Category Archives: parenting

Home Learning Resources + Support

Freshly created sketchnote on our currently reality.

First of all, sending wishes for love and health to you and your family. These are overwhelming times. The world feels out of control, big and scary. But I am also seeing so much love, humanity, and a return to focus on what really matters. Connecting (not literally) with each other, checking in to see how the folks we love are doing, and creating things that will make this time better for everyone.

Many had forgotten. I sure had. The slowing down, the news, the changing reality, has put into sharp focus the goal of helping others and caring for loved ones.

I saw that an author and person I greatly admire, Kate Messner, was gathering videos of authors reading aloud their books for kids who are now learning at home. First, I thought, I can do that! The salamander season is soon to begin. Then I thought, ugh, I have to change from my PJs! I have to face the video camera. I know nothing about video!

Read Aloud of Salamander Sky by Katy Farber and Meg Sodano

Well, how many things are we doing right now that feel hard? And this isn’t even hard! Just hitting record and fiddling a bit. So, along with my sneezing cat, I recorded a video of me reading Salamander Sky, which was illustrated by the incredible Meg Sodano and published by Green Writers Press. We have many resources to extend learning about the salamander (and amphibian) migration!

There is an educator’s guide which has a letter from me, plans for project-based learning, science learning, discussion questions, and multi-media resources. Meg has created some fabulous visual resources including this coloring page of a vernal pool, and this identification guide for spotted salamanders. Please be in touch with any questions that your kids might have!

Also, we have been busy posting on the Tarrant Institute for Innovation blog resources for educators suddenly pivoting to distance and remote learning. We now have a homepage with resources for remote learning.

We also have fresh posts based on educator’s requests and needs:

This padlet of resources I created is full of resources for educators (and families) as well.

In addition, on Facebook I have been sharing publicly the many resources I see for families to help with at home learning. The same goes for Twitter. I have been retweeting all of the incredible resources and opportunities for virtual learning I have seen.

If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I’d love to see those finished coloring pages, and I will certainly stream when the migration begins! We are in this together and it is showing us what is important, and the work we have to do to create more just, equitable, and humane systems. Sending love and good health your way.

Support for Raising Teens

This post is sponsored by the Center for Parent and Teen Communication.  All opinions (and memories!) are my own.

She has come so far. When you slow down to think about it, this is nothing short of amazing.

Then….

I’ll never forget the day my daughter made her first attempt to communicate using sign language. We had been teaching a few basic signs for the words more, light, eat, drink, and sleep. Those concepts that help parents communicate with babies and toddlers before they can use words and can prevent tantrums and frustration. We really needed that. I was holding her on my hip in her bedroom after a bath. I had flipped on the light to change her diaper and she looked up, her slate blue eyes seeing the shiny overhead light as if for the very first time. She took her tiny fingers, put them in a ball, and then opened them, looking up, and pointing with the other hand. She was making the sign for light. “Yes!” I said, “Light!” Her face lit up (oh yes, I meant that pun!) in understanding. She was glowing, exuberant, satisfied.

We understood each other.

Now…

As I watch her sprint toward the finish line at a cross country race, I see all at once this same determination, spirit, and courage. She juggles homework, her love of reading for hours on end, practices, and time with her sister on a daily basis, while remaining curious, open and kind. How incredible is it that these people we helped learned the basics of communication and how the world works can do all of these things at once now? Continue reading

Kids: Get outside, get active, join The Order of the Trees

It’s late summer. The Vermont hills are a deep, verdant green. The ponds and lakes are warm enough for long swims. The bugs are mostly gone, and the trails are good for hiking. It’s a magical, fleeting time in the Northeast.

But I’ve just read something I can’t shake. It’s something many parents and teachers have long suspected. How cellphones in the hands of kids ages 14 and younger can be harmful in many ways– kids are staying inside more, interacting less in person, losing skills, deep connections, and childhood and adolescent experiences. According to this article in the Atlantic, and on NPR, kids who spend lots of time on their phones have increased anxiety, depression, and rates of obesity.

It’s pretty disturbing.

Lest you think, gah! That is only one article, The National Wildlife Organization gives us a reality check:

  • Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. (Juster et al 2004); (Burdette & Whitaker 2005); (Kuo & Sullivan 2001)
  • Today, kids 8-18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). (Kaiser Family Foundation)
  • In a typical week, only 6% of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own. (Children & Nature Network, 2008)
  • Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration. (Burdette and Whitaker, 2005; Ginsburg et al., 2007)
  • Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)
  • The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11. (Wells and Lekies, 2006)”

I’m also acutely aware of the power of technology to engage kids, motivate them, and provide a vehicle for creativity and sharing. This has me thinking about The Order of the Trees, the middle grade novel I wrote  and was published by Green Writers Press in 2015. In this eco-adventure, sixth grade Cedar looks like her namesake, and discovers, along with her friend Phillip, a deep and powerful connection to the old growth forest by her home in Vermont. They visit the forest and start a club called The Order of the Trees. Soon they learn that Cedar’s health is threatened and they can’t figure out why– and they must, before it is too late.

Readers have told me that the book motivates kids to explore outside, and to take action to protect local habitats. It can be a stream, river, local park or open space. Whatever it is, get out in it, explore it, write about it, draw it and help your kids do the same. Give your kids lots of unstructured time to play outside, to build things like forts and imaginary worlds. And try to find ways to protect open spaces in your community.  Read in the woods! Preferably, like Cedar, in a tree.

I’m inspired by this article, and the work of The Children and Nature Network, to encourage kids to read, be outside, and to take action in their communities.

In this back to school month, we will be featuring forests, kids in nature, and kids taking action. I’ll tag photos  with #orderofthetrees on Instagram and Twitter. At the end of August, we will give away a few copies of the book to start the school year off right, with reading and nature.

Please join me in helping kids see the value in nature, the value of using their voices, and taking back childhood from screens. Share your own ideas, photos, and thoughts in the comments, on Facebook, Instagram or on Twitter– then set the phone down and enjoy summer’s finest before it is gone! 🙂