When I taught preschool, naptime was an essential part of our daily rhythm. After lunch, the children would pull out their mats and get their stuffiess and snuggle in for storytime. Throughout the year I told different fairytales: Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Elves and
This article called the “Effort Effect” by Stanford Alumnus Marina Krakovsky really resonated with me and my work with children. I studied Learned Helplessness at Harvard as a response to trauma, but it was really interesting to think about it as an ongoing response to
Music is an excellent and effective way to teach any subject and to learn any subject. Check out this brilliant piece by 23-year old Physics student, Timothy Blais. He sings about Physics and String Theory to Bohemian Rhapsody–an excellent fusion of science and art, because
My all-time favorite TED talk– a classic. You may have already seen it (it has nearly 18 million hits!) but if not, it’s worth watching. Ken Robinson is a funny speaker with deeply profound things to say about educating our children. If you have a
This article by Michael Gerson was so beautifully written it made me cry! He writes about the heartbreak of dropping his child off at college. I have felt this heartbreak so many times with my own children–and they’re only 7 and 9! I call it
This blog post is a combination of one I wrote in 2007 and I finished in 2013. It’s kind of awesome to have 6 years between starting and finishing… My three-year-old daughter just took a parasol out of her baby brother’s hand. I say, “Miss
Today there was a mystery in my house, and we love a good mystery around here. If we can’t find one, we create one. For example: The Case of the Missing Car Keys, The Case of Mama’s Missing Cell Phone, The Case of the Little
We love taking the kids to swim in the ocean. We knew it was the best “school” for their early years, where everything they learn is through their senses. What better place to explore science, nature, environment, and get exercise too? But here are even
I loved this article: Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught? I’m always fascinated by methods of teaching children empathy, kindness, and emotional intelligence. I have loved experimenting with how to teach my own children how to look around at the world to see how they can
Ahh, getting dressed. That age-old ritual. I wonder how it was in caveman times: “Honey? Do you want to wear the fig leaf or the buffalo skin loin cloth today?” Did two-year-old cavebabies shout “No!” at their mothers and throw their bamboo leaf underwear across
