Education

Tooth Tissues for a Toddler’s Toothy Grin
My two-year-old loves to parade around the house with his toothbrush in hand, brushing away at his teeth. And although he is usually rather excited when it is time to brush his teeth, he does have those occasional cranky mornings and late nights, when he does not want me to come near him with his [...]

Want a Diversion? Here are Fifty…
When you are looking for a little bit of internet R&R, where do you go?
I am assuming if you are reading this, you come here at least once and awhile - THANKS!!!
Where else do you like to go?
Evan Carmichael recently posted The Top 50 Diversion Blogs 2008 — and 5 Minutes for Mom made the [...]
Your Baby Can Read?!?
When I first heard about the Your Baby Can Read series, I was immediately intrigued — and a bit skeptical. How on earth can someone teach a baby to read?!?
But since the program was developed by a prominent professor and expert infant researcher, I decided it was worth some investigation.
When Dr. Titzer’s daughter Aleka [...]

A Blue Sky Rocket Giveaway
Over at our sister site, 5 Minutes for Special Needs, there is a really fun giveaway going on that we want to be sure you all know about.
If you’d like a chance to win some beautiful children’s artwork from Blue Sky Rocket, head on over to 5 Minutes for Special Needs and enter to [...]

Win Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition
On October 7, 2008, Disney’s vault opened to release the beloved classic, Sleeping Beauty, for a limited time.
Restored to dazzle new fans with its pristine picture and sound quality, the final fairy tale to be produced by Walt Disney himself, the

Sleeping Angel Photo Contest Finalists
Thank you to everyone who entered our Sleeping Angel Photo Contest sponsored by Home & Bedroom Furniture. As usual, it was so hard narrowing down all of the adorable entries to only 20 finalists. Please forgive us if we didn’t choose your shot - it was so hard to decide.
Our winner will receive one of [...]

Sending Our Blankets to Brady’s Smile
Last month, I told all of you about a special blanket making party we were having for Brady’s Smile, as a part of our new outreach, 5 Minutes for Making a Difference.

On March 16, 2006, Brady Blaine Hinton was born at St. Vincent’s hospital in Bridgeport, CT. He passed away two years later on March [...]

5 Minutes for Books: Taking Care of Your Girls
Do you want to hear about even more great books and contests? Sign up for the 5 Minutes for Books newsletter.
It’s that time again. In October of each year the color is pink and we think about our girls a lot more than we usually do.
Because I have a pre-pubescent tween [...]

What’s Real Beauty?
I’m sure that you’ve seen some of the Dove “Real Beauty” ads in print or on TV. I think it will take a lot more than one company using “real women” (who aren’t all 21 and a size 0) in their ads to convince us that there’s more to beauty than looking like a [...]
Win a Soft and Cuddly Stuffed Animal
My daughter, Audrey, loves unicorns and puppies. They may be two of her most favorite things. Thanks to Douglas Toys, Audrey recently received a fun package in the mail. Inside she found a stuffed Golden Retriever and a stuffed unicorn. She was beside herself with excitement.
Troy Golden Retriever was super soft. I immediately stole [...]

What Do You Think of Banning Books?
Do you think a book should ever be banned?
Jennifer and others are talking about it at 5 Minutes for Books.
Read what she and the rest of the community has to say on the topic at 5 Minutes for Books and tell us what you think.

How do I help my preschooler beat separation anxiety?
I’m sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my 3 year old daughter Julia’s preschool class listening to her cry for her Mommy.
The perfection of her first day was short-lived.
Day 2 brought a few tears. Day 3 was harder still. And Day 4 included a phone call home to request a rescue.
So now [...]

Have you ever had to use CPR?
Last summer I had a sickening reminder of the importance of CPR skills.
Two year old Julia and I were standing in a wading pool. I was standing right next to her, but I turned my head to talk to my sister.
Almost immediately — only a second could have passed — my sister pointed and [...]

Win Prima Princessa For Your Tiny Dancer
Do you have a tiny dancer in your home? I must admit, watching my tutu adorned daughter leap, spin and dance around the living room, brings the biggest smile to my face. Stephanie Troller and Mary Kate Mellow, two moms with no prior filmmaking experience and inspired by their daughters’ love of dancing, created the [...]

Juggling Multiple Blogs to Build Your Blogging Career — Video with ChiliHead
Melanie (aka ChiliHead) from Blogging Basics 101 shares with us tips on how to leverage multiple blogs to build a successful blogging career.
Juggling Multiple Blogs to Build Your Blogging Career from 5 Minutes for Mom on Vimeo.
This is the first of our series of interviews with Melanie.
We have been very fortunate over the last several [...]

Wow Wow Wubbzy
Cool enough for six-year-old Jackson and cute enough for three-year-old Julia, Wow Wow Wubbzy from Nick Jr. is a hit with our kids!
But it takes more than colorful characters to win me over — so I was curious to test out this little yellow creature and see if I approved of his show and his [...]

Shutterfly Simplifies Photo Sharing
I love to take photos.
I love to grab as many of those fleeting moments of childhood as I can to stash away for the future.
But when I am at an event or out with family and friends, I often hesitate to pick up my camera. Why???
Because as much as I love taking photos of [...]

Scholastic Study Helps
One of my goals for Amanda this summer was for her to get her multiplication facts down pat. She’s actually always been good in math, but she hates to memorize, so since they’ve been working on multiplication for the last two years, she has resisted the effort it takes to memorize them perfectly. [...]

Blogging about Autism and other Special Needs - Video Interview with Arianne
I think one of the greatest blessings of the blogosphere is the community of moms supporting each other through the challenges of parenting. Parenting is always tough but when children have special needs, the power of community sharing is extraordinary.
In this video interview, we chat with Arianne about sharing her experience of raising three boys [...]

How Cute is This!?!
Over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, they have an adorable weekly carnival called, Magic Marker Monday. It is just too cute for words!
So, grab your artist’s work off the refrigerator and join in. Or just hop over to check out the artwork and meet some inspiring little artists. (This carnival is open to all [...]