One of the highlights of my 7-year-old son’s winter break was getting to visit his summer camp counselor. Cynthia, who directed the arts day camp that Nate attended in Cushing, Maine, is one of the kindest and most intuitive educators I have ever met. Some teachers just “get” your kid, and she is one of…
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Kids & Family
Parenting
I couldn’t have done it without my fellow moms
There’s been a group of us who have been walking together since our girls began kindergarten. They became fast friends, and so did we. And 15 years later,…
Parenting
Lessons learned when I was pregnant and fate dealt me a scary hand
I was home when the contractions began. It was early evening. I was 26 weeks pregnant. I thought it was nothing and told my hubby it was nothing, but took…
Hanukkah
Disney blew it with first Jewish princess
As a Sephardic Jew raising two small daughters in an American Jewish community whose default is almost always Ashkenazi, I was very excited to learn that…
Parenting
Why I don’t force my kids into a million extracurriculars
My 3-year-old son Harvey took a weekly soccer class this fall, and it was the cutest. He raced down the field after his ball, listened quietly and…
Hanukkah
Local pups nuzzle their way into Nice Jewish Dogs calendar
Rachel Einstein-Sim was hanging out at a San Francisco dog park with her labradoodle Elle when something caught her eye. It was an accessory on Dena…
Books
The story of Berkeley roundabout’s bear cubs becomes Hanukkah children’s book
When you drive through Marin Circle in Berkeley, your eyes are probably fixed on the traffic that streams through the busy roundabout. But if you look…
Bay Area
She wanted to discover her Jewish roots. She ended up finding her biological father.
Part two of our three-part PAST LIVES series on Jewish genealogical research. Part three will be available tomorrow. Kimberley Schroder was 15 years old…
Longreads
Who is a Jew? DNA home testing adds new wrinkle to age-old debate
Part one of our three-part PAST LIVES series on Jewish genealogical research. Parts two and three will be available next week. Jennifer Ortiz has a…