The Benefits of Getting your Boys Involved with DIY
DIY activities are one way to counterbalance screen time. And, boys tend to process their feelings and emotions most effectively when their bodies are also in motion, so creating opportunities for them to design and build physical objects will benefit their overall development. Here’s how: Improved Hand-Eye Coordination One benefit of getting your kids involved with […]
How To Encourage Learning In Your Household
You want what’s best for your boys. You want to set them up with all the life skills they’ll need to go out into the big wide world. Start at home. It’s easier to encourage learning and curiosity than you may think! Here are some helpful tips to encourage learning within your household: Ensure They’re […]
How To Prepare Your Son For Preschool
Finding the right preschool and ensuring your son will be happy there can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. However, as much as this is a big step for parents, it is also a big step for the little boy involved, especially if he has never been in any kind of school environment before. A […]
Building Boys & Learning During a Pandemic
Learning during a pandemic is challenging. Hell — LIVING during a pandemic is challenging. But you already know that. The chaos, confusion and sense of overwhelm are likely intimately familiar to you now. What you want — need –– are answers. Answers that will help you figure out how to keep your boys learning during a […]
ON BOYS: August 2020
We covered a lot of ground on ON BOYS parenting podcast in August: Back-to-school (pandemic-style!) How (& why) to start a boys’ book club Encouraging boys’ interests, no matter what they are Raising boys who become good men If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to ON BOYS so you don’t miss an episode! […]
What About School?
What about school? is the question on everyone’s minds right now. It’s on the minds of school district administrators, teachers, parents, legislators, school staff…everyone, really. There is an upside to this near-universal questioning. For the first time in the 20 years I’ve been raising kids (including the 10 years I’ve been covering education as a […]
How Parenting Teenage Boys Prepared Me for a Pandemic
None of us expected this pandemic, save maybe a few epidemiologists and public health experts who “expected” it in the same way we all “expect” to die, which is to say that we know it will happen, but we have no idea when or how or what it will feel like. Three months or so […]
Overwhelmed by Homeschooling? I Was Too.
You are not the only one who is overwhelmed by homeschooling. I wrote these words on January 24, 2005, shortly after we pulled our oldest son, Nathan, out of first grade at semester: I’m a state of shock. It’s our first day homeschooling, and I have no rhythm, no flow, no sense of managing my […]
Selecting Preschools: Traditional Versus Montessori
Children are the future, and providing an excellent education can be one of the first steps in assisting them in leading the way. For instance, statistically, children who went to a quality preschool tended to excel in math and literacy sections on standardized tests, raising their chances of completing high school and then continuing on […]
Learning at Home
Learning at home can be fun. Right now, a lot of parents are freaking out at the prospect of schooling their kids while also working from home. And wondering if it’s even possible to do both without going crazy. It’s possible. In fact, it can be be downright wonderful. I homeschooled our boys for 7 […]