Posts by Jen Lumanlan
4 Ways to celebrate Thanksgiving with children – Respectfully
Do you have memories of dressing up like Pilgrims and Indians for the annual Thanksgiving school play? Many Americans grew up hearing the tale of the First Thanksgiving repeated by books, teachers, and parents and came to accept this as fact although many of us are now realizing that this story has little basis in…
Read Full Post6 #OwnVoices Native American books to read with children this Thanksgiving
Learning the truth about Thanksgiving As I’ve mentioned before, teaching children about Thanksgiving – and even celebrating it – can be extremely problematic once you look beyond the myths that have been perpetuated about it for generations. The traditional narrative of the Pilgrims with tall black hats and “Indians” wearing headdresses (what is it about…
Read Full PostWhy we feel the rage that mothers don’t talk about
The rage lives in my hands, rolls down my fingers clenching to fists. I want to hurt someone. I am tears and fury and violence. I want to scream and rip open pillows, toss chairs and punch walls. I want to see my destruction — feathers floating, overturned furniture, ragged holes in drywall. Minna Dubin, The Rage…
Read Full PostHow to Raise a Wild Child
How do you feel about getting outdoors? Do you look forward to it and love every minute of it while you’re out? Or do you dread it…the cold (or heat, depending on where you are…), the bugs, the dirt (the dirt!)? And what about the endless questions that you don’t know how to answer: “What’s…
Read Full PostSix Things Parents Should Teach (and Learn!) During Black History Month
As a white parent, I feel very conflicted about wading into a debate about Black History Month. Plenty of people have argued that we shouldn’t confine our study of Black history to just one month (and that it has failed to bring about any improvement in race relations, and it wasn’t intended for White people…
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