Children

Educating Ned

"Unless Love build the house, they labor in vain that build it." (Paraphrase of Psalms 127:1) My three children went…

Sparks and Spaces: Lived Experience in Friends Schools

We sit in circles. God is everywhere. There are no right answers. —Kindergartner’s response to parents’ question: What is Quaker…

A La Chureca Christmas

My friend Michael popped into my office. When he told me he couldn’t make it to Nicaragua this year for…

Irony in Grade Four

My nine-year-old daughter’s two favorite words this school year have been "sarcastic" and "ironic." Sarcasm was fairly easy to master—after…

Violence on the Playground: An Everyday Struggle

I am standing in the hallway after the students have left, towering over a six-year-old boy who is squeezing showy…

A Very Different War: The Story of an Evacuee Sent to the U.S. During World War II

It was only later that we realized how lucky we had been when we arrived in the United States to…

Providing a Warm Welcome

My husband, Adam, and I were blessed to serve as co-directors of Powell House, New York Yearly Meeting’s retreat and…

Young Families and Quakerism: Will the Center Hold?

Recently I was invited to help plan an adult religious education session at a meeting that expressed interest in revitalizing…

Noah’s Problem

It rained last winter. A lot. It rained for 35 straight days. Then there was a sunny day. Then it…

‘Both … and …’: Parenting for Adulthood

I have been parenting for 12 years, and before I became a parent I taught for 18 years. Our children,…

Raising Quaker Youth

It would seem that writing about raising Quaker youth would be an easy undertaking, especially as my husband Rick and…

‘An Investment … with High Returns’

The first time I attended Gathering, in Rochester, New York, I bathed my one-year-old daughter, Eleanor, in the bathroom sink…
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