The WELL: inkwell.vue.457: Susan Sachs Lipman: Fed Up With Frenzy

#107: Susan Sachs Lipman (sooz) Wed 28 Nov 12 23:33

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 23:33:00 PST

San Francisco Bay Area folks, I will be reading from "Fed Up with Frenzy" at the Depot Bookstore in Mill Valley, THURS 11/29, 5-7 pm. I'll also give a snapshot of the state of childhood today, and some tips for frenzy-free holidays. There will be a lot of time for discussion. Food and drinks will be available for sale.

http://www.facebook.com/events/441652639205136/ [Read entire topic]

#106: Jessica Mann Gutteridge (jessica) Mon 5 Nov 12 06:37

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:37:00 PST

Thank you, sooz, for your wonderful book and for talking with us here. It's been a true pleasure! [Read entire topic]

#105: Susan Sachs Lipman (sooz) Sun 4 Nov 12 21:45

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 21:45:00 PST

Thank you, Ed, and thanks Jessica for your enthusiastic and informed hosting. And thank you everyone who participated in a stimulating conversation! I will certainly keep conversing if people remain interested.

Jessica, I'm glad you have power, and perhaps some semblance of normalcy (and of course, I hope everything else is all right.) I've heard lots of families, in this instance and others, make note, like you did, of the unexpected outcome of lost power. From experience, I'll say that it's usually fun and novel for one day and night, if that, to read and play games during the day and play cards and checkers by candle or fire light (and huddle for warmth) overnight. But families do report that forced time without power can be a nice brief change that encourages family togetherness and low-key activities they wouldn't have done otherwise, even by voluntarily forgoing electronic entertainment (while keeping the lights and heat on.) Perhaps some families who had your experience during the outages will choose to shut down electronics in favor of other family activities in the future. [Read entire topic]

#104: Ed Ward (captward) Sun 4 Nov 12 13:36

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:36:00 PST

And with that, we note that another conversation has started here on Inkwell. Not that we're chasing you away -- far from it: this has been a very active discussion.

Thanks for doing this, and best of wishes for the book, <sooz>! [Read entire topic]

#103: Jessica Mann Gutteridge (jessica) Sun 4 Nov 12 13:28

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:28:00 PST

We had an interesting forced experiment in unplugged parenting after being without power in our house for 6 days. After the storm we took walks and examined the aftermath, and the kids have played pretty nicely indoors with school cancelled for a week. Lots of drawing, reading, and playing with Lego and Playmobil. And they were helpful with family tasks like drying dishes (washed in the bathtub when our sink got clogged). The older two camped in the living room together.

Even when we escaped to my parents' in Massachusetts for a few days I was amazed to see them mostly keep the TV off.

They really missed their school friends, so very glad school is reopening tomorrow. [Read entire topic]

#102: Susan Sachs Lipman (sooz) Mon 29 Oct 12 22:34

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:34:00 PDT

I loved my chat with Marjorie and the resulting column! We'd never spoken before. It was a treat and an extremely warm experience.

I am eager to try geocaching and letterboxing. Glad you brought them up, Amy. They sound like things my whole family would really enjoy. I love the adventure and community aspects and the fact that this seems to be a relatively novel way to enjoy both. It also seems like something slightly older kids can do with their families.

And, Lisa, welcome to the discussion! That's great news about the possibilities for later language acquisition. I love getting new information like this that can really take the edge off the frenzy. [Read entire topic]

#101: behind on BADGES! (obizuth) Sun 28 Oct 12 13:12

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:12:00 PDT

i interviewed suz for my Tablet column:

<http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/114624/brake-for-children> [Read entire topic]

#100: Jessica Mann Gutteridge (jessica) Sat 27 Oct 12 16:53

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:53:00 PDT

My kids started French lesson on Saturdays, which sounds like the worst kind of frenzy achievement insanity, but is actually quite laid back and fun. They are working with my friend Sandrine, who works hard to incorporate their interests into her lessons, even if that slows me down a bit. After trying with both in the same class she discovered they do better in shorter units without the other one present, so I hang out in the playroom with whoever isn't having a lesson and Sandrine's two same-age boys. Today she let Lucas set up the Battle of Bunker Hill with soldiers from a set of Risk and worked on nationality vocabulary. [Read entire topic]

#99: Lisa Harris (lrph) Sat 27 Oct 12 16:45

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:45:00 PDT

I am fed up with the frenzy that has kept me from truly enjoying this topic. Up thread someone asked about the window for language acquisition in children. The reason I haven't been on WELL lately is due to taking a course for ESOL certification. Research shows that 2nd language acquisition for proper pronunciation is optimal in pre-puberty years. However, older students tend to be able to make language connections with their first language to their second language which helps facilitate their second language acquisition. Actually, the motivation for learning the second language and the manner in which it is taught seems to be more relevant a determinant than age. So, no rush. [Read entire topic]

#98: Gail Williams (gail) Sat 27 Oct 12 08:27

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 08:27:00 PDT

What an interesting twist on geocaching. [Read entire topic]