Crowds. Noise. Everything that many book lovers usually run from will be swirling around and crackling through the air at the Miami Book Fair in the coming weeks. The first time I took my kids there, I was slapped with screeching children, tents with more screeching children, loud music, and sometimes happy, mostly angry parents.Continue reading “Find the best authors at THE MIAMI BOOK FAIR”
Category Archives: parenting
Halloween Horror shatters school stress.
We sat outside, surrounding our fire pit, and roasting marshmallows on sticks. Each of us listening to the next scary story as if a monster might jump right out of the storyteller’s mouth. It was as simple as that. We forgot the horror of early morning carpools and catching colds as well as the burdenContinue reading “Halloween Horror shatters school stress.”
5 Best Ways to Help Teens Survive School Anxiety
Between getting up before the sun even rises and just thinking about homework, all teenagers feel at least a tinge of anxiety when the school year begins. Overachievers might find themselves biting their cuticles. Underachievers might dread the teachers who will ridicule them for not trying. Social butterflies might obsess over a pimple, their hair,Continue reading “5 Best Ways to Help Teens Survive School Anxiety”
Stimulating the Summer Brain: For parents who are watching their children drool over their devices.
Heavy into summer, kids do not want to hear the word “school” let alone the word “read” and do NOT utter the name we do not speak of “HOMEWORK.” So if you’re a parent like me and you’ve begun noticing that there’s no intellectual stimulation other than YouTube and gaming with an occasional excursion toContinue reading “Stimulating the Summer Brain: For parents who are watching their children drool over their devices.”
Happy Days Live On
Some may say that I’m morbid, even disrespectful. I say, it’s a matter of perspective, and love, a lot of love. Today, my love died. Today, her eyes washed to oceans of blue and glimmers of white. Today, she surrounded me. Today, she showed me life floats on. And, today, I started watching the secondContinue reading “Happy Days Live On”
Working Smart?
Those white shoes, cushioned platforms of sorts, left our house sometimes for 24 hours. When she returned, she slept. Twelve hours sometimes then worked for 24 more. My mother worked hard and smart. I missed her all the same. The 24-hour shifts paid more but meant that we’d see her less. She made upContinue reading “Working Smart?”
Back to School: Conversations with Kids about Safety and Speaking Up
Preparing for the start of the school year seems even more somber this year than others. Back to school mayhem has begun in some parts of the country. Florida just had its tax-free weekend and parents were no less aggressive about stocking up on supplies. But, all of us, at some point, looked at aContinue reading “Back to School: Conversations with Kids about Safety and Speaking Up”
The Art of Living with Artists
I watch in awe of their resolve, saddened by their wounds, hoping for their healing, and waiting for the next burst of magic, bound to love them through it all.
Censoring Enlightenment
Oftentimes when reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee in the classroom, students giggle when stumbling upon the first “inappropriate” word. By ages 10 and 11 nowadays, students have heard and said all of those words at some point. In fact, a lot of those kids have heard their parents shouting those words whileContinue reading “Censoring Enlightenment”
Who educates whom?
Any teacher worth their salt will tell you straight up that she’s learned as much from her students as they have from her. But, every teacher will concede that learning has become more than just a challenge. I have two children and I’ve taught thousands. So, when I began teaching, I wanted to be theContinue reading “Who educates whom?”
