A couple weeks ago I reached out to friends on Facebook to help me with a podcast segment about holiday gifts for teachers. Man did they come through with tons of suggestions! I wasn’t able to use them all in the podcast so I wanted to put more of them here. Most private schools seem…
Back-To-School Time Is Back-To-Germ Time
This post is sponsored by Lysol My kids go back to school in a couple of weeks. They’re going back to middle and high school, so we’re past the really sick years, but I can remember when our son first started preschool. We were all sick all the time, it seemed, for a few years….
How Free Play Changes Kids’ Brains
[The following post is sponsored by Playworld Systems.] I really loved writing about the benefits of free play last month. Playworld Systems makes the kind of playground equipment that helps free play thrive, letting kids take risks and figuring things out for themselves. When they pointed me in the direction of this NPR piece on…
A Tale Of Two Kids (and a great recipe)
My kids could not approach the first day of school more differently if they tried. Fiona has been counting down. Yesterday she grabbed her school supply list and all of the stuff I’d gotten on Amazon (no waiting on a 100-person line at Staples this year!) and got to work organizing and bagging it up….
Dear parents: It’s not All About Your Kid. Sincerely, The Rest of the World
I got home about an hour ago from my kids’ dance festival, a great annual school event where every single class gathers in the schoolyard and every kid performs. It’s a fantastic idea. But there seemed to be an unusually high number of people today who decided that it was OK to simply stand in…
Middle School: taking a chance
It’s middle school selection time in NYC, and with our oldest being in 5th grade this is our first time going through the process. Without going into too many specifics, it’s looking like our choice will come down to two public schools, which couldn’t be more different: Giant & Established vs. Tiny & Brand Spanking…
Do we expect too little of our children?
On the days when Jake (10) and Fiona (7) get out of school at the same time, Jake is supposed to bring Fiona home. This just makes sense to me. There’s absolutely no reason for me to walk to the school and get Fiona when her brother is already there. This routine went fine until…
Today’s Agenda: Wolverine edition
I feel like I’m already halfway through my day, and it’s only 6:30am. I had to get Jake to school at 5:30 for a trip to DC. Fun. So a few weeks ago I published a “blogger pledge” on my little behind-the-scenes blogging blog. Number one was to not miss any deadlines. Well, I fell…
Today’s Agenda: I wish I drank coffee edition
The kids & I got into Brooklyn last night a little after 11. Only for my friend Julia Beck would I then be up again early enough for an 8:30am event on the UES. But I’m excited to hear the wonderful speakers, including the fabulous Liz Lange, Joanne Bamburger, and Kimberly Seals Allers, at the…
Today’s Agenda: Full night’s sleep edition
So on Sunday I declared on twitter that I was going to get to bed by midnight every night for a week, and see what it’s like not to walk around like a zombie. That night I got to bed at 2am. The next night I think I did a little better, around 1:30am. Then…
