Late spring means the end of the school year—at least in the northeast! That means it’s time for school concerts, graduation ceremonies, and teacher gifts. What should you give? And should you give alone or with the class? We tackle this hot topic, plus some ridiculous stories about kids being shamed in school because they…
Thoughtful Holiday Gifts For Teachers
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…
