Category: Inspiration

Multicultural Parenting Perspectives – The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date September 28, 2016

the-danish-way

I need to be honest. When I first heard about the new book The Danish Way of Parenting by Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandahl, my back went up. Did I need to read yet another lecture about how a different culture parents better than mine does? From The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom to Bringing up Bébé, it seems that every year someone exposes the plethora of mistakes American moms and dads make daily and espouses a parenting philosophy from another country where parents are calmer and kinder and children are more obedient and creative, far smarter and practically picture perfect. While both of the aforementioned books gave me much food for thought, I felt frustrated by their underlying critical tone. As a professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, I deeply value learning about and from other cultures and people, but the mother in me who is doing her very best to bring up three children in an increasingly complicated world felt chastised.

books holiday/feast Inspiration

Reindeer Christmas

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date December 3, 2011

To tide you over while I work on my next post about our visit to the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden, I thought I would share a sweet way to bring some reindeer magic into your homes this year.

I recently purchased Reindeer Christmas by Mark Kimball Moulton for my children, but after reading it, I decided it was the perfect gift for our Elf on the Shelf to deposit on their breakfast dishes on December 1st.

“A December snow is falling, lightly dusting all the trees,blanketing the forest in a crystal filigree.”

Continue reading “Reindeer Christmas”

books crafts holiday/feast Inspiration

A Thanksgiving Poem 11/24/11

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date November 23, 2011
4 Comments on A Thanksgiving Poem 11/24/11

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Like most of you, I will spend my day surrounded by my family, sampling dishes prepared lovingly, and tucking away memories of this special time to recall as the year progresses. One simple tradition I have with my children is to read Lydia Maria Child’s poem Over the River and Through the Wood on Thanksgiving morning. My most beloved version is a board book illustrated by Christopher Manson, replete with woodcut images that bring alive a boy’s snowy journey to Grandfather’s house:

books Inspiration Waldorf

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date November 20, 2011

I have just returned from a weekend lecture and workshop at the Princeton Waldorf School with the incomparable Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting.

books Inspiration

Imagination Reigns: Harold and the Purple Crayon

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date November 16, 2011

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” ~ Carl Sagan

Harold and the Purple Crayon

by Crockett Johnson

Written in 1955 by Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon is sure to bring to mind your own childhood reading days. Children of the 70s, how often did you sit at the knee of your school librarian as she shared this marvelous story of Harold, a boy who could create entire worlds and change course with one flick of his purple crayon?

I read this book to my children this evening before bed, and their delight with clever Harold was evident. This is a book I can get behind because it celebrates unadulterated imagination in children. Absolutely anything can happen if you just let go.

I hope you’ll read Harold and the Purple Crayon with your children and encourage them to unleash their own creativity in whatever form best suits them. Only good can come of that.

Imagination truly is the driving force behind invention. Let it begin today.

“All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.” ~Orison Swett Marden

Inspiration natural nature

Celebrate Autumn

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date November 9, 2011

Autumn Song

The fiery red and glowing sienna of an autumn oak made me appreciate today the simple beauty of fall. It is a season that calls out to children to frolic in abandoned piles of crunchy leaves and stay outside until dusk.

books Inspiration

Picture Book Month

As those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter know by now, I am officially celebrating Picture Book Month, along with many other avid fans of the genre. To honor the timeless tales that remain in our hearts well after we move to chapter books (and really, should we ever stop admiring picture books?), I am sharing a new book each day this month. To catch you up, here are my picks for the first week of November. What are your favorite picture books? Why?

Inspiration

Come and visit me on Facebook and Twitter

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date October 29, 2011

I’ll be back with two new posts on my picks for your baby registry and current favorites in children’s literature soon, but if you miss me, come over to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/PlayEatLove-Motherhood-Explored/124673500969160) or find me on Twitter (@playeatlove) where thought-provoking conversation ensues. You’ll find articles to stimulate your mind, book recommendations for you and your children, and discussions about simplifying your life, letting your children explore their creative selves, slowing down, eating well, and reveling in each moment. Hope to see you there!

books Heaven on Earth Inspiration Sharifa Oppenheimer

Winter reading suggestions …

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date January 21, 2011
1 Comment on Winter reading suggestions …

If the snowy landscapes and the winter chill make you want to hibernate until spring, cozy up to a good book and take heart!

I thought I’d share some books that have significantly shaped the way I parent. I hope you are equally moved by them:

1) Heaven on Earth

2) Simplicity Parenting

3) Making A Family Home

4) Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars (really for grandparents, but fantastic for parents too)

Inspiration school days

A Support Group …

Post author By Tilly Thyme
Post date November 16, 2010

N.B. As always, I’ve changed the name of my son’s preschool for obvious reasons.

Is it odd (be truthful, Reader!) that I find myself frequently lost in a daydream about my son’s preschool? That I visit and revisit in my mind’s eye each landscape, every private nook dedicated to reverie, and one by one the spaces, colorful and orderly, where shared stories morph into dramatic play?

I think I need a support group for parents obsessed with all things Room to Bloom. I near went into withdrawal last week when my son was out sick for two days. I say this in jest (slightly), but I am sincere in my devotion, my curiosity, my awe. I realize how much work, both physical and cerebral, must go into every aspect of the learning environment created there, especially as I educate myself more on various philosophies of early education; however, the director, the teachers, and the staff sustain a microcosm of the world, minus the distractions and feedback of modern society, within the walls of their schoolhouse. It is miraculous, really, that children can still get right down to the work of being kids, of reaching out to their environment, turning it around in their little hands, evaluating it from various angles, and reporting back to their friends (my son calls them his “fratelli e sorelle” – brothers and sisters), so that the learning loop continues without end.

Tags Daydreams