When You Hear Noise From the Trunk

October 2, 2018July 29, 2019 Juli Herman

Recently, I came across a post consisting of an image by Gottman Institute that spoke volumes to me, especially since I have been feeling overwhelmed for the past few weeks. It says, “It’s ok to not do it all.” I felt like someone said what I needed to hear, and what I needed to read at that moment in time. Women, in general, might be predisposed (and this is a generalization from my limited experience and observation, not data) to be a Jack-of-all-trades, doing everything that needs to be done,…

Once Upon a Time: The Magical Power of Reading-Aloud

September 1, 2018March 17, 2021 Alina Jaffery

I remember the sun beating down upon our moist heads as we were ushered in from another scorching recess. We walked into the chilled portables as we slogged in lazily and melted upon our desks. Mrs. Schwemer, without any deliberation would soothingly begin reading from our read-aloud. With our eyes closed, heads rested upon the desks, we were transported. Some days we were transported to a barn among talking animals and an intelligent, sympathetic spider trying to spare a young runt pig’s life from his eventual slaughter. Other days we…

10 Ideas for Ramadan In the Home

April 10, 2018March 17, 2021 Juli Herman

It all started with a hanging paper chain made from construction papers. I didn’t realize it then, but when my oldest was four and my youngest was two, I started a Ramadan tradition in our home. Every year since then, my Ramadan preparation included coming up with an activity idea for each day of the fasting month, in order to make Ramadan extra special for the kids. Now that my three older kids are 18 and older, I thought it’s high time I share our past Ramadan activities in case…