A few days ago, I had lunch with my sister whose kids are younger than mine. We started chatting about money and kids’ spending and allowances. And grades, and motivation. We’ve tried a lot of things with my kids (now 13 and 17). Here are my three favorites. iAllowance iAllowance is an app that’s been…
Today I read yet another article in support of redshirting kids with summer birthdays. That is, instead of enrolling them in kindergarten when they’re old enough (according to your state or school), you wait a year. So instead of starting kindergarten at barely-five (or not-quite-five), they are sometimes six before they start. Instead of being…
The news broke on the International Day of the Girl – Boy Scouts of America will welcome girls!! This news was not well-received overall. Here are the three trending stories I see on Google right now when I search “boy scouts,” one day after the announcement. The end of men? Really? My daughter is 13…
Dutch Blitz is an odd-looking little card game. (“A Vonderful Goot Game!”) I had seen it on the shelf before but didn’t buy it, and now I’m sad that we didn’t get it sooner! The game has a cute but strange Pennsylvania Dutch motif, but the game play is a mix of cooperative solitaire, Spoons,…
Being in the high school marching band means being a geek. Unappreciated. Misunderstood. But whether your kid is in the band or not, there are a lot of things to appreciate and even admire about them. I worked all day recently at my kid’s school when they hosted a marching band competition. Twelve bands from…
Boys are better at physics because they can projectile ‘pee’ up walls, claim controversial academics Can you imagine a more click-worth headline for physics educators? Well, the original article written by the “controversial academics” has a better one: Taking the Pee Out of Physics: How Boys are Getting a Leg Up They’re both worth reading,…
Today I ran into an acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in about three years. I asked about her kids and she asked about mine, who are all in roughly the same age group. I mentioned that my older child was happy at his school because he is a nerd and there are a lot of other nerds…
Welcome to Middle School Scared yet? You should be. 7 Secrets about your Middle School Kid I’ve been a middle school teacher and parent for long enough that people question my sanity. Including my own middle school years, I’ve spent 14 years in middle school. My younger child just started 8th grade. I’m still functioning,…
My son was about eleven years old when he became a more adventurous eater. He started to trust me in making new things for him. When that happened, my daughter was seven years old and NOT ready to be more adventurous. She liked just a few things. What to do? I had options: Become a…
