Early Childhood: Unstructured Play Time

A mountain of research supports the impressive benefits of unstructured, spontaneous play in children’s lives, benefits that accrue to personal success and effectiveness. And yet, most of our kids aren’t getting enough play. Most are too busy taking lessons or practicing sports or sitting in front of screens. We’re facing an epidemic of Play Deficit […]

Nature In the Northern Suburbs

Chicago and wilderness don’t really go together. But nature is less than a gas tank away. Really. School’s been out for a month, and your kids may be asking for all-day marathons of TV Land or Playstation. It’s hard not to cave once in a while, but if your parental guilt is getting the best […]