Author: Pragmatic Mom

I am a mom with three kids and a husband living in Newton, MA. I graduated from Harvard University with a degree in HIstory and Science. I went to The Anderson School of Management at UCLA for my M.B.A.My background is entrepreneurial. I started several companies and currently serve on three boards including for my elementary school and preschool. I was a SAHM for nearly 8 years, and went back to work part-time just recently. Now I work almost full time as a WAHM for a consumer electronics start-up in Boston.My blog is my outlet to read children's literature which is my great secret pleasure, and to document any interesting and/or useful information that I acquire as I parent. My kids are quite active and pursue many interests collectively including soccer, gymnastics, rhythm gymnastics, karate (Chung Kook Doh), ice skating, Chinese, Spanish, flute, piano, T-ball, book clubs, and art. In my free time, I have been doing kickboxing, vinyasa yoga, zoomba, and I am trying to learn Spanish as well.Learning about SEO and how to blog has been a really fun enterprise albeit very time consuming. I started a bloggers group that meets weekly called www.coffeeshopbloggers.com. The S.O.S. on SEO. We share our collective frustrations and knowledge from blogging.Now you understand the Type A parent I am...hence the tagline my blogger friends came up for me for my blog:Type A Parenting for the Modern World
Best Multicultural Children's Books

50 Great Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read

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Every summer I stress out about what books to get for my kids that they will like but are also exposing them — as only books can do — to the wide world all around them both past, present and future. This summer, we are going to take a trip around the world by reading these multi-cultural books. What is great about this list is that it covers all the ages of my kids: from preschool through elementary school. I will be sneaky and check out these books for them and leave them strewn about the house for them to examine when they are bored. I will keep you posted on what books my kids actually liked because that is a whole ‘nother list! See you at the library!

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Family Reunion Vacations: Bermuda

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Bermuda would make a great family reunion vacation spot. What is not to like about Bermuda? Pink sand beaches. Friendly people. Crystal clear aquamarine blue ocean. Good food. The only downside is that it is a little pricey. Here are our favorite places to stay and eat, fun things that we enjoyed doing, and some recipes to make Bermudian specialties.

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China for Kids: Cultural Revolution, Books for Kids and More

China for Kids with Children’s Books, Culture and Design

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To cover the Culture Revolution, I selected Little Leap Forward, a chapter book about living during this time in China. Zen Shorts still remains one of my all time favorite picture books because is manages to combine Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tsu’s parables in a way that is accessible to kids and yet leave adult readers pondering Big Ideas. Finally, for everyone who has a Joy Luck Club story from their homeland, I hope that you all have had a chance to read this book that broke the ground for a new Asian American literature genre twenty-five years ago.

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Annie and the Wild Animals, picture book, picture books that build vocabulary

SAT Vocabulary Words from Annie and the Wild Animals

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The words for Week 11 are from the picture book, Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett. I noticed that in my son’s Kindergarten room, the teacher or maybe literacy specialist, mounts a special poster with the cover of book and the list of vocabulary words from the book. They have a time called “Text Talk” where they read the story and talk about the big words. The words stay up all year so the children can look at them. Sometimes, the words come home via a handout to the parents in my child’s backpack, but times are tough and I think they are conserving on paper so I copied these words from the posters and made up the sentences myself. I find that this post is very popular so I will continue it on my own as my child is moving on first grade next year.

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Best Old Fashioned Easy Readers

14 Wonderful Old Fashioned Easy Readers

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While not all these books are from when I was young, they all have an old fashioned innocent feel. In fact, my number one pick, Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin reminds me so much of my favorite Little Bear series in that it has a tight story line that is both silly and sweet. Easy readers are a rite of passage for both kids and parents. I remember searching for easy readers that were not mind numbingly boring as both parent and child are attached at the hip during this period of literacy.

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