As school begins, for many parents so begins the process of looking for schools for our sons for next year. Whether you are enrolling your son in school for the first time, or looking to change schools, now is the time to get focused. In today's post we will feature tidbits about admissions for each level of your son's [...]
Last night I had the incredible pleasure of sitting at a friend's small dinner party for Jazz at Lincoln Center and listening to Wynton Marsalis jam with his quintet in her living room(!). As Wynton introduced their final piece, "Take the A Train", he mentioned that he had the opportunity to meet Duke Ellington back in 1971, when he [...]
Today’s post comes from Anne Williams-Isom and Jennifer Jones Austin. Anne Williams-Isom, author of the GCP post “Words of Wisdom from a Montessori Mom” (October 4, 2011) is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Harlem Children's Zone. She and her husband are raising their three children in Harlem. Jennifer Jones Austin is the Senior Vice President of the [...]
Back in August, GCP posted a piece called "Waiting For Superman? Superwoman Was Already Here" in which Daniel Petter-Lipstein extolled the virtues of a Montessori education. As a follow-up to that post, we asked Anne Williams-Isom, mother of three Montessori trained children ages 18, 15 and 9, for her perspective on Daniel's piece and the Montessori experience. She began [...]
Cyberbullying is a huge issue for children and parents in this digital age. Common Sense Media, a non profit organization devoted to helping families navigate the world of media and technology, offers a series of Family Engagement Resources to help parents deal with this problem. These resources, which can be found here, include grade specific tips, articles and videos [...]
Eighty-two percent of children between the ages of 14 and 17 use social networks, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. A generation ago, parents could monitor their children’s’ social activity much more easily. Today, with the proliferation of social networks such as Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and Formspring and the ubiquity of computers and smartphones, your kids [...]
Here’s an idea for family fun this Spring Break season or on any rainy weekend: board games. Sounds corny, perhaps, but you can have a great time playing board games with your children. It is a golden opportunity to spend time together without any screens, and a good way to build skills, confidence and good sportsmanship (which you must [...]
It’s 9pm, and my middle schooler suddenly remembers that he has a history quiz tomorrow. Where is that study sheet? Crumpled up at the bottom of his backpack, or left in his locker? At 9:30 we find it, buried under one of the many piles of papers on my desk, where it has been for the last two days. [...]