Category Archives: Parenting

Passover and Easter Bring Out the Best in our Island Community

April 16, 2017Home, Parenting, Ruralcandy, community, cultural exchange, culture, easter, easter bunny, matzo, north haven, passover, pesach

By Courtney Naliboff

Secular Easter is a little bit of a mystery to me – my own Four Questions go something like “Why on this day do we hide eggs? Why on this day do we take pictures with a terrifying giant rabbit? Why on this day do we allow our children to eat candy before noon? Why on this day do we eat a lot of jellybeans?” – but it’s hard to find fault with a bunch of kids in cute clothes running around outside.

Island Preschool Builds Confidence with Outdoor Play

April 8, 2017Education, Parenting, Ruralclimbing, confidence, de-vo, hiking, hill, muddy buddy, outdoor education, Parenting, preschool, problemsolving, resilience, toddlers

By Courtney Naliboff

Getting kids outdoors for unstructured play has quantifiable benefits as far as attention and resilience, but it seems to be frought with controversy.

Independence or Efficiency? Those are the Choices with a Toddler in Tow.

April 3, 2017Home, Parenting, Ruralefficiency, independence, north haven, outdoors, Parenting, toddler

By Courtney Naliboff

When Penrose started running laps around the house Sunday morning yelling “I WANT FRY! I WANT FRY!” (your guess is as good as mine as to what that even means), we figured we’d better get her outside while the warm weather lasted.

At Knowledge Fair, hard work and creativity is on display

March 22, 2017Education, Home, Parenting, Ruralassessment, education, hands-on, knowledge, knowledge fair, learning, north haven, north haven community school, Parenting, penrose

By Courtney Naliboff

This is my twelfth Knowledge Fair at North Haven Community School, and one of the best, in my opinion.

At town meeting, solving conflicts big and small

March 11, 2017Home, Parenting, Politics, Ruralconflict, debate, election, north haven, Parenting, penrose, resolution, toddlers, town meeting, vote

By Courtney Naliboff

While it would have been easier to leave Pen with a babysitter (heads up, North Haven teens – you would make a killing setting up some sort of play time during town meeting), I wanted her to see the nitty gritty work that makes a town function.

Five space-saving tips for parenting in a small house

March 5, 2017Home, Parenting, Ruralclean up, housing, mess, Montessori, north haven, Parenting, sharing, small house, space-saving, storage, sustainable, tea tray, tiny house, tips, toddler

By Courtney Naliboff

While it’s efficient to heat and easy to clean, adding my daughter into the situation means we’ve had to think creatively about how to accommodate her needs and stay sane in a small space.

A Mitzvah for a Ladybug

February 20, 2017Home, Parenting, Ruralchurch, donuts, frozen chosen, global warming, ladybugs, letting go, mitzvah, north haven, Parenting, rural, snowshoeing, unseasonable warmth

By Courtney Naliboff

Hello from North Haven! My daughter Penrose and I were outside enjoying the unseasonally warm weekend, climbing around on the sticky piles of snow heaped around the house from shoveling and plowing, when a spot of red caught her eye. “Look Mom,” she called from across the front yard. “I found a ladybug!” She was […]

Snow Blindness

February 14, 2017Home, Parenting, Ruralbombogenesis, mittens, north haven, Parenting, play, snow, snowday, snowshoeing, terrible twos, winter storm orson

By Courtney Naliboff

Hello from North Haven! Since Thursday morning, we’ve enjoyed three major snowstorms, including Saturday’s unexpected 8 inch bounty. After such a snowless December and January, I’ve been feeling a little anxious about maximizing snow fun, with mixed results. Thursday’s storm inspired Penrose to at first put on her green and blue long armed, long sleeved bathing suit […]

Baby’s First Protest

January 23, 2017Parenting, Politicsfree speech, mommy fail, Parenting, Politics, pussy hat, snacks

By Courtney Naliboff

Hello from North Haven! I wasn’t planning to go to the Augusta Women’s March, but when my island bff not only invited my daughter Penrose and I to come with her but offered to drive, I couldn’t turn it down. My husband planned to go to the march on Vinalhaven, so at 7:30 Saturday morning, we […]

Heritable Traits

January 18, 2017Home, Parentingart, chaos, genetics, mess, messy, sarah sze, tidy

By Courtney Naliboff

Hello from North Haven! As those who know me from college are well aware, I am an inveterate slob when left to my own devices. My personal hygiene is socially acceptable, but my life tends to accumulate around me in piles without another person reminding me, kindly or not, to take care of the stack […]

The Frozen Chosen

Raising a Jewish child on an island off the coast of Maine

Category Archives: Parenting

Passover and Easter Bring Out the Best in our Island Community

Island Preschool Builds Confidence with Outdoor Play

Independence or Efficiency? Those are the Choices with a Toddler in Tow.

At Knowledge Fair, hard work and creativity is on display

At town meeting, solving conflicts big and small

A Mitzvah for a Ladybug

Snow Blindness

Baby’s First Protest

Heritable Traits

Courtney Naliboff

Blogs

The Frozen Chosen

Waking up my inner rockstar for the summer

Journeys Over a Hot Stove

Nostimo Moussaka! Amazing!

Boomer Haiku

Remember saying, "I can't wait until I'm old enough to..."

Take a Breath

Sledge hammer government