High School

Inside Out 2 - Why Every Tween (and Parent) Needs to See It When my now twelve-year-old son was a toddler, Inside Out came out in theaters. My "honesty island" would be firing on all cylinders by saying I probably enjoyed the original movie more than my own child. So, when it was announced that Inside Out 2 would be released the same weekend as my toddler's 3rd birthday, taking him to see the sequel for his birthday weekend was a no brainer. I arrived to the theatre expecting a fun, humorous, somewhat light plot line, but I left with a new perspective on my own preteen's complex, new emotions. The Emotions are New (and Complex) to Your Kids Early into the movie,...

Raising Teens :: Not For The Weak "As much as I love raising my big kid I still long for the days that his hands were encapsulated in mine." Raising teenagers is not for the weak. When our children are younger we think those are the hardest days. Sleepless nights, temper tantrums, the works. Y’all know how it is. We’re often met with the sly comments of parents more experienced than us saying “just you wait” and we shrug it off. Caught up in the days we never think we’ll get past. The truth is though, all of those well-meaning naysayers were right. As I enter my third year of raising a teenager, I’ve indeed looked back on parents with toddlers...

Fostering Healthy Body Acceptance In Your Teen Daughter Teaching a young girl how to accept and love her body starts with her mother. You will be a mirror to either her strengths or her insecurities. It's up to you to decide which she will reflect on. She will already be bombarded with the unattainable world of filters, advertising, TikTok videos, and the latest internet celebrity. She will hear the gossip of peers calling out the too fat, too thin, too tan, not tan enough, too tall, too short, anything too much, making her feel less than. But you momma, can lessen the damage of these things. Never Criticize Yourself in Her Presence Momma I'm with you. I've got pounds to lose. There...

Give Your Family a Worldly Experience: Host a High School Exchange Student Are you searching for a way to expose your children to different cultures or add a little vibrancy to your house? Volunteering to host an exchange student is a great way to experience different cultures and it offers numerous benefits for you and your family. Now is a great time to select a student to host for the upcoming school year. Doing so will allow you to start communicating with the student and preparing for his or her arrival. Who can host an exchange student? From traditional families to single parents and empty-nesters, host families come in many different forms. Host families have high school-aged children, toddlers, or no children...

2024 Red Stick Mom Teacher of the Year :: Nominate YOUR Favorite Teacher TODAY! There are not enough ways to say THANK YOU for all that our beloved teachers have done for us and our children, especially over the last few years. Thank you for your flexibility, thank you for you putting in extra hours, thank you for coming up with creative lesson plans to keep your students engaged, thank you for spending your hard-earned money on classroom supplies. Thank you for your unending devotion to our children and our families. One small way we thought we could extend our appreciation is to honor one very deserving teacher with our 2024 Red Stick Mom Teacher of the Year title! Whether s/he...