Browse by Tags

• Manners, 21st Century Style

  My kids all love(d) Richard Scarry's book, "The Polite Elephant."  And of course I appreciate a cute, appealing book that also tries to teach my toddlers to say "please" and "thank you." My problem with "The Polite Elephant" is that, although it was published in 1998, it feels terribly dated to me.  According to Scarry, when the Polite Elephant gets on the bus, "he always offers his seat to a lady," which never fails to strike me as chauvanistic.  He also understands that "some rooms are for sitting and others are for playing" - which, while it may be true in some houses, is not particulary high on my list of important manners I want my children to have. What I really need Richard Scarry to teach my toddlers is . . .   Read More... Posted Nov 11 2008, 04:29 PM by Amy S.F. Lutz with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: teaching children, The Polite Elephant, good manners, Richard Scarry, sequels

• Signs of Spring In Your Mailbox

  We're in the midst of a winter snowstorm and I am so pregnant that I have taken on the appearance of a Weeble. Getting up off the couch much less doing more than the bare minimum of daily chores is a challenge. In short, I am cranky and weary. So I found this article, about those seed catalogs that start showing up on your doorstep at this time of year, was a pleasant reminder that there will be spring weather and workable ground again someday, probably someday soon. According to the story, flipping through garden catalogs can be a nice teaching tool for kids. Talking about the colors or the shapes can be fun with young children, and older ones can actually read them and help pick out what to grow in the garden this year.   Read More... Posted Feb 01 2008, 06:06 PM by Amy Kuras with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: vegetables, gardening with kids, teaching children, seed catalogs

• It's a Straight World After All: When Will You Teach Your Child About Homosexuality?

  I consider myself quite liberal... defender of public education, gay rights, and the importance of helping others who cannot always help themselves.  So I have been somewhat embarrassed surprised by my latent conservative tendencies evoked by motherhood. When one of my best friends visited last week and began explaining to my daughters how her life partner is a woman, there was a little part of me that cringed.  Not that there's anything wrong with that (a la Seinfeld)! It's just that I want to be the one to teach my children about life partners, and choices, and sexuality and marriage.  It's my job, not the job of my parents or friends or anyone else. Read More... Posted Oct 17 2007, 06:13 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: kids, homosexuality, marriage, sttraight, sexualitty, bigotry, teaching children