The Treasure’s in the Details I made a couple of TV appearances recently, and it got me thinking about different media and the people who consume them.  We in the parenting/educational line are often thinking of what’s best for our children and students.  We are very judgemental.  We’d rather they eat healthy and play healthy [...] Read More

I was interviewed by a local television station in Richmond this week.  The morning show on Fox.  It’s not the first time – but my emotions and reactions were different this time. 1) It’s just TV.  And it’s not the first time.  Who even watches TV anymore?  It hardly feels like it’s a topic of [...] Read More

I have a three-year-old.  I’ve raised three daughters – and written about reading aloud with them here.  I’ve looked forward to writing about reading aloud anew – from the trenches – with my three-year-old son.  And the moment has finally arrived. My wife and I didn’t push it.  Our young son is a boy – [...] Read More

A late postcard from the holidays. My family travelled up to Vermont after Christmas to visit family – my wife’s sister’s family – including their three grown-up children – all home from college and entrepreneurial heaven. On the way up – 13 hours – we listened to a little HP 3 (Harry Potter and the [...] Read More

Yes, you can dare to read a high quality, 500-page contemporary novel with your middle school child.  You can.  You can read to them.  They can read to you.  Most importantly – you can share it together. I might recommend any number of novels.  The range of books you can read or share w/ a [...] Read More

(or: Why you must read picture books…) This was penned mid-summer, while watching my wife read a picture book to our 2-and-a-half-year-old son. (We have three grown daughters – grown, as in teenagers, that is – so bringing the picture books off of the shelf is allowing something of a renaissance for us – and [...] Read More

A guest link from Scott Simon in the Wall Street Journal: OPINION AUGUST 23, 2011 The Joy of Reading ‘Pinocchio’—On Paper He’s a puppet-boy in a book my daughters run to find each morning, not digits in a download. By SCOTT SIMON We blundered into the bookstore between the pizza place and the gelato spot [...] Read More

First of all – a disclaimer.  My recent posts have principally concerned reading to older children – high elementary school, middle school, even high school.  Mainly because my own daughters have been growing up and my most recent experiences have been with them.  This blog receives input from moments of current inspiration and that’s where [...] Read More

On a recent Saturday morning I had a curious, unexpected experience – I witnessed something delightful and intriguing. It has stayed with me and I feel the need to share it with you – let you ponder it a little. My daughter had some early testing for high school so I was up before the [...] Read More

Several years ago I was preparing to speak before my children’s elementary school. It was the first time I was asked to speak at the full PTA meeting (the one where half the parents are just there to see their children perform during the entertainment portion of the evening). I had so much to say. [...] Read More