I’ve had a list of encouraging words and phrases for kids up in my pantry for a long time. Recently, I decided that I needed to create my own printable for encouraging kids that was specifically geared towards school-aged kids. I encourage you to step outside the box of saying “good job” and print this list of words of encouragement for kids.

I’m a big fan of sticky notes. I use them at my computer all the time. I’ve used them in the past, off and on, as a reminder for something. There’s just something powerful about being reminded about something daily by reading it.

A few months ago, I was sharing our small pantry organization on Instagram and someone messaged me about the printable that I had taped up. The paper that I had taped up was about ways to encourage a child. It was mainly geared towards younger children and I’ve gotten rid of it since then.

The concept of taping a piece of paper for a reminder though has stuck with me for years and I realized that I need to remind myself to encourage Greyson with different types of positive words and phrases. So, I started keeping a list of encouraging words and phrases that I used, that Luke used, that the school used and decided to put them together in a free printable for you.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’m used to keeping this sort of printable in my pantry but you could keep it in your medicine cabinet, on your wall, or your desk. You just want to keep the list of encouraging words and phrases handy. The goal is that, by seeing the list, you are reminded to actually use it!

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Time doesn’t stop, kids grow, people change, families change. I’m a huge advocate of documenting life as it is right now. Sometimes, or lots of times, life is messy and crazy. If you have multiple kids or have a big family – I’m sure this is even more true for you. But, I want to remember this time. I don’t want to forget the little things.

Ninety percent of the time, when I think to take pictures of my son or my family, I think about it in the moment; when we’re all a little more dressed up on Easter Sunday; when we’re at the park on a nice day. In these moments, I’m snapping shots with whatever I’ve got available (my phone) and in a bit of a hurry to get the shot before the moment is gone. In these moments, I tend to forget about my experience as a photographer. Greyson’s not on his best behavior. He just wants to get out of the nice clothes and back to playing. I’m not at my best. I’m struggling to win little battles and wondering why he never listens. The last thing on my mind is, “Ashley, let go and enjoy the moment.”

The little moments in life are happening all around you and those are the moments that you as a Mom, Dad, Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle, friend… those are the moments that you need to cherish and preserve. So, here are 5 Tips for Letting Go and Get pictures of your kids that you’ll love and cherishing the moment and, as a bonus, how to shoot better portraits while doing it.

Tip #1 : Say Yes to Easy Requests

Thursday was Greyson’s last day of Kindergarten. I knew that I wanted to take a few photos of him before school that morning. I had in my mind that I would print a “last day of school” printable and take a few for that. I never got around to printing something out though, so I let it go. We had five minutes before carpool, so I grabbed the camera I use for work and we headed to our front yard.

He asked if he could take a picture with the card he made for his teacher.

YES

Something about grabbing the camera I use for work, snapped me out of my normal parenting mode. Instead of worrying about the five minutes we had available, I let go and focused on how to make him smile.

Do I need a picture of the card for his teacher? Nope. Is he proud of it? Yes. Most importantly, telling him yes let him know we’re in it together. We’re just having fun together. No work necessary.

“Mommy, let me pose you.” Say yes.

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I don’t know if you guys have realized it or not, but on Fridays I’ve been posting about things that are ‘us’ but don’t necessarily fit into the DIY project category. For example, over the last few weeks I have posted: Grandma’s No-Knead Yeast Rolls, What I’m Loving at World Market, Greek Naan Wraps and more. Part of it is because I can’t keep up with new DIY projects a few times a week but, more than that, I wanted to share more things that are just us. A few months ago, I realized that the blogs I go to and love the most share more about themselves. Once a week or so, those blogs share life stuff and I enjoy getting to know about the life stuff they share. It’s almost like you get to know them a bit more. So, I’m inviting you all to get to know us a bit more on Fridays with life stuff. Today, that includes this post, 20 Awesome Books For Five and Six Year Olds!

If today’s ‘life’ post isn’t your thing – don’t worry! I’ll be back next week with more amazing DIY projects.

So, let me give you a little backstory. I’m an avid reader. I’ve always been a reader and always will be. When I was young, I would close my door for hours and lay on my bed and read. I think my mom thought something was wrong with me. Ha. I just loved getting wrapped up in the storylines of books. I’ve kept that love and still love closing my door and reading. I have grown up just a bit and enjoy the closed door and book with a glass of wine. =)

It was natural for me to love reading with Greyson. I’ve read and read and read to him. He’s six now and is just starting to learn to read but still really loves being read to. It’s one of those things that I hope is cultivated in him. I hope to continue reading as something we can do together even when he can read chapter books on his own.

As a venture into something new and sharing more of our life with you, I thought I’d round-up some favorite books of ours. Hence the title, 20 Awesome Books for Five and Six Year Olds. Some of these we have loved for quite some time and others are rather new to us. Some we own and some we borrow (and keep renewing at the library). I know I love to get book recommendations and hope you do as well. There’s nothing worse than going to the library, grabbing some new books and then realizing when you get home that the story line is wacko or just plain annoying. Tell me I’m not the only one who feels like this! Ha. Anyways, these have been tried and true books that we love.

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