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May 4, 2009
Supply List For Starters, Craftivity Corner
Supply List For Starters, Craftivity Corner
A long day at home with a toddler or a preschooler can feel like it never ends, especially when the weather is bad or you are stuck at home.
We break up our day with "Learning Time" every day. Some times it's a big project with many steps, other times it's scooping rice or pasta and making a big mess. It's all beneficial and not only helps promote things like literacy and fine motor development, but you bond with your child when you are cutting, gluing and painting together. A little mess is worth bonding and sanity in my books! [more]
May 1, 2009
And now for something completely different
And now for something completely different
Swine flu, economic meltdown, two foreign wars -- we're in a right mess. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of all the gloom and doom. It's time for something to raise our spirits. Something like YouTube videos of animals doing funny things. [more]
April 30, 2009
Project Hallways, Talia's Blog
Project Hallways, Talia's Blog
The project hallways were oddly structured, each floor like a maze, with passageways that confusingly led to unexpected places.
I hung in the hallways when I should have been in school. Yet, in part, the hallways were like school, the graffiti an essay of street names, gossip, and slander. “D-Nut,” “T-Bone,” “White Boy Bobby,” “Bedrock,” “Monique fu#*! Dwayne,” and “Nicole is a hoe.” I tagged “Talia was here.” [more]
April 30, 2009
Otherworld, Professor Mom Sometimes I feel like I'm a big grouch when it comes to talking/writing about L.'s school (or the state of public schools in general)--just follow the "School Daze" tag above and you'll find a whole slew of such posts. I might complain about this or that, whether it's testing, or mishandling of curriculum opportunities, or how No Child Left Behind should really be called No Child Gets Ahead. But yesterday afternoon I overheard a snippet of a conversation outside of T.'s preschool that made my blood boil a little.
Otherworld, Professor Mom Sometimes I feel like I'm a big grouch when it comes to talking/writing about L.'s school (or the state of public schools in general)--just follow the "School Daze" tag above and you'll find a whole slew of such posts. I might complain about this or that, whether it's testing, or mishandling of curriculum opportunities, or how No Child Left Behind should really be called No Child Gets Ahead. But yesterday afternoon I overheard a snippet of a conversation outside of T.'s preschool that made my blood boil a little.
April 30, 2009
Testing, testing, Professor Mom
Testing, testing, Professor Mom
I have a knot in my stomach these days. It's not for myself, but for L. Next week is EOG week at L.'s school--the week the end-of-grade tests are administered in North Carolina to students in third, fifth, and eight grades. [more]
April 30, 2009
Pantry Meals, Jessica
Pantry Meals, Jessica
I was having lunch with some mom friends and their kids at a friends’ home last Friday when the topic turned to grocery shopping, menu planning and pantry staples. A friend of mine commented, “I think I need to go grocery shopping with you.” When I asked her why, she shared that she wanted to know what was in my pantry to help get meals to the table fast. [more]
April 29, 2009
The hand in the dark, Professor Mom
The hand in the dark, Professor Mom
L. is a kid who loves and needs his routines--his crutches, we call them. Once a week I pick him up from school early and we head off to a weekly appointment some 35 minutes away. His crutch for this particular weekly outing is a book. He must always--ALWAYS--have a Hardy Boys novel with him for the 35 minute car trip to and from the appointment, and the sometimes 30 minute wait in the waiting room. As a result, he will build up a small stash of these books in the back of the car (along with the stacks of office supply catalogs he pilfers from the school's recycling bin). [more]
April 29, 2009
Broccoli Salad, Jessica
Broccoli Salad, Jessica
Is your extended family like ours? For better or for worse, there are certain dishes that always, always appear at large holiday gatherings. My Aunt Di has been making her famous broccoli salad since I can remember. It ain’t gourmet, and there are a lot of different versions of this salad out there, but hers is the best, hands down.
Aunt Di brings this broccoli salad each Thanksgiving and Easter and it is a real crowd pleaser. As we inch ever so closer to summer, keep this recipe handy for a quick potluck item or picnic salad.
[more]
April 28, 2009
Better than a nap, Professor Mom
Better than a nap, Professor Mom
Yesterday afternoon, after a long, hot, tiring day, I came home with the kids and found this:
and this:
[more]
April 28, 2009
Cook Once, Eat Twice, Jessica
Cook Once, Eat Twice, Jessica
One of the best ways to make your weekday meals come together quicker and easier, is the old “cook once, eat twice” method. I first heard of this idea through my mom who had heard of it from a friend, who probably heard of it from a friend and so on. [more]
