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…
In the Land of the Twilight
Stockholm, Sweden – As in Copenhagen, we spent much of our time here wishing that the twins were with us. We even popped into Junibacken, a children’s museum dedicated to Astrid Lingren and other Swedish children’s literature. I know Lingren…
Busy Boats
Helsinki, Finland – From May to September, the Finns (my Finns) spend most of their time on the water, sailing from island to island in the Gulf of Finland and on the Archipelago Sea. Maybe that’s one reason why they were…
Teach Your Children Well…
Somerville, Mass – A few weeks ago I posted an article by Christine Gross-Loh, author of Parenting Without Borders. Every time I leave this country, I marvel at the different “rules of the game,” sometimes for the better and sometimes…
Lessons from Around the World
Somerville, Massachusetts – Christine Gross-Loh has a new book out that I am dying to read: Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons that Parents Around the World can Teach Us. Here is a little preview that was in the Huff…
Butterfly Conservatory
El Castillo, Costa Rica – Here’s another book that the twins got for Christmas. Marinita the blue morpho butterfly goes exploring in the rain forest and she can’t find her way back to her home near the spring. She befriends…