6 mins read

Behold The Magic of The Six M’s

The following is a guest post by Jeff Lantos, a 5th grade teacher at Marquez Elementary School. This week my fellow teachers and I will greet our new students and begin implementing the lessons we’ve outlined in our plan-books.  Most of these lessons will focus on math and language arts.  In fact, most mornings will…

5 mins read

What Wedding Season Means For Parents

Oh, April. The blooming trees. The pretty flowers. The longer, sunnier days.And the start of the wedding season.For parents, other peoples weddings bring unique stresses. The flawless embossed invitation arrives. A work of art, complete with your calligraphied name and address decorating the envelope like twining ivy, topped by a carefully love-themed stamp. A creation that the bride and groom clearly put more time, effort, creativity and cash into than a kitchen …

6 mins read

Help! My Sleepless Toddler Is Breaking Me!

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep. – Ralph Waldo EmersonI thought I had it down. Both my babies had been such perfect textbook sleepers, Harvey Karp would have been proud. Swaddle and soothe worked like a charm, as if Sleeping Beauty herself watched over their dreams.But now its payback. My children have become insomniac toddlers. Relentless. Or as my pediatrician calls it …

6 mins read

When Girl-Power Marketing Accidentally Does the Opposite

A few weeks ago, start-up toy company GoldieBlox posted this video and the interwebz exploded, as they say.And at first, all caught up in the cuteness of the three little actresses and the cleverness of the way the brand altered the lyrics to Beastie Boys song Girls to accompany this spot (apparently without the Boys permission, but thats not the point), I got excited watching it.And then like a mosquito bite on …