Author: Lisa

If you’ve popped over to my Syncopated Mama blog at all over the past few years (or even today, when I’m sharing our biggest trip yet), you’ve probably picked up on the fact that we like to travel. A lot. Don’t be afraid to travel with your preschoolers! When our Gv was first born, we’d…

My sweet puppy, Bishnu, died just after G and I returned from our honeymoon. He was the best dog ever (seriously!) and so easy to take care of, but caring for a dog in his last days can be incredibly difficult and I didn’t think I’d ever want to go through that process again… Fast-forward…

I’m pretty sure the thought of handing over a saw to your young child is enough to melt your innards, but kids love the opportunity to be involved with using real tools and building things! Obviously, any time to you set out to introduce something like the topic of tools to kids, plenty of adult…

Are you ready for the April showers in your neck of the woods to bring cheery May flowers? What better time to introduce your kids to the world of gardening than the spring! Aside from enjoying the actual fruits of gardening labor, spending time in this activity provides your children with a long list of…

Not everyone gets a good foundation of financial matters while growing up, but my parents did a fantastic job with it. Besides being given the usual bit of allowance, one of the fun things my mom did for me as a kid was to create “checks” that I could use when I wanted to buy…

When my Gv’s fifth birthday was approaching last year, she wanted nothing more than a sewing machine. Now, it’s true that sewing is programmed into her DNA, as her maternal grandmother, great-grandmother, and all the great-greats before that filled their days with sewing for enjoyment. Even I have lived through my own obsessive phases of…

Remember a few months ago when I encouraged you to get your kids helping out with chores early on? One of the ideas was to let them help out in the kitchen, which not encourages them to help you, but can also empower them to create culinary masterpieces on their own! Start Kids Early in…

Okay, true confession time. Are you one of those parents who can’t wait for school to start back up again while the kids are on a break, or do you shed a tear as each day ticks by, because you’re enjoying having your munchkins around for all those extra hours each day? Whether your kids…

I studied Spanish all through high school and college, taught myself French (sort of) for fun one summer, learned various phrases to help me get by during all my European travels, and sat down to seriously study Italian when I met my husband G, who lived in Rome for 5 years during graduate school. He…

Back when I was in the classroom, I developed a “teach them to fish” mentality with all sorts of administrative tasks that could take away my (oh, so limited) time to actually teach the kids. I would cringe when I’d see other teachers spending their precious planning period walking around stamping behavior folders for the…