Category Archives: Education

Happy to Announce My New Book!

  As many of you are aware, I’ve been working on a book project for the last few years based on this blog and much additional research. For those of you who’ve offered feedback and suggestions to my blog posts … Continue reading

Posted in Active Kids & Families, Education, Family Travel, Life Skills, Parenting, Teaching Social/Emotional Skills | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“You need to talk more in class.” Introverted Kids in Today’s Schools

Ashley is an 11 year-old who lives in our neighborhood.  She’s soft-spoken and curious.  Her big brown eyes constantly take in the world around her.  A while back I bumped into Ashley’s mother and we got to talking.  I asked … Continue reading

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“Kids, What Are Your Teachers’ Pet Peeves?” A Creative Way to Raise Children’s Social Awareness

At my kids’ elementary school we aren’t told who their teacher will be until the day before school begins.  One year, right after teacher assignments were posted, my son Daniel came to me with a look of concern. “Mama, I … Continue reading

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The Power of the Written Word: New Info from Neuroscience

Recently Jhumpa Lahiri wrote a striking phrase: “[S]urely it is a magical thing for a handful of words, artfully arranged, to stop time.  To conjure a place, a person, a situation, in all its specificity and dimensions. To affect us … Continue reading

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Teaching Kids to Save Money

Saving versus spending:  Each of my three kids falls into a separate section of this continuum, depending on how recently they received birthday money. On the one hand it’s enlightening to see what my kids choose to buy with their … Continue reading

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How Not to Read Shakespeare

My plan had such potential!  Why did it crash and burn so quickly? I wanted to read some Shakespeare with my kids this summer.  When I mentioned my idea to a few other parents, one loaned me a version of … Continue reading

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Setting Goals: Unexpected Results

Summer vacation is right around the corner. I always get a little panicky this time of year. The entire summer yawns out before us. And my three energetic kids rarely transition smoothly into its less-structured rhythms. Recently I saw something … Continue reading

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Encouraging Innovation and Ingenuity

Recently our family’s dinner conversation centered on the anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the current disaster at the nuclear power plant in northern Japan. No, not all our dinner table topics are this … Continue reading

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Mountain Goats and Spiderman: Using the Tools of the Mind Program

Over Spring Break our family visited two National Parks in Utah, Arches and Canyonlands. We stayed in the small town of Moab, where an interesting mix of ex-uranium miners and twenty-something mountain bike enthusiasts live tucked in between towering red … Continue reading

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Starting at a New School

My friend Maria is moving her second grade daughter, Tina, to a new school next year. She thinks this school will be a better fit for Tina in the long run, but she’s worried about how Tina’s transition will go. … Continue reading

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