❄️ Sunday Reset

I’m not sure about you but lately the weeks have been feeling heavy. It’s been hard to shake the feeling that the world is just…a lot right now. When things feel this overwhelming, and I’m not sure where my role is or how I can help, I tend to go back to what I know: I can bring small pockets of joy to other parents, and I can give resources that help us raise a kinder, more compassionate generation (p.s. don’t forget to check my free post all about books to read to your kids).

Picture Books for Raising Kind, Compassionate Humans

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Jan 30

Ever since I was a little girl, I was always a voracious reader and felt like books were always opening doors to new worlds. Now as a mom, I’m also realizing that reading is one of the most powerful tools we have for educating kids.

Honestly, at the end of the day, sharing these things feels like the most important work we can do right now.

So grab your cup of tea, or coffee, settle in, and let’s talk about books, blueberry scones, and why exposing kids to their fears may actually help them thrive.

Current status: 7/100

I’ve made it my personal goal to try and read 100 books this year, with 10 of those being nonfiction. This month I managed to read 7 books, which honestly felt like a major win given everything else happening. Here’s what I read:

1. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book looks at tuberculosis as both a disease and a global systems issues by connecting history, medicine, and human stories together. As someone with a background in public health, a lot of what John Green discusses reflects the real, ongoing burden of disease that shows up again and again in our societies. What stood out the most to me though is that despite the heaviness of the topic, the book never feels hopeless. I feel like it sat with me for weeks, and I just really loved it.

2. A Bond So Fierce and Fragile by Sophie St. Germain - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

This is book 3 in a dark fantasy romance centered around war, magic, and a fated mates storyline. I feel like it’s perfect if you want to dive into a series, but I will say book 4 fell off for me and it was my first D.N.F. of the year. Take that how you may…

3. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Listen if you’re looking for the easiest read that feels like your favorite rom com AND there’s a movie on netflix that you can watch right after, then this is the book for you. It’s about two best friends whose relationship unfolds through shared trips over several years, and listen I couldn’t put this down.

4. The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

While this book is written for homeschooling parents, it focuses on how kids learn best through creativity, curiosity, and meaningful experiences so I feel like every parent could benefit from at least skimming through it.

5. We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

If vampire diaries and gladiator had a baby, this would be that baby. I feel like reviews about this book are a little split but if you go into this book expecting a good time, that’s exactly what you’ll get.

6. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the perfect book to add to your Valentine’s month TBR. It’s a contemporary romance centered on first love and the idea of what it means to get a second chance. It’s slightly emotionally damaging but in a good way.

7. The Poison Daughter by Katrina Widener - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

This is a dark romantasy with interesting magic, political intrigue, and if you like the arranged marriage trope you’ll love this. I also love that the FMC is a super strong female who poisons everyone she kisses, and the MMC is a morally gray man who happens to be indestructible. I love that it’s also a standalone with a great balance of plot and spice.

📖 Follow along on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/celenakinsey

This week we started our first small group since quitting our co-op, and honestly it feels like exactly what our family needs in this current homeschooling season. The idea of a small group is you meet with a handful of families who share similar teaching philosophies and we do a group lesson or activity. This week we watched a live video from the park rangers at Grand Teton National Park and learned all about wintering animals. Then we did some crafts together like made bird feeders, and snow owls. If you want to see the National Parks distance learning programs, you can find them here!

Honestly, being able to do school in a smaller setting like this once a week and your kids get to then have play dates after has been so fun and is just what I was looking for. I’ll be diving deeper into why we chose to leave our co op in a paid post later on this month because I know so many of you are navigating this same journey of finding your people and creating a community outside of the traditional structure.

The snow and ice this week truly made us homeschoolers for a majority of the week and to be honest, I’m looking forward to warmer weather and more outdoor adventures and field trips.

I love sharing all of the Ted Talks, studies, and rabbit holes I seem to fall down in an effort to feed my brain more. Here’s some things you might like or want to know more about!

• I found this Ted Talk called: How to raise kids who can handle hard things and this pediatric psychologist talks about how encouraging kids to handle discomfort actually builds confidence and resilience. She goes on to describe how kids need some level of adversity and challenge early in life to handle difficult situations as an adult, and without that experience we’re prone to anxiety and depression.

  I appreciated her discussion to parents on how shielding kids from every hard thing doesn’t benefit them, and instead we should help guide them through it. That it’s ok for kids to try and struggle, and let them learn that they can handle more than they think. It was a great 16 minute talk that I definitely recommend you check out.

• Next up I somehow stumbled across this article about how we don’t need as much exercise as we think (and listen winter me NEEDED to read this). The article goes on to detail how new research using wearable devices shows that meaningful health benefits emerge with as little as 75 minutes of moderate activity weekly (current guidelines are 150-300 minutes for context). What was even crazier was that as little as 5 extra minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day could prevent 6% of deaths among the least active people. Plus 15 minutes of vigorous activity per week (like running!) resulted in an 18% lower mortality risk.

  So in a nutshell, doing something, anything is actually better than doing nothing and it can make a significant difference. What a win for busy parents and people who just want to hibernate all winter (cough, cough, me).

• This next article made me look sideways at my grocery cart, but roughly 75% of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed. 75%!!!! This isn’t just things like chips and soda, but cereal, breads, and even that chobani yogurt in the back of the fridge. Research shows that more than half of calories consumed at home by American adults comes from ultra processed foods, and that number is even higher for kids. The kicker, these foods are all linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and colorectal cancer (which we’ve all seen is on the rise). I appreciate that while the researchers talked about this they also acknowledge the barriers family face around time, accessibility, and budget (all reasons why these foods are so prevalent). The takeaway- read labels, look for foods with ingredients you recognize, and try replacing at least one ultra processed item with fruits or vegetables (canned or frozen works too). Remember, doing something small is better than nothing at all.

On Tv: If you need a quick and easy tv show to absolutely blow your mind then His and Hers on Netflix is a MUST WATCH. It’s a psychological thriller with so many twists that you don’t see coming, we binged it in a few days and I can’t get over it.

My kids have been watching Frog and Toad on AppleTv and it is just the sweetest show that isn’t super over stimulating.

Snacks: With the snow and being stuck at home I’ve been busy in the kitchen. Some things I’ve made and loved this week are these blueberry scones, sourdough bread, and the viral japanese cheesecake where you basically stick biscoffs into greek yogurt and then refrigerate it overnight. My taste buds LOVED that.

Music: Noah Kahan just released his single, “The Great Divide” and I cannot wait for this man’s album. His music always hits right in the feels for me.

These are all of the recipes I’m planning for dinner for the week ahead. We have a few new dishes in the rotation so here’s hoping they’re ok.

• Monday: Salmon (I actually don’t eat fish, so I’ll be having eggs)

• Tuesday: Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (we will definitely just make a side of pasta for the kids since this may be way too adventurous for them)

• Wednesday- we have breakfast night with pancakes and eggs every week without fail

• Thursday- At home crunchwraps which are my favorite things. Something about this dish hits every time.

• Friday- This portuguese chicken and rice looked so good, I just have to try it.

This week for my paid subscribers I’ll be sharing some preschool themed valentine’s activities you can set up with a big pdf full of activities, worksheets, and little things to do.

If you want access to paid content, it’s $8/ month and you get 4 in depth posts every month, tons of freebies, and access to all past content!

That’s it for this week! When the world feels overwhelming, what do you do to find moments of joy? I’d love to hear from you.