Or at least they want them: Two Ottawa fifth graders have started a petition to be allowed to PLAY WITH BALLS ON THE PLAYGROUND. The principal banned balls during the winter, because, she told the CBC , “They’ve got snow stuck to them, they’re frozen, often there’s pebbles on them and they’re flying through the air.” Balls flying through the air? My, my. Maybe the principal likes balls, but only when they’re sitting quietly in the corner, or rolling to the library to bounce ever so gently near the books. The kids, meanwhile, have collected more than 250 signatures begging…
Author: lskenazy
Hey Readers: Here’s a nice story from our friends up north! No — not another igloo. A Canadian school that really wants kids to get there on their own. Listen to this: … P.L. Robertson elementary in Milton, which opened this week, has been designated a “walking-only school,” where students will be strongly encouraged to use their feet — or bikes or any other active way — to get there. It is part of a broader initiative at the Halton District School Board to stop traffic jams around schools and get students moving. Gridlock in the parking lot and surrounding…
Hey Readers ! Let’s have a little fun. (Or a lot — up to you.) After reading the post below this one, regarding the kids left home alone in “The Cat In The Hat,” a grad student named Aaron Mulvaney wrote: Don’t aaatayerza forget, “And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street!” The poor kid has to walk home by himself on, like, the sidewalk. Of course, “And To Think I Saw It Out of the Backseat Window of My Mom’s Minivan on The Way to Soccer Practice!” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Which got…
Hey — quick, cool point, brought up by reader Rich Wilson: In The Cat in The Hat, which is hardly what you’d call subversive literature (oh, I’m sure some of you will, but let’s continue this point), the two tots are HOME ALONE! Mom has clearly gone out to shop, solo. And yet the book does not start with a disclaimer: “The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play/But never leave kids by themselves for the day!” In the 2003 movie version, meanwhile, the kids were home with a (sleeping) babysitter. And the movie bombed. That’s what…
Hi Readers — I am so sick of the endless, misguided, helping-no-one suspicion going on these days that I can barely write about this story, that was just in The Washington Post. Suffice to say a National Guard soldier in Afghanistan finds himself facing a possible 10 years in prison on charges of possession of kiddie porn. What he actually seems to be in possession of are pictures of his friend’s 4-year-old daughter taken at the girl’s birthday party, at which she was wearing a bathing suit. The soldier became close to the girl when her dad was in training…
Dear Readers: Here’s a nice story — and an ice story, too: Real boys build real igloo. I know — it’s too bad that this kind of this is so rare it merited a write-up. But that snow reason not to celebrate (with bad puns)! — Lenore
Dear Readers: Businessman Mirko Fischer is disgusted with British Airways for treating all men as perverts and I hope he sues their pants off (as it were). Here’s the deal: The airline’s policy states that a grown male is not allowed to sit next to any child he doesn’t know. It doesn’t matter if the kid’s parents are elsewhere on the plane, the revolting pervert…er…possessor of a Y chromosome MUST change his seat or the plane will not take off. I am so on Fischer’s side! His suit arises from a trip he and his 6-months-pregnant wife were taking. His…
Dear Readers: OMG, as I rarely say, because I am over 22. Here’s the latest crazy thing, according to the San Diego Union Tribune: An 11-year-old boy did a science project on his own (tsk tsk!) and brought the results to show his buddies at Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School. Yes, a school DEVOTED to nurturing tech-loving kids. The project was a Gatorade bottle filled with wires and when the vice principal spied it, he immediately did what any sensible adult would do: He asked, “Son, what is that?” Oh wait. No he didn’t. Or at least there’s no indication…
Hi Readers! After all the discussion a week or two ago about schools cancelling recess in the (less-than-bone-chilling) cold, another mom sent in her school’s policy. I like it! Voila: Dear Parent: Even in the cold winter months, we believe outdoor recess is an important and valuable part of the student’s day in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District elementary schools. With that in mind, we ask that you consider the temperature and weather conditions when assisting your child with clothing for the day. There may be times when the weather is deemed too cold for outdoor recess. We make…
Hi Readers — We talk (a lot!) about raising Free-Range Kids. Ever wonder what it feels like to BE one in this day and age? Or if there even ARE any in this day and age? Read on! Dear Free-Range Kids: Well, I am actually 17, and for some strange reason, found this blog and I check it every day. I definitely agree with the idea of Free-Range Parenting and am happy to say that I had a Free-Range childhood (in the 90’s-00’s! gasp!) and will be raising my kids that way. That being said, in my old neighborhood we…