In Kevin Cuneo’s column today, he writes that Marc Brown — famous Erieite who attended Millcreek schools and author of all the “Arthur” books and the PBS series – had written a letter to Erie friends to lobby the folks on the Millcreek Township School District board to retain arts in its curriculum. Kevin’s column is here.
The letter in its entirety is below:
Dear Millcreek friends,
As someone who was nurtured by the Millcreek school system, I was saddened and alarmed to hear that the Millcreek schools were considering eliminating the arts from the curriculum. In my opinion, this would be a tremendous loss for every student. Whether you’re naturally artistic or not, learning how to think creatively is a very important skill. The arts contribute to every child’s ability to use his or her imagination. Art is about inventing new ways of fitting things together: words, images, objects, processes, thoughts and history.
Growing up in Millcreek and watching my dad go to work everyday for the railroad was painful. Dislike for his job was palpable. But he filled his free time with creative pursuits, writing, architecture, gardening, researching and collecting antiques. This taught me an important lesson at a very young age. Find a job you love because it adds immeasurably to the quality of your life. By cutting the arts in Millcreek Schools, you are saying to many kids, who you are and what you want to be, isn’t important. You are removing a critical foundation that may lead to successful careers in the arts for many kids.
Not every child goes down the educational conveyor belt neatly nourished by the core curriculum. I was one of those kids. I don’t want to even imagine what might have happened to me without the ability to major in art at McDowell High School with Nancy Bryan as my teacher. And there are many other kids like me growing up in Millcreek today needing the arts in their educational process to make them the exceptional adults that they can become.
As I travel around the country speaking to children about my books I have the great opportunity to talk with teachers about their schools and their work. For many years now the things they report about what teaching has become is not encouraging. Since the reduction of art, music and drama in so many schools, accompanied by the testing requirements for government funding, our children are becoming robotic regurgitators of facts for test taking.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to keep the arts in our schools is outlined brilliantly by my friend, Harvard professor, Howard Gardner in his book, “MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES.” I urge every person who is in the position of eliminating the arts in schools to read this book. He outlines eight intelligences and writes very compellingly about the importance of integrated daily arts instruction. He explains the idea that people have eight intelligences (verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist), and schools must use them all to help every child reach full potential.
My Millcreek education provided the arts foundation I needed to help build a successful career in the arts. It’s impossible to imagine Millcreek Schools withdrawing this critical component of a child’s education. If I were a student in your schools today, I would be very frightened about my future.
I’m hoping you’ll do the right thing for our children.

Sincerely,

Marc Brown

Here’s a story Sean McCracken wrote in January about a visit Brown made to local schools. The photo below is of Marc Brown speaking in Fairview.

Author Marc Brown speaks to students at Fairview Elementary School and draws a creature from their suggestions on Wednesday, Jan. 23. SEAN McCRACKEN//ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times andHouse to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three — all graduates of McDowell High School.

It’s National Library week, and I remember great times with my kids at many of Erie’s public library locations. We often visited the West Erie Plaza branch, and we were regulars at the Blasco Library on the bayfront.

One celeb that most impresses me with what she has done in regard to reading is Honorary Chair of National Library Week Caroline Kennedy. She has visited schools, throughout the years, and started interesting high school groups with her own book ”Poems to Learn by Heart.” Check out the video above.

In Erie, events at Blasco Library, 160 E. Front St., include: Ed Palattella and Jerry Clark (April 18, 7 p.m.); and Holly Jacobs and Nancy Kay (April 18, 2-3:30 p.m.); as well as Debbi Lyon and Sandy Sagala. Call or visit the library’s website for more information on Library Week schedule. Cost: Free. Info: 451-6927, www.erielibrary.org

Ken Springirth, local author of 20 books about railroads and trolley cars, wrote an article for the Erie Times-News that discusses the Darby Public Library, outside Philadelphia. It is the oldest continuously operating public library in the U.S. His article also discusses that the Erie Public Library’s roots on Perry Square date back to Feb. 16, 1899. Read his entire article here.

We went to the library for books, vidoes and much more. Whatever you do this week, grab a few minutes at one of the branches of the public library. I guarantee you will return.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three. 

