In today's Thoughtful Thursday we feature two African-American poets who passed away in 2018 but left us with their wonderful words and works. Baltimore native Sam Cornish, born in 1935, was educated at Goddard College and Northwestern University. He is the author of several works of poetry including Dead Beats (2011), An Apron Full of Beans: New and Selected Poems (2008), along [...]
Do you think your son needs a little help making friends? Perhaps he is a bit shy, or not very interested in meeting new people? Does he have a small group of friends and you want him to widen his circle? Parents know that learning how to make friends is an important skill, one that their children will need [...]
This first Thoughtful Thursday of 2019 features parenting poems by a variety of African-American poets. Parenting is the initial 2019 topic for two reasons: I have spent a deliciously extended time with my grown-up children over this break, so I have been in everyday parenting mode more so than usual; and the year began with GCP planning, so I [...]
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 [...]