Mother’s Day for Moms of Boys
I got this card in the mail — from a Mom friend who really gets it. Inside the card, it reads “Raising boys — now THAT’S an extreme sport!” Happy Mother’s Day to my fellow Moms of boys!
Star Wars Day
May 4 is Star Wars Day. Don’t get it? Say it, out loud. With a “the” between “May” and “4th”. Add a “be with you on the end.” My boys, like many others, are Star Wars buffs. We originally learned about the holiday from another family
Boy Energy
I’ll be speaking at the Wisconsin Parents Association conference in Oshkosh this weekend, reprising last year’s Homeschooling Boys session. I’ll also be presenting a new session, Boundless Energy: Understanding (and Respecting) Boys’ Need for Movement. Boys, as you well know, are built for action. Staying
Moms Should Get Paid
Out of nowhere the other night, my 8-year-old son looked up at me and said, “I think moms should get paid.” You think moms should be get paid, I asked. How come? Because, he said, moms make the babies, and babies, if you train them
“Teaching Too Much Can Stifle Exploration”
Have you seen the Boston Globe article about how babies learn? The 2011 article, “A Squeeze, a Squeak, a Glimpse of Learning,” provides fascinating insight into how young children learn — and why, perhaps, our schools aren’t as effective as they could be. In one
"Teaching Too Much Can Stifle Exploration"
Have you seen the Boston Globe article about how babies learn? The 2011 article, “A Squeeze, a Squeak, a Glimpse of Learning,” provides fascinating insight into how young children learn — and why, perhaps, our schools aren’t as effective as they could be. In one
I Feel Pretty
My 13- year-old son is wearing my prom dress, a pink, sparkly thing straight out of the 1990s. For some reason, my Mom held onto that dress for 20+ years. It hung in her closet, unloved, in limbo, for all those years. I certainly never
Should Boys Fight Back?
Bullying has been in the news a lot. Despite parents’ and teachers’ efforts to the contrary, bullying continues to exist, just as it has for, well, millenia. And while almost everyone now agrees that bullying needs to be stopped, I’m not sure sure we’ve figured
The Boys Initiative
I have stumbled onto a treasure trove of information. Today, in my inbox, I found a press release announcing the launch of The Boys Initiative, a “national campaign to address alarming negative trends in recent years pertaining to boys’ educationl achievement and social adjustment.” As
Changes
Tomorrow, we begin a new phase of our educational journey. For the past six years, my boys have been homeschooled. We pulled Boy #1 out of school halfway through first grade; he’s now in 7th. Boys #2 and #3 have never been to school, except
The Marinette Shooting and the Culture of Fear
The headline last night — “Armed student reportedly holding high school classroom hostage in Wisconsin” — took my breath away. I live in Wisconsin. And I still desperately want to believe that things like that don’t happen in Wisconsin. But they do. As you now
Thankful
The turkey is in the brine, the pies are on the front porch and my sister, thankfully, is bringing the potatoes. My home is not clean; it’s presentable. The boys helped me vacuum and dust (the downstairs) and the toys — well, the toys remain