O.K. I admit it.  My home and office get cluttered too.  It makes life interesting, but I notice far less productive.

Especially when it comes to finding what I need, and then I make excuses. And so do my kids - even though they’re “all grown up”…

Are you frustrated too, and can’t seem to get the clutter cleaned up?  Do you wonder if your kids will clean up their rooms?

I did too, so here are some of the best tips ever - from a self-confessed
clutter collector.

They are  none too soon for anyone who wants to finally figure out a permanent way to get a clearer head and a cleaner home or workspace, while raising smarter children (who are neat and organized) at the same time!

And you just might want to hit that forward button if you have any
friends who are struggling with the same problem in their family…

Warmly,

Pat Wyman

Be sure and visit our http:.//www.HowToLearn.com site for 52 free Instant Learning Tips and a free Personal Learning Styles Inventory to find out how you or your child learn best.

Dear RaisingSmarterChildren.com Readers,

Today, I feel as if I know each and every one of you personally - and truly want to thank you for all the e-mails and beautiful wedding stories.  One long distance love is printed in the comments below.

Erin and Sean remained together, even though apart for 4 very long years.  Erin was in medical school in Chicago and Sean was getting his Ph.D. in California.  Yet, even through the distance and time, they were so in love.  

You can’t imagine my surprise to open my inbox this past week to literally hundreds of congratulations and love.

Thank you everyone!  Virtual world though it is, it really does feel deeply personal these days.

God Bless,

Pat

Sometimes I wonder - how hard is it to let go of our kids?

I was one of those moms who raised my kids to be so independent, and thought I’d never feel that empty nest grit in my heart… who knew I’d cry

when Erin left for college, and all I had to do was walk by her empty laundry basket for the tears to fall?

Well, the years went by, and one day, 8 years ago, she asked if she could bring a boy home for Thanksgiving.  All she said is, “I really like him, Mom.”  

I met him and instantly knew they’d be together for life.  Erin and Sean are truly a match made in heaven.  He’s a brilliant scientist who’s on his way to great things - but more importantly than that, he makes my daughter smile…he makes her laugh and sees the humor in all the goings on in life…

As you all know, from the ‘about us’ section on this blog, and certainly from my books and newsletters at http://www.howtolearn.com, my children are the light of my life.  I’ve dedicated all my books to my son, J.P. and he too, works with kids who are unique and special.

As for the wedding day - I admit that while it was perfect, it was hard to really let go of my daughter.  Erin has long been much wiser than her years, telling me she was going to be a doctor at age 5.  She never once changed her mind and set up her life to do just that. (Gosh, I should have given up this mooshy can’t let go stuff long ago :):))

Her wedding day was simply beyond words -even for this mom who writes!  All the girls, soon to be mother in law and I got our hair and makeup done in a cottage at the reception site in the wine country in California.  I have to admit, we did look pretty good - but the real beauty was Erin - and in more ways than one.

The two ‘moms’ helped Erin get dressed - wow, those 40 buttons down the back of the gown were something else  - and suddenly,  my ever so grown-up daughter, who is always much cooler, more calm and and far more collected than her mother, asked her two ‘moms’ to come into a separate room with her. 

She started to cry and said she could not say all the words she had planned for us, but more than thanked us for an unimaginable everything.  Erin took out a bag, and gave us both a mirror compact, engraved with “Mom” on the front, and “Love, Erin” on the back.

Now the three of us were crying (sobbing really), and I felt so very happy that my daughter thought to unify our two families with such a remarkably kind and loving gesture - putting Mom on both the gifts.

At that very moment I knew - this really is the loving woman who was once my baby girl!

I still haven’t really let go - can any moms reading this do it all that easily?

The wedding day went on, the church service was very special, and it was the groom who had tears in his eyes for just a moment (shh - he probably wouldn’t want you to know)…

Erin’s reception was beautiful; it was sunny and warm, we could see colorful vineyards and water in the distance…

I do remember I barely ate - my best friends kept trying to feed me, but it was kind of like a haze for me.  I kept looking at Erin and Sean, seeing how happy they were, and knew in my heart, that all that ever matters in this life is love - so who cares if we moms can’t really let go of our kids?  We always love them no matter what.

Our kids grow up, they leave, and they come back with kids of their own - then they know why we cry - happy and sad tears at their wedding.

So, we’ll have to change that “about us’ page now - Erin’s new name is Dr. Erin Studer!

This post is dedicated to my baby girl - my beautiful daughter Erin, and her new husband, Sean!  Let’s all send them off to their marriage with prayers for a long, long life, filled to the brim with love, laughter and light! 

And, P.S. hurry up newlyweds - the two moms want grandkids we can spoil! O.K. we promised we wouldn’t bug you about that this soon.  Enjoy your honeymoom in Morea, and we’ll see you when you get back.

All my love,

Mom

Remember the standard fairy tale stories like Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Cinderella?

Once you share these with your kids, read more at http://www.RaisingSmarterChildren.com so you have a quick and easy way to teach them good values like how to understand others, or what it means to be misunderstood…here’s how:

Ask your child to relate a real life experience that is something like the possible misunderstanding in the fairy tale.  For example, maybe the people in the fairy tales really wanted to be friends, and not act badly, but didn’t know how.

You can use the fairy tales and real life to teach your child how misunderstandings and real intentions can happen and prepare them for the future.  Ask your child how to act out his or her real intentions, or how to ask a friend what their real intentions are when something went badly in the friendship.

Do you have some examples of how to use fairy tales to help build better values and decision making skills in your child?

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

P.S. My daughter just got married, so next post I’ll share her new name and a bit about the wedding!

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for a free Personal Learning Styles Inventory and 52 Instant Learning Tips!

