More Family Lessons

Its been two years: the grandkids are growing, and there is a new addition to the family: Ravishing Rhea! Nana and Papa are now blessed to witness (and occasionally assist with) the growth and development of six grandkids: three boys, and three girls. But the world is also changing: there are new challenges, as families must cope with increased financial pressures, juggling work and school schedules, and even temporary separations, not to mention dealing with the normal difficulties experienced by young people as they are growing up. In addition to playing sports, video games, celebrating birthdays, participating in Spelling Bees, making movies, and doing homework, the kids keep Papa and Nana busy trying to answer questions such as, What kind of pet should I get?; How long does the moon stay full?; Are all ladybugs girls?; How come we dont get presents for all the Twelve Days of Christmas? and of course, Are vampires real? Whether theyre walking to the park, building special projects for school, preparing for Halloween, or revising their Christmas lists for the sixth time, the kids both grow and learn, as well as help the adults around them to appreciate and celebrate the joy, wonder, and beauty of children?living in a new, and exciting world.

It's three years later, and the grandkids are growing... but so are the life challenges they face! Some of them are dealing with the additional issues created by attending junior high and high school. They're playing football and basketball; participating in cheerleading competitions; building castles and dioramas for school projects; attending birthday parties and swim parties; making and revising their Christmas Lists; and generally keeping their parents and grandparents busy, with all of their activities and interests. There are more and more things they need to learn how to do, such as multiplication and division; how to ride a skateboard, or a bike; how to bake cookies; how to swim without touching the bottom of the pool; how to play the guitar; how to compute the tip to leave at a restaurant; how to download games and apps to a new mobile device; and much more. The questions they pose for Papa and Nana are getting more complex, too. Beginning with simpler questions like "Do whales eat people?"; "Can vampires come in the house if they're not invited?"; and "Is that a boy fish, or a girl fish?" they progress to more complex inquiries, such as, "Can animals talk?"; "Do other planets have days, like we do?"; "Do you believe in global warming?"; "What's it like to be an adult?"; "What do you think about the Big Bang?"; and "Do you believe in God?" Whether they're going to the Zoo; hosting a video game party; deciding which music video to watch first; visiting Papa at work; trying to cross a muddy path in the Nature Walk; reading a popular series of books; posting pictures on social media websites; dancing a Zumba workout; or making a Father's Day card, the activities and mishaps recounted in this book may help you to better appreciate the joy, wonder, and beauty of young people-and reinforce your belief in the ultimate and indispensable value of FAMILY.

In the final installment of a quadrilogy, Steven Propp once again invites others to spend a few moments with his family to not only appreciate the difficulties of being young, but also realize the crucial importance of family values, learning together, and loving each other unconditionally—especially in today’s ever-changing times. It’s been five years and the Propps’ six grandchildren are still going to school, playing sports and cheerleading, taking nature walks, playing card games, eagerly awaiting the release of blockbuster movies, and asking for help with homework. Now as they move onto middle and high school and even college, there are also new experiences that include learning how to drive, visiting a farmer’s market, listening to classical music, and even dealing with mice in the house! The questions they pose to their grandparents are becoming more complex, even controversial, as they ask about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, IQ tests, illegal drugs, the dangers of smoking and vaping, protests by prominent athletes, and the issues of race, ethnicity, genetics, and multiculturalism. Concluding Family Lessons completes the insightful journey into the lives of six grandchildren and their grandparents as they face challenging issues together.

Represents a variety of families, some big and some small, some with only one parent and some with two moms or dads, some quiet and some noisy, but all alike in some ways and special no matter what.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A special 25th anniversary edition of the beloved book that has changed millions of lives with the story of an unforgettable friendship, the timeless wisdom of older generations, and healing lessons on loss and grief—featuring a new afterword by the author “A wonderful book, a story of the heart told by a writer with soul.”—Los Angeles Times “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was his college professor Morrie Schwartz. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn’t you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man’s life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live. “The truth is, Mitch,” he said, “once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie’s lasting gift with the world.

The object of this little volume is to lead children of the second and third grades into the habit of speaking and writing the English language correctly. To accomplish this, the author has prepared a drill book which emphasizes the reproduction of many of the short stories current in our literature, and also introduces practice exercises to familiarize the pupils with correct forms. Beginning with simple, graduated exercises, they are continued fill a general principle is inductively reached. It is assumed that the child will learn to speak and write correctly, by imitation, if the proper forms are presented to him. Accordingly much attention is given in this book to expressions frequently misused, as for example, troublesome verb forms. The lessons are designed, as well, to awaken and sustain children’s interest in natural objects, and to put them in sympathetic relations with living things. The author has written from the standpoint of the child, and in language that the child can readily comprehend.

What is a family? Once, it was said to be a father, mother, boy, girl, cat and dog living in a house with a garden. But as times have changed, families have changed too, and now there are almost as many kinds of families as colours of the rainbow - from a mum and dad or single parent to two mums or two dads, from a mixed-race family to children with different mums and dads, to families with a disabled member. Mary Hoffman takes a look through children's eyes at the wide varieties of family life: from homes, food, ways of celebrating, schools and holidays to getting around, jobs and housework, from extended families, languages and hobbies to pets and family trees - and she concludes that, for most people, their own family is the best one of all! With Ros Asquith's delightful pictures, this book takes a fresh, optimistic look at families of today.

An advocate and son of same-gender parents recounts his famed address to the Iowa House of Representatives on civil unions, and describes his positive experiences of growing up in an alternative family in spite of prejudice.