Being a Good Neighbor
“Hey, mom, should I do the porch next door too?” asked my eldest. We were shoveling snow around our house after…
MorePosts tagged: Hospitality
Exploring Diversity with The Only Way to Make Bread
Bread is a diet staple. It comes in many forms, from rye loaves and buttermilk biscuits to focaccia and tortillas.…
MorePracticing Humility
Psychologists suggest that true humility is not about making oneself smaller to please others, but being able to share…
MoreAffirming Neurodiversity
I was recently invited to talk with a group of interns working in non-profit settings with kids. One noted that he had…
MoreThe Science of Gratitude
“Tank you” said my daughter’s two year old friend as I passed out cookies to everyone in our neighborhood…
MoreGuided Meditation: Housing Insecurity
Before the pandemic, churches in my city would take turns providing overnight accommodations for persons without…
MoreGuided Meditation: Immigration
A few years ago, our family collected household items to help Afghan refugees relocating to our hometown. A local…
MoreCommunity-Building
School buses are back on the streets and pumpkin spice lattes have returned to coffee shops. Children’s backpacks are…
MoreCounting Kindness with Kids
Countless families and children become refugees when extreme poverty or violence force them to leave their homes. The…
MoreExploring Diversity & Community with Luli and the Language of Tea
Children from several nations gather in a playroom while their parents learn English as a Second Language next door.…
MoreExploring the Goodness of Most People
Stranger danger lessons, active shooter drills - these experiences can teach children that others are to be feared.…
MoreBuilding a Strong Image of Children
Sometimes when we talk about children, we focus on what kids can’t do: they can’t walk yet, or they can’t reach…
MoreUsing Room Decorations to Support Spiritual Learning
The walls of my son’s pre-K classroom were covered with posters and children’s artwork. It was like walking into a…
MoreCreating A Culture Of Caring
In 3rd and 4th grade, I participated in an afterschool Kids Club organized by a neighborhood grandmother. I would walk…
MoreTalking about Ukraine with I Hate Borsch
Earlier this month, UNESCO added borsch, the national soup of Ukraine, to its list of endangered cultural heritage…
MoreReplacing Hurtful Words with Kindness
“Losers! Losers!” shouted a kid on the opposing soccer team. My fifth grader and her teammates were headed to the…
MoreSpiritual ‘projects’ with Operation Sisterhood
Bo’s summer plans completely change when her mother moves into a Harlem brownstone with her fiance and another…
MoreWelcoming Afghan Refugees
Many of the refugees airlifted to the U.S. out of Afghanistan last month are currently housed at Fort Lee in Virginia,…
MoreFamily Hospitality
“Look at what I made,” says my son, holding up to me his newest drawing. I respond, “Just one more second,…
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