Somerville, Mass – So what do we do for fun when we’re not traveling? We read about traveling! This review of the Magic Tree House series is not going to be a revelation to anybody who knows much about children’s…
Mark Twain House
Somerville, Mass – A few weeks ago, as a part of my research for Lonely Planet USA, I visited the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut–one of the highlights of this round of research. For starters, there was a special temporary exhibit…
Raising Bilingual Kids – Kindergarten
Somerville, Mass – Here we go again. At this time last year, I agonized over the decision about where the twins should attend pre-kindergarten. This year I have been agonizing over the decision about where they should attend kindergarten. The…
Free Play
Somerville, Mass – A few weeks ago, I came across this fascinating article from The Atlantic, The Overprotected Kid, about a new, old kind of playground in Wales, known as The Land. (Thanks also to The Atlantic for the cover…
Let’s Talk about Race
Somerville, Mass – We are blessed to live in an ethnically and racially diverse town. The twins’ class of 18 includes students that are African American, Arabic, Iranian, Latino and Sikh. Last year their teachers were from Columbia and Peru, and their babysitters have…
The Goodnight Train
Helsinki, Finland – Regular readers will know that the twins are crazy about trains. We never met a kiddie train we didn’t ride. The time has come to test this love of riding the rails: what good is it unless…
North End Boston
Boston, Mass – I succeeded piquing the twins’ interest in American history. All it took was a comic book about Paul Revere and a few guns. I have been taking the boys on some of my research outings around town…
History Lesson
Boston, Mass – In anticipation of Patriot’s Day, I brought home a sort of comic book, Paul Revere’s Ride, by Xavier Niz and Brian Bascle. The twins are into comics these days. It’s interesting to me how they are willing…
Children’s Eternal Rainforest
Monteverde, Costa Rica – The Bosque Eterno de los Niños, or Children’s Eternal Rainforest, started back in 1987, when a fifth-grade class in Sweden decided to raise money to protect the rainforest. They did the typical fundraisers–puppet shows, bake sales…
Turtle Tour
Playa Camaronal, Costa Rica – A few years ago, somebody gave us this children’s book that follows the life cycle of a hawksbill turtle, Tammy the Turtle: A Tale of Saving Sea Turtles, by Suzanne Tate. The story tracks Tammy…