Let’s Teach Our Children Poetry
Donna's 1960s educational article demonstrates how teaching children to write haikus and quatrains can rekindle their natural love of poetry while improving their grammar, spelling, and creative expression skills.
Handy, Dandy Guide to a Safe, Sane and Solvent Halloween
In this witty Halloween survival guide, Donna Hruska offers practical advice for parents navigating the annual October madness, covering everything from safety tips (flashlights instead of candles) to sanity preservation (skip the big dinner) and budget management (limit treats per caller).
Tablecloth
by Donna Hruska Tablecloths have always been a problem in our house. Because we must eat in the dining room, we like to have an attractive cloth on the table; yet with six children and many spills, fabric cloths are impractical. Plastic, on the other hand, seemed to go to pieces in no time, and …
Visits from Grandchildren
Donna offers practical advice for grandparents on how to turn potentially exhausting visits with grandchildren into enjoyable experiences through advance planning, age-appropriate activities, and keeping the children busy rather than trying to keep up with them.
Halloween Costumes
Donna shares how her family transformed Halloween from a budget-busting holiday into a creative treasure hunt by saving and repurposing costumes in a magical "costume box" that turned discarded outfits into everything from saint's robes to Babylonian nobleman garments.
Things I Learned the Second Time Around
In this delightfully funny essay, Donna Hruska catalogs the hard-won wisdom gained from helping her children with school projects, from science fairs to Cub Scouts, revealing the universal truths of parental homework assistance like "Mothers' Law" and the eternal scarcity of band-aids when you need them most.
Warning! Epidemic On its Way (Kites)
A tongue-in-cheek 'medical warning' about the highly contagious 'Windhooker Fever' (kite-flying mania) that strikes children each spring, complete with mock symptoms, treatment recommendations, and parental survival tips.
My Son, At the Edge of the Gap (Chuck?)
In this tender and insightful essay, Donna Hruska captures the bittersweet experience of watching her thirteen-year-old son navigate the turbulent transition from childhood to adolescence, torn between wanting to protect him and knowing he must make the journey alone
Snowmobiling in Northern Wisconsin
In this evocative travel piece, Donna captures the magic of a nighttime snowmobiling adventure through the Wisconsin wilderness, where frozen landscapes transformed into a jeweled wonderland created one of those rare moments that "can distill the essence of an entire vacation."
Dear Teacher…
In this heartfelt letter to her son's teacher, Donna appeals for understanding and patience, asking the educator to look beyond her nine-year-old's disruptive behavior to see the noble spirit and intellectual curiosity that lies beneath the typical fourth-grade facade.