by Alissa | Apr 18, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, reading with kids, Writing
“My daughter wants to be a writer when she grows up. What do you recommend?” As a writer, I regularly get comments like this (If you have emailed me or said this to me in person, don’t feel bad! I’m not complaining about it, I promise!). Today,...
by Alissa | Apr 11, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, random thoughts, self-improvement, strengthen family
I recently shared a few things I’ve learned about the science of forgiving.Hopefully those helped to motivate you to want to forgive. Today, we are going to look at some ideas for how to forgive someone. I am by no means an expert in this field, but am applying...
by Alissa | Apr 4, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, lifehacks, random thoughts, self-improvement
My One Little Word for 2018 is Listen. So far I have spent the first few months of this year working on listening more to my kids and to friends and family. Maybe one of the best things I’ve done so far this year is listen to my body and getting a little more...
by Alissa | Mar 28, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, random thoughts, self-improvement
I’ve always been taught to forgive. But why? Forgiving someone else who has hurt us is hard. It is stretching and humbling. For the past month, I have been thinking and studying a lot about forgiving. I have come to understand that forgiving is so much better...
by Alissa | Mar 21, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, educational activities for kids, reading activities for kids, reading with kids
Through the past months in this series, we have established why reading with our kids is important. We have even discussed some ideas for how to help encourage reluctant readers. Today we are going to talk about HOW. I know you can read: you’re reading this...
by Alissa | Mar 7, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, family finance, self-improvement
I’ll admit it: I am a spender. I cringe at the thought of money lazing in a savings account day after day. Bank crashes may actually be an illogical fear of mine (don’t judge). At the same time, though, I don’t consider myself an impulse-buyer,...
by Alissa | Feb 28, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, giveaway, random thoughts, self-improvement
I confess: I love words. I love to read them, listen to them, speak them, and especially write them. I love the power that words carry. You know the old saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me”? It’s false. I don’t even bother...
by Alissa | Feb 21, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, reading with kids, recommendations
I was recently talking with a mom friend as we were waiting for our kids to be released from school at the end of the day. She was telling me how her son hates to read. She said he only wants to read picture books, but his teacher (her son is in the same third grade...
by Alissa | Feb 14, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, motherhood, random thoughts, self-improvement
Last week I was sitting on the couch at the end of a long day when suddenly one of my sweet sons dropped a folded up piece of paper into my lap and walked away. I often get hand-drawn “presents” from my youngest son, but this was from one of my oldest sons and it was...
by Alissa | Feb 12, 2018 | Alissa McClure blog, Writing
The following is my entry in Susanna Hill’s Valentiny Writing Contest. The requirements: it must include someone hopeful (can be the main character but doesn’t have to be) and is 214 words (get it? 2/14 for Valentines Day). I hope you enjoy! Something Amazing Just...
