Cricket Media Mama, Author at Cricket Media, Inc.

Ice, Ice, Baby: Frosted Window Craft with Your Kids

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. As I do every year. I heard much of the Midwest got slammed with snow recently, and they probably don’t understand my desire for it. In truth, I don’t love snow, but having a white Christmas is so rare where I live that you’ll have better luck spotting a […]

Girl, You Need to Beehive Yourself

This is my daughter’s third year of First Lego League. If you tuned in last year, you’ll know her team made the state finals. This year, they came close – they are the alternate team for states. For those of you unfamiliar with First Lego League, it’s not just building with block toys—there are three […]

Happily Ever Heifer

Every year we get one holiday catalog that trumps all others. You might think it’s the latest phonebook-sized toy catalog, but you’d be wrong. Our household anxiously awaits for the annual Heifer International catalog, because each holiday, my daughters pour over it deciding between cows, goats, sheep, donkeys rabbits, fish, and more. If you […]

Talkin’ Turkey: Pardoning the Festive Bird

What is the deal with turkey pardons? My daughters are heavily involved in 4H and I often feel like we practically live in the nearby park-farm where many of the 4H events take place. This farm is also one of the designated locations for the annual pardoned turkeys to live out the rest of […]

Releaf: An Activity to Brighten Up Any Dreary Fall Day

Where I live, the ground this time of year is a mosaic of gold, red, brown, burgundy, and orange. So many pretty fall colors, so many fun leaf shapes. I wish I could keep autumn forever. Viola! My wish is my command! This was my favorite craft when I was a kid, and […]

Why Cobblestone Magazine Rocks!

Let’s face it: Unless your child is naturally attracted to the subject, it’s not very easy to get kids interested in history. Hamilton certainly will get them in the spirit, but I hear tickets are not very easy to come by. What kids really need to engage them in the world-before-their-time is something relatable. This […]

Introducing Your Sensitive Child to Ghost Stories

Halloween season is in full swing and ghosts, witches, zombies, monsters, and other scary creatures are everywhere. It seems like no matter where you go you are bound to see spooky decorations adorning store windows and private houses, grotesque costumes on display, and scary stories in the “featured” section of libraries and bookstores. Kids are […]

Diwali: Not a Holiday to Take Light-ly

Halloween lights are becoming more popular these days. But before the strings of purple or orange fairy lights lit up bushes around my neighborhood, we often had green, yellow, red, and white holiday lights in October. For a while, I assumed it was people getting into the Christmas spirit REALLY early. But then I heard […]

BEHOLD THE A-MAIZE-ING CORN MAZES!

Warning: This blog is a little corny. I’m having one of those moments where I wish I was a kid in today’s times. Growing up, Halloween was a one-day event: a parade at school, trick-or-treating at night, and then a month week of candy as we switched gears, put the costumes away, and started counting down […]

Fail to the Chief: How to Model Appropriate Political Behavior for your Children

No matter what color your blood runs, you likely have an opinion about this election. Here’s my opinion: we are setting a terrible example for our kids. Maybe I’m just becoming more cognoscente of it as I go through more election cycles, but it has felt to me that each campaign has been increasingly […]