This year my children asked if they could plan their father's birthday cake. I didn't see any problem with this, although I did begin to wonder after they started throwing out possible ideas. They decided on a hockey rink theme. This went through many phases, but the end result turned out well, even with the... Continue Reading →
One day at lunch, my 5 year old was asking me about colors. "If you mix blue-green with yellow-orange, exactly what color do you get?" We had been through several, with me mentally calculating how certain mixtures would come out and with me asking her what she thought for some of them. My 7 year... Continue Reading →
Most parents want their children to be equipped to handle life when they are grown. The skills needed to do this are ones that we can help them with right now. Rather than handling situations for them, and hence taking responsibility for our children, we can show responsibility to our children by helping them to problem solve and... Continue Reading →
Every parent makes mistakes. It's part of being human. We have an entire lifetime of baggage following us around which we have to work through in order to bypass and move on. Many of us, in an attempt to improve ourselves as people and parents, actively strive to do better for our kids. We hope... Continue Reading →
We've been making salads as side dishes a lot lately. Throw in some baby spinach and chop up an assortment of vegetables to go in it. Add some chopped hard-boiled eggs and cheese to the mix and then lightly toss with some healthy salad dressing. This is a great simple project for kids to help... Continue Reading →
Up until last month, I had never hard-boiled eggs. Yes, I can hear the gasps. How did I ever manage to make it to adulthood without learning to hard-boil eggs? Yes, I know how to cook. I've been told I cook quite well and especially turn out fabulous desserts. Hard-boiled eggs just never made it... Continue Reading →
When our older two children were 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old, our family went to Home Depot. While a trip to Home Depot may be utilitarian for many adults, although I won't deny the look of glee I've seen in the eyes of some people I've seen there, the place holds a magic... Continue Reading →
One of the main complaints I hear from AP parents concerning consensual living is that while they agree that children are people, they don't think their children should have as much say in certain matters...ranging anywhere from house payments to bedtimes. They seem to be under the impression that our household, and others like it,... Continue Reading →
We have a large mirror in the bathroom we refer to as the kids' bathroom. We only call it such because this is the one bathroom with a bathtub and because we have a stool in there to make it easier for them to wash hands. In truth, most of our guests use this bathroom and our... Continue Reading →
John Taylor Gatto, an award winning veteran school teacher, has exposed the problems of our school system, and society in general, in several of his books, including Dumbing Us Down. This small collection of speeches and essays speaks to the heart of anyone who has ever questioned our current school system. He elonquently describes the... Continue Reading →
living peacefully with children 