Earth Day is all about caring for the environment. It started with a desire to protect air, water, and endangered species for generations to come. It has grown to include a focus on the dangers of global warming and the need for clean energy. All of these can feel like a tall order, and our first job as parents is to bring awareness to our children in an age-appropriate way.
One way to do this is to first inspire a … Read More...
When our second child was born, our son was given a lovely first doll with a soft, cotton, velour body, wool stuffing, and knit cotton face and hands. It was a dear little doll and we encouraged our son to cuddle and tend this doll; he was two and definitely enjoyed doing some of the things for his doll that we were doing with his sister. However, he never really “bonded” with it, preferring plush animals and wheeled items to … Read More...
I once said to a friend that I could not know whether our parenting choices were “right”; I just had to do the thing that felt okay at day’s end. Now, we’re looking at much larger transitions than beditme— two children head to college this fall and the third heads into high school. All around us the little ones we watched climb trees and wield wooden swords through mythic quests are driving cars and turning to face the world outside. … Read More...
“London has none of those nice things that children may play with without hurting the things or themselves – such as trees and sand and woods and waters… Trees are all different, as you know, and I am sure some tiresome person must have told you that no two blades of grass exactly alike. But in streets, where the blades of grass don’t grow, everything is like everything else.”
from The Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
While I … Read More...
Not so long ago, we packed books of mazes, small games, or other diversions when we needed our children to quietly while away some time in a doctor’s office, at a restaurant table, or during a sibling’s violin lesson. The ubiquity of smartphones and tablets has brought ease to creating diversions and with it some peaceful
Spring is seemingly defined by rain. Add some wind to the mix, and it can be hard to want to spend time outside. Here are a few ideas to get you and your child out in the weather, even if only for a few minutes to experience all that nature has to give.
Our family has lived in Vermont for over 13 years, and this place is very generous with seasons. January brings intense cold and some snow. With the returning light around Candlemas, the bitter weather abates and the season of snow really begins. On the first day of spring, we might have snow, but from mid-March to the end of April, you can feel nature speeding up. In fact, when our children were small, I found it very easy to make … Read More...
Life in Vermont makes February 2 seem special enough to deserve two festivals; the days are finally stretching toward 10 hours of daylight. However, each of these festivals has been a bit confusing to me, as they are each nominally about early signs of spring, and spring still seems very far away in early February. If like me, you wonder about these festivals and want to bring them to your children, perhaps you’ll enjoy the information and ideas below.
The long evenings and blustery weather of winter provide the perfect backdrop to hours of reading. In our family, we wandered the library and sampled picture books, storybooks and chapter books to find new tales and old favorites to visit and re-visit through the hours of a Vermont evening by the fire. The authors and books below are the ones my entire family anticipates, whatever their age, for wintery hours of reading.
Elsa Beskow- A hundred years later, her picture … Read More...
Playing games with your children can be fun; the relaxed time spent focused on a shared activity can be its own reward. Sometimes, you might even have a laugh over the progress of a game or a chat about what is happening in your children’s lives. But, the game table may also be far from an idyllic moment in a hectic day. Here are a few ideas that might help everyone enjoy it more, or might at least cut down … Read More...
