My son might be gay and we live in a conservative town: where can I find resources for him?
Since he could ask for it, my son has asked to dress up in girl’s clothing — pink and frilly, pretty and shiny. It’s the only kind of clothing he gets excited about besides snazzy boy’s dress shirt. To him, all other clothing serves only to keep him from being totally naked. This is ok with me, aside from fighting my own society embedded fears that make my first instinct to keep it in the house only (which has been going well).
My wife experienced the death of a student as only a teacher can
My wife is an early childhood and special educator. She works with young students, most of whom are the same age or younger than our youngest daughter. One of those students, one whom she’s championed, advocated for, and supported for almost two years, passed away. The news, and the resulting heartache, are things she never could have prepared for, steeled herself to. The loss of this student has hit her profoundly.
How do offbeat schools raise funds?
My son goes to a small community school with an offbeat philosophy which makes many traditional fundraisers a wrong fit for the families. Things like craft fairs and seed sales do well, but coupon books and competitions less so.
It turns out Finland and South Korea have the best education systems in the world
According to a poll recently conducted by education firm Pearson, students in Finland and South Koren are receiving the best education in the world. Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore round out the top 5, while the United Kingdom is sixth, Canada checks in at 10th, and the United States comes in at 17th.
Of family, fear, and Freezy-Pops: on visiting my daughter at school after I transitioned from Daddy to Mommy
Biologically speaking, I am not “Mommy;” I’m Daddy. But I transitioned a couple of years ago, and slowly the kids are getting used to having two Mommies. No one knows that I transitioned unless I tell them — I blend in.
Sneaky Vanilla Pudding for School Lunches/Snacks
Kids — and adults — have been back in school for a couple of weeks now and you may be running out of ideas for healthy snacks and lunches. I think this recipe is a great way to sneak avocado and banana into the diet of any willful child or picky adult.
7 ways we’re saving money for daycare
I’d heard all of these rumors about children being expensive, but I didn’t really believe them. We’d been parents for nearly a year and managed just fine with a limited amount of penny squeezing thanks to the extra money I’d saved while we were pregnant to allow for extra cash during my maternity leave — and then the sucker punch came. We realized just how much daycare is going to cost us for infant category twins, and I’ll just say this: it’s a LOT.
School-friendly closed toe slip-on shoes for toddlers and kids
You already know it’s back-to-school time in many parts of the world, but what you may NOT realize is that many schools (at least those in the Northern Hemisphere) have a closed-toe shoe policy firmly in place. Rather than argue if this makes sense or not (I admit I don’t completely understand the reasons behind the policies — safety? Nail polish?), it’s way more fun to cruise the internet for sparkly and/or brightly-colored closed-toe slip-on shoes like these red wool shoes by the folks at TOMS ($29).