State tests vs. actual learning

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Melissa

Walking the labyrinth...

Here in New York, public school students started day 1 of the ELA (English Language Learning) New York State tests. Continue reading →

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My new art history treasure hunt series for kids!!

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Melissa

Should you tell your kids about art pieces such as this, or let them discover it on their own?

We all like art. Who doesn’t? People revel in it, weep over it, build museums to hold it, purchase it, frame it, argue over it. Art has the power to move people. Throughout history, artists have been both loved and hated by their societies. They have been both commissioned by kings to make specific pieces and, sometimes, they have been put to death for making inflammatory work.

As individuals, we know what we like. We have a firm understanding of what moves us. But how do we convey not only our own love, hate and understanding of art, but a society’s understanding, to our children? Continue reading →

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True Story: Single mother from Bushwick, Brooklyn, funds long-term trip without having to sell a kidney

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Melissa

Morocco (pic by MoroccoExcursions)

This summer I’ll be traveling for two months with my daughter to the following places:

  • Reykjavik, Iceland (three days)
  • Paris/Chartres/Annecy, France (nine days in the heart of the Latin Quarter)
  • Carouge/Geneva, Switzerland (five days)
  • Rimini/Venice/Rome, Italy (ten days)
  • Lisbon/Porto, Portugal (15 days)
  • Marrakech (and beyond!), Morocco (11 days)
  • Madrid, Spain (five days)

Sounds like a trip for either an heiress or a student backpacker, doesn’t it?  Continue reading →

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It’s happening!! Let the adventuring begin!!

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Melissa

When I was growing up, and well into my adulthood, I was told to set realistic goals and get my head out of the clouds. I tried to do this, I really did. I worked crappy jobs (even a terrible three-year stint in finance- ugh), had nannies help raise my daughter so that I could work as many hours as possible to pay for our apartment, and, for the most part, was miserable. Yet I rationalized it. It was just how it had to be. A single mother, I was told, has to make concessions. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so picky, girlfriends whispered. Perhaps I should marry a nice guy and settle down. Then perhaps I wouldn’t have to work so hard. Maybe I wanted too much, they suggested? What did I expect?

Everything, was my answer. I wanted absolutely everything. I wanted happiness, a job I loved, time with my kid, and, if I was going to be “with” someone, it would be for love- big love- the kind that made my friends green with envy.

Yet there I was, stuck in a life that I didn’t want. Something had to change. And fast. Continue reading →

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Welcome, 2012

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Melissa

Life is good.

No, really, it’s tremendous.

It’s been many months since I wrote a post, which I think speaks volumes about my priorities (busy in the real world!) and time (again, busy in the real world!). A brief look at all that’s happened:

Remember how I was starting a little editing/writing business? I’m happy to report that in 2011 I worked with great clients and look forward to maintaining these relationships and growing stronger in 2012. You can do me a favor by checking out my website and referring me to everyone you’ve ever met (or just posting my URL on Facebook and LinkedIn. I love working from home- if I like, I can work for 14 hours without stopping or can just as easily drop work entirely to go on a trip with my kid’s school. Having the relative freedom to create my own schedule is a gift, and not one I take for granted. Continue reading →

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Good Morning, America, let’s Occupy Wall Street!

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Melissa

Some good friends at Occupy Wall Street

A group of traveling, nomadic families that I’m a part of undertake a writing exercise each month. This month, we’re supposed to start a post with the words:

“Once upon a time, I woke up and realized The American Dream…”

Perfect topic in the current political climate, don’t you think? The American Dream? Are you serious? The expression makes me shudder, yet I suppose that there are many things happening around the world that make it a legitimate question. Without further ado, my post…

Once upon a time, I woke up and realized that the American Dream was something that a bunch of old (dead) white dudes made up. Fortunately, a new movement is springing up that is helping me to reestablish what the dream means to me. But first, a little backstory…

Continue reading →

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Tell me where to go!

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Melissa

Photo by devb

Although I live in one of the coolest cities in the world (New York City, represent!), lately I’ve been too inundated with work to leave my apartment very often. This doesn’t mean, however, that I haven’t been imagining being out and about. I’m in the process of finishing my next book, a New York middle grade fiction story called RAINER TAUPE AND THE GREAT GLASS TURBINE. The book follows a young boy deep below the city into the sewage and subway systems, which, as you might imagine, means that my creative process has me mentally meandering through various underground caverns and wondering what it must have been like for the people who built one of the largest urban systems in the world.

I’m at the point where I need to start getting out and about in the real world to see some of the places I’d like my characters to go. But where?

Here’s where you come in…

Tell me where to go! Continue reading →

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Khan Academy

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Melissa

Salman Khan making an educational video for khanacademy.org

While I have Khan Academy listed on the Global Curriculum page of this Break Out of Bushwick site, it wasn’t until recently my kid started using it. Today I’m here to tell you why you, too, should jump on the Khan bandwagon. Continue reading →

Posted in Anevay's education | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bronx Zoo Field trip with Still Waters in a Storm

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Melissa

I am happy to report that Anevay’s first week of school at her new homeschooling program, Still Waters in a Storm, was a happy success! The five students congregated in the mornings, chatted for a bit, wrote silently, read aloud, poured through science books, played math games, and, in addition to democratically self-directing the course of their days, chose to go to the Bronx Zoo for their weekly field trip.

Although I’ve always tried to attend my kid’s school field trips, what a difference it makes to go with five children rather than 48! Whereas I used to feel that packing a million kids like sardines onto a subway at rush hour meant that I should receive some sort of medal of honor, five kids is no big deal. The kids were polite and, rather than receiving frowns from other passengers, they elicited only smiles. Not a bad way to start the day.

I could write for days about the things we saw and learned at the zoo, but I’ll focus instead on what became the most talked about overarching themes (at least in my eyes): loss of biodiversity and the containment of wild animals. Continue reading →

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September 11- Reflections and Photos

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Melissa

Above is one of the most amazing pictures I’ve seen of the Twin Towers. It is one of 44 pictures collected by Seolbin Park for a show a few years ago entitled, ‘Twin Towers Once Stood’, at the SB D Gallery. Continue reading →

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