At this point it seems the evidence is overwhelming—new studies seem to arrive on our desks each week that suggest simply spending time in green spaces can improve our health, both mentally and physically. As avid outdoors people, we instinctively…
“Girl-boy friendships matter. They give kids a chance to explore themselves outside of constrictive gender scripts, and, ideally, question stereotypes,” observes writer Elisa Strauss on CNN. “Girl-boy friendships can help undo some of these socialized gender constraints. When parents and teachers…
Boredom teaches us that life isn’t a parade of amusements. More important, it spawns creativity and self-sufficiency. “I’m bored.” It’s a puny little phrase, yet it has the power to fill parents with a cascade of dread, annoyance and guilt. If…
Angela Hanscom is a pediatric occupational therapist who has written important (and popular) posts on this blog about child development and the unfortunate way that many schools fail to meet the needs of young children. Her first, in 2014, was…
Last month, I picked up my children from their first day back in American elementary school after three years at a French school in Belgium. They both looked glum. “Did you make any friends?” I asked hopefully. “What’s the point?”…
Meet Slide Ranch—an educational farm that has played a vital role in teaching kids about food production and ecology since 1970. Click here to download PDF.