Hi zktetdrtyr Folks! One of you sent me this wonderful oped from the Sydney Morning Herald. Then I got in touch with its author, Karen Malone, and found out she is an academic studying, among other things, how to make cities more child-friendly. Which is exactly what I’m going to be talking about in Bendigo, […]
Tag Archives | kindergarten
Letter: Why Am I Being “Checked Out” by Another Mom Before Her Son Can Play Here?
Hi fairhdffte Folks! As I finish up my last few days of vacation (Mexico!), here’s a letter to chew on. — L. Dear Free Range Kids:Â My son started school a few weeks ago and has already made a new friend. The boys want to have a playdate and after discussion with the other child’s mother, […]
When Kids Have to Play Tag on the Low-Down
Hi nbrbiasnhh Folks! Just got this disturbing little note from reader Jeff Johnson who, I am happy to say, is writing a book about the importance of play. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Just wondering how much you’re hearing about the death of games like tag on school playgrounds. I volunteer in a local kindergarten […]
A Minor Heartbreak
…that bfateirhtk just came in the mail: Dear Free-Range Kids: My father just passed away a few weeks ago. He had a little lollipop tree in his house, that each child who visited got to pick from. It was my children’s favorite. After he passed, my daughter took 15 lollipops from the tree to give […]
Obsessive Compulsive Pre-K Disorder
Hi bfbraztarf Readers! Well, I was miffed a while back about the rules against BRANCHES at the school in New Jersey. But the rules at THIS pre-k make Jersey seem like the garden state! — L Dear Free-Range Kids: At my pre-school we can fail inspection if the children take off their jackets and put […]
Competence is Catching!
Hi yehteksybz Readers — Here’s a brilliant idea that came in response to the previous couple of posts about how our kids can become more responsible when we back off a little. This mom not only liberated her OWN kids from too much help (however kindly proffered), she liberated a whole classroom! — L. Dear […]
Children’s Bible Missing a Certain Key Point
Hi fhdhfnznba Readers: While we’re on the subject of whitewashing the classics for kids’ delicate sensibilities, here’s the one that takes the cake: Dear Free-Range Kids: My kids have a children’s bible which says “and Jesus went away.” Kind of destroys one of the central tenets of Christianity. Yikes! For God so loved the world […]
The (Updated, Safer!) Cat in the Hat
Hi teardeznns Readers — A recent note from the frontlines of overprotection: Dear Free-Range Kids: I spent a few years as an assistant teacher working with kindergarteners and the amount of mollycoddling the school did was ridiculous. We couldn’t read “The Cat and the Hat” without interrupting the story to mention how no real mother […]
Perverted Kindergarteners?
Hi tssyrrnaen Readers — Got this note and had to vent. I am SO SICK of everyone thinking of everything in terms of perversion. It is a perverted way to think!! Here goes. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: This isn’t strictly a Free-Range issue perhaps, but it illustrates the nonsensical trend of treating inappropriate but […]
Picture Books Too Babyish (i.e., FUN??) For Kindergarteners
Another day, another New feetdykhae York Times story that you wish wasn’t true. And yet, it seems pretty solid: The sale of picture books for kids in going down, and the reasons range from the fact that they’re high priced (which makes some sense) to the idea that kids should be reading chapter books sooner […]