Archive for October, 2010

Kinder Book Club: Buddha at Bedtime

Relax, be still, and listen. These words set the tone for each and every story in this remarkable collection. Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for you to Read with  Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire, by Dharmachari Nagaraja,...

Join Us for a Happier Halloween

I love Halloween as much as the next person, really. It offers a unique opportunity for creative expression, for transformative personality experimentation, and of course, for delighting the magical sensibilities of children. But is it possible,...

Meals on Wheels: A Lesson in Civic Engagement

Meals on Wheels of Ramsey County is loosing $70,000 in Federal Funding in 2011. The daily promise of hot food and the personal contact of smiling volunteers will be replaced by the offer of Presbyterian Homes: a paid driver delivering frozen...

Kinder Book Club: The Patchwork Quilt

A few weeks ago, I discovered The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy on Doing Good Together’s Books & Websites page for families. I was looking for a good book to help the girls empathize with our Meals on Wheels recipients, or at...

The Food Shelf and a Three Year Old

Little Miss Three and I visited the local Ralph Reeder Food Shelf this week, making a modest contribution to a critical neighborhood resource. Hunger was a surprisingly difficult concept to help my pre-preschooler grasp. DGT’s Executive...

Who Have You Helped Today?

Every day, I try to ask my daughters two questions: Who have you helped today? and Who has  helped you today? The idea came to me from my teen-aged neighbor. She said the world would be a much better place if every child was asked every day:...

Kinder Book Club: Zen Shorts

This book, Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth, entered our house on exactly the right day. It was one of those days that sorely needed a bit of calm, quiet reflection. Muth weaves three short zen fables into a whimsical story about three siblings who...

On Starting the Conversation

As I watch my daughters form their first friendships, I realize that the DGT conversation can really begin anywhere. It can begin very small, with the simple, helpful nature of friendship. Why wait for that time in the future when your kids...