Simple Baby Shower Games

I did away with an old-school, Italian tradition and had a baby shower! I know, it's a silly tradition to begin with, but for years I heard my grandmother worrying about celebrations happening before the "actual" day. To be fair, I did have my Sweet 16 two days before my real sixteenth birthday against her wishes, and OK sure there was a horrible nor'easter that night, but does that really prove anything?

Anyway, my shower was all I could have hoped for! My mother, sister, and I put a lot of work into the little details. Exhausting in trimester 3? Absolutely, but it was totally worth it in the end.

Our games were a hit! Here are some ideas you might want to try during your fun-filled shower.

Guess Mommy's Belly Size! 

This game was easy to set up. All you'll need is:

• Yarn
• Pencils
• Card stock
• Scissors
• A basket 
• Print and Cut feature on Cricut Design Space

Guests used the yarn to estimate the size of my belly. We put small grooves on the ends of the card stock to make it easier for them to wrap their cut string around it and to keep the guesses together in the basket.

After all, guesses were in, my sister measured my belly in front of everyone. She used that string as a measure against everyone's predictions. Just to prove there was no funny business, she held the winners' strings beside mine as a reference.

We ended up with three winners! Two teachers and my cousin, a third-grader. Coincidence? Well, estimating lengths is an NJ elementary school state standard, so I'll let you be the judge.

To play this game at your own baby shower, 

check out my FREE template here!

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Parenting Styles From a Teacher's Perspective

Stand up comedian, John Mulaney, said it best:

"Kids are much more supervised now, but also, they have a lot of rights. Like, that’s the biggest civil rights increase I’ve seen in my lifetime. The rights of children have gone through the roof." [The Comeback Kid (2015)]

Kids are allowed to do so many things now without any regard for consequences. In fact, too many of my fourth graders this year hardly knew the concept of this mysterious word, "consequence." You mean I can't do whatever I want and get away with it? This mentality stems from a few different areas. School district policies often play a role in this, but I'll save that for another day. Today, I want to focus on how the parenting styles of today are impacting kids.

Parents should have strong relationships with their children that allow them certain freedoms, but what does that really look like? After several eye-opening parent-teacher conferences and conversations with students as well, I've narrowed parenting down to three common approaches:

• Best Friend Parenting
• Do-No-Wrong Parenting
• Balanced Parenting

Each has its pros and cons, but (spoiler alert) in my opinion, balanced parenting is the way to go if you want to raise well-rounded, respectful future adults. Here's why...

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4 Myths About Pregnancy Debunked

If you asked me before I became pregnant if I knew what to expect, I would have said, '"Absolutely!" I'd watched enough movies and listen to plenty of stories from my mom, in-laws, and friends about what they experienced. Everything they said generally seemed to align. Now seven months in, I've found that my experiences didn't quite fit the mold. Here are 5 myths about pregnancy that my body chose to debunk.

1. It takes a few months to get pregnant

This is true for some, of course, but it wasn't for me and my husband. We were very fortunate to get pregnant rather quickly, but I'd heard from so many that it took many months. 

This advice led many
people I know to start earlier than they were truly ready, anticipating that it would take many tries before any little swimmers won the gold medal. So, if you're not ready just yet, just wait.

2. Morning sickness happens in the morning

Whoever coined the phrase "morning sickness" owes us an apology for false advertisement. Just in the morning? Eh, I can handle that! Well let me tell you, I had ALL DAY SICKNESS. 

From week 5 through week 12, nature called from the moment I woke up in the morning, into the wee hours of the night. I do owe a few of my apartment complex neighbors and a restaurant an apology for the not-so-fresh surprise they may have had the misfortune of spotting while walking past a bush or two. Listen, ladies, you do what you have to do sometimes.

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Should I Email The Teacher About This? Encouraging Self-Advocacy

Not too long ago, the only way to reach your child's teacher was to leave a message for her to call you back or just wait for conferences. Either option gave parents time to think, "Is this something that needs to be shared?" More often than not, I'm willing to bet the answer was no.

Today, email has made communication between home and school faster than ever. Don't get me wrong, at times this is great! Michael will be in late today. No problem! Sarah had an issue with the school bully? We're on the case! 

Still, every once in a while, the fleeting thoughts of parents who just tucked their little ones into bed make their way into our already overflowing inbox. So before you hit that send button, check out these real email messages my colleagues and I have received that maybe could have stayed in the draft folder.

"The class next door played a video and the sound distracted my child."

Anyone who has lived in an apartment before knows the struggle of trying to take a nap while your neighbor blasts his Top 40 playlist. You might knock on the door and ask him to turn it down a bit, but ultimately you may still hear it. You will survive. The same goes for school. Besides, it's very unlikely that our children will one day work in an environment void of all noise and distractions. 

Instead of sending that email, have a conversation with your child about strategies for refocusing on the task at hand. Practice mindfulness by taking several deep breaths or take a short break. Chances are the class next door will make noise again.

"My child left his homework folder in school."

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