Obama Wants Shorter Summer Breaks for Students

Did your kids spend their summer on the beach, at the pool, or just hunting for bugs in their backyard?  That free time might be endangered.  President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are advocating for longer school days and a move toward a “balanced” or year round calendar for school kids.

Obama won the mock election in my kids’ school by a landslide.  I wonder if those votes would have been different if the kids knew he had it in for summer break.

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Does Your Kid Have What It Takes?

. . . to sail the open seas, ripping sharks to shreds with his bare teeth? Well this kid does and he’s entered to win a $500 travel card from Best Western to help him explore the world and battle other land and water predators. You can win the travel card too! Continue reading »

Some Babies Know How to Beach Party

Does yours? If so, break out the tiki torches and show off their moves on The Babble Playground’s August Photo Contest: Water Babies. Just for showing us your good time baby, you could win some vacation help from Best Western. Continue reading »

Kickin’ it Baby Style

Does your baby know how to hang on the beach like this kid? If so, snap a picture and show it to us over on The Babble Playground. Our August Photo Contest: Water Babies is well underway and we want you to represent! The best pic winner will likely swoon (as will their happy family) as they accept the grand prize Continue reading »

It’s a Cool, Pool Party

Have you checked out the August Photo Contest: Water Babies over at The Babble Playground? This is what you’re missing. Continue reading »

Americans and Their Family Vacation Issues

Kim Brooks recently wrote an essay — published right here on Babble.com — arguing that Europeans know how to take family vacations, while Americans still don’t have a clue. Her piece focused on the fact that in most European countries, employers automatically give their employees four — sometimes as much as five — weeks of vacation, which explains why so many people in the U.K., France, Hungary and other non-U.S. countries take off the entire month of August to revel in the pleasures of ambling summer days spent with family.

I think Kim is absolutely right. The fact that many companies here in the U.S. view vacation time as a luxury — often parceling out a mere week’s worth of days off until an employee has years of seniority under his or her belt — is wrong. But I think that’s only one part of what makes it so hard for many people in this country to enjoy family vacation time. It’s not just that we don’t get the time. It’s that we don’t know how to spend it.

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Taking a Nanny on Vacation: Smart or Tacky?

I have never taken a nanny on vacation. To my knowledge, my friends have never taken a nanny on vacation. But I have heard stories — rumors? urban myths? — about people who do this. Part of me has to admit it’s a pretty brilliant idea. But the other part thinks it’s one of the most pretentious, self-involved things a parent can do.

The genius of the nannycation is pretty obvious. Someone is there, 24/7, to deal with your kids when they’re fighting over where to go mini-golfing, insisting on splashing everyone within a 10-mile radius of the hotel swimming pool or begging for something to eat when you just want to bury yourself in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” If you and your spouse or significant other want to have a nice dinner alone one night? Done. If you want someone else to con the little buggers into brushing their teeth and going to bed while you enjoy peace, quite and  a glass of wine? All set.

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Stumped Over the End-of-School Teacher Gift?

I had a big uh oh moment this morning around 8:30. My daughter was chattering away about the last day of school when it hit me: it’s the last day of school! And I didn’t buy her teacher a thing!

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And I LIKE this teacher. So I called a woman who’s always got my back. She was maid of honor at my wedding. Oh, yeah, and she’s a third grade teacher.

And here, Babble readers, is the word on what to buy, straight from the teacher’s mouth: Continue reading »

Clerical Error May Add 34 Days to School Year

Dreading summer break? Quick, pack up the kids and move to Chino Hills, Calif.

A clerical error may send students to Rolling Ridge Elementary in Chino Hills and Dickson Elementary in Chino for an extra thirty-four days this year. That choir of angels? Really their parents singing “hallelujah.” We think that would drown out the groans from the kids, don’t you? Continue reading »

Keep Them Learning Over the Summer

One thing parents and teachers worry about when it comes to summer vacation is the loss of skills most kids experience when they aren’t in school practicing every day.  Many teachers spend a good amount of time in the fall reviewing lost skills that students had mastered at the end of the previous year.

If this is a concern of yours, Continue reading »