In less than a week Christmas will be here! In celebration, today's Thoughtful Thursday brings some of our favorite Christmas poetry. First we have the glorious "Christmas Carol" from Paul Laurence Dunbar, followed by the delightful "[little tree]" by e.e. cummings. We end with the traditional crowd favorite, "Twas the Night Before Christmas", which, depending upon which scholars you [...]
It's December, and as winter storms sweep across the nation, it's time...to plan summertime activities! Believe it or not, it is not too early to start planning what your kids will be doing in the summer of 2020. Camps start filling their spaces in January, and camp consultants are already planning events to introduce parents to a variety of [...]
With Thanksgiving a few days away, everyone is gearing up for family gatherings and good eating. Whether there are just a few of you or you are having a family reunion around the table, it is important to enjoy the time together for this holiday meal. Here are some Do's and Don'ts to help make sure the holiday is [...]
GCP's on IG! We want to expand the conversation about raising our boys of color–and our girls too– so we've just launched our Instagram account. We'll post pics and thoughts about our brand of parenting, and we want to know your thoughts as well. Please follow us at @groundcontrolparenting, and please post your comments (and likes!). Hope to see [...]
Summer vacation is done (hope your family had a great one) and the school year has begun! Don't know about you, but I love the back-to-school season. A new year, a clean slate, a fresh start. Here are some valuable GCP Back-to-school do's and don'ts for you busy parents which will help your children begin the new school year in [...]
Greetings GCP'ers! Hope you enjoyed your summer break (we certainly did) and are settling back into your fall parenting routine. We at GCP have been spending a good bit of our break focusing on ways to improve this site and create a stronger and more interactive GCP parenting community. Stay tuned, upgrades coming soon. So much to focus on [...]
Season's Greetings, Everyone! This being the last Thoughtful Thursday before Christmas, we bring to you three Christmas poems by very well known poets. Maya Angelou read her poem "Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem" at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House on December 1, 2005. "Carol of the Brown King", and "Shepherd's Song at Christmas", [...]
Incredibly, we are but a handful of days away from Christmas. If you haven't finished your shopping for the young ones, you may want to consider some of the guidelines and gift idea suggestions below. (Please don't tell us if you've already finished; we don't want to hear how organized and together you are. But if you are that [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday thoughts were found in a small blue book called "Famous Black Quotations and some not so famous" which has graced my shelf for as long as I can remember. Here are a few quotes to think about and share with your sons. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [...]
The Wall Street Journal recently revealed news which should gladden the hearts of parents of teenagers everywhere: "cognitive empathy", the wiring in children's brains that enables them to understand and care about how others think, only begins to develop at age 13. So when your sweet middle schooler disappears and is replaced by an eye-rolling, door slamming "who is [...]