More than just a coloring book.
I'm not a mom. At this moment, I don't ever envision myself as such. But I have friends who are moms, or who will become moms soon, or who want to be moms later and I only think of good things for them. Thankfully, I can say that to their face too - I'm lucky to only have friends who would make good parents.
I'm also a fan of mommy blogs - not all, just some. Dooce, being the one that comes to mind first, but also Letters from the End Consumer, and Angry Chicken. The blogs have good writing, cool photos, and quirky commentary on every day life that makes all the mundane stuff seem much more exciting. They also sometimes have really cool ideas to modify for the classroom.
This for instance, is a complete immersion into the world of the rainforest using really simple things. I especially love the terrarium and labeling items that come from the rainforest. Open Court's 5th grade curriculum has a rainforest unit, but with all the environmental activist activities in schools nearly every grade will have something about the rainforest.
Which, really, is what 21st century education should be about: immersion to engage all the senses, experience to make it meaningful, and productivity to use knowledge and skills learned.
By the way, hint as to how to know the mommy blog is a good one: it has a subtle title, like the ones above. There's something about an obvious title like "Mommy Knows Best" that just turns me off from reading it, even if it was meant to be sarcastic.
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