I'm over at the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog talking about diversity today.
For our family, diversity is about blending our two cultures. When Neville and I fell in love, I didn't realize how easy it would be to blend certain aspects of our cultures while at the same time be so difficult to blend others. Finding balance or even something that remotely looks like balance takes a ton of work.
Come on over and check out my latest post on being an Insider and an Outsider.
On Sunday night, I attended a special event for Silicon Valley Mom's Group. Yes, I've said it before and I'll say it again, SV Moms is the BEST community to be included in (and no, it isn't just because of the fun events and the awesome swag). This event was put on by LeapFrog.
Except for one request to get us to check out their new community site, there was no product pushing. Sure, LeapFrog had a slew of products in the back of room - everything from Fridge Farm to Leapsters to Tag Reading System to the brand new Didj. But that wasn't the focus of the night. LeapFrog recognized that they way to reach moms (and we all know we control the spending in nearly every household) was to SHOW us WHY LeapFrog CARES about EDUCATION.
Instead, LeapFrog invited Dr. Anne Cunnigham lead a discussion on the importance of reading. I twittered some of the big points of the night, but the gist of the talk was about exposing your child to rich language to improve their reading skills. What that means for pre-K kids and younger is reading at least 30 minutes a day with a variety of books. And if you're thinking "there is no way my three year old will still for 30 minutes." No worries. Dr. Cunnigham suggested books on CD in the car or background at home, reading to them while the kids play, and getting older kids to read to the younger kids (double whammy, people!). If you have older kids, read to your kids one or two grade-levels ahead of them. That way, they continue to get exposed to new words.
We had a great discussion talking about everything from kids who started reading early, to bilingual kids who seem to be falling behind their single-language friends (don't worry, they will catch up), to the importance of the 3rd grade. I didn't even know the 3rd grade was important. But apparently (and this was backed-up by the two 3rd grade teachers in the room), Third Grade is when reading curriculum moves away from phonics and focuses on vocabulary. Children who haven't been exposed to a diverse vocabulary can easily fall behind. As early as the fourth grade, children basically decide if they will be lifeline readers based on their confidence level in reading. So the more you expose your kids to rich vocabulary, the better readers they will become.
And this is where LeapFrog comes into play. Without ever pushing a product down our throats, we learned about the importance of reading. LeapFrog is committed to creating products that challenge kids to read in a fun, interactive way. For me, the night wasn't about the products. It wasn't about LeapFrog. It was about getting a group of moms together to discuss a topic that is important to us (educating our children)... and just so happens to be important to LeapFrog.
At the end of the discussion, LeapFrog passed out goody bags for all the moms with toys appropriate to the ages of our children. How cool is that? I asked more questions about products and was more willing to give my opinion on products we already owned (like the fab Word Whammer) because I knew that the night wasn't about selling us on LeapFrog. It was about showing us LeapFrog's passion for getting children exposed to reading skills.
When I arrived home, I was giddy with excitement about the new LeapFrog toys that "Santa" will be bringing to our house this year. I know that Darius is going to love them. Now if only I can hold out until then. We were a LeapFrog family before this event, but we are for sure die-hard supporters now.
Cross-Posted from the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog...
Bay Area Commuters, can we chat for a minute? I’ve noticed that since the majority of you have returned from summer vacation you’ve forgotten a thing or two about commuting on the worst freeways in California. I’m not holding it against you that you weren’t around with me this summer. In fact, summer is my favorite time of the school year. Less cars, less traffic, less time to commute to work. But now that we are all back to school, let’s review how to be a considerate commuter.
The Art of Merging
On-coming Commuters, you cannot expect to merge when you are going 25 miles an hour on a freeway with a 65mph speed limit. Get up to speed as quick as you can. You scare the sh*t out of us drivers already on the road. And while we are at it, don’t be trying to cut all the way to the front of the lane by driving on the side of the road. It is unsafe, illegal, and annoying.
Drivers on the Road, please give those who are merging onto the freeway a little room. Really, it is not a race. You don’t have to snub the competition. Give yourself some good karma and let another car in. But you don’t have to let every single car in. If you let five cars in a row in front of you, you will actually get bad karma from all the drivers who haven’t moved behind you.
The Carpool Lane
Drivers of the Carpool Lane, last time I checked you were still bound by the same speed limit laws. So slow down a little. I know the excitement you feel when getting to pass all those suckers other drivers who don’t have a carpool buddy. But riding on my a$$ when I am going the speed limit is excessive. With power comes responsibility, so take a chill pill and don’t let the power of the carpool lane get to you.
Keep it Clean
Real people with real feelings are driving behind the wheel. These people are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Yes, you may think that they are all royal idiots but really you don't have to scream, curse, give the birdie or embody the a$$hole you are calling the other driver. Take a deep breath, listen to the smooth jazz station, put some aromatherapy bath salts in your car.
And if you truly can't stop from being the terror on the freeway... take the train.
Original Post for the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog.
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