Once our oldest son turned four, there was a birthday party to attend most every Saturday. It’s the norm around here (and probably where you are too – this trend has more to do with the times than geography) to host the entire preschool class or everyone on the kindergarten roster.
It’s fun but can also be quite overwhelming, whether you’re the hostess going over every detail or the guest worrying about what to buy the classmate who already has everything.
There …

I have always been a bit of a doer. That is neither a good nor bad thing, it just is. I need to keep busy and stimulated, and subsequently always have lots on the go.
Luckily, my career stemmed from my passions and always included a lot of travel. I have worked as a journalist in radio, print and TV; I’ve managed musicians, and did their marketing and publicity. I’ve promoted movies at big film festivals and hung out with stars …

We had a great discussion earlier in this study about simplifying material things in our children’s environments – and this week we apply the same principle to our schedules.  As Kim says in this chapter, “Just as too many toys may stifle creativity, too may scheduled activities may limit a child’s ability to direct themselves, to fill their own time, to find and follow their own path.”
Research sited in the book notes that, since 1981, homework time has doubled, scheduled …

Welcome back to our Simplicity Parenting book study.  This week, one of my personal favorite chapters!  I hope you enjoyed it, too.  We will be discussing Environment.  Our Stuff.  And Toys.
How much stuff is too much?  What kind of environment is most healthy?  What environment is most conducive to nurturing imagination or to a giving spirit?
This chapter discusses the “mountain of toys” that is so common in bedrooms and toy boxes everywhere, and the implications this phenomenon has on developing …

What a wonderful group that has formed for our online book study!  I’m looking forward to sharing ideas and growing together on the simplifying journey.  Please know, if you haven’t already joined us, you are welcome to join in at any time.  You can get a copy of Simplicity Parenting here, and jump into the discussion by introducing yourself in the comments.
This week’s food for thought:  Why Simplify?  Kim covers some of “the problem” with our society’s view of childhood …

“When you act to limit what you don’t want for your family, you clarify what you really do need, what is important to you.  Your values clarify.  Simplification is a path of self-definition for the family.
It is quieter when the insistent noise of popular culture, competition, and consumerism are turned down several notches.  Just as a singer has to shut out ambient noises to hear her own voice, simplification allows a family to “tune in” to their values, to what …

There is still room for interested parents and professionals to enroll in our Distance Learning Group Leader Training starting September 15th.
Would you like to guide others in your community through the process of simplifying parenting and protecting childhood?
The Simplicity Parenting© Group Leader training was started in the Winter of 2010 in an effort to help families strengthen and re-orient individual family values that can often become crowded out in the pace of contemporary life.
Our Distance Learning Training will consist of …

Okay, you have been waiting for it and begging for it and now it’s here!  The Simplicity Parenting Book Group Guide has been created and is now available in our store.
The Book Group Guide is a $9 pdf download that is now available to parents who are interested in reading the book with other like-minded families.
The Guide provides you with information about how to start a group, how many times to gather, and what questions to focus on after each …

When you go swimming at our community pool, you get a nice, very bright, orange bracelet to wear that proves you paid.  Children under a certain age don’t have to wear these bracelets, which to some, as we learned the other day, just won’t do.  After returning home from the pool, Coco talked on and on about the bracelets to Sean, who had taken her swimming, and because I was knee deep in making dinner.  The bracelet conversation continued through …

Announcing Simplicity programs in New York City…
• Simplicity Parenting in the Garden: Growing Community through Movement & Parenting.  NYRP Suffolk Street Garden / Manhattan.  Sundays 9-Noon, July 10- August 21.  Includes one hour Yoga & Meditation techniques for calm and clear parenting.  What a lovely way to spend the last summer Sundays and prepare for fall, which comes all too quickly.  Free & Open to the public.
• Site Launch: goldenmomentsnyc.com, an SP resource & blog specific to NYC Parenting.  Our purpose is …