The focus this week has been on engaging parents and families. Part of the conversation that has been sticking with me is the distinction between parent participation, parent involvement and parent engagement. When you think about the words participation, involvement, and engagement as they relate to relationships, they have a very different connotation. I don’tContinue reading “The Engagement Continuum”
Category Archives: Parenting
Ice Cream Before School
It started when I was 4 years old. My parents would take my sister and me out for ice cream the day before school started. We’d go to an ice cream shop called Swanson’s. I’d look over all of the flavors pretending to have a difficult time making a decision (Everyone in my family knewContinue reading “Ice Cream Before School”
I can only hold 5 acorns
Bracken and Carson were practicing soccer, Cormick was climbing around on the playground, and Anders was contemplating life, limitations and priorities under the oak trees. I stood and watched our 18 month old gathering acorns for about 30 minutes. His process was simple at first. He crouched down and used both of his little handsContinue reading “I can only hold 5 acorns”
A story about a fridge
This past Sunday I had the opportunity to share a story about a refrigerator magnet conversation I recently had with my kids. The room was beautifully chaotic as families and friends (some as young as 2 weeks and others as young as 80+ years) enjoyed breakfast together. Check out the story and the pics ofContinue reading “A story about a fridge”
Summer and Time
My summer break will end in less than 2 hours. It’s been several weeks since school let out but it somehow feels like less than that and more than that at the same time. One of the books that I read this summer explored the bizarre nature of time – how sometimes it can seemContinue reading “Summer and Time”
Creativity at home
“Why is it that it’s so easy to pour our creative selves into a project at work but so hard to show that same creativity at home with our kids?” I recently had breakfast with a few dads who, like me, have jobs that lend themselves towards creativity. We reflected, somewhat sadly, about our intenseContinue reading “Creativity at home”
Just turn the controller around
I took my 6 year old to the dentist last week. As soon as he walked in the waiting room, I could tell that he was far more excited than he should be at the dentist – no offense to dentists. His eyes got wide and he marched directly across the room to a videoContinue reading “Just turn the controller around”
Pay Attention, Daddy
My 3 year old is teaching me to pay attention. His method of instruction is not modeling. In fact, he’s not the most attentive kid most of the time. When he wants your attention though, he demands all of it. Yesterday it started with a simple, “Daddy, look at this.” He was building something outContinue reading “Pay Attention, Daddy”
A Birthday Date at the Coolest Playground in the World
For our kids’ birthdays, Morgan and I always give them a special date with us (just us – no brothers or sisters). Bracken turned 6 this month and for his special date, we took him to what I now consider the coolest playground in the world. I’m not exaggerating. It’s called The Berkeley Adventure PlaygroundContinue reading “A Birthday Date at the Coolest Playground in the World”
Cardboard Creativity
After being inspired by watching Caine’s Arcade, some of the people at my son’s coop preschool decided to have a cardboard carnival. So they’ve planned, and cut, and taped, and built for over a month. On Saturday, the day finally arrived. It was inspirational. Preschoolers and their older siblings took ownership of the carnival games. Continue reading “Cardboard Creativity”
Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here 