Jewish Parenting

Must our kids shoot 3-pointers?

Friday, 18 September 2009 02:33 Sharon Duke Estroff

A FEW years back, I had an epiphany in the JCC bleachers. It was the playoffs in the second grade basketball league, and I was having a hard time concentrating on the game because of all the yelling parents.

The vibe reminded me of when I was in grad school at Duke and we were playing University of North Carolina (UNC) in the Final Four. Except the Duke and UNC fans were a little more relaxed and less critical of the players.

(To my right side) “What on earth are you doing Josh, I showed you how to dribble the ball. Wait a minute, you’re going the wrong direction!”

(To my left side) “Listen to your coach, Elan. No, not that coach — the smart one!”

(To my backside) “Oh, come on Jared, with shots like that, you’ll never be the first Jew in the NBA.”

Jewish Parenting

Age-old parenting lessons for new school year

Thursday, 20 August 2009 07:29 Sharon Duke Estroff

The back-to-school season is, for all intents and purposes, a period of pure parental mayhem. From tracking down the coolest Batman or Barbie backpack on the block to searching out that elusive five subject, wide-ruled, perforated spiral notebook that our child needs for Hebrew class, our to-do lists seem virtually endless.

The Pressure

Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 14:37 )

Jewish Parenting

Putting a plug in the summer brain drain

Thursday, 09 July 2009 11:43 Sharon Duke Estroff

DURING the school-year, critical academic skills are regularly reinforced. Summer is a completely different story as most kids hardly pick up a pencil during June, July and August. No wonder studies show that students forget as much as 80% of what they were taught the previous year during the hot summer months!

Fortunately, it’s possible to keep your kids’ hard-earned school skills from slipping down the summer brain drain. All you need are a few household items, a dash of creativity and the following ideas for disguising school-year-caliber academic reinforcement as summer-style fun and games.

Reinforce math skills using:

Jewish Parenting

Send homesickness packing this summer

Thursday, 04 June 2009 01:26 Sharon Duke Estroff

IT’S a situation as sticky as a freshly roasted marshmallow.

Your child –– who’s been looking forward to attending overnight camp since you signed her up this fall –– suddenly develops a case of cold feet. She’s no longer buzzing with excitement over her upcoming month of summer fun. She’s teary-eyed and anxious over spending thirty days (720 hours!) away from mom and dad. (And truth be told, you’re a tad teary-eyed and anxious about those 720 hours, yourself).

Jewish Parenting