Folks, these people do some of the most interesting book reviews I’ve ever read, bar none. It also so happens that none of them have yet reached the age of 12. In addition, they produce the most interesting fan art to go along with their opinions of the books they’ve read. (It so happens that their graphic-art abilities far outstrip my own, so I won’t be giving them any competition in that arena, either.) But please take a moment today to read the latest book reviews of the Bookie-Woogie kids—Grace, Lily, and Elijah—and their dad, Aaron Wenz. You will find [...] Read more »
Out of the mouths of babes…
Happy Monday, everyone! And P.S.? If wearing the cape and tights makes you feel better and helps you save the world—or at least keeps your cuppa joe from splatting into your bag—by all means wear them, too! Just saying… Read more »
On a Loss of Faith
In light of the recent Penn State scandals, Thomas L. Day, a successful product of the Second Mile Foundation, takes aim at what he views as the universal lack of leadership from his parents’ generation. Although I don’t fully agree with every particular aspect of his stated disappointments (I do think a few of these national issues—such as war and taxation—are more complex than what he views them as), his reflections are sobering. I believe his views also represent at least the partial perspective of a whole lot of Americans in their 30s. Here’s his opener: “I’m 31, an Iraq [...] Read more »
On Parenting with No Future
Parenting and teaching are two of the most future-minded activities I can think of. Why? Well, because everything a parent does with their child (on a good day, anyway) is intended to help the child grow into a healthy, productive, principled, happy adult. Every action, every child-training philosophy, and even the personalities and value systems of little playmates are all viewed from a long-term “what will this mean for my child’s future?” lens. The same could be said of teaching—nothing is done without specific intention, not only for teaching in this particular moment, but in order to lay the groundwork [...] Read more »
On God, the Offering Plate, and the Parish Hall
Last week the father of one of my students told me how his daughter, at age 5, has already been showing fiscal awareness well beyond her years. In church that week, after the offering plate went around, she turned to her dad and loudly wanted to know “how we gonna get that money to God?” Indeed, Elesha. I often wonder that same thing myself… In the New Testament of the Christian tradition, God calls us to care for those who cannot support themselves, as the apostle James, the brother of Jesus (or in the Catholic tradition, the cousin of Jesus) [...] Read more »
Danc(ing) with a statue
Today I feel just like this… “Dance like nobody’s watching…and sing like nobody’s listening.” (And dance with fantastic statues while you’re at it.) Thanks to Patti Carr for the wonderful image. Have a great Tuesday, everyone! Read more »
On Crime and (Non)Punishment
My tax dollars and yours pay for this illegal child sexual abuse. Please pass this on to anyone you can think of who cares about protecting young people from being exploited as underage sexual slaves and prostitutes in the United States. And apparently? This will mean protecting them from certain Planned Parenthood clinics as well. There simply are no words. Read more »
An Alternative Manger Story
So this is the tale of a 6-year-old’s home reinvention of the traditional Christmas nativity play when a more typical church version didn’t quite cut it for her (“there were no battle scenes”). Written and illustrated by a gifted visual artist/blogger, there are some new and unexpected plotline twists in her 6-year-old self’s long-ago re-enactment of this ancient story. You can enjoy it here: Read more »
On Musical Performances and Bathroom (Mis)Adventures
I was given the opportunity to go Christmas-caroling in a venerable old landmark in Washington, D.C., last year. Due to some necessary last-minute shifting on the part of the venue, we ended up singing in a very dark, low-ceilinged room with an untuned piano, the loud clatter of dishes an unplanned and highly assertive last-minute performer within our ensemble. Pretty soon I began noticing that I couldn’t see the conductor anymore due to the room’s general darkness and the ceiling lights’ placement. But this wasn’t going to outwit me—as every chorister knows, if your view of a conductor’s hands is [...] Read more »
Fighting Bullies with Babies
I have often observed through the years that families with lots of children or with widely-spaced children (where the older children were actively involved in the care and nurture of their younger siblings) often seemed to produce children with higher-than-average empathy skills. This was only anecdotal observation on my part, so you can imagine my surprise when the New York Times recently published an absolutely fascinating article about the innate power babies have to teach empathy to children. A wonderful educator out of Canada took this concept into the school classroom, formally implementing the interaction of children with a baby [...] Read more »
Like a small child in a big, fabulous candy store
That was me when I got on this site! Really, this has got to be one of the very coolest kids’ music education sites ever. In this award-winning, interactive online experience, children (and adults like me!) get to learn all about opera using Humperdinck’s famous Hansel and Greta opera. The child gets to design the costumes, choose choreography for the siblings in Humperdinck’s masterpiece, and learn about various conventions of opera along the way. There’s also an excellent section on the site for teachers and parents that offers information, lesson plans, and other fun stuff related to the opera. This [...] Read more »
One of the funniest skits I’ve ever seen in my life…
Years ago, when I first saw this skit with Chris Farley as Matt Foley, motivational speaker, I remember laughing so hard I cried. Every time I’ve seen it since, I’ve still laughed until I cried, including this morning. As this is an embed from Hulu, please bear with the opening 30-second commercial~~I promise you it’s worth it! Enjoy the inimitable Chris Farley and company~~ Read more »
On the Keeping of (Technological) Secrets
Not long ago I was given a rude little surprise. As many of you with blogs already know, the back end of some website content management systems allows you to see the types of searches that readers have made in order to find your website or blog. Nothing unusual about that, and since web-hosting companies refuse to reveal the identities (only the intentionally-unidentified searches) of the readers who make their way through these searches to your blog, no one’s privacy is compromised. On occasion this has provided me with unintentional moments of hilarity, as when I realized that due to [...] Read more »
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