Fostering curiosity in kids (and their parents) since 2011

Posts from the ‘Questions’ category

On an average day, my daughter’s question-to-declarative sentence ratio clocks in at a healthy 5:1. In this section of the blog, I explore what happens when instead of saying “I don’t know,” I say “Let’s find out!”

header for the Caterpickles bookshop

Introducing the Caterpickles Bookstore and a word about affiliate links on Caterpickles

As this pandemic rages on, it’s come to my attention that while Amazon will be fine, independent booksellers are suffering. That’s why I decided to become a Bookshop.org affiliate. Starting today, my book reviews may contain affiliate links to Bookshop.org, an online bookstore that provides financial support to independent bookstores nationwide. I’ve also added a new Caterpickles Bookstore Learn more about Bookshop.org, affiliate links on Caterpickles, and the new Caterpickles Bookstore.

What are we going to do about Halloween?

Last week our local public health office released official guidance for how to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 during Halloween and Día de Los Muertos celebrations. I wanted to share it with you here, in case your family is also trying to figure out what those celebrations will look like this year.

My OcTBR Reading Challenge

Eighty-seven years ago, I decided that my resolution for 2020 would be to deal with my 45-book high Currently Reading tower. Good news? I’ve gotten the pile down to a mere 28 books. Bad news? It’s October. Time to kick it into high gear. Enter the #OcTBRChallenge.

My (@shalahowell) tweet from August 21: "There's a squirrel in my backyard frantically digging a hole to stash an emergency horde of nuts and all I can think is "Same Dude Same"

What a difference air quality makes

The wildfires in Northern California have sent a ton of smoke our way this week. While talking to my uncle this week, I found myself unable to explain adequately how weird the light has been as a result. Fortunately, my habit of taking multiple pictures of every flower I manage to grow means that I have a couple of photos that capture it.

What are we going to do about school?

There are as many opinions on when and how to reopen schools as there are people in the discussion. How can parents parse all of this competing information to figure out the least imperfect option for their families when it comes to sending their kids to school this fall?