I am in the joyful and exhausting throes of “Cousins’ Camp” (this year we have 18 first cousins, ages 4-13!) and don’t have time for a long post. But I felt compelled to let everyone know about an important window of opportunity to advocate for our youngest children. Currently NAEYC (National Association for the Education [...]
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It feels like summer is already here. This weekend our family enjoyed many moments outdoors – for me this is the best antidote to screen-time. At least two snakes were spotted – slithering among rocks at our house and at friends’. Awesome. The first yummy strawberries ripened in our little garden, and the boys delighted [...] Last night after dinner, my sons begged and begged to watch a DVD. We don’t have television, and we have a “No DVD on school nights” rule. I stood firm and upheld the rule. Oh, my goodness, were there tears. “It’s okay,” I said. “You can be sad.” One son, looking outside and seeing the [...] Two big snow storms rocked our area last week. Our kids missed about a week of school. We lost power for our home, as did thousands of other families. It has been a great time to have children who are not addicted to electronic entertainment. Our sons easily entertained themselves by building with Legos, sledding, [...] I am home today with my sons. There was a big snow storm in our area which has all the schools closed. We are enjoying a luscious snow day – complete with pancakes, pajamas till noon, LEGOs galore and more. Lots of fun, plus some household chores (cleaning the playroom!) are getting done. This afternoon, [...] On Friday I picked up my sons from school – it was the last day of school until January 4th – a nice, long break. As I greeted the school staff, and wished them well, we agreed the break was well deserved for everyone. “Time for the kids to be kids. They grow up too [...] Yesterday the Toy Industry Association announced its nominees for the Toys of The Year Award for 2009. It is the tenth year of these awards. From their press release: “The TOTY Awards celebrate the creativity and innovation of the toy industry and the products on the ballot represent this year’s ‘best of the best’ [...] The ironic thing about starting this blog (to protect and promote and imaginative play in our way-too-busy, consumer-driven, media-filled world) is that my life has gotten busier and more media-filled. It has been energizing, too, no doubt. The fact that we’ve gotten great feedback helps fuel me to continue the work. However, today I [...] Earlier this week on American Public Media’s Marketplace, I heard an excellent interview with James Gustave Speth, Dean of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. The ideas presented in the interview, Taking Stock: Rethinking Consumerism, support many of the concepts I have been writing about in Empowered by Play. Speth talks about over-consumption and [...] Today was a great day for water play. My sons and their cousin gallivanted in the sprinkler…chasing, laughing and playing. They were also discovering. They experimented with water pressure and with blocking holes – discovering ways to make the water flow higher and lower at their command. Later in the day, as the boys helped me [...] |
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