Back in the summer of 2003, I took my children to Modigliani & the Artists of Montparnasse at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sketchbook and pencil in hand, I patted each of them on the back and set…

I can tell you a lot about rabbit warrens; not necessarily their scientific side, like what makes them structurally sound or how far they reach below the earth, but what it feels like to dig them with one’s paws or…

The slow sizzle of sautéing onions was interrupted when Søren, donning a plaid woolen flat cap, came wandering into the kitchen asking for an interview with the cook. The accent was, thick, Russian gone awry, picked up most likely from…

Hands down, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Once the festivities for Halloween have passed I am so excited to begin the journey towards that fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving just seems to embody all that is good in a holiday:…

November is National Novel Writing Month or “NaNoWriMo” – a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Along with more than 100,000 young novelists worldwide our co-op has accepted this challenge for the past three years. Setting a personal word count…

In my guild, fall is Person I Admire season. This year I had an anniversary—five students including my eldest son, who had participated in Person I Admire once a year for ten years in a row. I gave them each…

Holding up a red box adorned with a red satin bow I remind my students, “Great writing is a gift.” I’ve discovered that the Japanese form of poetry, haiku, is a perfect way to teach students that practicing poetry will…

To culminate our Da Vinci Summer, everyone lent a hand in the creation of a larger-than-life i Madonnari Mona Lisa. Such a fun way to create art together! Here’s our process in pictures…

Today seven-year-old Mikayla, the youngest girl in our school, watched me climb on a countertop in high heels to fetch a pot for tea and observed, “My mom would never do that.” “I’m me,” I replied. This gave me an…