Noel Streatfeild’s “Ballet Shoes”: The Rhythms and Routines of Life and the People Who Make them Happen
Summer is the time in between, a time for reimagining the patterns of ordinary life. Once September is underway with a crush […]
The Pattern of a Beautiful Summer in Wallace Stegner’s “Crossing to Safety”
Wallace Stegner, the legendary author of the American West, also spent time teaching in New England. A keen observer, he recreates the […]
Summer and Keeping the Big Picture in Mind
It’s easy to wax poetic about summer: endless open time, seemingly endless hours of evening light. The reality can involve more children […]
Life in the South, a Life of Delight
The Southern states are oft-maligned. Ah, yes: “flyover country” with its masses of uneducated religious nuts, known for shooting squirrels and wrangling […]
How to Birdwatch with Kids
How do you get kids get interested in birds? How do you spend quiet minutes scanning the trees and straining your ears […]
When Words Are Not Enough
There is a manner in which the person with greater access to language has a richer experience of reality. The generic “flower” […]
The Joy of Growing Plants Even When You Think You Can’t
Many people remark that they are incapable of growing plants. “Green thumb? More like a black thumb!” How odd it is that […]
“The Day Boy and The Night Girl” and Why Innocent Children Can Handle Real Life
He did not know what fear was, and that not because he did not know danger; for he had had a severe […]
How to Raise Successful Children and the Myth of a “Good Start”
“…she explained that there was no tansy in the neighborhood with such snap to it as some that grew about the schoolhouse […]
Turning the Corner: When Effort Without Results Finally Pays Off
There’s a splendid Frog and Toad story of turning a corner. A young Frog hears his parents remark that spring is “just […]