I write about children's literacy, learning disabilities, early childhood development, and the experience of raising young children.
The Best Art Supplies, Sensory Toys, and Activities to Help Kids Learn to Write
New York Magazine, September 2026
Like learning to read, learning to write isn’t natural; it’s a cultural invention. Young children need to be explicitly taught how to form letters, spell words (moving from writing phonetically to conventional spelling), and assemble complete sentences.
The Best Books, Games, and Activities to Help Kids Learn to Read
New York Magazine, August 2026
I’m an early childhood literacy and learning specialist, and the question I’m asked most by parents of young children is: how do we raise a strong reader?
The School Supplies Teachers Buy for Their Own Kids
New York Magazine, August 2026
As the new school year begins, it’s time to take stock of sneakers and lunch boxes, backpacks and Trapper Keepers (I wish). Even for the children whose feet haven’t grown much or who have, miraculously, made it through a summer without losing a water bottle, it’s fun to do a little shopping and have a fresh beginning for the return to school.
How to Avoid Giving Kids a Phone at Restaurants
New York Magazine, April 2026
Going out is good for children. It provides them with opportunities to code switch, to learn how to be in a variety of novel social situations. Yet the picture we paint in our head about an outing is usually quite different from the reality: feverishly scanning the menu while your kid dumps a drink in their lap, falls off a chair, or asks the server if they’re having a baby. (True story, and, no, she wasn’t.)
What Teachers Are Getting Their Own Kids for the Holidays
New York Magazine, December 2025
Every holiday season, friends seek me out for gift recommendations, toys and books that have educational value but are not outright educational. In that spirit, I’ve decided to go big and ask all the teachers in my life for ideas about gifts that will bring both joy and creative growth: What do they plan to give their children this year?