A Letter to my Teacher, a Children's Book Review
Deborah Hopkinson and Nancy Carpenter’s picture book, A Letter to my Teacher, puts the mission of teaching squarely where it’s meant to be by appreciating the special teachers that have graced all of our lives, whether or not we’ve had children of our own. This is a must-give for that special teacher in your life. I bought a copy while on book tour with the illustrator (Stacy Fabbre) of my own children’s book this summer…
Inspiration at a Discount
Last Sunday, my teenage daughter and her younger brother walked to the Dollar General at Broad and West Markham near my home in Durham, NC, to buy some candy. When they went to check out, she thought she had left her wallet at home. They returned and we scoured the house; then she walked back to the DG, but they could find no wallet and none had been turned in…
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Audrey Hepburn Closet Quotes
“If you don't incorporate quotes into your family's daily life, you should. You'll be surprised with the effects these subtle reminders have on your kids, your spouse, and you.”
Why the White House Sinkhole Isn't Funny
The sinkhole in the White House lawn is no joke. It is glaring evidence of a serious threat to American infrastructure and drinking water. As temperatures rise and the population continues to grow, urban, suburban and, heck, even rural stormwater runoff is becoming a serious problem throughout the entire country…
WWIII: Whose Side Are We On?
Russian interference in favor of Donald Trump in the 2016 elections has been confirmed, apparently motivated by Russia’s desire to invalidate American sanctions and human-rights protections. Despite denials of collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia, a few weeks ago the Trump White House made clear that it would not impose Congress-mandated sanctions against Russia…
Society Supports Sexual Harassment: Admission is First Step to Recovery
Of course I am appalled by any grown man hitting on a 14-year-old; but, hey, it happened to me repeatedly from the time I was twelve. I relinquished (I refuse to say 'lost') my virginity at 14. My best friend in middle school was sexually promiscuous, which everyone (including me) swept under the carpet or gossiped about. At least three of my high-school friends were severely hit on or actually had affairs with married men. Just 200 years ago…
Health Insurance Hostage
#HealthInsuranceHostage: Cut and paste or share if your or your spouse’s primary reason for staying in your current job is because of the health insurance coverage your company provides. Healthcare should not depend on where you work…
Children, Music, and Vegetables...
I hated practicing piano when I was a kid, but I am now convinced that learning music is as important to development as eating vegetables. If you have the resources, including getting awkward and asking about scholarships from local musicians/teachers, determine the instrument your child most enjoys and start lessons (group or individual) when they can sit still for 5 minutes. I promise neither of you will regret it…
Hindsight Premonition: The Death of Kenny Batts
It’s eerie, the hindsight premonition that often follows a death, even a very sudden one. When I heard our friend’s ex-father-in-law Warren’s voice message around 9:30 last Friday night, I immediately thought something was wrong with Kenny. Then I checked my cell phone and saw that Kenny had called just a little while earlier…
Why You Should Have a Pond
Pond installation can be back- and time-consuming work, and a long-lasting one like mine can cost over $1000.00 (liner, pump, filter, rocks). But it doesn't have to be this way. You can purchase inexpensive, small-pond kits, or you can build a pond out of a plastic toddler swimming pool simply by…
Fun Science: Easy Hands-on Chemistry Lesson
This is a picture of my 6YO son's “back-to-school Magic Crystals”, obtained after immersing dolostones in vinegar (with a little orange food coloring). I've never made mushroom crystals before, so we were both truly enthralled. Dolostones (which can be purchased from Educational Innovations) are dolomite rocks, which are primarily composed of calcium magnesium carbonate or CaMg(CO3)2…
Your Village
In organizing children’s events this summer, I’ve talked to several science museum directors and staff, mostly about how to ensure that people actually attend the events. It’s not a matter of young people wanting to be there. It’s a matter of their parents getting them there. Turns out it’s one of the biggest challenges for education directors across the country…
The Danville Science Center - A Unique Experience for Kids of All Ages
I spent last Saturday bonding with young people, pre-school through high-school, via my hands-on children's book readings at the Danville Science Center (DSC). While driving to Virginia from my home in Durham, NC, I worried that my kids, who accompanied me, would get bored in one place all day and would consequently interfere with my program and my sanity. Boy, was I wrong!
Middle- and High-School Strings Students Amaze at Animazement in Raleigh, NC, this Weekend
Yesterday, the Duke University String School's Youth Symphony Orchestra yesterday performed an Anime Symphony (entitled Space Brothers) at the 2016 Animazement Convention in Raleigh, NC. The symphony was written, designed and conducted by renowned Japanese movie composer and record producer Toshiyuki Watanabe, who flew in from Japan just for the event…
From the Desk of Melissa Rooney (Amberjack Publishing)
… At a subsequent writing workshop, I was told by way of consolation that Dr. Seuss would have a hard time getting published today. His books are too wordy, for one thing. …
Durham's Bionomic Education and Training Center program and the Future of our Youth
In April, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency calculated that fifty-five percent of monitored waterways in the United States are impaired by pollution, meaning they are too polluted for healthy recreation, public drinking water and subsistence fishing. Twenty-five percent of the nation’s beaches are under advisories or closed at least once per year due to water pollution.
Why did you do that?
… I thought that women and doctors insisting on early births for nonmedical reasons lived only in cynical imaginations and television soap operas. Turns out that, in the last decade, the main stream has effectively reduced ‘full-term’ to 37 weeks…
For the Love of BETC
… Polluted runoff is a leading cause of impairment in at least 40% of North Carolina's waterways, including all of Jordan Lake and a significant part of Falls Lake. Forty percent of America's rivers and 46% of America's lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life…
Digging our Way Out
… Thanks to a heads-up from Ray Eurquhart, a long-time Durham Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) board member, in October I contacted the SWCD about the N.C. Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP), which funds up to 75% of qualifying stormwater management projects on public and private land…
Welcome to my blog ...
... where you'll find articles pertaining to education and written for parents, caretakers, & teachers (traditional & home-school) regarding practical hands-on books, curricula, events, & opportunities. Other articles concern parenting, marriage, writing, & life in general, as well as local (Durham/Raleigh/Chapel-Hill), regional (Southeastern United States), and national issues and concerns.