing: 10 Ways to Appear Adventurous Without Leaving Town (839 words)
Offers 10 tongue-in-cheek suggestions for parents to create faux adventures right in their own hometown.
Have You Ever: An Invitation to Adventure (781 words)
Explains what families can gain from being alert to this particular cue (the question: “Have you ever”) in the context of family activities. I also offer tips on how to make the most of such an invitation and how parents can help their kids learn to extend it to others.
Planting Seeds For Adventure (847 words)
Readers learn five seeds they can plant in their children’s lives that will sprout into an enthusiasm (or at least not so much hesitation) toward trying new things.
Seven Ways to Encourage Your Spouse’s Dreams (952 words)
This article offers seven suggestions to help husbands and wives express their love through supporting their spouse’s life longings – a Valentine’s gift to fit any budget and season of child rearing.
Summer Bucket List Essentials: 28 Ideas to Start Yours (865 words)
Offers readers suggestions of quintessential childhood activities for summer, along with lesser-known facts related to them. Parents will approach summer with enthusiasm when they’re prepared with this list of options they can customize for their family.
Teaching Kids How to Overcome Their Fears The Fun Way
(911 words:884-word body, 27-word sidebar)
This piece demonstrates how going after goals helps kids conquer common fears: the fear of failure, fear of the unknown and fear of missing out. It offers parents steps they can take to set their child on the path toward being brave by pursuing their dreams.
This is the Year (731 words)
This article explains how parents, kids & families can frame the New Year in an optimistic light by writing a list of what they look forward to in the year to come. I also share expert insight on the act of writing such a list and offer tips on making the most of one.
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Lifestyle
31 Refreshers That Take 15 Minutes or Less (1,031 words)
Provides parents with suggestions, not just for getting their house spruced up, but to also help them bring refreshment to themselves and other family members.
Answering the “What’s For Dinner?” Question (883 words)
Offers a simple step-by-step method for creating your own easy-to-use menu plan.
Birthday Party Basics: Five Building Blocks For a Successful At-Home Bash
(1,027 words: 959-word body, 68-word sidebar)
Brown Paper Packages and Other Earth-Friendly Giftwrap Alternatives (909 words: 843-word body, 66-word sidebar)
Suggests seven greener alternatives to wrapping paper, along with historical tidbits about the origins of gift-wrapping methods. (Accompanying photographs available).
Can I Get a Volunteer?: How Kids Benefit From Serving Their Community
(999 words: 828-word body plus 43-word sidebar and 128-word sidebar)
Family Freeze Frame: Photos Traditions That Mark the Years
(1,138 words: 983-word body, 155-word optional sidebar)
Shares several ways families can track the passing of time and create a memorable collection of photos by capturing a traditional shot year after year. Whether it be at a sentimental spot or in a certain pose, readers will find multiple ideas for launching their own photo tradition.
Finding More Than Yesteryear: Lessons Learned at Living History Museums
(926 words: 903-word body and 23-word sidebar)
Describes several different academic areas visitors can experience at living history museums and how educators have incorporated them in their exhibits in surprising ways.
Firsthand Savings on Secondhand Goods (736 words)
This article describes several categories where buying secondhand can result in substantial savings. It includes expert tips on what to watch out for and when to buy new.
Making Room For Nothing (1,099 words:1,008-word body and 91-word sidebar)
Provides readers with stories, strategies and expert tips on finding ways to leave open space on the family calendar. It also explains the benefits of downtime.
Road Trip Readiness: What to Do In Case of Emergency
(996: 923-word body, 73-word sidebar)
Provides advice from parents and expert answers to help prepare readers should they get into an accident while traveling on vacation.
School Then and Now: 10 Ways Education Has Changed Since Our Day (635 words)
School Supplies: Hard to Find? Where to Look
(700 words: 592-word body, 108-word sidebar)
Provides a list of sources for unusual items. The accompanying sidebar quiz, “Test Your School Supply Savvy”, highlights how seemingly innocent sounding supplies can be sources of shopping frustration.
Seven Ways to Encourage Your Spouse’s Dreams (952 words)
This article offers seven suggestions to help husbands and wives express their love through supporting their spouse’s life longings – a Valentine’s gift to fit any budget and season of child rearing.
Simple Swaps For Switching Off
(1,066 words: 1,000-word article with 66-word sidebar)
This piece combines a look at a day in our family’s relatively screen-free lifestyle with input from health and media experts on the value of finding substitutions for television watching.
Soul Support: Four Ways to Feed Your Spirit
(974 words: 897-word body and 77-word sidebar)
Stress Less Steps: 17 Ways to Simplify Home Life (776 words)
Offer parents a handful of small steps they can take in their homes that bring about greater connectedness, significance, and smoother sailing for the household manager.
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Parenting
21 Questions to Jump-Start Conversation (747 words)
A simple list of alternatives to the question, “How was your day?” that will stimulate more than “fine” for an answer.
And the Award Goes To: Teaching Kids to Value Supporting Roles
1,032 words (912-word body and 120-word sidebar)
“And the Award Goes To…” shares expert tips and advice on how parents can help their kids make the most of even the smallest part.
