Avant Parenting Archives
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Avant! Welcome to my parenting blog archives
As you can see by the dates below, this blog is no longer being updated. However, there’s lots of good stuff here, much of it as true now as when it was written. Please feel free to browse, or follow these links: One last piece of parenting advice: Enjoy today even if it’s a rough…
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Happy Fourth!
When we bought our house, I had moved down from San Francisco, so I didn’t know that much about Santa Cruz County. We chose our house because of the trees, and because there wasn’t that much out there to buy. I can’t remember if we went to the Fourth of July parade that year, but…
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Supergram
My children’s paternal grandmother, otherwise known as Gram, got her first computer, I believe, at the age of 73. It was a Mac, and she used it to send e-mail to us as well as keep her books and write checks in Quicken. During a visit to New Jersey, where she had lived for many…
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Cutting out the good stuff
I am in the process of writing an article about the wonderful resource we here in Santa Cruz County enjoy, Quail Hollow Ranch. For years I have enjoyed going there with my kids and taking part in the programs run by Lee Summers, who, to my surprise, does not have a teaching background. She’s a…
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What makes a good teacher?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: why is it that some people are good teachers and others can’t ever seem to connect with kids? Why is it that some teachers can glide through a classroom, knowing what each kid is doing, noticing who is in trouble, who is bored, who is engaged, while…
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One curry at a time
Americans who eat Indian food are often rabid fans; those who make it are… more adventurous souls. Since my husband and I are in both categories, I thought I should write a bit about it. First of all, for most Americans there’s the huge spice learning curve. Turmeric? Cardamom? And I may be dating myself…