Kids love getting toys for Christmas, but after seven years of Christmases and birthdays, I have watched the toys pile up, so I’m not looking forward to adding new toys. This year I’m going to try to convince my boys to donate some of their older toys to charity. (That hasn’t gone so well in the past, so wish me luck.)
All play is good. I’m a huge advocate of giving children plenty of time for free, unstructured play because this is when the learning really happens. The best kind of play is when children have to use their imaginations, so I tend to favor toys that don’t have a lot of bells and whistles.
My seven and four-year-old boys love toy animals and dinosaurs. We have two boxes of those, and they also love blocks, Legos, and pretend food. My four-year-old is a little chef.
[Full Story »]
PABIS: In the e-book business
After working several months on my first e-book, I’m proud to say I have finally published it. Then There Were Two: Essays on Motherhood is a book of essays adapted from my first columns with the Barrow Journal, written before and after my second son was born. So it’s about a mother adjusting to life with an infant and toddler as well as musings on nature and family issues. It also has some of my photography from that time.
I’ve published it in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore, though I hope to offer it through other venues in the future. One of the reasons I published it in the Kindle Bookstore first is because these books can be read on every device, including iPads, Androids, and a regular computer using the Kindle app. It can also be sent to anyone as a gift, and all you need is the name and e-mail address of the person you’re sending it to.
There was a time many years ago that I would not have considered self-publishing a book. I wanted to write fiction and get published with a respectable publisher, but after trying for a few years and attending several writing conferences, I learned that the publishing business has more to do with making money, which is understandable – otherwise the publishers couldn’t stay in business. But I also learned that if I persevered and eventually got published, that did not guarantee I could afford to live on writing alone. [Full Story »]
I’ve published it in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore, though I hope to offer it through other venues in the future. One of the reasons I published it in the Kindle Bookstore first is because these books can be read on every device, including iPads, Androids, and a regular computer using the Kindle app. It can also be sent to anyone as a gift, and all you need is the name and e-mail address of the person you’re sending it to.
There was a time many years ago that I would not have considered self-publishing a book. I wanted to write fiction and get published with a respectable publisher, but after trying for a few years and attending several writing conferences, I learned that the publishing business has more to do with making money, which is understandable – otherwise the publishers couldn’t stay in business. But I also learned that if I persevered and eventually got published, that did not guarantee I could afford to live on writing alone. [Full Story »]
PABIS: Paper mache bugs
For months my son was pestering me to try paper mache, but it was one of those things that I put off because I wasn’t sure how to do it, and I also knew it was going to be messy. I promised him we’d do it one day, and he never let me forget that, so we finally made some paper mache bugs.
Paper mache is a gooey substance made out of flour, water, and paper strips, and you can mold it into just about anything. When it dries, it stays hard, and you can paint it.
This was a fun project and very easy to do, but let me save you some hassle and tell you not to google “how to do paper mache.” Every site I landed on had a different recipe. Several of them included glue. One of them said to prepare the mixture 24 hours in advance. Another said you had to boil the mixture. It will make you put off the project some more. [Full Story »]
Paper mache is a gooey substance made out of flour, water, and paper strips, and you can mold it into just about anything. When it dries, it stays hard, and you can paint it.
This was a fun project and very easy to do, but let me save you some hassle and tell you not to google “how to do paper mache.” Every site I landed on had a different recipe. Several of them included glue. One of them said to prepare the mixture 24 hours in advance. Another said you had to boil the mixture. It will make you put off the project some more. [Full Story »]
PABIS: The boys' birthdays
Last week my boys turned seven and four. I’m not sure where the time has gone.
When I started writing this column, I was eight months pregnant with the four-year-old.
My seven-year-old was still two. I can barely remember what he was like at that age.
As I write this, my four-year-old is in the living room playing with his toy animals and dinosaurs. I hear him chattering in an unintelligible language while he pretends the animals are fighting and interacting with each other.
It wasn’t long ago that he didn’t give me any freedom.
He’s a mama’s boy, and ever since he came out of the womb, he’s been trying to climb back in there. It can feel a little suffocating, but I try to give him all the affection he needs because I know this time is fleeting. And he’s pretty cute. [Full Story »]
When I started writing this column, I was eight months pregnant with the four-year-old.
