When one hears the words “Pumpkin Shine On Line,” they may think it’s a place on the internet to show off shiny gourds. Folks in my parts will know that it’s referring to an annual event, that happens the week before Halloween, on Line Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana. One of the biggest and oldest parks […]
Continue ReadingSince I’m still coming down from the high that is Dragon*Con, I’ve been looking in Flickr for pictures of myself and reading articles about the Con. I came across a post about the Dragon*Con parade and I started reading the comments. There were several comments that jumped out as me as some people seemed to […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been in school for a lot of my adult life. I went to college right out of high school and spent seven years there. This was partly due to the fact that I changed my major three times and partly because I really liked college. I graduated, got an office job and thought that part […]
Continue ReadingI’ve always wanted to be a mom, which is odd because I never really cared for other people’s kids. But I knew that I wanted my own kids once I was married and such. When I got pregnant with my daughter 3 months after we had started trying for a baby, my husband and I […]
Continue ReadingHow many people actually write letters anymore? Letter writing along with cursive script is going the way of the dinosaurs if it is not extinct already. With so many alternative and quicker ways to communicate, what is the point of writing something down with a pen on paper? Fellow GeekMom Kathy questioned teaching “script” to […]
Continue ReadingPart of the reason I was never a brilliant math student had to do with the chasm of difference between how I was taught math and how I understood it. Art has always been ‘my thing’ so in spite of all my math teachers’ best efforts to learn by the book, I inevitably accessed the […]
Continue ReadingI am writing another $50 check, to another preschool … just for the chance to have my application reviewed. The more I think about this game, the more it feels like a grift. I show up to a potential preschool along with a dozen other mommies and daddies to compete for a spot that may […]
Continue ReadingLast night my husband (Tim) and daughter (VIP) went to her Spring program which was the grand finale to her last day in pre-school. They brought home a huge keepsake packet to let me peruse through which included everything from a “report card” to art projects. When I had finally reached the bottom of the never-ending stack […]
Continue ReadingAnyone who has ever watched children play knows they are not merely building with blocks, squishing clay, or coloring with crayons. They are telling themselves a story the whole time, building a world and creating characters as they “play”. Because of that natural born love of a good story, it often doesn’t take much to […]
Continue ReadingOne of the things I love about local bookstores, such as one of my haunts, Longfellow Books in Portland Maine, is that they highlight local work. So when an author who lives nearby comes out with a new book, I can usually find a decent interview in the local press, a signed copy of the […]
Continue ReadingThere is a new law trying to be passed in the Tennessee state government that would prohibit teaching about homosexuality in public school. George Takei has an unusual solution if this bill does pass. The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill has been getting a lot of attention in the press lately. This bill would prevent […]
Continue ReadingBefore there are caps and gowns, there are capes and tights–in a metaphorical sense. Educators are superheroes, and now there is website dedicated to them (or maybe to some of them). Classroom Superheroes is a project of the National Education Association. Parents and students are invited to nominate Classroom Superheroes, and teachers can register themselves […]
Continue ReadingI didn’t get physics in high school. All I remember was Mr. Cleaves rubbing a wand and the rude comments the demonstration sparked (no pun intended). But I loved calculus and photography. Now I know why. It ‘s always the teacher. Finally, I get physics and it’s all because of Walter Lewin, Professor of Physics, […]
Continue ReadingLooking for something larger than life that will thrill the entire family this holiday? A tool that is a gateway for magnifying thought, an inspirational device used by poet laureates and Ivy League professors, preschoolers and Ph.D.s, not to mention geek Grinches and Whos? It fits in the palm of your hand, but has infinite […]
Continue ReadingMy boys are voracious readers. Sometimes I’ve even been tempted to make them put the books down and do something else. Anything else. A friend of mine tells me that this is a good problem to have. Her son, the same age as my youngest, won’t pick up a book to save his life. “How […]
Continue ReadingEducation systems are a mess the world over. We know this, but we are dauntless geek parents. When we’re given a lemon situation, we don’t just make lemonade; we make rocket fuel! I don’t actually know if it’s possible or wise to launch a rocket using citrus, but if that’s what it takes to keep […]
Continue ReadingUntil college, I can’t remember passing a day at home or school without being teased for being a brainiac and a tomboy. I was so used to being a pariah in my own life that I actually had a hard time adapting to living among friends. But my fellow grown-up nerds were patient. They all […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been a geek all my life, but I hated school. Until college, I learned more watching PBS and maxing out my youth library card every week than I ever did in a classroom. I’m worried that my son will have the same experience – he’s only four years old, but he already loves science […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to the first edition of GeekMom Debate! GeekMoms are nothing if not opinionated, so we’re giving them a chance to present different sides of the same topic. For another take on the question of dealing with kids who hate school, read Alisson Clark’s post My Kid Hates School. I’m (Mostly) OK with That. As […]
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