Carnival of Family Life: Father’s Day Edition

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Welcome to this very special Father’s Day Edition of the Carnival of Family Life, the weekly blog carnival spotlighting posts discussing what it means to live within and be part of a family. There are many excellent submissions included in this week’s edition that will inform, enlighten, inspire, and amuse you. Make sure that you leave a comment at each author’s site, letting him or her know how much you enjoyed his or her contribution!

Father’s Day began not as a day to purchase and give greeting cards, but, rather, because of one woman’s desire to recognize the sacrifices of her own father. Sonora Dodd was the daughter of Civil War veteran William Smart. When his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child, he was left to raise all six alone. After growing up on the family farm in eastern Washington, Mrs. Dodd sought a way to honor her father’s strength and selflessness. Thus, Spokane, Washington was the site of the very first Father’s Day commemoration on June 19, 1910, the date chosen by Mrs. Dodd because her father’s birthday was in June.

In 1924, Calvin Coolidge was the first United States President to recognize the observance. It was not until 42 years later that a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day was signed — by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the law which finally made it a permanent holiday.

Parenting Tips and Advice

Char Polanosky shares Custom Summer Chore Chart published at Casual Keystrokes.

Mike May shares Happy Birthday Dad published at NewsAboutKids. He observes that “Making time to play catch with your kids could give them memories that last forever.”

If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right. (William Cosby, Ph.D.)

Neena shares Parenting Tip for Toddler: Picky Eaters published at A Mom’s Life at NeenMachine.com. Are all toddlers picky eaters? It sure seems that way, so you might find Neena’s tips for keeping mealtime from becoming a battleground extremely helpful.

Amy Vernon shares How to feed a picky Eater published at ice cream is not for breakfast. On that same topic, Amy shares a few tips, as well.

Education

Marjorie shares Idle, Ideally published at Life Without School.

David Cassell shares Keeping Your Study Skills Razor Sharp published at selectcoursesblog.com.

Alvaro Fernandez shares Cognitive and Emotional Development Through Play published at SharpBrains. Play is a basic, yet powerful, method of cognitive and emotional development for both children and adults. Dr. David Elkind, author of The Power of Play: Learning That Comes Naturally, discusses the need to build a more “playful culture.”

Jennifer Bogart shares Readee Me Mommy? published at Quiverfullfamily.com about nurturing the love of reading in toddlers.

On Father’s Day, we honor our Nation’s fathers for the unconditional love they give to their children and for their selfless dedication to the well-being of their families.

Fathers play a unique and irreplaceable part in the lives of their children and pass along values that help children grow into responsible adults. By providing their sons and daughters with a positive example, fathers help give their children the necessary foundation they need to make wise decisions throughout their lives. Fathers strive to inspire their children to lead lives of integrity, honor, and purpose, and they pray for wisdom and the strength to give their children the love and support they need to achieve their dreams.

All Americans are thankful for the extraordinary efforts of our Nation’s fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and guardians. Their devotion and encouragement as mentors, providers, and role models help strengthen their families and our country. We are especially grateful for the fathers who serve in our Nation’s Armed Forces. These dedicated fathers protect liberty so that all children can have a more promising future. We pray for the safe return of all those serving overseas, and we thank the fathers who support sons and daughters who are defending our freedom around the globe.

George W. Bush
2008 Proclamation

Family Finance

Super Saver shares Being A Good Father published at My Wealth Builder.

Anna shares Top Five Financial Mistakes Made by Parents published at To Be Debt Free.

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. (Samuel Clemons, aka Mark Twain)

K shares Frugal Baby Food published at My $mall C€nts.

Debt Freedom Fighter shares 5 Ways To Supersize Your Savings Account published at Discover Debt Freedom.

Silicon Valley Blogger shares Have No Estate Plan? Try This Guide to Wills and Trusts published at The Digerati Life.

Hank shares A Book Review: High School Money by Don Silver - And Some Tips And Tricks With Your Money published at My Investing Blog.

Anna shares Teach Your Children the Value of Money published at To Be Debt Free.

Raymond shares Why College Students Should Apply For Student Credit Cards published at Money Blue Book.

Family Health and Wellness

Aparna shares Home remedies for prickly heat published at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

James Brausch shares Five Lifestyles That Do Lead To Weight Loss published at Weight Loss Dude.

Matthew Paulson shares Part I: Ways to Keep Your Wedding Wonderfully Inexpensive published at American Consumer News.

It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all. (Alice Walker)

Fiona Lohrenz shares Why Your Day Care Needs A Website published at Child Care Only.

Kevin Heath shares 25 Top Children’s Charities published at More4kids.

Family Humor

Madeleine Begun Kane shares Sleepless In Bayside published at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

WhatWorksForUs shares We Have ARRIVED. In Bedrock. published at What Works For Us.

Jennifer in OR shares Of Deer Sheds and Eggshells published at Diary of 1.

Jane shares How We Relax At Our House published at Kidzarama.

It is a wise father that knows his own child. (William Shakespeare)

BeThisWay shares Fine Literature at a Great Price published at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?

cate3 shares I have been body-slammed! published at Why Homeschool.

Batya shares Guess Who Has Been Here!! published at me-ander.

Family Relationships

remodelingthislife shares Big Moments published at Remodeling This Life.

Jenn shares An Unexpected Independence Day Celebration published at Mixed Metaphor.net, a fictional story about a young woman whose mother announces that she is remarrying.

Sherry Love shares Man who marries for money published at Sherry Love. net.

Laura Scarborough shares milestones published at Adventures in Juggling. Laura says, “The day I became a mommy, I imagined nothing could ever top that. Then I became a grandmommy.”

I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example. (Mario Cuomo)

Dawn Adams shares A Bridge of Faults Across the Divide published at Day by Day Homeschooling.

Kevin S. shares Get in the LEAD published at manmail.

Family Activities and Entertainment

Riley shares Kung Fu Panda published at All Rileyed Up.

HowToMe shares How to Make A Custom Birthday Cake, post 3 published at HowToMe. After posting about how to make custom birthday cakes, a reader inquired about making a NASCAR-themed cake. Here is the response!

Thank you for helping us honor fathers, father figures, and role models everywhere!

Submit your article for the next week’s edition of the Carnival of Family Life, hosted at Colloquium, using this form. The guidelines, as well as hosting schedule can be viewed here. If you would like to host a future edition, drop a note to JHS using the contact form. The archive of past editions is located here.