Go to the Library
Posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
I think a major highlight of my growing up years was the weekly (Really? Weekly?) trip to the library. We had two–Covina and the Los Angeles County Library in West Des Moines. The LA Library [...]
continue readingFly
Posted on Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
My next birthday is one that ends in a “0″ and requires a significant celebration. Last week I was told that this, my 60th year, is one of extraordinary challenges and opportunities in areas I’ve [...]
continue readingSleep Out for Reggie
Posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
As the weather gets colder, I feel more and more sympathy for the homeless people I see on the street. A few years ago, a young homeless man named Reggie died in Des Moines, bringing [...]
continue readingPlay People to People
Posted on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
This is a great game for any group of more than about a dozen people. I’ve played it outdoors, in classrooms and auditoriums. If you have an even number of people, just add yourself into [...]
continue readingVenture into Social Drama
Posted on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
Annie Mielke and I met last year and got excited about the potential for working with girls on drama and then training them to work with younger groups as a service project. Annie’s specialty is working with [...]
continue readingExplore the Teen Brain
Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
I became fascinated with brain research more than 20 years ago when science began to really get inside the human brain and explore it. I’ve done my best to keep up over the years as [...]
continue readingTake a Quiz to Find Your Style
Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
It’s always interesting to find out more about yourself. I think that’s what life is really about–finding out who we are and then becoming the best of that. So, whether it’s the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, [...]
continue readingRun Like a Kenyan
Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
This program caught my ear tonight; how hard would it be to make a living running marathons? Salina Kosgei has done so since she was 16 years old, and won the 2009 Boston Marathon by [...]
continue readingBust the Cliques
Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Cliques, gossip, put downs and relational aggression continue as difficulties for the girls’ groups. On the spring survey, about half the girls said gossip and put downs happen at least sometimes in their groups, and only about [...]
continue readingMingle Mingle!
Posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009
This is a really fun way to mix a group up and then divide up cliques without anyone being the wiser. Here’s a video that is worth 10,000 words of explanation for a game I’ve [...]
continue reading