The leisurely days of summer may give us more opportunities to read aloud with our sons and daughters. Today's Thoughtful Thursday presents classic poems, good for our children to know and even be able to recite. This summer, why not incorporate some poetry discussion and memorization into your reading time with your son? Or challenge him to memorize one [...]
As each day seems to bring new stories of tragedies around the world, today's Thoughtful Thursday offers us thoughts of hope. Enjoy. “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - [...]
In a recent New York Times Motherlode blog post, the author confesses "I've Ruined My Boys" as she describes how she has "over coddled" her 6, 9 and 11 year old sons to the point that they are unwilling to do much of anything for themselves around the house. In her post, found here, she confesses that she has [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates women. Women of all ages. While we at GCP are generally focused on mothers, today we celebrate all women: Grandmothers, Mothers, Sisters, Aunts, Girlfriends. The village of women. Let these mighty words and the images they evoke lift you up and give you the strength and energy to do all that you want and need [...]
Greetings from France! GCP is on the road this week, with limited access to the blog, but we don't want to miss the chance to share a Thoughtful Thursday. Today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates vacations, with poems from three very well-known American poets. From Robert Frost comes "The Road Less Traveled", which we include here to reflect on the joys [...]
Earlier this week the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a policy recommending that pediatricians tell parents to read aloud to their infants from birth. In support of this new policy, today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates the pleasures of reading. Hope these poems inspire you to read with your sons (whatever their age). Enjoy. There is no Frigate like a Book [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday pays tribute to the gifted and beautiful actress, writer and activist Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014). Here are a few favorite Ruby Dee quotes. Enjoy. • The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within -- strength, courage, dignity. • God, make me so uncomfortable that [...]
As many of you regular GCP readers may know, for the past 5 year Chicago's Urban Prep Academy has been sending 100 percent of its high school graduates off to college. (See "Good News on the College Admissions Front", April 16, 2014.) Recently Urban Prep Academy celebrated another milestone, as the first class of those high school graduates graduated [...]
As the shootings in schools, malls, and other public places seem to be happening more and more frequently these days, parents are once again wondering if violent video games, especially the "first person shooter" games which allow the player to travel armed throughout the game and "kill" everyone in sight, contribute to actual gun violence. In the aftermath of [...]
Happy Father's Day from GCP! Although we frown slightly at these marketing holidays designed to get you into the card and department stores, we do cheer for a chance to celebrate dads. Great dads are wonderful role models for all of our children, but especially for our sons. Growing up with a father who shows you right from wrong, [...]