Happy New Year, GCP’ers!! Hope you had fun welcoming in 2019 and that it will be a healthy and fulfilling year for you all. 2019 will bring a fresh look for www.groundcontrolparenting.com (coming soon, I promise!), a more concerted effort to grow the blog, and a recommitment to staying focused on how to be the best parents we can [...]
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 [...]
Merry Christmas! This being the last Thursday before Christmas, this Thoughtful Thursday brings Christmas poetry to get us all into the spirit of the holidays. "Christmas Eve: Nearing Midnight in New York" by Langston Hughes (1902-1967) describes how "the city that never sleeps" settles down to await Christmas morning. Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1906) gives us a beautiful "Christmas Carol". [...]
Scrambling to finish your Christmas shopping this week? Why not add some books for all the boys on your list? We need to encourage young boys to read more. In Scholastic’s 2016 survey of over 2000 U.S. children ages 6-17, boys were found to spend less time reading than girls. Forty-five percent of boys questioned (versus only 36% of [...]
On Monday and Thursday nights and weekend afternoons during football season, there is always a game on in my house. While I am not a fan, many men in my life (father, husband, sons) have been, and so I appreciate that it is a sport that means a lot to so many. I am delighted to know that there [...]
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 [...]