Look around outside. What do you see? A bird? A flower? A sunset? A tree? Each one would make a great haiku — for you! The Japanese haiku, one of the oldest forms of poetry, teaches us much about the art and craft of poem-making. The entire poem consists of only three short lines, […]
Have you ever read a poem ABOUT poetry? Have you ever written one? All it takes is a metaphor (comparison) and your imagination! Here are some poems with metaphors that compare poems to lots of different things. What’s a Poem? A whisper, A shout, Thoughts turned Inside out. A […]
Direct instruction from a reading teacher is one way kids learn to read. Informal learning from parents and caregivers is another way. In fact, research has shown that this informal instruction is pivotal to ensuring kids have the basic skills they need to actually learn to read once they are in school with a teacher […]
The urge to create is in each one of us. Our individual need to express ourselves is a vital part of who we are. The poet Walt Whitman once wrote that we are all born with the desire to “sound our barbaric yawps over the roofs of the world.” Since the beginning of time, […]
Every kid has something they love and are passionate about. It might be sports or music or chess or computers or art or cooking or whatever. And while not every kid loves to read, here are some great ways to use books or magazines to encourage whatever passion your child does have while also boosting […]
“Aaaaachhhoooo. “ “Bless you!” Is this refrain as common in your house as it is in mine? Between cold and flu season and now the start of the allergy season, it seems like someone is always sneezing! Inevitably, my daughter’s thoughts will turn to the stuff she just sneezed out and the questions […]
A poetic journey through the creative process for readers, writers, artists & dreamers. As I enter my seventh decade on this planet, I wonder what words of wisdom I might have written to the younger me. What treasured tidbits have I learned along the way? What could I leave in a letter to young […]
I admit it. I didn’t step up to the plate at first. My son’s class needed a “class mom” (hey, that’s how they phrased it in the email) and even though I’ve spent countless hours complaining to my wife that dads are treated as second-class citizens in the school, I still didn’t take the leap […]
Just like children believe in the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, I have a vision that somewhere, out there, a magical, mythical mother exists. One who charts out exactly the right amount of screen-time, per child, per age, per device, sets AND enforces these limits, and yet somehow still miraculously maintains perfect family harmony. This […]
Most of us want to raise our kids to have cultural sensitivity and to be free of prejudices. However, the reality is we live in a world where there is racism, bigotry, and discrimination. And we all have our own unconscious biases that can get passed along despite our best efforts. The easiest way […]