Thursday, April 25 marks the annual Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day. In 1993, Gloria Steinem and the Ms. Foundation for Women started the idea as Take Our Daughters to Work Day. It included boys in 2003, according to Wikipedia.  I included boys long before that. I never felt it was fair that I would get my daughter out of school for a day but not my boys.

I also took other people’s kids to work. At the time, I worked at an ad agency and taught classes at Mercyhurst College — now Mercyhurst University. My kids weren’t playing — they learned how to fill in information on Excel, help with research at the ad agency and then go out for a “Mad Men” lunch — well as “Mad Men” as you can get with kids under the age of 14.

At Mercyhurst, they got a peek at college life. They loved it, and so did my students.

Here’s a link to the official site. Here’s a 2012 article from Forbe’s with dos and don’ts for the day. Here’s a link to the foundation page.

Not everyone can do this, but if you can get your kids into your workplace even for a few hours, plan now. Give them something to do so they aren’t just watching you work. They can participate. Plus, you’ll share some memories — a nice thing when your kids are as old as my three in the picture, from left — my son, the doctor; my daughter, the CPA: and my baby, a college junior.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three and stepmom to three. 

Using a timer and a reward to get kids to clean up a mess of toys is one of those simple tool that works. I remember when my kids were little, a babysitter turned a lot of challenging tasks into games. She used a timer, and they loved it. That bicycle tire clock is from Boredpanda.

She came from a big family and noted that it always worked on her brothers and sisters. We also had a chicken alarm clock that looked like the one below. My youngest put that chicken out of its misery. 

Need parenting help? Check out Momiverse for some great suggestions.

One of the articles is by author Alyson Schafer, a psychotherapist and parenting book author who impressed me  www.AlysonSchafer.com.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three.  

Psychiatrist Gary Malone — a former student athlete — reminds parents of middle-school and high-school athletes to chill before we push too hard toward college athletics and scholarships. He reminds all parents of these critical numbers:

• Only 3 percent of high school athletes will go on to compete in college

• Less than 1 percent of college athletes turn pro, where the average career is three years

• Don’t become obsessed with one child’s athletic career at the expense of the other kids in the family. 

A distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association and high-performing student-athlete throughout his own high school and college years, Malone says he appreciates the benefits of extracurricular programs. “Athletics can be extremely beneficial to a young person’s life, but I think we have our priorities backwards,” Malone says. “Imagine how much better off our country might be if, instead of football, we were obsessed with our children’s performance in science and math. In my home state, Texas, a new high school football stadium is opening that cost $60 million dollars and seats 18,000. That’s all funded at public expense. We constantly read of districts across the country cutting academic and arts programs and teachers’ salaries due to budget shortfalls. How can this make sense?”

It’s great when kids want to compete at the collegiate level and even better if they get $$ to do it, but not all kids are cut out for that life. As parents, we need to appreciate that sentiment because in the end, kids need a career when school is done.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.

It’s National Dentist Day! Here’s one of my favorite kid’s books by Mercer Mayer. If you haven’t met Little Critter, you are missing some fun books.

As a mom of three kids who had braces, lots of bonded front teeth and some nasty cavities, I have advice — get to the dentist every six months no matter what. And start early.

The good news — some moms have great advice for how to get your kids in the habit of brushing. This mom has it all together starting babies young so it’s second nature to them, and make sure they see you brush. Kids love to imitate. Here’s a link to the best guide on care for newborns to tots.

The bad news  – Last year, the Today Show, Huffington Post and the New York Times reported that cavities among kids ages 2 to 5 were the highest in 40 years.The crisis  hit all income levels, and kids that young have to be sedated for dental care.

Sometimes kids, like my son, have trouble with cavities even if they do everything right. And that makes dental hygiene all the more important. A battery operated toothbrush and flossing were our tools of success.  Here’s a link to a lot of videos that teach parents and kids how to clean teeth.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times andHouse to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.

It’s always fun to discover what your kids remember about toddlerdom once they hit adulthood.

When my youngest child, Ryan Eckert, turned 21 yesterday, we talked about all the crazy things he did as a tot. He’d had hernia surgery when he was barely a preschooler, and he remembered how we tried everything to keep him inactive and entertained. He mentioned the “Bananas” show. I had completely forgotten that one. It was “Bananas in Pajamas” — they kind of looked life-sized bananas in prison gear,  but it was in syndication for years when he was a tot. If you click right here, it takes you to an interactive website. The show had Australian roots.

