One of my favorite parts of being a parent is introducing my children to the books and movies that I loved as a kid. Now that my daughter, Zuzu, is almost 8, she is ready for some of the longer children’s books that I remember so fondly from my elementary school days. She and I just finished reading [...]
I have written before about my love for the CSO’s Kraft Family Matinee series. This series of several, hour-long Saturday afternoon concerts is a wonderful way to introduce elementary-school aged children to the beauty of classical music. Each concert features selections from works by great composers — organized around a theme, such as water or city versus [...]
My daughter was ushered into a sorority yesterday: the sisterhood of the pierced ear. As I explained in a post written last September, I had originally told Zuzu that she had to be eleven — the age I was — to get her ears pierced. But after seeing how much Zuzu wanted pierced ears, and how [...]
At this time of year, there is a lot of discussion in the media about what I call the Christmas culture wars. In a multi-ethnic society like ours, where not everyone is Christian, how prevalent should Christmas merriment be? Some people worry about political correctness and eschew Christmas greetings in favor of a more neutral “Happy Holidays” or [...]
Doesn’t it feel like Halloween has gone from being a one-day holiday to a month-long death march of costumes, parties and candy? First, you have to take your kids to the pumpkin patch — and by the way, when did “pumpkin patch” become code for “dusty carnival with the occasional gourd thrown in for good measure?” Then, [...]
Labor Day 2010. It was unseasonably cool and breezy that morning, making our plan to enjoy one last day at the local pool seem less appealing. What should we do with our last day of summer, we wondered. My husband grinned: “Three magic words come to mind,” he said. “Let’s go shopping,” I ventured. Uh, no. “Kane. [...]
Arts and crafts has long been a summer camp staple, but imagine a camp where kids paint, draw, dance, and create with professional artists in real studios and galleries. That is precisely the experience that the Oak Park Arts District Summer Art Camp offers. The Oak Park Arts District is an organization of the myriad business located along nine [...]
12:30 p.m., Wednesday afternoon: I have just finished explaining to my babysitter, Amanda, who will be staying home with my three year old son while I go out to a meeting, that I can’t seem to find our extra key. So, I suggest that she simply leave the back door unlocked if she decides to take J.R. to the park. Speaking of [...]
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