From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Good morning, Non-Consumer Advocates!

September 17, 2009

I have a guest post up today on Katy Wolk-Stanley’s wonderful blog, The Non-Consumer Advocate. It’s a reprint of my public library post, which regular readers here will probably recall. If you’re new here from Katy’s blog, welcome. The frugality, money and green tags will show you around non-consumer type posts. If you’re after more [...]

Tagged as: money, rio, serena, writing

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Play-based education in action

September 16, 2009

Serena spent yesterday morning sitting on the floor playing with a baby toy she outgrew about a year ago. It’s a board with little movable colored pegs that you can push around a track. You’ve probably seen them in doctor’s offices. She played with it for a long time, humming to herself. Then she looked [...]

Tagged as: education, play, serena

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Rio’s First Day of Kindergarten!

September 14, 2009

Kindergarten so far a huge success! Rio loved it so much she went back again today. Kindergarten features drawing, looking at seashells, playing with playdough, and having circle time. Also snack and a brand-new playground with scooters and bikes. Rio may have found her personal nirvana. The teachers are nice, and fun. One of the [...]

Tagged as: education, eliot-pearson, kindergarten, rio

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Flinch!

September 12, 2009

Rio starts kindergarten on Monday. I’ve already told the story of our decision to send her to school here and on Babble. I’ve been alternately praised for listening to my daughter and castigated for my failures as a mom. Today I want to talk about what happened during that now-famous conversation when she asked me [...]

Tagged as: education, flinch, homeschooling, kindergarten, rio, schooling, starting kindergarten, starting school

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Elimination update

September 11, 2009

I’m nearing the end of the first phase of the elimination diet: the one where I eat only “hypoallergenic” foods. Next comes the “challenge phase”, where I try eating the things I cut out one at a time and see if any of them make me sick. This first phase has been plenty challenging on [...]

Tagged as: food, health

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Help Lia Grippo, a California mom punished for letting kids play

September 11, 2009

I first read Lia’s story on Free Range Kids a few months ago. In a nutshell, Lia ran a small, home-based childcare program not unlike the one I run. She lives in Santa Barbara, and took the kids on nature outings a couple times a week. One day, they were at the beach and she [...]

Tagged as: news, politics, wildflowers

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Rio’s watermelon farm

September 9, 2009

When the peas died in midsummer, I simply tore them up and wondered what to do next with that plot of land. Rio solved the problem for me by moving in and setting up a farm. She (and her sister and her friends) have been “farming” the empty bed for a few weeks now. “Farming” [...]

Tagged as: food, garden, play, rio, serena

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Farm Share Survival Guide: my new article on Babble

September 8, 2009

I have a new article out today on Babble, offering tips on how to survive the bounty of a summer CSA share. And not a moment too soon. My bulk orders of extra veggies for canning are due this week. I’ll have to take my advice! Babble readers, welcome! If you’re visiting this blog for [...]

Tagged as: food, green, writing

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This relationship is getting serious

September 8, 2009

Martin and I have been together for seven years. During that time we have traveled extensively, gotten married, bought a house, sold a house, bought another house, had two children, and merged all of our finances. Not in that order. Now, we’re ready to make a serious commitment. This weekend, we merged our book collections [...]

Tagged as: family, funny

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Read me on Get Rich Slowly!

September 8, 2009

I have an article up today on Get Rich Slowly, my favorite personal finance blog. It’s about the move my family made a year ago, which I wrote a little about the other day here. If you’re here from GRS, welcome! The money tag will help you find other articles about personal finance here, or [...]