These big bananas had clever names B1 and B2. With Australian accents, they often had some adventures with teddy bears. I don’t remember the a-peel with a lot of jokes about peels or anything, but it did hold his attention. It was really simple — a lot like Gumby, one of my favorites. It was always on at a naptime.

Gumby had a long reign on Nickelodeon — it was primitive clay figure animation. The funny Blockheads — the goofs who always got in trouble — were the bad guys that Gumby coped with along with his horse Pokey, and dog, Nopey.

Ryan also recalled watching Ch-Ch-Ch Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers – the pair of chipmunks he met at Disneyworld. He was even a fan of Barney before his older brother and sister poisoned him on that poor purple dinosaur.

Well, there he is (above) at age 3 or 4 — he wore a Green Bay Packers jersey every year for picture day — and refused to open his mouth for a smile.

Here he is with me sharing an adult beverage — a legal one.  Wow, what I wouldn’t give for a few more moments of time with a baby who watched Bananas in Pajamas, Gumby and danced down the stairs singing and dancing to Barney’s “Special, Special — everyone is special.”  Sigh.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.

We still have the Winnie the Pooh bear that I raced to Sears to buy more than 20 years ago when my daughter became obsessed with Pooh. It was sudden. It was close to Christmas, and at the time, no one but Sears had the stuff and fluff. I was huge-pregnant with my youngest, and I was on a mission to get one of the last remaining Winnie the Pooh bears in the city.

It’s hard to believe Pooh books started out in 1926. The ultimate holiday site says that author A.A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin’s, teddy bear inspired the stories. Another Winnie-the-Pooh-devoted site explains that January 18 is A. A. Milne’s birthday in 1882. It’s a perfect time to celebrate Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, rabbit, owl and Roo.

From Pooh, we got “rumblies in my tumblies,” “Oh bother” and “Don’t be redickerous”  – Tigger’s expression, among other memorable phrases.  And here is one of my favorites:

“One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries.”
― A.A. Milne

Here’s a link to the Disney site. I’ve gotta find that bear and the books in this house. I have a Disney-loving granddaughter who must discover Winnie the Pooh.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one. 

These are my boys smirking on Christmas morning a few years ago and laughing that they got the same shirt for Christmas. That kind of happens every year — the same shirt thing — because they both look handsome in the same colors and styles, and my daughter and I outfit them accordingly. We know they don’t hang out together. In fact, now they are age 20 and 26 and live in different states. So we often buy them the same things.

If you’re a mom or a stepmom, here’s a quick piece of advice for getting along with your kids. Choose your battles. You can’t be arguing with a toddler, child, tween or teen for weeks on end. For me, safety came first and neatness last — especially when I was a single mom.

And they questioned everything. When I taught my youngest to drive on the interstate, he was exceeding the speed limit. I warned that he would get a ticket, and that would pretty much prevent an early license.  He scoffed that there was no place for troopers to hide. “What — do you think there are tree cops or something,” he said.

Kids must never watch “CSI,” or “NCIS,” or “Person of Interest.”

“Radar,” I said. “Do you think I make this stuff up? Do you think I’ve never gotten a ticket? I’m just telling you they make rules so you follow them. We all have rules.”

And kids don’t always follow them. But the consequences do have influence — especially tickets. Kids learn from their mistakes just like we do. Make sure you have rules and consequences. And remember to reward good behavior — don’t just punish the bad. You need to make kids feel good about themselves every single day. It will make you feel good, too.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one. 

Kids often want to make a change. It happens in a lot of blended families — ours included. All of our kids are now age 20 to 28, so hindsight is 20/20.

I can confirm that it was a good decision each and every time one of the kids moved.  My kids’ dad passed away 13 years ago, so my kids were kind of stuck with my hubby and me, but we had a revolving door for my stepsons. It may sound silly, but it worked.

I was reminded of all of this when I read one mom’s struggle of  letting her 14-year-old daughter go live with her dad on Blogher.com.

The story is thoughtful and insightful — a great read and a reminder that kids are way smarter than we think they are.

Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa. She is the mom of three, stepmom to three and step-grandmom to one.