Natural as Possible Mom

Big Girl is eight. She looks it. Tall, yes, but skinny and straight and flat as a board. Not a curve in sight. Some of her friends, however, may be eight, but they are eight going on 17. When I look at them I see little girls with hair under their arms (they make fun [...]

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My Big Girl was chosen to participate in an invitation-only swim relay. She is over the moon. And tonight, as I watched her practice all her strokes it hit me how many things my kids can do that I can’t. It makes me proud, and it also inspires awe. How did we grow these strong, [...]

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Both girls are in skating camp this week. Their regular camp doesn’t start until next month, so I signed them up at the local skating rink. It’s every day, 9:30 until 3:30. They spend a good portion of their time on skates, something that Little Girl did not know how to do. Okay, so the [...]

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Thursday Big Girl had a spelling bee. She was one of three kids chosen to represent her class in a school-wide event. It was bad timing, though since Little Girl’s Tuesday/Thursday preschool moving up ceremony was at the same time. My husband (who works from home Thursdays) and I were forced to make a decision: [...]

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Today, three out of four kids ages 3 to 5 are in some form of childcare including daycare and preschool. Increasingly, teachers, parents, and childcare workers are focusing more on reading than on running. However, according to a new study published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), running trumps [...]

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In May Little Girl had an incident at school. It’s not something I am talking or writing about, but suffice it to say we needed to find a new school. I did a lot of research (natch!), and visited a lot of places. One of the places I went was a Montessori school a few [...]

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Today Big Girl should be on a field trip to Queens Farms. Instead, she’s with her Daddy in the city. When the paperwork for the trip came home I was excited to see that all parents, for once, were welcome to come along for what seemed like an all day event. But then I saw [...]

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I wasn’t surprised when I heard that birthdays are food-free celebrations at Big Girl’s new school. I had run into the mom who I suspect is behind the policy, and figured something like that was in the works. We were at the park and recognized each other. The kids had been in nursery school together. [...]

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I recently had the occasion to work with a large group of 6- and 7-year-olds. We were working on a craft. One of the little girls wanted to tell me a story. I will paraphrase it below: “You know how some kids get left back? Well, there’s this big, fat, smelly, stupid kid. His name [...]

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This morning I dropped Little Girl off at preschool. It was her second school in as many weeks. The first one didn’t work out. It was a Montessori. I dropped her off and was jarred by the atmosphere. Very chaotic and more like a daycare than a school. The room wasn’t neat and tidy. No [...]

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