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Tag Archives: school

New Season, New Starts

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Blogging, Children, Creative Writing, Personal Growth, Writing

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I know it’s not technically fall — and at a hot and humid 85 degrees in Chicago, it sure doesn’t seem like fall — but Labor Day still feels like it demarcates a new season. I love these points in time: days that make us stop, look around, and reassess before slipping back into our routines and habits.

Today is a big day. Adeline started at her new Montessori school this morning. After almost two months at home with mama she was a little uncertain about going back to school. She clung to me when I tried to drop her off, and when, after many kisses and goodbyes, I finally closed the door, I could hear her screaming and crying inside. But it stopped after about two minutes. I peaked in the window a few minutes later and she was happily playing with some water. Girl LOVES playing with water.

So here I am. I have free time again. I have time to work! This is it you guys. I MUST write this novel. NOW. Continue reading »

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And How We Learned

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by in Children, Creative Writing, Pensive Moments

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We spent the whole summer outside. Any time we didn’t have to be in the house, we got out of it as quickly as we could. We had a big backyard, with a creek and a woods, and we spent all our time there. We ran around barefoot; we felt the dirt in our toes and sticks pierced our skin, but not for long – our feet calloused over in days. We walked barefoot along the hot road, black with new asphalt. The feeling of almost, but not quite, burning our feet tickled and sent shivers up our spines. We raced down that road, our bare feet slapping against the pavement.

photo credit: A Structure for Spirit

The sun baked us that summer, turning our white skin brown. With my long, dark hair, almond eyes and sun-browned skin, I looked Native American. We pretended I was Pocahontas. I loved it. I lived it in my mind. My imagination was always running; I was a squaw, digging in the river for clams to eat and building a lean-to for shelter. Wherever I went I imagined I was Pocahontas, journeying across the wilderness.

The woods were small, they couldn’t have been more than 40 feet wide, if that. But to us they felt huge. Continue reading »

Click This & Friday Phone Photos (5/11/12)

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Art, Articles, Baby, Causes, Children, Gentle Parenting, Parenting, Photos, Toddlers

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** A collection of articles and other fun stuff from around the web. Mostly dealing with babies, parenting, moms, etc. But not always. **

How to Miss a Childhood (A recipe for a lifetime of regret. And some suggestions for change. Hint: stop checking your email.)

The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness) (The whole list is great, but this is my favorite line: “If you’ve been doing what you’re doing for years and it’s not-so-great, you are in a rut. Many people refer to these ruts as careers.”)

Arrested Development: The Criminalization of America’s Schoolchildren (Very interesting article on the anti-freedom message that our children are receiving in public schools.)

MCA’s Feminist Legacy (Listening to and reading about the Beastie Boys over the last week has reminded me of how much I used to love them. This is a great article about the way that they grew up and came to embrace feminism.)

Six to Nine-Month-Olds Understand the Meaning of Many Spoken Words (This is the kind of thing that it surprises me we don’t clearly know already. Adeline very clearly understood so many words at six months old. At nine months she would walk to the laundry room if I mentioned doing laundry and help with the task.)

** Friday Phone Photos ** Continue reading »

Click This & Friday Phone Photos (4/20/12)

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Articles, Baby, Children, Gentle Parenting, Parenting, Photos

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** A collection of articles and other fun stuff from around the web. Mostly dealing with babies, parenting, moms, etc. But not always. **

Babies Are Needy – Does That Bug You? (If it does, here’s why it shouldn’t.)

Never Wake A Sleeping Baby? Why Depressed Moms Don’t Follow That Advice (Apparently a lot of depressed moms go into their babies’ rooms at night and wake them up to nurse and hold them. Yeah, I never, ever woke Adeline up on purpose. I wanted as much sleep as possible!!)

Swedish school bans “him” and “her” in bid to stop children falling into gender stereotypes (An interesting article, but what do you think – is that going overboard?)

Mom Puts 7-Year-Old on a Diet in the Worst Vogue Article Ever (This is old news, but the mom in question just signed a book deal, so I can’t help but bring it up. Please don’t belittle your child’s eating habits in public. This can only lead to bad things.)

The Undeniable Appeal of “Baby Wise” (One mom recounts her first year with baby and the lack of sleep that led her to read Baby Wise.)

Montessori education at school and at home (My latest article for Examiner talks about ways to incorporated Montessori ideas into your day-to-day life with baby.  Yes, shameless self-promotion.)

** Friday Phone Photos** Continue reading »