by Courtney Cappallo (USA) | Jun 22, 2011 | Childhood, Family, Kids, Motherhood, USA
My parents threw me one birthday party when I was around 4 years old. I don’t remember much from the party except that it was an exceptionally sunny and cheery day. I remember running around outside with my friends, and that is about it. I am certain there was a cake and gifts.
I don’t think we played any games, and there certainly weren’t any party favors. Were there balloons? Maybe… Streamers? Doubt it. I am the youngest of three children, born in the mid 70’s, so I am betting my mom kept things fairly simple.
I just survived planning and executing my oldest daughter’s 6th birthday party. It took me one full month to put the whole bash together. I had big plans for her this year, big plans. You see, last year for her 5th party I really tried to knock it out of the park. (more…)
Courtney Cappallo is a mom of two girls, ages 7 and 4-years-old. She is living her dream life by residing on Cape Cod and being able to stay at home with her two little beauties. Courtney is currently homeschooling both of her daughters for 2nd grade and preschool, respectively.
Courtney uses a mix of Classical Education and Montessori. She is a strong believer in teaching to the five senses. Courtney’s homeschooling efforts are unique, as she uses the latest technology of the Smartboard. She is also taking on the task of learning Spanish as a second language, as well as, teaching her two children and husband Spanish.
Prior to becoming a homeschooling teacher, Courtney was the Director of Marketing for Simon Property Group, which is the largest U.S. real estate company. Courtney was Simon’s Director of Marketing for the Burlington Mall, Arsenal Mall and Cape Cod Mall. Courtney is a graduate of Villanova University and is proud of her small town roots from growing up in Oxford, Pennsylvania, which only has two traffic lights! She can be found making homeschooling lessons and more at Table of Four !
More Posts
by Karyn Wills | Jun 21, 2011 | Childhood, Family, International, Kids, Motherhood, New Zealand, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview
Where in the world do you live?
I live in Napier, on the sunny east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. After a major (7.8) earthquake in 1931 the centre of Napier was rebuilt in the styles of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and has become something of a tourist destination. http://www.artdeconapier.com/
There are plenty of wineries around too. 🙂 http://www.hawkesbaynz.com/Visit/Wine–Food/
(Come in February – the kids are back in school and the weather is warm and settled.)
And, are you from there?
I grew up in a country area called Tutira, 50km north of the city, on a sheep farm that my Dad managed. There were 75 kids in the school and 9 in my year group. I had to go to weekly boarding school, here in Napier, for my high-school years from the age of 12. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
More Posts
by Angela Y (USA) | Jun 16, 2011 | Childhood, Culture, Family, International, Kids, Parenting, USA
There was an article recently in The Wall Street Journal that described how to help children remember momentous events from their lives. The key was to retell the story over and over and as they get older, relate it to current events. It was a day that I didn’t want big girl to forget, so I planned on making it grand and talking about it often.
It was big girls first ballet recital.
Big girl fell in love with ballet on her own. I don’t even recall how it happened. So at 2 ½ , I signed her up for her first ballet class. On Mondays for the past year, we have been taking ballet at a nearby studio. She loves ballet! There are many mornings that she gets up and the first thing she asks is “I have ballet today?”. To round her out, big girl plays soccer and takes swim class in addition to going to preschool. But her true love is ballet class. (more…)
Angela Y. is in her mid-thirties and attempting to raise her two daughters (big girl, R, 3 years; little girl, M, 1 year) with her husband in San Francisco, CA. After spending ten years climbing the corporate ladder, she traded it all in to be a stay-at-home mom! Her perspective of raising a child in the city is definitely different from those who have been city dwellers all their lives, as she grew up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) surrounded by her extended family.
Angela Y. and her husband are on their own on the west coast of the United States — the only family help they receive is when someone comes for a visit. But, the lifestyle in San Francisco is like no other for them, so there, they stay! This exercise conscious mom is easily recognized, especially when she is riding around her husband-built bike with two seats on the back. And, when she’s not hanging out with the girls, you can find Angela Y. in the kitchen. She loves to cook for her family, especially dessert, and then eats some herself when no one is looking! Sneaky, mom!
More Posts
by Alison | Jun 15, 2011 | Child Care, Childhood, Communication, Education, Family, International, Malaysia, Parenting, Technology, Toys
We live in a world of iPads, flat screen televisions, smartphones, GPS navigation systems, electric cars, the Internet.
Our children are growing up in the fast-moving digital age.
Our children are growing up watching television, loving shows like Barney, Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants and many more. They’re growing up learning the alphabet with Elmo using the iPad. They’re growing up learning to use a smartphone before they can even talk.
There is much dialogue about the extent of technology our children are immersed in, whether voluntarily, as permitted by their parents, or involuntarily, where they’re surrounded by these things when they go to school, to a mall, or even, their friends’ homes. (more…)
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
by World Moms Blog | Jun 10, 2011 | Canada, Childhood, Eva Fannon, Family, Family Travel, Friday Question, India, Kids, Mexico, Poland, Polish Mom Photographer, Salma, Technology, Third Eye Mom, Transportation, Travel, USA
This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maggie Ellison. She asked our writers,
“What is one of your favorite childhood memories?”
Read on to see what some of our World Moms had to say…
Dr. Lanham of Arizona, USA writes:
“My favorite childhood memory is sitting with my grandfather on my grandparent’s front porch in Indiana while it rained. We would have a soda, sit in the swing and watch the rain fill up the lake across the street. I’ll never forget it!”
(more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
More Posts
by Karyn Wills | Jun 8, 2011 | Childhood, Communication, Family, International, Kids, Media, Motherhood, Music, New Zealand, Parenting, Toys
This started as a post about what happens when a mother gets ill, but still has a young family to care for. While we were busy doing research with a very nasty tummy-bug, Veronica published her post on taking her daughter to watch a game of college basketball, (NEW JERSEY, USA: Ladies of the Court).
It’s a lovely post about parents sharing their common passion with their child. The comments were great and they got me thinking – are our children genetically different to others? You see, during those few days when various ones of us were ill, the boys got to watch tv. This doesn’t happen in our house. Our kids aren’t allowed any electronic entertainment.
Before you jump to the conclusion that we are controlling hippy-freaks, let me reassure you that we have no electronic entertainment (for children) in our house for very good reasons. In fact, many years ago our eldest son was pretty much on a par with most other children of educated middle-class families. He watched educational tv and dvds every day, and he listened to loads of cds. He’d been to see The Wiggles on stage and a couple of other shows.
Then, a teacher suggested that a few of the behaviour problems we were having at the time might be due to over-stimulation. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
More Posts
My parents threw me one birthday party when I was around 4 years old. I don’t remember much from the party except that it was an exceptionally sunny and cheery day. I remember running around outside with my friends, and that is about it. I am certain there was a cake and gifts.
