However you choose to celebrate Dr. King's birthday this year, be sure to have your celebration include sharing some of his wisdom with your sons and daughters. Here are some of his well known messages and some not so well known, all of which remain so powerful and relevant today. Enjoy! Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. [...]
If you are looking for interesting ways to enable your children to focus on the life and work of Dr. King on his holiday, take a look at the King lessons and activities on educationworld.com, found here. Scholastic.org asked teachers around the nation how they honor the work and legacy of Dr. King, and you can find their great [...]
It's the last Thoughtful Thursday of 2018! (Never mind that it is making its appearance on Friday; in 2019 we will do better.) Today's Thoughtful Thursday features New Year's poems. We begin with "Song for the New Year" by Eliza Cook, which reminds us to be thankful and hopeful as we move into a new year. Next we have [...]
Do you have an Instagram account? Is it filled with selfies, pictures of you partying with friends, inspirational messages, and clever hashtags? Do you have loads of followers and regularly get tons of "likes" and supportive messages? Are you a regular Facebook poster, frequently sending messages about the latest trip, party, or source of political outrage? Or do you [...]
Winter is on its way, and if you are on the East Coast, baby, it's cold outside! Today's Thoughtful Thursday ushers in December with a group of great winter poems. First up is "Winter Trees", by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), an ode to the beauty of a winter forest. In "Those Winter Sundays" Robert Hayden (1913-1980) reminds us that [...]
Summer camp planning in December? Yes! It is not too early to start thinking about what your children will be doing in the summer of 2019. Camps start filling their spaces in January, and camp consultants are already hosting events this month to introduce parents to a variety of summer opportunities for children. Tips on Trips and Camps, a [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday features the poetry of Martin Espada (b. 1957), an award-winning Latino poet, essayist and author who has written extensively about the pursuit of social justice. Espada was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and is of Puerto Rican descent. His father Frank Espada was a community organizer and civil rights activist who was a strong role [...]
Twenty year old Jarrett Allen, a rookie on the Brooklyn Nets, has been excited about computers and math since he was a little boy. When he was in high school he built a computer (which he still uses). Basketball is his primary focus these days, and he has made a good impression on the court in his early days [...]
Hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Today's Thoughtful Thursday (yes, it's the Friday edition) celebrates Thanksgiving in all of its family and food-filled glory, with poems from two of our most celebrated African-American poets: Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) and Langston Hughes (1901-1967). We begin with Hughes' classic "Thanksgiving Time", a wonderfully vivid celebration of the day. We then [...]
November is Native American Heritage Month, and today's Thoughtful Thursday brings you three poems from Native American poets. "Autumn" is by Alexander Posey (1873-1908). Posey was a Muskogee Creek poet, journalist, politician and humorist. He founded the Eufaula Indian Journal in 1901, the first Native American daily newspaper. "Remember" is by Joy Harjo (b.1951). Harjo, also a member of [...]