Avoiding Pronunciation Aggravation (722 words)
“Avoiding Pronunciation Aggravation” offers strategies for helping kids deal with tough names. It includes a sidebar of do’s and don’ts, and Internet tools for settling pronunciation questions.
Bad Moments, Good Moms (556 words)
This article helps readers recognize that substandard parenting moments are a universal (and seemingly unavoidable) experience and allows them the opportunity to laugh at how comical those mistakes can be, even if they don’t feel that way at the time.
Chores Make the Grade (898 words: 779 body, 119 sidebar)
Suggests a new take on why parents should involve their children in housework: it can help them in school. Contains a sidebar of suggested chores by age.
Dressing Without Drama (1,076 words)
“Dressing Without Drama” tackles several common issues parents face when it comes to dressing their children, offering advise from experts and moms on strategies that work.
Finding Your Best Bet Pet (975-word body, with optional 303-word sidebar)
In “Finding Your Best Bet Pet” I offer readers five aspects of pet ownership to consider and solutions to match the most common problems faced in choosing a pet. An accompanying sidebar provides tips for making the transition to being pet owners.
From Crippling Threat to Family Pet (901 words: 787-word body, 114-word sidebar)
Offers tips from experts for helping kids conquer a fear of dogs.
Halt the Homework Hassles (1,178 words)
“Halt the Homework Hassles” offers tips from parents and experts on preparing for how you’ll handle homework to make it more manageable for everyone involved.
In the Blink of a Childhood (930 words)
This article shares five ways experts and moms have found to prolong their enjoyment of their kids’ childhoods.
It’s a Match: Helping Your Child Find a Free Time Activity That Fits (1,113 words, 1,059-word body, 54-word sidebar)
Answers several of the biggest questions parents face in getting their child involved in an extracurricular activity, including tips and advice from a known expert and an everyday mom.
Parenting a Perfectionist (1,306 words)
“Parenting a Perfectionist” offers advice from experts and moms on five strategies to help the perfectionist child (strategies that also work to encourage the best in less exacting children).
A Special Solution to Sibling Strife (906 words)
This article shares three simple ideas for taming trouble among siblings, focusing on the positive: what makes each one special.
We Are Family: Time Together Builds More Than Memories
(820 words:767-word body and 53-word sidebar)
About how time together and the identity we establish through how we spend it reaps benefits in our children’s personal development and character. Includes tips on fun ways to set a family apart.
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Essays
Blurring the Homework Lines (877 words)
Every one of us has an idea (or ideas) of what we don’t want to do as a parent. That is until we find ourselves doing it. In this essay I confess about a situation where I had to abandon my notions of what a “good” parent would do in order to provide what was best for my child.
Comfort in Books (802 words)
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the literary environment at home has a proven impact on children’s reading success at school. But more than that, reading at home can be a source of bonding and comfort. In “Comfort in Books,” I share about my experiences in reading aloud to my daughter and how it played a significant role during a recent time of crisis.
Hey, Cupid! Your Holiday’s Been Hijacked (758 words)
In this letter to Cupid I share my observations and laments over how Valentine’s Day has been taken over by the children in my home.
Loving the Game Above the Prize (982 words)
I share my fears about turning down an elite sports opportunity for our elementary-school daughter and how I learned that my children’s futures aren’t entirely dependent whether I made the “right” decision at every turn.
Modern Inconveniences: The Perils of Public Restrooms with Preschoolers (508 words)
A humorous look at how technological advances in public restroom facilities have created new challenges for parents of the recently potty-trained.
Shoulder to Shoulder, Mother & Daughter (745 words)
A mother’s reaction to her thirteen-year-old daughter growing up and how, as a mom, she’s learning ways to give her daughter space now so that they can close the gap later.
What Kayaking Taught Me About Parenting (531 words)
I describe a family outing where I learned not only the art of kayaking, but also a concept that makes parenting for me more enjoyable, if not easier: gently holding in place against the current can turn you more swiftly than paddling hard the direction you want to go.
Seasonal:
Winter
Breaking With Tradition Without Breaking Your Family (953 words:879-word body, 74-word sidebar)
With some tips from an expert and parents who’ve been there, readers can learn how to navigate the sticky issue of how to break with tradition while still providing a joyful holiday for everyone involved.
This is the Year (731 words)
This article explains how parents, kids & families can frame the New Year in an optimistic light by writing a list of what they look forward to in the year to come. I also share expert insight on the act of writing such a list and offer tips on making the most of one.
That Kind of Ski Mom (1,086 words)
In this reflective piece I consider the reason I engage in a winter sport I don’t like instead of gladly sitting on the sidelines: because I see it as my privilege as a parent to offer my children the opportunity to acquire skills that they can enjoy for a lifetime.
When Sickness Comes For a Holiday
(1,115 words: 1,016-word body, 99-word sidebar)
Offers parents tips for adjusting their holiday celebrations around a family member’s infirmity. It includes advice from experts related to varying levels of sickness, from everyday viruses to terminal illness.
