Author: Julie Meyers Pron

Dear Julie, My 4th grader has writing assignments for school on a fairly regular basis. I check his work, but he pulls away every time I tell him corrections to make. Am I right to correct his spelling and punctuation and make him do better? I don’t want him handing in incomplete work. Thanks, Sylvia Another great question this week. In a nutshell, yes, you should be concerned and encourage him to do his best, but no, it’s not your job to correct it. In elementary school, your job as a parent is not to be his teacher. You should…

As you may recall, my iPhone was stolen this summer, and Samsung slid right in as my hero, lending me the Samsung Galaxy Note II to try out for a few months until my contract was up for purchasing a new phone. This phone, which I like to call a mini-tablet, has lots to highlight, and you’ll be able to tell from my review below that I just love the vibrant, crisp screen. It’s everything I’ve learned to expect from Samsung. Favorite features from the Samsung Galaxy Note II [if you’re unable to view the embedded video, please click here]…

Years ago, at the tender age of 6, I transferred schools. The last memory I have of my old house on Waring Road was of practicing learning my letters all over again because this new school taught, used, and expected a fancy style of handwriting, called D’Nealian Manuscript. D’Nealian handwriting is similar to a serif font in that it has tails, rather than straight lines, like sans serif fonts. For example, serif fonts include Times New Roman, and sans serif fonts include Arial. While some teachers barely bat an eye, other teachers and schools are very strict that their students learn…

As I walked through Epcot’s International Showcase during Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I did the usual head turning as I pondered how one place could house and present so much culture. But I did a double-take upon seeing Lightning McQueen and his buddy Mater sculpted in a flower garden in Japan. Wow! I thought! They really did this up for last year’s movie premiere! I can’t believe they still have it up! A few minutes later, I came across another sculpture garden, this time of Buzz Lightyear and Woody. … wait a minute, I thought with Woody-like tonality. This…

My kids are not soda drinkers. They’re barely juice drinkers. In our house, it’s a lucky day when you get orange juice for breakfast. We’re strictly water and milk. So when WAT-AAH contacted me to send samples for review at Mommies with Style, I wasn’t sure about it. The purpose of WAT-AAH is to give children a hip and healthy alternative to soda and juices. It doesn’t have coloring, artificial flavors, or sugars—actually, it’s completely pure. Of course, pure is what I already give to my kids. Still, we tested it, and you’ll find a thorough review from last week on Mommies with Style. But…

So, unless you’re new to this blog, you probably know that I’m a pretty busy lady. Let me recap: PTO Presidente-boutique owneran active blogger on many sitesfreelancerstarting a consulting companynight school teacherworking on a Philadelphia-area-blogger-collective-group-thing (that I’m not going to try to explain right now)mom of 3 (one of which is breastfeeding)wifehouse-runner… The [dot dot dot] should make it clear I’m not done, right? And you wonder, or at least I know many wonder, how do I do it all? Well, apparently, I don’t. Or I shouldn’t. Because my body can’t keep up with me, and now I have Shingles. Monday, I noticed a huge feeling…

Stress. Do you feel it? In your neck? In your shoulders? Taking over your body? As I listen to my 16-month-old call out “Mom” after her too-short nap, I feel it. I’ve felt it the past few days. Because I am stressed. Really. Like every other mom, I’m shuffling schedules, preparing meals, working, cleaning. Oh! And I’m pitching, writing, planning events. And SHOPPING! Yes, my friends, this is the one time of the year when shopping loses its fun and excitement. Suddenly, even shopping, which so often is a chance to relax and release, is stressful. Moms. We need to…

Emergency Medical Care: It was one of those things that I forgot to find out ahead of time, but, luckily, all of the information was easily accessible through the front desk at our resort. The lowdown of important medical care information for your Disney World vacation: Urgent Care Available off property near Downtown Disney. If you’re staying on property and need a ride, they offer a free shuttle. We called at about 8:05 (they open at 8 am), and the estimated wait time was 1 hour after your shuttle arrived at their offices. Shuttle time would vary depending on when you…

Every book and website I read while preparing for Disney, and every e-mail sent to me as a HARO response, prepped us to take our kids to Disney World first thing in the morning. “Be there at least 15 minutes before they open,” one said. Another warned that we should always leave early, avoiding parade and fireworks crowds. Well, last week I was at Disney World. We arrived Monday, about an hour and a half late due to the weather. So rather than checking in at 11:30, we checked in at about 1. I was tempted, based on all of the suggestions…

Update March 13, 2011: Due to the frightening Earthquakes in Japan last week, I recalled and referred to this post with my family and friends as we found ourselves once again defining an Earthquake. Leticia Barr at Tech Savvy Mama shares more suggestions in her March 2011 post Teaching Kids About Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Japan Through Online Resources. Originally posted on Philly Moms Blog after the Haitian Earthquake in 2010, this post introduces preschoolers and Kindergartners to Earthquakes, making the scares a little more understandable. “I don’t know what an earthquake is,” Middle, my 4-year-old, stated this morning while we were…