My seven-year-old was still two. I can barely remember what he was like at that age.
As I write this, my four-year-old is in the living room playing with his toy animals and dinosaurs. I hear him chattering in an unintelligible language while he pretends the animals are fighting and interacting with each other.
It wasn’t long ago that he didn’t give me any freedom.
He’s a mama’s boy, and ever since he came out of the womb, he’s been trying to climb back in there. It can feel a little suffocating, but I try to give him all the affection he needs because I know this time is fleeting. And he’s pretty cute. [Full Story »]
PABIS: Second generation butterflies
If you read my column regularly, you may recall that we raised Painted Lady butterflies this spring. We ordered the larvae from an online company and watched them grow, pupate and emerge into adult butterflies. Then we got the crazy idea to keep the butterflies, watch them mate, lay eggs, and raise a second generation.
I had visions of my house being invaded by tiny caterpillars, but I persevered thinking that at any time, I could throw the whole thing outside. I thought we’d just try it and see what happens.
We kept our first generation in our butterfly habitat, a roomy mesh cage about the size of an aquarium. Four out of six larvae made it to maturity, and when we observed them mating, we figured out only one of them was a female. She may have been overworked, but she was determined to carry on life, and she laid dozens of eggs on a small hollyhock plant that I had dug up and potted from my yard so that I could put it down into the cage. [Full Story »]
I had visions of my house being invaded by tiny caterpillars, but I persevered thinking that at any time, I could throw the whole thing outside. I thought we’d just try it and see what happens.
We kept our first generation in our butterfly habitat, a roomy mesh cage about the size of an aquarium. Four out of six larvae made it to maturity, and when we observed them mating, we figured out only one of them was a female. She may have been overworked, but she was determined to carry on life, and she laid dozens of eggs on a small hollyhock plant that I had dug up and potted from my yard so that I could put it down into the cage. [Full Story »]
PABIS: Embracing the chaos
One day when I was pregnant with my first child, I stepped into the entryway of a neighbor’s home. She homeschooled her children, and, in fact, she’s the person I learned about homeschooling from, but at the time, I wasn’t considering homeschooling. I hadn’t even had a child yet.
While I was speaking to her, she excused the state of her household because they had been very busy, and she didn’t have time to clean that day.
I had not noticed the interior of her house, but when she said this, I glanced over into her dining room, and I could see her table was littered with toys and other stuff. You couldn’t see the top of her table. [Full Story »]
While I was speaking to her, she excused the state of her household because they had been very busy, and she didn’t have time to clean that day.
I had not noticed the interior of her house, but when she said this, I glanced over into her dining room, and I could see her table was littered with toys and other stuff. You couldn’t see the top of her table. [Full Story »]
PABIS: What is a true friend?
On Valentine’s Day I will take my boys to a small party where they will exchange valentines with their friends. Watching them form their very first friendships, I reflect on what I have learned about friendship these past forty years.
A wise person once told me that she would not know whom her best friend was until she became an old woman. Only at that time, she asserted, could she look back on her life and say, “You have been my best friend.” [Full Story »]
A wise person once told me that she would not know whom her best friend was until she became an old woman. Only at that time, she asserted, could she look back on her life and say, “You have been my best friend.” [Full Story »]
PABIS: Homeschooling for safety reasons
It troubles me to see a surge of interest in homeschooling after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. I love homeschooling my family, and I have to admit that after the tragedy, I was glad my children weren’t attending school that following Monday. But is this a reason to homeschool? Not if it’s the only reason you have for homeschooling.
While only 4% of U.S. children are homeschooled, this is a fast-growing movement. Of course, I am an advocate of homeschooling. I love to talk to people who are thinking about it for their own family. At the same time, I don’t think everybody has to do it. It should depend on your child’s needs and also the needs and desires of the parents.
People should understand that homeschooling isn’t just “school at home.” Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Your whole family is in it together, and you are going to be together all the time. If you have extended family or extra resources to help, that’s great, but it’s still a lot of togetherness. Even for the most patient parents, it can be tough.
