General / If you're a parent and...
Despite the current weather situation here in Vermont, this weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. Ah, summer. That magical time when your child’s schedule is wide open, just like the doors to your cabinets and fridge. (You never have any good snacks, by the way.) It’s arguably the most popular season, yet its arrival … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
One thing we might share these days is, in general, a greater appreciation for homes and communities. While some might call for change (I want to paint my front door), the COVID era, and the overlapping social justice movements, has perhaps surfaced in many a love of certain local institutions, traditions, and groups. Maybe this … Continued
I watched this YouTube video compiling all the advertisements from the COVID-19 era; I invoke it as I try to think of the best words to describe this time and to start this blog post! As a parent of a tween, working full-time from home, I shift quickly between appreciating togetherness, community, and family, and … Continued
Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
Mid-February: Halfway through sixth grade feels like three roller coaster rides – friend relationships, interests, and school – all at different highs and lows, and changing every day! One big change in our household has been a noticeable decline in reading for pleasure; reading time replaced with more resting and relaxing on top of at … Continued
Presenter Profiles / If you're a parent and...
In the past six months, I have been lucky enough to share a unique experience with students in North Bennington, VT, and in Franconia, NH. I attended the first CLiF presentations given by new CliF presenters Liza Woodruff and Gina Perry. Both of these dynamic women write and illustrate picture books. Both of their presentations … Continued
Here is the second of our two-part blog post where my eleven-year-old daughter and I read and review the same books. We agreed to answer four questions about each book without showing the other person. In this first installation, we reviewed four books from the New Hampshire State Library’s recommended books. Two picture books from … Continued
Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
I’m very lucky that my eleven-year-old daughter likes to read. Ironically, I struggle to get her to read in the summer, which seems like the natural time to take a break with a book. So I offered to accept her challenge to read some of the books she was reading. The result: a two-part blog … Continued
Such excitement around the end of the school year – bring on summer! I can’t wait for slower starts to the morning, eating dinner outside, swimming/hiking/biking, and hopefully enjoying some unstructured time! The amount of things, small and large, that happen in schools between returning from April vacation and ending the year is staggering – … Continued
Middle school – how the pendulum swings between wanting independence and needing guidance and tenderness, even in terms of school work. Recently, my daughter invited me to read her fifth grade persuasive writing assignment for Humanities. Every child picked a borrower from kiva.org and argued why that person should receive a loan from the class. … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
As the first full week back at school (maybe not even a full week thanks to weather) finishes up, I am still trying to clean up from the holidays, to adjust to the winter schedule, and to think about the year ahead. A tall order for most parents (for everyone really!) when we still need … Continued
For me, there is nothing better than giving the perfect gift, something you know the person will love whether it is useful, hilarious, beautiful, luxurious, or reassuring [For the record, my best gift in recent memory was an underwater metal detector for my sister.]. This does not always make gift-giving easy though; I can easily … Continued
Recently I went to a reading by my brother at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and tagged along to dinner with him and the other presenting authors. We got into a discussion of what it means to be cool – everyone had a slightly different definition but, in general, it was agreed that someone cool … Continued
When my fourth grade daughter started thinking about her informational writing piece, a culminating writing project of sorts, she initially focused on topics about which she was knowledgeable – myths (thank you Rick Riordan), dogs, skiing. I asked her what she wanted to learn more about, and her answer was the Taliban. I put that … Continued
My family has been spending summers in the 1000 Islands in the St. Lawrence River since I was a child. As I have aged and introduced my own daughter to island living, it has become clearer to me how this place has influenced my life decisions, sense of friendship, love of the outdoors, and appreciation … Continued
Good news for my fourth grade daughter – for the latest semester of school, she has been appointed a member of the school’s “Awesome Reporters.” This group of students picks topics of interest to them and the student body and puts together articles with photos that are posted in school and sent to the local … Continued
There is nothing like the holiday season for connecting and reconnecting us to all kinds of traditions. I wrote a review of our Christmas book collection recently, and for part two, want to share some of the books I read with my daughter about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, with many thanks to our school and public … Continued
There is nothing like the holiday season for connecting and reconnecting us to all kinds of traditions. Everywhere I look there are reminders of past holidays and evolving seasonal activities. These are two of my most favorite Christmas tree ornaments. When my best friend from high school and I moved to Washington, DC, after college, … Continued
Vermont has suffered through a rainy early summer. One rainy Saturday, I had a perfectly planned visit to the paint-your-own-pottery studio. My daughter and her friend had exchanged gift certificates for birthday presents; we spent the car ride analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of painting one big thing versus painting a few small items. Excitement … Continued
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