Even though I feel like I read a lot as a kid, I don’t have a lot of books that I really remember just loving as a child. I didn’t read a lot of classics, and I don’t feel like there were a lot of books that left an impression at a young age. But […]
My Reading Quest
A couple of months ago, a couple of smart friends were talking about this book, The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau. The book is about how people need quests in their lives to give them something beyond the day-to-day stuff to focus on. They were intrigued and wanted to do quests of their own. […]
How to Raise a Smart Kid, Part Two: Talk a Lot
As a brand ambassador for Better Beginnings, I am being compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own. I told you the story about the girl telling her teacher that a butterfly doesn’t come from a cocoon but a chrysalis. And that I said she’s so smart in part because we read a […]
3 Picture Books That Aren’t (Just) for Pre-readers
I have made it clear that we read a lot over here, and we read a lot of different things. But sometimes there’s fun to be had in not reading at all. Some of our favorite books don’t have any words, but they’re not necessarily just for little kids. Telling the story of what’s happening […]
5 Classic Books/Series Your Kids Should Know About
Last night the girl knew just what she wanted to read at bedtime. She ran out to the living room to dig in her book basket and came back with a copy of Make Way for Ducklings (which we’ll talk more about in a minute). As we were reading, she asked why the drawings weren’t […]
How to Raise a Smart Kid, Part One: Read a Lot
As a brand ambassador for Better Beginnings, I am being compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own. My daughter started at her new school during the summer, and one day I walked in to pick her up and the teachers were kind of laughing. “She’s teaching me now,” one of the teachers […]
The Tall Black Lady Smiling
I wanted to name my daughter Maya. Maya Angelou may be the reason I am a writer. She was probably the first female writer who I really read in high school, who made me feel like everyone has a story that is worthy of being told, and indeed must be told, in order to be […]