Is there anything funnier than the third grade recorder concert? My daughter’s third grade recorder concert came the day after the CLiF Community Literacy Conference – a full day for our small staff running a conference for 130 Year of the Book teachers, librarians, and school staff. I am not sure what came over me, … Continued
As a parent, I am always struggling to keep the “balances” (I make it plural because there are so many!) for myself and for my daughter. For me, this has gotten more complicated in a world where it has again become legitimate to judge people based on their gender, race, or orientation. Finding the elusive balance … Continued
We recently celebrated the arrival of my niece – the only other child on my side of our family! This lucky baby girl has a fabulous library, given to her by friends of my brother and his wife, a group of writers, publishers, teachers, and book lovers. CLiF often sites research that proves that kids … Continued
I received a letter – a handwritten card with the inside and back filled with news. It is a bit sad that this is such a remarkable event. We received lots of holiday cards, but they were either picture cards or typed and copied updates. I wish we all had more time for this personal and … Continued
My brother James Scott, author of The Kept and creator of TK Podcast, wrote the most lovely piece about our mom as part of the Dedicate Your No-Trump Vote. From the Dedicate Your No-Trump Vote website: “Acclaimed novelist, Julianna Baggott, wrote a simple Facebook post, dedicating her No Trump Vote…Within days, it had been shared over 1100 times… The … Continued
My 8-year-old has discovered graphic novels. This format makes me feel old – I know my mom read comic books as a kid, but I could not understand the appeal of the graphic novel. I remember a conversation with a school librarian who said she needed to take a class to learn to read them. … Continued
My daughter lobbied hard for a fish. I put it off until after summer travels, but I had to make good on my promise after Labor Day. I got a book about caring for fish out of the library; I wanted us prepared for the cleaning, feeding, and choosing the correct fish for our environment … Continued
I missed the original Harry Potter buzz – I’m not sure how as I worked in a bookstore off and on from 1996-2002, during which the first four books were released. I made up for this last week, when I got swept up in my eight-year-old’s excitement over Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I could … Continued
In most of my life roles, I can feel overwhelmed by the information on how to be or do them better, how we can achieve that ideal balance where all parties (kids, friends, coworkers, and family members) feel heard, valued, and bolstered as individuals and also “team” members. No where do, I think, we as … Continued
Tips on teaching kids empathy and kindness pop up everywhere. Recently, my daughter, our dog, and I participated in the Committee on Temporary Shelter’s (COTS) fundraising walk, a perfect opportunity to find out more about how “fundraising” connects with kindness and empathy in an eight-year-old mind. I did not involve her in the actual fundraising – I set … Continued
Recently, I saw a Facebook post on habits of productive people. I have a love-hate relationship with those lists, but this time I paused, because some of the highlighted habits were reinforced for my daughter at her second-grade student-led conference. Obviously, she is not worried about a strategy for sorting her email or for achieving a balanced … Continued
Recently, my daughter has started to carry an additional backpack to school – one of those square, drawstring, logo-laden bags that one can often acquire at an event. When asked what she carries in it, she replied, “My book club books!” Here is how the discussion went: Me: “What does it mean to have book … Continued
I volunteer in the school library every Friday afternoon. A few weeks ago, my scheduled time overlapped with a special program called “I Can Hour.” Because the school librarian did the bulk of the event’s organization, I was pressed into service. That Friday it was Zumba, not book check out for me. This event required … Continued
In December, I took my seven-year-old daughter to her second Tae Kwon Do tournament. She got hooked through a school PE class, and because she was six when she started, I initially had to participate with her. I quickly realized this was not for me, but gladly supported her as she continued and appreciated the … Continued
I admit that I am one of those adults who enjoys reading middle level and young adult books. I think of it as prep work for recommending books to my second grader or CLiF program attendees. Three of my recent favorite books with teenager main characters have been One Came Home by Amy Timberlake, Okay … Continued
Like countless other children, my son recently saw the acclaimed new Disney Pixar movie, Inside Out. And like countless other parents, I quietly wept through just about the entire movie. Among the many striking moments, characters, and messages in the film was one specific creature who got me thinking – Bing Bong, the since-forgotten imaginary … Continued
My seven-year-old daughter recently attended a two-hour day camp with a River Wildlife theme for a week. Wildlife on The River – the St. Lawrence River – includes fish, osprey, frogs, otters, and herons (the five themes for five camp days). So I was perplexed when I picked her up on frog day, and she showed … Continued
I came home from my term abroad with rolls and rolls of undeveloped film. The excitement of seeing the real photos months later inspired me to document my adventures in scrapbooks. I very rarely looked at the books again…until my daughter’s increasing reading habit prompted the albums’ resurgence (for better or worse). Two books triggered her interest in my … Continued
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.