This Week's Top Parenting Links—5/19

Vacation season is upon us! I love this time of year and the excitement of preparing for a trip. What has me concerned is occupying my little ones for endless hours in a car. If that is you as well, help is here! I’ve found some great car activities to keep them occupied, as well as some inspiration to encourage you to rest this weekend and enjoy whatever season you are in!

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The season of long road trips is upon us! And, no matter how great your kids travel, the last 2 hours can get long—really long. Here are some great ideas to avoid the witching hour in the car Check out #5 and #35—I’ll be working on them this weekend for our back-to-back trips next week!

“And since the warm weather is (finally!) upon us and I know there are a lot of other moms out there who are desperate to find road trip activities for kids that don’t involve electronic devices, stickers, play doh, and singing, “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” for 10 hours straight, I decided I would share my list with you.”

For more ideas, visit Meraki Lane.

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This story was encouraging, convicting and a joy to read. What a wonderful perspective to keep in mind, no matter what you or your child is struggling with.

“I do not know what is ahead for my little guy. I know there will be challenges, and I expect more weeks of near-constant tears on my end. I know there will also be victories, that he will learn a new word and we will cheer him on like he won a gold medal. I anticipate a good week, then a bad week, then a madder-than-hell week and a bursting with gratitude week. I imagine a lot of repentance, and at times, a desperate longing for home… not this one. Aren’t we all longing for our real home, though?”

Follow Katie’s journey here.

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As a tired Mom, sometimes I forget to marvel at the way my kiddos see the world. This was a great reminder!

“Chesterton said, ‘There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.’ But how rare in our discussions of spirituality is a sense of mirth, of twinkle-in-the-eye delight — not sarcasm, not the sneer of adult cynicism that pervades religious satire, not the biting wit of grown-up comedy. There is something almost holy to me about a five-year-old’s high-pitched peal of laughter that lights up the darkness of a crowded theatre in even the most mediocre animated film; I feel spiritually chastened when I hear it. Somewhere in my forty years I have forgotten how to laugh, truly laugh, at the fact that we have these marvelously ridiculous bodies that can’t seem to stop falling down or making preposterous noises. It seems sacrilegious not to tip my hat to the One who first thought of the joke. Is there a special kind of communion between Creator and creature that happens when a small child giggles over the improbable fact of our existence?”

Find more interesting articles and news at The Rabbit Room.

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I’m always looking for ways to encourage reading at our house. This list is broken down into age and grade levels, and is a great starting point for your summer reading!

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Have you heard of Bullet Journaling? I was introduced to it this week by a fellow homeschooling mom, and it is life changing for a chronic list writer. Check out the video below for a better explanation, and let me know if you take the plunge.

“Bullet Journaling is a method of organizing/planning developed by Ryder Carroll. It is simplicity and flexibility at its finest. The main point – don’t create multiple places that you have to look for information,and don’t worry about imperfection. Instead use only one notebook with page numbers, and create an index so that you can find everything you need in just one place. I know, I know it sounds too simple -but it really works, I promise! If something is in my bullet journal it gets done. Every time.”