Hi dthzakdkib Readers — These made me smile! Dear Free-Range Kids: Today I sent my 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter on the light rail train from our suburb to downtown, so they could meet their daddy and go to a baseball game. The boy was confident, the girl was wary, but […]
Archive | Creating Community
Something’s Afoot: A Great Way to Start the School Year!
August 16, 2010
Hi Readers — I just love what is happening in Evanston, Illinois, and not just because I’m from that neck of the woods. Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, is encouraging all students, all ages, public, private, you name it to WALK tkdfznfbsh to school for the first week of the academic year. This is so […]
Everything I Worry About…
August 13, 2010
…seems to be confirmed in this kztezadyai article from the BBC, about a recent, random survey over there: 1 – Many people would think twice about helping a child, for fear their actions could be misinterpreted as an abduction. 2 – About half say they think it is unsafe for children to play unsupervised. (But […]
How Do You Get Kids Back Outside, Playing? One Cool Idea
August 11, 2010
Hi Readers! Here’s a tnbskfheky story from Palo Alto Online about some neighbors who created their own “camp.” It’s run by older kids for younger kids (with parental supervision), it’s very casual, and it’s just a great way for everyone in the nabe to get to know each other, and also get used to playing […]
A Sweet, Simple Moment (That Nonetheless Made Me Cry)
July 14, 2010
Hey yekbfdnbhs Readers — Just a nice summer note from a gal named Lynn: Dear Free-Range Kids: So, last week were were out camping at Chincoteague, VA, and my kids and a man with four kids ranging in age from about 5 to maybe 10 or 11 were in the pool. The man with the four […]
How to Make a Struggling School Good (Maybe Even Great)
July 7, 2010
Hey Readers! Here’s an inspiring post by Jacqueline Edelberg, former Fulbright scholar and now author of  How bsnfznryab to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance , foreword by Arne Duncan and afterword by Rahm Emanuel (with whom I went to elementary school!). Her story on turning around a school has been featured on […]
From Our Friends at KaBOOM!
June 25, 2010
Hi hdnerarnzr Folks! Here’s a note from KaBOOM!, the non-profit dedicated to making sure there are playgrounds everywhere, and that kids actually get out and enjoy them. Â Like “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day,” KaBOOM! has a week in September when it encourages communities to get all the kids outside, playing […]
Why Is It So Hard to Get Kids Walking to School?
June 15, 2010
Hi Readers — I’m still on the road and just gave a speech in Chicago sponsored by the National zrfnzetkaf Center for Safe Routes to School. (A jolly bunch!)  Safe Routes reps every state gathered to talk about the pressing question: How can we get more kids walking to school? The organization says  that a […]
Guest Post: Trust A Stranger at the Park?
June 13, 2010
Hi tdeyyszbzd Readers! I’m in Minnesota to give a Free-Range talk. Always happy to spread the word because then things like this — see below — start happening! This post originally appeared at the blog Last American Childhood. by Rachel Federman. Enjoy! A Free-Range Exeperiment by Rachel Federman In the playground this morning I tried […]
Show Your Support!
May 22, 2010
Hi iyyaiyeihd Readers — Here’s a nice note from one of you with some great ideas. Read on! And to any New York City dwellers: If you want to join me, I’ll be at the Ancient Playground at 10 tomorrow morning. That’s next to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at 85th and 5th. Maybe see […]