A Grain of Salt

In the final verse of his poem, “My Bed is a Boat,” Robert Louis Stevenson writes, “All night across the dark we steer; But when the day returns at last, Safe in my room, beside the pier, I find my vessel fast.” Bedtime rituals are incredibly powerful, providing the comfort …

“What did you do in school today?” How many times have you asked that question, only to be greeted with a blank stare or stony silence? You know something happened, but the lack of information has planted seeds of doubt in your mind, and now you need confirmation that the …

When my grandson was 5 years old, we visited Emily Dickinson’s house, which is now a museum. My own association with the famous 19th Century poet is my high school English teacher — a tall, thin, older woman with steel grey hair and a prim and proper bun planted at …

In December, the spirit of giving comes down from the attic with the decorations. We look forward to this month as a time to find the gifts that show our children how much we love them, to teach them about the value of giving and to focus on the traditions …

If you’re reading this blog in late October, I commend you. With one of the biggest holidays of the year on the horizon, I expect that most reading will have to wait for Nov. 1, when sugar-induced highs have receded and your children are sleeping — soundly. From cowboy hats …

This year’s unusually wet weather has apparently created a fungus in many of the trees, which will prevent them from fully showcasing the brilliant colors that are one of the joys of living in Maryland. We can already see a number of leaves falling prematurely, having turned straight to brown …

I started nursery school at age 3. Since then, I have started a new school year each and every September but two. With an educator’s inclination to look forward, and an educator’s internal clock, I see September as a much better time for resolutions and new beginnings than January 1. …

As adults, our reactions to other people, families, cultures and traditions took root in our own early experiences and connections. The ability of children to effectively live in and contribute to a diverse world will depend on the positive personal experiences they have with others as they go through the …

How many of your child’s first experiments with crayons and paint are still on your refrigerator — or even preserved in a box in the basement? Drawing, painting, sculpting, weaving and building are important symbolic languages for children. Their creative experiences contribute to overall development in fundamental ways. As they …

Mother Nature has a haphazard way of showcasing her spring beauty. She responds to the planting of bulbs and annuals, but she also watches some seeds fall indiscriminately from trees or flowers to then be carried randomly on the wings of a bird or a bee or on the fur …