Free Range Kids

Over at the Times, Lenore Skenazy (the lady who let her 9 year old son go on the New York subway on his own as she believes in "common sense parenting in uncommonly overprotective times") has had a live chat with interesting comments. Also, her blog Free Range Kids has some really mindblowing stories.

Great stuff.

Oh happy happy day.

Philip K Howard

I saw this talk over at TED by the founder of Common Good, (whose subheading on the website "Restoring common sense to America" immediately got my vote).

Really interesting.

The war on children's playgrounds

Great article on Salon, via Common Good, about when adults make kid's spaces safe and risk-free maybe we take the fun out of them.

I think the above image would be heaven for my kids, rather than the sterile, homogenous play structure that my local park has to offer.

(Photo of St. John's Wood Adventure Playground, London in 1963)

Children and Risk

Found via Children and Nature Network, here's a project from Berlin, where children build their own playgrounds. There's a great article with photos over at Public Workshop.

Also some good links about risk and play in the text worth checking out.

I needed a Ken Robinson fix

Nuff said.

Warwick Cairns

I'm a big fan. Over at the Beat Magazine, Warwick Cairns has a regular column. This one I particularly liked.

Don't do that to your kids..... let them quit if they hate it.

The Idle Parent, now available in the US

Tom Hodgkinson, author of "The Idle Parent", has had his book published in America. I want one....

Seven Generations Charter School

"The Seven Generations Charter School is one in which students from every grade level engage in activities focused on sustainable living, environmental stewardship, and respect for our planet and all living things. We believe that a school with excellent academic standards can also be a place where students learn citizenship and develop the skills to succeed as they improve the overall quality of life in their communities."

Wow.

Found via Good.

Dan Tapscott

Nice to hear a positive view on children and technology. Still think they should get outside as well but maybe computers are not so bad after all.

Found here. Check out Hans Rosling's as well.

Seed bombs

I bought one of these from a gumball dispenser outside my local cafe. Fantastic idea. Now I just need to decide where to set it off for maximum effect......

Vanishing of the bees

Honeybees are vanishing at an alarming rate across the planet. "Vanishing of the Bees" is a documentary examining their disappearance. It's being released in August across America.

Time to pull up some of your lawn and plant a wildflower garden. Get your kids involved, they will love to help and it will be exciting to see bees stopping by for dinner. A win win situation.

Found via Swissmiss.

PS22 Chorus

Another case of "I've been living in a cave" as I only just heard about them..... These kids are amazing and it's heartwarming to see how music can uplift and transform.

Errr, duh!

Article at the Beeb about how too much TV is bad for toddlers....... Sometimes studies only prove what we know deep down already.

How Urban Planning Can Improve Public Health

Who wouldn't like a park, shops, schools, transit within walking/cycling distance of their home? Here's an interesting article over at Miller-McCune about this, found via Good. It's about time these things were addressed and public policy needs to lead the way.

It's not like there aren't enough great examples of walkable communities to use as examples. Through public policy Copenhagen is now one of the most pedestrianized city in the world.

(There I go mentioning Denmark....... again.)

Race to Nowhere

Race to Nowhere is a "documentary film examining the pressures faced by youth, teachers and parents in our achievement obsessed education system and culture."

When did it become so hard to be a kid?