Eco Child’s Play

It’s summer vacation, and one thing parents often hear from children used to being stimulated by school all year is, “I’m bored!”.  Personally, I am never bored, so I have little compassion when I hear my daughter issue this utterance, but I have found a new book that I think will help her overcome the doldrums. Let’s Go Outside!: Outdoor Activities and Projects to Get You and Your Kids Closer to Nature is a great resource for bored children.

Just as I have little understanding of boredom, I also never find myself needing an activity while experiencing nature beyond hiking and observing; however, children are a different breed. They sometimes need help focusing their energy.  Author Jennifer Ward provides 52 outdoor activities.  From “Playground for Poets” to “Five Fine Forts”, the summer boredom crisis is solved (and these activities are limited to warm summer months).  Furthermore, these games and projects are designed for children ages 8-12.  Here’s an example: Read the rest of this entry »

Guilt. Augh, the guilt.

Many of us practice some form of natural parenting. Many of us choose breastmilk, cosleeping, babywearing, and whole foods for our babies and families.

But lately, I’ve noticed that something is lacking with a few vocal members of the attachment parenting community. Empathy. Yep, that’s putting yourself in another’s shoes.

You don’t have to agree. You don’t have to sanction. But it’d be nice if some APs would understand that it’s not as easy as popping a baby on a breast or in your bed. Life is not the same for everyone out there. Our experiences are different. Our reactions are different.

And until the Attachment Parenting community isolates the elitists, it will be hard to gain ground.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you homeschool, are actively seeking summer bridge activities, or just want something to do with the kids every now and then, math is something that can be really nice to do together as a family. Especially if you’re not that into math yourself.

We all know the many benefits, for parents and children, of family-centered activities. But family-centered activities that are also learning-centered have additional benefits–they model good learning habits, and they make learning fun. They can also, if you, yourself, are a little dicey about a certain subject, go a long way towards NOT passing down that same leeriness in your children (It took my partner and I several minutes, and a paper and pencil, to figure out the per-comic price in a Classifieds ad in which a guy was selling 1400 comic books for $99–we do NOT want our daughters to grow up that fundamentally math-stupid).

Here are some of my favorite books that present fun math activities for young and old, for math novices and math experts: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret I am against media for children under three-years-old, so when we received a press release today announcing iPhone Pacifier, I couldn’t resist bashing this use of technology. Sure, I can get behind energy saving apps, but an app claiming to educate children ages 1 to 3?  No way! Read the rest of this entry »

I have two boys. When my now-15-month-old turned one, a close friend bought him a Tonka dump truck. It’s big enough for us to push either of those critters around in it. The little guys love it so much that my 3-year-old politely demanded that he get his own Tonka when he turns 4.

But as a kid, I loved machinery and vehicles, too. Many a righteous little girl knows how to rock out a dump truck. So when I saw this from a Facebook friend and mother of a girl, I completely understood. Any parent of boys and girls alike know that some girls like to play in the mud as much as some boys like to play with dolls. Kids don’t really get the gender thing when they’re very young until we teach them what they “should” be playing with.

My friend, Heather, was rather annoyed to see that Tonka Web site was directed to boys. Here is her open letter to the Hasbro/Tonka company:

I’m a hugger.  I hug my children; I hug my friends.  Some cultures greet people with kisses on the cheek; some with handshakes.

Teenage culture across America is embracing the hug!

Hugging is not just for romantic relationships.  According to the New York Times, teenagers have broken down hugs by type:

There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.

There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.

There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every year the NWF (National Wildlife Federation) sponsors the Great American Backyard Campout, encouraging families to get out in nature…even if it is only in their backyards.

You don’t have to go to a campground to have a good time camping.

This year the official date for the backyard campout is June 27th. I’ve signed my family up and we’re going to have a camp fire and cook out and make s’mores and tell campfire stories. It’s a lot of fun and we try to do it every year. Read the rest of this entry »

The cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have risen dramatically over the past 30 years, so much so that there may be 50 percent more cases than previously suspected.

Up to 250,000 children have autism or a related condition on the autistic spectrum, but have not been diagnosed, researchers say. They are in addition to the 500,000 children who are known to be affected.

The study, conducted by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, found that the increase was due to better detection and intervention.

This is disputed by a U.S. study at UC Davis, which said that California’s 7- to 8-fold increase was due only in small part by better detection, and stressed that environmental factors must be studied as a possible cause.

So now the opposite sides of the pond, and coasts for that matter, are in dispute.

Read the rest of this entry »

This post was originally posted on Eco-Libris blog on June 1st.

Soccer is a great game and I used to play it every day when I was a kid. I love the game and therefore I enjoyed every page of our book today that got its inspiration from the (littered) soccer fields and is written by a soccer coach.

Our book today is:

20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth

Author: Coach Pedro and Susan Adam-Rita

Amarildo Pedro Rita was born in 1962 and has been playing high level soccer in Brazil and has being coaching youth soccer players in the United States since 1999. Currently he is the Director of Developmental Soccer Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan and author of The Magic Soccer Ball series plus The Boy and His Dream, A Great Soccer Tournament, and 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth. Coach Pedro holds a bachelor degree in physical education and USSF “A” License

Susan Adam-Rita was born in a small city in Brazil where she lived for twenty-seven years. A psychologist in her home country, she continued to pursue her studies and currently is a PHD candidate in the counselor education program at Wayne State University. Susan lives with her husband, Pedro, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Illustrator: Murilo Pruner

Ages: 4 - 8

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published on: December 2008
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Since homeschooling isn’t the norm by far, and especially because our entire culture is immersed in a school-as-institution mentality, homeschooling can seem completely incomprehensible.

Whether you’re contemplating homeschooling, know some homeschoolers, or just want to understand more about schooling options, books about homeschooling are, in my opinion, absolute must-reads.

Without reading about the huge variety of homeschooling experiences of other families, I might never have understood that my daughters writing “rainbow words” with markers while sitting at the table as I drink my morning coffee is just as legitimate (not to mention fun, and basically no work for me) as sending them to school to learn to write. Without reading about how other families homeschool, the infinity of methods (and non-methods) that they use, I might have never learned that I, too, would be capable of this.

Here are five good resources that got me started thinking about homeschooling: Read the rest of this entry »