A Playdate-Style Birthday Party
by Mari Walker on
Birthday parties for littles can add up fast. For a few Benjamins, you can take them and a few friends to a bounce place or rent a bounce house for your backyard. We didn’t start big parties like that for my older daughter until she was about five.... Read full article
Bella Jay Bickley
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Bella Jay Bickley loves to stay busy. The 10-year-old fourth grader at Parkview Baptist School is an active volunteer, dancer and athlete in addition to keeping up with her academic pursuits.... Read full article
Filling Hearts with Kindness, Starting with Her Own
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Kindness is the keyword for eight-year-old Tiva Thyssen, and she’s involved in several efforts to spread it. Specifically, since losing her older brother Traeh to suicide in 2019, Tiva works to bring awareness to and prevent bullying and suicide... Read full article
Lessons From the Ballpark
by Cheryl Brodnax on
I’m a baseball mom. I live at the ballpark from February through July. For the last seven years, I’ve sacrificed my weekends (and sometimes sanity) to drag an unearthly amount of stuff to every ballpark imaginable so our boys can do what they love.... Read full article
Maddie Wilson
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Turning 14 this month, Maddie Wilson already has experience as an attorney through Teen Court of Greater Baton Rouge. The diversion program helps teen offenders stay out of the judicial system and lower rates of recidivism. Starting ninth grade at St... Read full article
Emma Edmonds
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At age seven, Emma Edmonds is already an accomplished gymnast. The second grader at Bethany Christian School is passionate about the sport and competing with her Pristine Performance Academy team.... Read full article
Niles Babin
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Math and music are Niles Babin’s two main focuses. Niles, 16, began participating in math competitions in fourth grade and has been playing music for nearly a decade, starting with piano then tuba and guitar.... Read full article
Slowing Down: Reclaiming Sanity
by Cheryl Brodnax on
So, I have a problem with over-commitment. It seems that any time there is white space on my calendar, I find some excuse to fill it. My husband often points out that I never just sit. What? Who doesn’t sit?... Read full article
Zaila Avant-Garde
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A Guinness World Record holder for her basketball skills, Zaila Avant-garde is also a successful speller, winning the first-ever Kaplan Online Spelling Bee. Zaila, 14, won $10,000 and free Kaplan pre-college test prep courses. The Kaplan Bee was deve... Read full article
Different, Not Less: A Mother’s Advocacy for Her Son with Autism
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A diagnosis of autism can turn a family upside down, and that was the case for William Spiller IV when he was diagnosed at age two. Because he didn’t speak or respond, doctors first thought his hearing was the problem, but an auditory brainstem respo... Read full article