Kid-Friendly Laminate Floors

Parents are always looking for kid-friendly options, especially in their homes. Children are extremely active, and it is impossible to follow them around throughout the day. From toys and books to food and drinks, children are always dropping things.

Laminate is one of the best flooring options for family homes where children and pets live. Tough, durable and scratch-resistant, laminate reveals the beauty of wood but is built to last through the years. It is easier to care for than expensive wood flooring and carpeting, and it is less susceptible to damage than self-adhesive vinyl tiles.

Quality laminate flooring is available from top flooring companies including online stores like South Shore Flooring. They are designed to withstand anything a busy, active family can dish out. Laminate resists penetration by most household chemicals and solvents including crayons, markers, lipstick and nail polish. Cleanup is easy with a little acetone, and it is simple to replace damaged planks.

Most laminate floors are "green" floors that benefit the family and the environment. They are also easy on the pocket book. When compared with other types of flooring, laminate is relatively inexpensive and easy to install. Families can enjoy its beauty, simplicity and durability for years to come.

Wordless Wednesday: Like a Candle

Virtual Book Tour – A Parent’s Playbook for Learning

I really resonated with Lexi’s post back in June when Dirk headed off to Kindergarten. Like Lexi, I was lucky enough to have a WAHM schedule to be able to be there for my daughter’s very first day of big kid school and my son’s very first day of preschool. I have also worked hard with both of my kids to, in my case, semi-homeschool them and get them enrolled in schools with smaller classes so they get more one-on-one time with their teachers. What’s made a big difference for me both in terms of helping new teachers get to know my kids and also in terms of me understanding how my kids learn best is keying into their individual temperaments…and continuing to think of myself as one of my kids’ most important teachers even after they’ve headed off to elementary school.

When I started getting my firstborn ready for school, I started teaching her in the ways I most liked to learn as a child. I thought this would be a great approach, considering I graduated both high school and college early and with honors. I knew that interests played a big role in making learning “click” for kids because I’d done my undergraduate thesis on multiple intelligences in college. But I didn’t realize until I started teaching one-on-one just how important it is to know your child’s learning personality type.

My eldest daughter has a very different personality type than I do, and until I started keying into those personality type differences, learning wasn’t as fun for her as it could be. Because my ultimate goal is to make sure my kids enjoy learning and turn into life-long learners, my original strategy of doing it the way I did as a kid just wasn’t working. I began doing a lot of research and started weaving in personality type based techniques into our work together and things started to change. She started to understand new concepts better and faster…and to enjoy learning more. I think one of my simultaneously best and worst moments came last year when we were working on homework together and she said, “I love the way you teach me, Mom. Why can’t my teachers teach me this way in school?” This is not to say we don’t have our moments—it’s certainly not all peaches and cream—but our time together is more effective and more enjoyable now that I’m tuned into her temperament. I wrote my book—A Parent’s Playbook for Learning—for other parents like me who want their kids to grow up to love learning and have yet to discover the magic that comes from honoring their kids’ natures in a learning context.

This is a guest post by Jen Lilienstein, founder of Kidzmet.com and author of the award-winning book, A Parent’s Playbook for Learning, which can be purchased in paperback or ebook formats on Amazon.com, BN.com, iTunes, and in bookstores around the world.

Movie Marathon

It's not like I've lost my interest in blogging. The lack of updates is mainly because I am busy with other things, like my son's schooling and my work. And then I got sick, colds and flu. Every day I encourage myself to post something, anything. But then I never get to do it. I am just too tired and ends up in the bed in a crash. Too sleepy to care about anything.

Yesterday we spent the whole day in a movie marathon c/o Star Movies. Haha. So much fun. Great titles like my favorites Armageddon, The Odd Life of Timothy Green and John Carter of Mars. Though I can't help but notice that we need to acquire one of those flat panel TV stands I see in other homes to make the viewing experience so much better.