Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 7

All serious club sport athletes and parents should read this!

Parents of teens in competitive youth sports have been in a holding pattern for many months, but as Spring 2021 arrives, so does a level of normalcy for athletes. Now that things are slowly shifting back to pre-COVID-19 times, student-athletes are revisiting their plan to fund college through a full-ride sports scholarship. But this is not an easy goal to achieve. The reality is that only 7% of high school

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Summer Reading Tree: Forming “Roots” for Motivated Readers

There is never a shortage of Summer Reading programs for kids once school ends and many offer prizes, points, graphs, and charts as a way to keep your child reading during the summer months. This is not a bad thing at all. But as a lifelong learner, educator, and mom I can tell you that many kids will do better with reading if they don’t feel it’s “mandatory.” Sometimes when

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11 Green and Environmental Books for Young Conservationists

Making reading an adventure and not a “task/ chore/requirement” during the summer months is a great way to help increase the desire to read and keep them interested as well. Sit down together and pick out your summer reading or make a family trip to the library. When my now-adult kids were young, reading while in the car traveling was an absolutely life-saver. When we traveled as a family, I always made

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Two Books for the Appreciators of Simple Living

In a recent New York Times article, writer Kevin Roose noted a new trend that seemed to be sweeping the nation. The working class, after the last year+ of pandemic worries and job loss, are reevaluating their lives and opting for simplicity and flexibility over excess and 60-hour workweeks. With self-employment on the rise and former workaholics moving from big cities back to their hometowns, doing more with less is

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Folding and Poem-ing: National Poetry Month Activities for Kids

National Poetry Month is almost here! Each year the month of April is set aside as National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poets and their craft. Various events are held throughout the month by the Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations With this in mind, I decided to share two amazing ways to keep young hands busy and young minds learning. Let’s combine paper folding and poetry! The boy

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A Spring of Foxes | Their Presence a Wonderment

We hear them at night and see them running through our forest. In the early morning hours, we spot them quietly moving through our yard. As Hulda gets ready to have a family of her own,  I never tire of seeing, observing, or interacting with them. Their presence here is a wonderment. ~Valarie Budayr Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the

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Proof that Dragons are indeed REAL!

Maybe this news prompted you to drop your sandwich or even roll your eyes with disbelief….but I am here to tell you; Dragons are Real! How do I know? I have proof. In fact, I have MORE than proof! As children, my brother and I had a Dragon friend named Norbert for two whole summers in Gotland, Sweden. I shared this story with Rocco during an interview at the wonderful KitLit TV.

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A Pi Day Booklist and fun Pi Activities

It’s National Pi day! Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite digits of Pi, talk to their friends about math, and eat

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I’m in the Garden! {And Craving some Porridge}

“I’m in the garden!” The Secret Garden to be precise. 🙂 This time of year in the Secret Garden, the earth is sleeping under a cloak of beautiful white snow. The birds have migrated off leaving the garden quiet from birdsong. This is the time of year when we clean up the garden when snow and rains allow. In the not too distant future, our garden will be exploding with

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Pandemic Pivot: An Entrepreneurial Rockstar Music Teacher Creates Tools for Success

For the past 25 years, Noreen Wenjen has been committed to helping her private piano lesson student excel. As the years flew by, Noreen’s reputation as an exceptional piano teacher for students of all ages grew. A full and successful studio with a two-year waitlist draws students with a high level of commitment.  Students tend to stay with the same teacher for many years, which builds camaraderie and pride between

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