Have you heard about the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Ritz Bits recall? The new pediatric report on the dangers of chemicals from plastics? The following health related warnings released recently are of particular interest to parents: 1. Food Recalls: Parents, check your kitchen cabinets! Two snack food companies have had to recall some of their products due to their [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates summer, with the help of four wonderful Black poets. We begin with classic summer musings from Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1906) and Claude McCay (1889-1948). Dunbar, one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition, wrote poems in both standard English and in what was called "Negro dialect". While his dialect poetry is generally [...]
Ok GCP parents, time to turn away from the seemingly endless stream of national bad news coming at us and focus on some good news about African American men. A team of researchers from The University of Virginia, The Institute of Family Studies and Columbia University recently released a report, "Black Men Making It in America" which reveals that [...]
Did you know that today is National Summer Learning Day? (We didn’t either, and thanks to Bill Lewis for bringing this to GCP’s attention.) With over 6 weeks to go until the end of August, there is still plenty of time to encourage your son or daughter to focus on sharpening his or her skills during the summer. No [...]
If you have any children 5 years old or younger, you need to know about Vroom, an amazing set of resources and activities which you can use to help their young brains develop and grow strong. Vroom offers over 1000 activities for parents which turn everyday moments into “brain building moments”, giving children a strong base for lifetime learning. [...]
On the day after Independence Day, today's Thoughtful Thursday offerings give us food for thought about celebrating these United States at a time where we feel so far from united. The first is a series of excerpts from Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is The Fourth of July", a powerful speech he gave to a group of New [...]
This has been a rough week for social justice lovers. Today's Thoughtful Thursday offers a few thoughtful poems to help you get through, beginning with a classic poem from Langston Hughes in honor of Independence Day. Enjoy. Let America Be America Again Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be [...]
Miles and Malik George, twin brothers who were co-valedictorians at their Woodbridge High School graduation last week, are both headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall. The George brothers, who got their last B's in third grade, both set their sites on MIT as high school freshmen, and worked towards this goal, both making near [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday is dedicated to the memory of Antwon Rose, 17, of East Pittsburgh. Another young black man gunned down by a police officer, shot and killed while running away. What possible harm could a police officer have believed himself to be in from a young man running away from him? In memory of Antwon Rose and the [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a statement encouraging parents to ban direct screen time (television, movies, and any portable screen device) for children under two years of age. The Academy explained, “This updated policy statement provides further evidence that media — both foreground and background — have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children [...]