My original focus for this blog was on families and parenting – I’m realizing that I’ve gotten a little distracted. And I think I know why. As the mother of a 14 month old energetic boy, I haven’t yet had to venture out into the realm of real parenting. Sure, we’ve had some struggles and … Read more
My sister told me about this great online library where you can download books to put on your mp3 player. It’s called Net Library – go to your library’s homepage and they should have a link or ask your local librarian about it. You can go directly to the page and log in that way, … Read more
At my book club last week, conversation rolled around to Disney movies. One of the girls there said that Disney has a lifetime guarantee on all their movies, so if one of your Disney DVDs gets scratched or broken you can mail it in and they’ll send you a brand new one, even if the … Read more
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children Reading BY Children This stage of reading development comes after your child is a successful and frequent reader. Set a time once a day or week that you sit down as a family and have a family reading time or let … Read more
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children Reading WITH Children As a child is learning to read, reading to him is still vital but reading with him is also essential. Take turns and listen to each other read. A benefit of reading together is that you’re able to … Read more
Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children Last summer our family went to a lecture by Dr. Brad Wilcox at our library to learn about reading. He taught us some really interesting things about why reading to kids is important and also how to get kids to enjoy … Read more
The other night I was at my monthly dinner group and a few friends were talking about goodreads.com. Apparently there is a website where you can open an account and invite friends and share book recommendations. Have you ever heard of a more brilliant idea?!? As soon as I got home I signed up and … Read more
Radio West is a radio talk show that I sometimes listen to while I’m out and about, and on Wednesday (1/30) they had writer Caleb Crain on to talk about an article he wrote for the New Yorker Magazine on literacy and books. I only caught the last 15 minutes or so of the interview … Read more
While I am concerned about the environment, I would not call myself an environmentalist. I believe that the resources on the earth are meant for our use, but that we must be conservative and wise in our consumption. As in all things, moderation is the key. I do consider myself to be a resourceful and … Read more
Many aspects of the public school system concern me and have encouraged me to search for educational alternatives for my children. I have one son who is not yet of school age, but the time to research and discover alternatives is now so I can prepare for whatever my decision happens to be. Our home … Read more