The Evolution of a Hug
There is a girl in one of my classes who loves to hug. Not the gentle, drift-into-your-arms kind of hug. […]
Read moreConfident Child. Confident Parent.
There is a girl in one of my classes who loves to hug. Not the gentle, drift-into-your-arms kind of hug. […]
Read moreOkay, I don’t want to bury the lede: I was recently invited to speak on Janet Lansbury’s podcast, Unruffled, and […]
Read moreThe new year arrives, and with it, thresholds everywhere. Some of us step boldly into 2026. Some pause at the […]
Read moreI had one of those classes today that left me with such a sense of peace. The kind where everything […]
Read moreIt’s been a minute since I have had the time or bandwidth to sit down and write one of these […]
Read moreYou know those moments when you’re reading something and it feels like the author is speaking directly to your soul? […]
Read moreLast time I shared the story of Charles and the goldfish crackers—how a toddler who initially said no to sharing […]
Read moreIt all started with a bag of goldfish crackers. There’s one toddler who comes to my midweek class who has […]
Read moreWow, it feels like Spring is already here, doesn’t it? And with the clocks turning back tomorrow, it’s going to […]
Read moreLike clockwork, another long weekend brings another wave of “guaranteed” potty training methods to our inboxes. They urge you to […]
Read moreTo my fellow Angelenos, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I’m scattered. I’m distracted and worried. Here are […]
Read moreAs I approached the end of 2024, I found myself reflecting on the countless precious moments that make up our […]
Read moreI’ve been thinking a lot lately about those everyday moments with babies – you know, the diaper changes, the feedings, […]
Read moreWhen you hold an infant, hold him not just with your body, but with your mind and heart.~Magda Gerber Being […]
Read moreThe word “rush” tells a story all by itself. Magda always reminded us to slow down, telling us what she […]
Read moreIt’s been a minute, and I apologize…I apologize to you, and I apologize to myself! I know many of you […]
Read moreIn class the other day, a parent asked me about responding to crying. She’d been at a music class with […]
Read moreEver since I was a little kid, I’ve kind of had a thing for the Olympics. My Dad ran track […]
Read moreLongtime readers of my newsletter may have noticed that my weekly notes have been a little less weekly and a […]
Read moreI learned a new word today: caesura. To be fair (to my AP English teacher, Dr. Locke), it could very […]
Read moreTo all the Fathers (and Father figures!) on this list…the care and love you provide to your children plays a […]
Read moreHello! Oh my…it’s been a minute, and I’m sorry about that! I’ve been swamped these past few weeks and haven’t […]
Read moreOn this Mother’s Day, I want to send my gratitude to you for your steadfast love, patience, and dedication to […]
Read moreWishing all of my families who celebrate Chag Sameach!! Happy Passover! “I would way rather stay in the infant’s world […]
Read moreAs you all know, this weekend was the RIE Conference, and I was completely consumed Friday and Saturday…and you know […]
Read moreLast week, I did something I’ve been excited to do for weeks and weeks…the weather was finally just right…the air […]
Read moreI hope this first day of Daylight-Saving Time is treating you well! Be gentle with yourselves and your children in […]
Read moreI love when science catches up to what Magda Gerber knew almost a half century ago. In a recent email […]
Read moreAnd happy Lunar New Year! To all of my families celebrating Chinese New Year, happy year of the Dragon! It’s […]
Read moreI’ve resumed my yoga practice recently…partly because if your job is to get up and down off the floor all […]
Read moreHello and Happy New Year, I know, I know, we’re already two weeks into 2024, but I’m just barely wrapping […]
Read moreTo families who celebrate, Merry Christmas Eve! Oh, and a Happy belated Solstice, too…the days are getting longer and brighter […]
Read moreI am in a state of shock that the end of the year is a scant two weeks away: it […]
Read moreThis week’s newsletter is really more of a refrain. No need for force. That was the title of this morning’s […]
Read moreI’d like to start with some well-wishes: I’m sending gratitude and respect to all of my families with veterans, past […]
Read moreInspiration for my weekly newsletter comes from all kinds of places…typically from experiences in class, conversations with parents, or articles […]
Read moreI want to first stop and acknowledge the atrocities that are happening in Israel right now. My heart goes out […]
Read moreI remember when my friend and colleague, Janet Lansbury, started writing her blog many, many years ago. I was still […]
Read moreYou know, I’ve been in early education now for over two decades…seriously, some of my first children are now 23 […]
Read moreSending care and respect to my families who observe Yom Kippur this weekend. And sending a ‘Happy Fall!’ to everyone. […]
Read moreThis week, I’m thinking about paradoxes because, truth be told, RIE has a not a few of them…I’m not sure […]
Read moreAnd you’ll know you’re definitely a weird parent if, like me, you look forward to the day when “weird” is […]
Read moreI’ve been practicing RIE for over twenty years now, so I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but it still gets me […]
Read moreMy thanks to Keri Khalighi (RIE Mom extraordinaire) for sharing this poem and so much other wisdom and beauty. www.wayoftheelements.com […]
Read moreTrust. There are 7 basic principles of RIE. There’s no particular order or hierarchy to them, and they are all […]
Read moreAs I mentioned in my very first Thread (yes, I joined. No, I have no idea what I’m doing, but […]
Read moreA few weeks ago, I had a dream that I could somehow teach my google spreadsheets to do something automatically […]