Friends and family have commented that I have a lot of patience, and I often chuckle and think to myself that they don’t really know me. I suppose I am more patient than some, but I’m also introverted, and I like a lot of time to myself. I try to balance my love of my children and this lifestyle with my needs, but that’s not always possible. I accept that. [Full Story »]
While only 4% of U.S. children are homeschooled, this is a fast-growing movement. Of course, I am an advocate of homeschooling. I love to talk to people who are thinking about it for their own family. At the same time, I don’t think everybody has to do it. It should depend on your child’s needs and also the needs and desires of the parents.
People should understand that homeschooling isn’t just “school at home.” Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Your whole family is in it together, and you are going to be together all the time. If you have extended family or extra resources to help, that’s great, but it’s still a lot of togetherness. Even for the most patient parents, it can be tough.
Friends and family have commented that I have a lot of patience, and I often chuckle and think to myself that they don’t really know me. I suppose I am more patient than some, but I’m also introverted, and I like a lot of time to myself. I try to balance my love of my children and this lifestyle with my needs, but that’s not always possible. I accept that. [Full Story »]
PABIS: Happy birthday, Mom
This week my mother is turning 72 years old, though if you ask her, she might say she’s 75. That’s right…her way of thinking is that if she tells you she’s older, you’ll say, “Wow! You look great for your age!”
Now that I’m a mother, I can look back on my childhood and appreciate the sacrifices and unconditional love my mother has given me. My mom loved dancing, and she taught young children how to dance before she married my father. She has never stopped loving dance, and she taught Dancercise when I was young, but mostly, she stayed home and took care of her home and children.
I don’t know if she ever had aspirations outside of family life, but I do know she doesn’t regret her choices.
If you had asked me when I was twenty if I wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps and be a stay-at-home mom, I would have said, “No way.” There were a lot of things I wanted to do, but having children was not high on my priority list. [Full Story »]
Now that I’m a mother, I can look back on my childhood and appreciate the sacrifices and unconditional love my mother has given me. My mom loved dancing, and she taught young children how to dance before she married my father. She has never stopped loving dance, and she taught Dancercise when I was young, but mostly, she stayed home and took care of her home and children.
I don’t know if she ever had aspirations outside of family life, but I do know she doesn’t regret her choices.
If you had asked me when I was twenty if I wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps and be a stay-at-home mom, I would have said, “No way.” There were a lot of things I wanted to do, but having children was not high on my priority list. [Full Story »]
PABIS: Technology in education
Saturday, October 13. 2012
My husband told me I ought to listen to an episode of a podcast called Mac Power Users: Episode 93. This episode is an interview with Fraser Speirs, a mobile education consultant. He works for the Cedar School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland, and he also writes books, travels and does public speaking about using mobile devices and technology in schools. The Cedar School of Excellence was one of the first schools to give Macs and then iPads to all of its students.
Obviously, it would not be feasible for most schools, especially publics schools, to offer an iPad to every student. The Cedar School of Excellence is a small, private K-12 school, but my husband knew I would find the ideas behind the use of technology useful in our homeschool. I did, and I also think it could be useful for any parent who is involved in their child’s education and working with them at home.
Listening to Speirs’ talk reinforced my opinion that technology is not something we should shield children from. I know parents have different views on “screen time,” and I respect that. We need to set up boundaries for our children and use technology as a tool and not as a babysitter. But our children are in a unique position to grow up with technology (something we never had), and someday they will be competing in a world with more advanced technology. We parents need to assist them in acquiring useful skills. [Full Story »]
Obviously, it would not be feasible for most schools, especially publics schools, to offer an iPad to every student. The Cedar School of Excellence is a small, private K-12 school, but my husband knew I would find the ideas behind the use of technology useful in our homeschool. I did, and I also think it could be useful for any parent who is involved in their child’s education and working with them at home.
Listening to Speirs’ talk reinforced my opinion that technology is not something we should shield children from. I know parents have different views on “screen time,” and I respect that. We need to set up boundaries for our children and use technology as a tool and not as a babysitter. But our children are in a unique position to grow up with technology (something we never had), and someday they will be competing in a world with more advanced technology. We parents need to assist them in acquiring useful skills. [Full Story »]
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