I didn't really want to play Risk, but I felt a little trapped. My son brought it up a few nights ago and said, "It's Family Game Night! Let's play!" And then my wife said, "Great!" So I capitulated, groaning loudly. We started the game. It's not that I don't like Risk. When I was a kid, I loved it. My best friend in second (or maybe it was third) grade, Paul Squizzero, had the game and on Saturdays, I would go to his house, and we would stage rollicking battles on his kitchen table with his family while his mom made us bologna and ketchup sandwiches, which I absolutely loved. But … [Read more...]
About Adam Gertsacov
Homeschooling Schedule Issues: Too Ambitious vs. Too Lenient
Homeschooling is here indefinitely, and there's lots of logistics to consider. The biggest for many of us being how to make sure that the kids are learning, and that their homeschooling schedule meshes with our own home/work schedule. We attempted to have our 11-year-old son follow an academic schedule of sorts at the start. That worked a little, but there was so much crying and whining and "NO, I can't possibly use THAT pencil!" that I'm not sure how we are going to survive. Here was our original homeschooling schedule, the idea was for 25-minute segments with 15 minutes for resting. It … [Read more...]
I Want My Son to Know Judaism but I’m Not Sure I Believe Anymore
With Passover beginning tomorrow night, I've been reflecting of late on my hard relationship with Judaism. On one hand, my identity is very much as a Jew, at least culturally. I had a bar mitzvah. I've been to Israel. I can read Hebrew (although my understanding is limited). I went to a Hebrew high school, and even taught there for two years. I know the blessings by heart, or mostly. I have Passover Seders in my house, we occasionally have Shabbat, and I can "Oy vey" and "Nu, so ..." with the best of them. I married a Jewish woman, and we stepped on the glass. And guilt? Do I know about … [Read more...]
My Days as Toddler Dad are Gone Forever
I was waiting in line at Trader Joe's when I had deja vu and an epiphany. I was by myself, having just dropped my son off at school. The guy in line in front of me was with his 2-year-son. The kid was still learning to talk well and use his words, still learning to walk like an expert -- a cutie in a parka, looking around at the world. As kids often are, the boy was both interested and scared of me. As the dad chatted with the clerk, he kept half an eye on his child who was looking at me, looking away, hiding behind his dad, coming back out. I made faces at the boy. A familiar dance for … [Read more...]
Worst Dad Ever? Ask My Son
My son's room is a perpetual mess. Hey, he's 7, I don't blame him. My office is a mess, too. And I'm 7.29 times older than he is! But last week, when I could no longer find the covers on his bed because of the layers of stuff strewn across it, I felt enough was enough. (My office is almost at that point, but not quite.) I resolved that we had to clean it up. So we spent his pre-bedtime activities (usually spent reading) by clearing his bed, putting toys away, throwing away broken toys, shoving Legos into boxes. We are in frenzied activity mode .. well, I was. I was pulling everything off … [Read more...]