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Last weekend the kindergarten class had a pumpkin carving social. It was a terrific way to meet the kids and their families outside the frenetic setting of morning drop off and after school pick up. The organizers brought pumpkin carving tools, stickers, stencils and markers – everything needed to make our Jack-O-Lanterns. My little guy paged through the book of stencils and zeroed in on a complicated design featuring an owl, a moon, some branches and clouds. The book gave this design a complexity rating of two out of four possible pumpkins. More like a five out of four if you ask me. Are you sure about this one? I wanted to know. He was sure, nodding vigorously with wide eyes. Okay then. Continue reading ›

A recently conducted research study of questionable design and less-than-rigorous methods revealed startling information about 6-to-8 year old urban youth: they don’t like cake. Continue reading ›

On a warm early spring morning, I boarded a plane destined for New Orleans. It was a work trip, so I was traveling alone. After stowing my luggage and securing my seatbelt, I drifted off to sleep to make up for the precious hours lost getting to the airport before dawn. I missed the captain’s welcome greeting and the safety video. I don’t even remember taking off. My slumber was disrupted a short while later when a panicked female voice boomed over the PA. She wanted to know if there was a doctor on board. I was about to doze off again, but a flight attendant a few rows behind me began to shout at her colleague. She was saying something about a passenger fainting and another feeling lightheaded. And then she passed out. I was now fully awake. Continue reading ›

Something funny happens as we get older. Time seems to slip by more quickly. I could swear I just celebrated my last big fat zero and then the next one crept right up on me out of nowhere. The nerve. The same principle applies to children. That is, they grow rapidly and at an increasing rate. This week, Weekly Greens turned three. I continue to think of this site in the same way I think of my precious sons. The love is intense, the frustration is frequent but well worth the effort, my heart swells with pride when strangers shower us with compliments and I wonder how time has passed so quickly? And much like raising actual living, breathing children, I can’t say it gets easier with time. It gets more complicated. But it keeps getting better. Continue reading ›