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Spring
Calendar Spring Cleaning (1,010 words: 980-word body and 30-word sidebar)
Like finding loose change in the sofa, an annual “cleaning” of the daily planner can help time-impoverished parents uncover hidden riches in their day. This piece suggests some basic steps for freshening up the family calendar.
Doesn’t Bug Me (491 words)
About my fear of insects and how suppressing that fear in front of my children turned out to be a good thing for our whole family.
First Time Mom…For Life (628 words)
In the essay, “First Time Mom… For Life” I look at some of the blunders I’ve made with my firstborn and how I’ve come to terms with the permanence and universality of that role.
Make a Teacher’s Week: A Fresh Way to Say “Thanks” (628 words)
(for National Teacher Appreciation Week in May)
The article, “Make a Teacher’s Week,” offers ideas to help parents think outside the box regarding who and how they say thanks. Includes instructions for a simple, inexpensive gift they can create with their child).
Overshadowed No More (720 words)
An honest look at the tendency to over-parent and my reaction to that tendency in myself.
Planning a Spring Break That Doesn’t Break You (899 words)
“Planning a Spring Break That Doesn’t Break You” suggests three strategies for reframing spring break expectations can that make any destination a winner.
Summer
A Jam Anyone Can Get Into
(908 words: 756-word body and two sidebars totaling 152 words)
This how-to article about making homemade jam with kids also includes a sidebar of ways to get kids involved in the process, as well as a sidebar list of needed supplies.
Letting Dad Be Dad (811 words)
In this essay I explore some of the ways my husband parents differently from me and how I’ve grown through coming to appreciate his style of parenting.
Mom’s Toolbox of Summer Sanity Savers(1,059 words: 949-word body, plus two sidebars of 62 words & 48 words)
This piece describes four tools moms have used to create a memorable summer for their kids: the job jar, the reading ratchet, the fun Friday blueprint, and the life skills drill.
Raising Butterflies at Home (989 words: 946-word body, 43-word sidebar)
“Raising Butterflies at Home” offers a step-by-step how-to on finding and raising butterflies. Based on my experience in raising butterflies for several years along with tips from an expert and another mom, the instructions take into consideration everything a family would need to know to go it on their own.
Simple Summer Moments to Savor (834 words)
Suggests five different summertime occasions and ways for parents to give themselves to being present in those moments.
Summer Bucket List Essentials: 28 Ideas to Start Yours (865 words)
Offers readers suggestions of quintessential childhood activities for summer, along with lesser-known facts related to them. Parents will approach summer with enthusiasm when they’re prepared with this list of options they can customize for their family.
Fall
25 Things to Fall For This Autumn (680 words)
This article shares a bucket list of not-to-miss fall experiences that readers can enjoy with their kids. It includes related facts and figures, resources and recipes.
Holding On to the Thanks (701 words)
This essay explores how the irony of the launch into shopping on the heels of a day of thanks struck me and what I hope to do different in my family.
Teaching Kids How to Overcome Their Fears The Fun Way
(911 words:884-word body, 27-word sidebar)
This piece demonstrates how going after goals helps kids conquer common fears: the fear of failure, fear of the unknown and fear of missing out. It offers parents steps they can take to set their child on the path toward being brave by pursuing their dreams.
Tricks for Getting Rid of Those Treats
(903 words: 851-word body, 52-word sidebar with accompanying photo available)
This seasonal piece offers ideas for whittling away at the haul of candy left after Halloween trick-or-treating.
Fillers (350 words or less)
Are You Hovering Too Close to Your Kids?
Communication For Lasting Relationships
How to Hear Our Children
Stay Cold-Free This Winter
Ten-Minute Confidence Booster
When Moms & Dads Dare
Choosing the Right Preschool
Creativity Boosts Anyone Can Use
Growing Up Online: Handling Distraction & Multitasking
Help Improve Your Child’s Memory
Make Up a Bedtime Story With Your Child
Ways to Improve Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills
At-Home Butterfly Raising
Father’s Day: A Day Just For Dad
Kids’ Summer Reading Lists
Motivating an Underachiever
Peer Pressure Today & What You Can Do About It
Planning Great Family Meetings
When to Give Up and When to Stick It Out
Best Educational Apps for Kids
Exercise Smarts for Teen Brains
Help Your Child Succeed in School
Making Sense of Adolescence
Sleep Solutions for the School Year
Summer Photography Tips
Where to Look For Elusive School Supplies
5 Ways to Teach Your Child to Enjoy School
Don’t Leave Me: Ways to Make Drop Off Easier
Encouraging Bravery in Your Preschooler
Halt the Homework Hassles
How to Be a Great Parent Coach
Managing After School Busyness
Organizing Tips for a Smarter School Year
Dreamtime Conversations
Happy Holidays w/o the Hassle
Teaching Kids to Think For Themselves
Tips for Helping Your Child Give Up Thumb Sucking
Talking About Favorites
Why You Should Start Saving For College Now