Read moreWords are important in the RIE Approach. On so many levels. From speaking respectfully to children, to telling them what […]
Read moreHappy Mother’s Day, my dear RIE Mommas. I hope today finds you just where you would wish to be, doing […]
Read moreI hope this message finds you well on this gorgeous Spring day. And to my families who observe, I wish […]
Read moreMy first thought was what a gift to say the cover quote to a child…and to really feel that for […]
Read moreNature. Nurture. Narration. I came across that simple alliteration a while ago and it resonated…You can spot a RIE parent […]
Read moreSometimes I’m inspired by listening to an interesting podcast. Sometimes Often, I’m inspired by something I witness in class or […]
Read moreIn a recent class, I hovered near a child playing on top of a set of wooden stairs (about 2 […]
Read moreCare is the first lesson of love. Last week I wrote about the magic of the Educaring classes I teach…how […]
Read moreOne lovely things about teaching in the great outdoors is the exposure this unique parenting approach gets…setting up in a […]
Read moreBehaving Requires Thinking This was the subject line of an email I got this morning and I took it as […]
Read moreSlow down, and then slow down a little more. Some of Magda Gerber’s most famous words of wisdom. And, like […]
Read moreFirst off, if you’d rather listen to this newsletter, follow this link. I’m trying something new…let me know what you […]
Read moreFirst off, I’m thinking of all my families who will be celebrating the Lunar New Year this Sunday…I’m wishing you […]
Read moreI wrote this article on Friday the 13th, which is traditionally unlucky…but not to worry, this particular Friday the 13th […]
Read moreIt’s the last Friday of 2022, oh my. Is it just me or did this year simultaneously crawl and fly […]
Read moreWhatever your traditions are at the end of the calendar year, though, you’ll probably be spending more time in the […]
Read moreIt was cold earlier this week, you guys! I know I have some readers who don’t live in Southern CA, […]
Read moreSlow down, and then slow down a little more. One of Magda Gerber’s classic sayings. And, like all of RIE, […]
Read moreBeing a parent is full of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure…ask anyone on the playground! (I’ve often said that judging […]
Read moreAn excerpt fromThe Parents’ Tao te Ching Hello and Happy Friday Saturday, First of all, a belated but sincere happy […]
Read moreMy weekly newsletters are often about a single idea, a story or two about that idea. The idea is that […]
Read moreAs always, I hope this message finds you well. You may have noticed that my weekly newsletter hasn’t hit your […]
Read moreWhat a difference a week makes. From triple digits last week to almost Fall-like weather this (with some rain thrown […]
Read morePhew, today marked an end to the triple digit temperatures Southern California has been suffering through for the past two […]
Read moreFirst off, a hearty welcome to the newsletter to all the new subscribers! And a heartfelt thank you to Janet […]
Read moreI knew I had to write about this week’s story the moment it happened. It was so beautiful that I […]
Read moreThis Friday finds me still in Central Virginia with family, and though it has been over a week since I’ve […]
Read moreWait. Yes, wait. That’s the theme of my RIE in Real Life this week…it was one of Magda Gerber’s core […]
Read moreIt seems I’ve outgrown my old method of sending emails out and it’s time to try something new. With my […]
Read moreI had my RIE win all planned out for this week…I planned to write about the gratitude I have for […]
Read moreEnvironment is on my mind today…and I’m not talking about “the” environment, even though Earth Day just passed and it […]
Read moreMagda Gerber said that we often underestimate babies and overestimate toddlers. It’s true: since babies are born so dependent on […]
Read moreThis week’s RIE win comes courtesy of my husband, who is a woodworker, computer programmer, musician, and all-around tinkerer…someone who […]
Read moreToday, I found myself in a small park with a playground. And a LOT of people. By a lot, I […]
Read moreFridays and Saturdays are my favorite days of the week…but not for the reason you’re likely thinking. Sure, working a […]
Read moreIn the RIE Win I shared yesterday, I talked about the heart of the Educaring Approach. Yes, the organization calls […]
Read moreIn late January I listened to an excellent webinar, put on by Minding the Baby called The Relational Foundations of […]
Read moreMy favorite parenting book is The Parents’ Tao te Ching. If you’ve been in one of my classes or read […]
Read moreMy logical brain knew that a simple turning of the calendar page, the passing of an arbitrary marker of time […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read moreHappy New Year! I hope everyone rung in the year safely and joyfully. Here we are…day 1 of a new […]
Read moreEarlier this week, I watched a video entitled Parenting in a Pandemic with Britta Bushnell, a birth educator many of […]
Read moreOne of the core pieces of the Educaring Approach, part of what makes it so special, part of what really […]
Read moreThe other day, I started a conversation with my former student, Kumi, about the word “cooperation.” We were discussing a […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read moreIf you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.-Dalai Lama Another beautiful, […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
Read moreWay back when life was, well the way it was before the way it has been for the last 5 […]
Read moreTransitions are hard, m’kay? When you think about it, transitions can be hard for all of us. Getting myself to […]
Read more(Beginning in mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, I began a bi-weekly conversation with the parents who had been […]
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