Let Me Start By Saying https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/ By Kim Bongiorno Wed, 08 Jun 2022 14:56:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Kim-Bongiorno-Facebook-Profile-Headshot-May-2014-512x512-5579027ev1_site_icon-32x32.png Let Me Start By Saying https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/ 32 32 Be a Part of the Solution https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/03/18/be-a-part-of-the-solution/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/03/18/be-a-part-of-the-solution/#respond Thu, 18 Mar 2021 22:36:31 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99715 People of Asian descent in the United States need our help right now. Hate crimes against Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other Asians in our country have been skyrocketing since early 2020–and those are just the ones that get reported or caught on camera. I have always found it easier to be genuinely helpful when [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/03/18/be-a-part-of-the-solution/feed/ 0 Make It an Opportunity to Learn https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/02/16/learning-opportunity/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/02/16/learning-opportunity/#respond Tue, 16 Feb 2021 19:52:08 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99709 ⚠️ Content warning ⚠️ Mention of violence against Black children. Links shared here use the full, unedited name of the popular carnival game mentioned, and give frank descriptions of how it was played. The following tweet and versions of it have been making some rounds on social media again: “Did you know: In the early [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/02/16/learning-opportunity/feed/ 0 5 Steps for More Factual Social Media News and for Understanding What Others See https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/12/5-steps-for-more-factual-social-media/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/12/5-steps-for-more-factual-social-media/#respond Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:23:10 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99699 The following has worked for me in two regards: It helps me increase the chances that I am reading/believing factual news, information, and stories across social media. It also helps me see what people who are NOT reading media outlets that focus on facts are reading/believing. Different people have different methods, but here’s what I’ve [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/12/5-steps-for-more-factual-social-media/feed/ 0 Talk to Your Kids https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/07/talk-to-your-kids/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/07/talk-to-your-kids/#respond Thu, 07 Jan 2021 14:46:57 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99693 Being a parent is always tricky. 2020 made it even more so. And 2021 has started off with yet another kick in the teeth.   While I cannot begin to tell the wide variety of parents who read my words on social media which choices to make for each of your individual kids on most [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2021/01/07/talk-to-your-kids/feed/ 0 A Book Gift Guide for the Many Different People in Your Life https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/12/04/a-book-gift-guide-for-the-many-different-people-in-your-life/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/12/04/a-book-gift-guide-for-the-many-different-people-in-your-life/#respond Fri, 04 Dec 2020 19:32:45 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99661 Friends and family text me all the time asking for advice on which book to buy certain people in their lives. It only made sense for me to whip up a list here for those of you who WANT to buy books as gifts but can’t possibly know every book out there. Since I’m helping [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/12/04/a-book-gift-guide-for-the-many-different-people-in-your-life/feed/ 0 Please Do Not Gather for a Thanksgiving Meal with Loved Ones You Do Not Live with https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/11/19/a-safer-holiday-season/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/11/19/a-safer-holiday-season/#respond Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:27:23 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99649 Please do not gather for a Thanksgiving meal with loved ones who live outside of your home or daily-ish bubble this year. (And this goes for all the other holidays this season, as well.) I miss my big extended family so much, too. Haven’t been in a room with any of them since at least [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/11/19/a-safer-holiday-season/feed/ 0 Cool Stuff for Kids of All Ages to Watch or Play or Do While Indoors https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/18/cool-stuff-for-kids-of-all-ages-to-watch-or-play-or-do-while-indoors/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/18/cool-stuff-for-kids-of-all-ages-to-watch-or-play-or-do-while-indoors/#respond Wed, 18 Mar 2020 20:59:57 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99633 Ohhhh boy. The kids are home. What do we do now? First, try not to freak out. Remember that social distancing, staying home is going to save lives. We can do this. Now. What to do with the kids?  Okay. So. The kids will be hanging around the house for a while. Whether they’re being watched [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/18/cool-stuff-for-kids-of-all-ages-to-watch-or-play-or-do-while-indoors/feed/ 0 Emergency Contacts to HELP Our Kids https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/16/emergency-contacts-to-help-our-kids/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/16/emergency-contacts-to-help-our-kids/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:15:04 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99617 We don’t want to think about it, but we need to. If your tweens and teens have phones, I encourage you to add some Emergency Contacts. Not just the neighbors whose houses they can pop over if they lock themselves out, or Grandma to come pick them up from practice in a pinch. I mean [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/03/16/emergency-contacts-to-help-our-kids/feed/ 0 Listen and Learn and Do the Work https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/20/do-the-work/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/20/do-the-work/#respond Mon, 20 Jan 2020 17:42:26 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99578 Instead of posting a tidy quote this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and then re-posting it sometime during Black History Month, I’m asking fellow white folks to join me in taking the time to listen, learn, watch, and read what his words were all about–even if it makes us uncomfortable, especially if it makes us [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/20/do-the-work/feed/ 0 It Is Not Our Job To Do Everything https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/02/it-is-not-our-job-to-do-everything/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/02/it-is-not-our-job-to-do-everything/#respond Thu, 02 Jan 2020 16:02:45 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99565 I’m okay and you’re okay. We’re all doing okay and that’s what matters.

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2020/01/02/it-is-not-our-job-to-do-everything/feed/ 0 The Best Books I Read in 2019 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2019/12/06/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2019/12/06/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019/#respond Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:01:32 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=99412 This year I read over 120 books from middle grade on up to adult fiction (not including re-reads of old favorites), and have chosen about 60 to shine a spotlight on in this end-of-the-year wrap-up. Like I did in last year’s best book post, I grouped them by age range, but this time I’m also [...]

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]]> https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2019/12/06/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019/feed/ 0 A Little Pride Month Reading https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2019/06/02/pride-month/ https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/2019/06/02/pride-month/#respond Sun, 02 Jun 2019 17:38:01 +0000 https://letmestartbysayingblog.com/?p=98810 (Or: How to Be a Better Ally) May this Pride Month be the one during which we all open our minds and hearts and arms a little wider to embrace the LGBTQIA+ community for who they are, and help everyone fully be who they are with our support our listening our actions our votes our [...]

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