Front Porch Parenting

The Primerrily Crew loves making any kid-sized milestone into a bigger picture celebration! In this episode, we'll talk about how to make the tooth fairy's visit more than just "payday." The tooth fairy is happy to make her work into a fun lesson in American civics, symbols, and iconography... and our kids are thrilled to learn from what she's left under the pillow!

Little kids can have big emotions. Even the best parents can be bewildered at how to help their children navigate them. As many a parent has come to learn, distraction can be a friend when it comes to dealing with the temperamental ups and-downs of young minds. While more serious behavioral issues need to be dealt with directly, the "ga-geebie method" has shown to be a successful response time and again! In this Front Porch parenting piece, Primerrily wants to introduce you to the little invisible critter we call a “ga-geebie.” Listen to the full podcast to learn how to implement it and not only survive the grumps but thrive after them!

The Primerrily Crew echoes President Harry Truman's belief that “Not all readers become leaders, but all leaders must be readers.” For that reason, the selections we read to and with our kids are not chosen lightly. We want our children not only to love reading, but also to love learning ideas -- true, good, and meaningful ideas. When you pick a book from Primerrily's bookshelf, you can trust that it’s been vetted for against the following standards:

Show main characters with desirable character traits

Listen to the full podcast to learn more and get started on one of our favorite Primerrily book recommendations!

Alli Choi serves up big questions and thought-provoking guides to discuss with your kids at the “Dinner Table.” In this episode, we'll talk about an easy and thoughtful way to respond to your kids' curiosities, which are often posed and pondered over a shared meal. Here is where they digest their food, as well as their day’s discoveries. So the next time you're being interrogated with crazy kid questions, rather than answering (or floundering!), try the Socratic Method. Channel the Greek philosopher in you and inquire right back to delve deeper into your kids' adorably inquisitve hearts and minds. With the Dinner Table often being the heart of the home, it's a favorite spot for you and your little patriots to grow deeper in relationship with eachother, and with the place and country we call home.

Rachel Gerli illustrates from the Primerrily POV why “Play is the highest form of research.” Here in our "Treehouse," we see no better way to “research” America than through play! The treehouse is the essence of childhood activity. While not every kid has a literal treehouse, the spirit of a treehouse lives on in every kid-friendly craft or game. When learning is play-based, kids see that learning is fun and exciting. . . so climb up and craft with us! In this episode, we're celebrating a simple origami paper craft and an appreciation for life’s experimental journey (much like America's journey!). Beyond singing the "Row Your Boat" nursery rhyme, we're making paper boats to row merrily down life's stream -- beginning at childhood, and beginning again at parenthood!

Britt Riner reads her introductory piece on the Primerrily mentality: being a front porch parent. So pull up a (digital) rocking chair and let’s learn from each other on the "Front Porch." Here is where we share ideas for passing love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness onto our kids. It’s not about being the perfect parent -- no one mom or dad has the corner on parenting genius -- but if we each thread the needle and share our stitch, we might just strengthen the hearts of those who pledge allegiance to the flag.