Thank you for your comments - send them here and we’ll post them!

There are so many great ways you can teach your child the alphabet, and I especially love this one - they get to eat the letters when you’re finished with this smarter child activity…

Get some gelatin in your child’s favorite flavor (if it’s unsweetened, you can add some apple or grape juice to make it taste better and be healthier), then chill it a long pan.

Find some cookie cutter letters and share the fun of cutting out the letters.

Once your child has named a letter, he or she can eat the letter.

This is such a simple game, but includes all the senses and learning styles.

Enjoy!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way!

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Remember to visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for more resources and tips on raising smarter children.

If you have comments on teaching your child to learn the alphabet, and some fun ways you’ve used, submit your comment below and we’ll publish it!

I want to take a quick break in our RaisingSmarterChildren.com mini-series on Smarter Children Activities, because of news on a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The study says that unvaccinated kids are 23 times more likely to  get pertussis or whooping cough…and as a mom, I still have questions about whether kids should be vaccinated - do you?

I’ve actually seen videos of healthy kids who suddenly weren’t healthy after vaccination, and am always curious about the autism and vaccination link, especially because most of the mercury was taken out of vaccination drugs - why was this done if there was never a question about a possible link?

We’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment below.

Also, you can read the full story on this at Dr. Maino’s blog at

http://mainosmemos.blogspot.com/2009/06/httpwwwivanhoecomchannelspchannelstoryc.html

and at United Press International

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/05/26/Study-Unvaccinated-kids-at-risk/UPI-57181243394214/

Warmly,

Pat Wyman

Be sure and visit our sister site at http://www.howtolearn.com for more tips and resources on raising a smarter children.  You may want to look at the e-book, Instant Learning For Amazing Grades which has strategies for learning everything from spelling to math facts in half the time, using personal learning styles.

Tomorrow, back to our Smarter Children Activities mini-series

Want to teach your child different parts of speech the easy way?  Have your child write a poem about a special pet…

Get a large piece of construction paper and some markers and you’re set —

Have your child draw a very large star with one color and name the animal at the top of the star.

In the left point of the star, write adjectives which describe the pet’s size.

On the right point of the star, have your child write verbs that end in ‘ing’ telling what the pet does.

On the bottom part of the star, write nouns about what the pet likes to eat and in the middle of the star, have your child write adjectives describing the pet’s personality, or, words to describe how the pet looks to your child.

Voila, you’ve just shown your child several parts of speech, and you can put their poem and drawing on the refrigerator -Wow!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis, M.D.

Got another ’smarter child’ activity to share - we’d love to have you post it in the comments section and we’ll put in on our blog.

Also, hit the ’share this button’ and send these smarter child activities around to other friends in the social media network.

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for more information and resources on raising a smarter child.

In the nature vs. nurture debate, we think doing activities with your child will help you raise a smarter child in every way.

The next few posts are devoted to things you can easily do with your child…

If you want to teach your child about how to ask great quality questions, here’s one way:

Get a tape recorder, paper and pencil and ask your child to interview you, or another adult about their favorite year.

Make sure the questions include  who, what, where, when, and why, just as you see in every good newspaper article.

Once the interview is over, help your child create a book of his or her favorite memories by having you ask the same type of questions.

That way, your child gets a lifelong keepsake, and learns about quality questions during a fun process!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Have an activity to share?  Hit the share this button below, or make a comment and we’ll post it.

Also, visit our sister site, http://www.HowToLearn.com for free learning tips, and inventories in reading, phonics, learning styles and more…

  Do you have a child between 9 and 22, who you wish would be more motivated to learn? 

Last year when we asked parents and teachers to tell us their single biggest problem raising a smarter child and helping their child learn, the answer was overwhelmingly - motivation and concentration… 

If you notice that your child is tough to motivate and has trouble with concentration, these are just 2 of the 10 reasons why Motivation Software For Students was created. 

In our quest to help children and adults learn and be motivated to learn, this software gets our highest rating. 

If your child is a chronic under-achiever, we think you will find that this Motivation Software is something you are going to want to consider having, in order to help your child.

Please take 30 seconds and read this testimonial that just came in from Marc and Lori of Wales, Wisconsin:  

” We are seeing really great results with both our children.
 
Our daughter is a senior in high school and has been struggling with senior-itis and the software has really helped re regain her focus.  We feel it is going to be the reason for her having such a successful senior year. 

Thanks so much. The struggles and stresses are being taken away now. 

Our son is in the 8th grade and has some learning  disabilities.  We are seeing  great improvement in his reading skills as a result of the software.  
He has gained a lot of confidence all of a sudden when it comes to writing assignments as wells as his reading. 

Needless to say, we are very grateful for the opportunity to try the software.  We are recommending it to everyone.  Thank you again for this opportunity.” 

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for 52 free instant learning tips and more information on how to help your child be motivated and successful in school.

           Do you think your child’s past equals your child’s potential?  You might want to check out these very inspiring stories of kids who went from ‘losers’ to ‘leaders’…

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper because he lacked ‘good creative’ ideas…

Beethoven’s music teacher told him he was “hopeless as a composer”…

Einstein could not speak until he was four, and could not read until he was seven…

The famous painter, Paul Gauguin only tried painting because he failed as a stockbroker…

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first work together was so disastrous that they didn’t work together again for years…

As parents, we tend to worry about our child’s future and wonder if we can ever raise a smarter child - one who is loving, confident, and has good values.

Whenever I see kids who don’t seem to be ‘making the grade’ as soon as the world wants them to, I give them these inspiring stories…

High achievers are made not born…

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

There’s a free personal learning styles inventory  at http://www.howtolearn.com   You may want your child to take it and find out where your child’s true genius lies.