Winter is just around the corner, and with winter comes an inordinate amount of darkness.  Until late December the days will continue to get shorter, the sun will ride lower in the sky, and the temptation to go into hibernation will afflict us all.

School’s On!  While doing a little research about the start of the school year I ran across an article in the Montreal Gazette (online version) with the title: HELP KIDS AVOID LOUSY START AT SCHOOL.

That title got me interested.  I mean, who wants to have their children start school and have it be a lousy experience!  I wondered if the article would address such things as academic demands, the tendency for kids to become too involved in too many extracurricular activities, the challenges of relationships in high school, the unfortunate reality of bullying that occurs far too often in our schools, and family problems at home that make performance at school difficult for kids.