Okay, let’s move on to Christmas.
I used to laugh at folks who started Christmas shopping so early. That was BK, Before Kids. If there is going to be anything merry about that day, I need to start shopping.
A few items I will be checking out this year:
529 College Savings Plans — If you don’t already have one of these, now is a good time to get one. Parents can set aside money for college either through a pre-paid tuition plan or through a college investment plan. We have college investment plans for Simone and Nadia, and I feel no shame in hitting up grandparents and relatives for a donation at Christmastime. Toys break, and children outgrow clothes. Give the gift that gives for a lifetime.
All things Princess Tiana — Disney’s first black princess will make an appearance under the Christmas tree, whether I like it or not. Disney is releasing its new film, The Princess and the Frog, just before the holiday, and it will be difficult to escape the movie’s pull. There is even a Carol’s Daughter Magical Beauty Collection set that has caught my eye.
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan — In this global economy, it won’t hurt for a child to learn a little Chinese. Or at least play with a doll who speaks Chinese.
All things learning — There is a wealth of new learning devices on the market this year. Leap Frog won me over early, and I am sticking with that brand. Simone is old enough for the hand-held gaming system, and I will research it and see if it’s worth the money this year.
Books, books, books — I will continue to cash in on Simone and Nadia’s excitement for stories. We have one Leap Frog Tag Reading System, and it may just be time to add another to the household.
Piggy Bank — Speaking of learning, Simone and Nadia also should understand the value of money. The Money Savvy Pig piggy bank has four areas: save, spend, donate, and invest. This one has been on my radar for a while and may make a good gift this year.
When I was a kid, I was accused on more than one occasion of talking white. I was guilty of using proper English. I also know that I change the way I talk depending on who is in the room. For example, there is a lilt in my voice when I talk to men and women who are clearly my elders. It is a way of giving them respect. I learned recently this is called “code switching.”
Playwright and performer Sarah Jones and John McWhorter, a linguist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discuss sounding black and “blaccent,” a term McWhorter coined.
This is a wonderful piece on what people sound like and why. Take a listen.
Panda & Polar Bear
By Matthew J. Baek
This little book comes highly recommended by our local children’s librarian.
When a polar bear falls over the edge of an ice cliff, he finds panda, who assumes the mud-covered polar bear is just like him. The two play together and become friends. They are the same, until panda offers polar bear some bamboo. Polar bear is not impressed with the bamboo and instead takes a dive in the water and catches a fish. Panda immediately notices his friends “splotches” have washed away. No matter. Panda helps his friend get home, where they can be seen playing in the snow.
This book gets a high score from me because it takes the subject of differences and translates it into words and pictures the preschool set can understand. It also gains points for not being preachy. As for Simone and Nadia, there is no wrong when it comes to bears. They aren’t so cuddly at the zoo, but in a book bears will grab — and hold — their attention every time.
Michael Jackson
You know something is big these days when it is splashed all over the television screen. I have another measure: Simone. A few days after Michael Jackson died, she told me what the world already knew.
One day, when she is much, much older, she will ask me about him, and I will have to tell her the story of how I went to see his movie — This Is It — while she and her sister slept one night.
Free Your Mind: The Black Girls Guide To Interracial Dating popped into my email inbox last week. It is a movement of sorts, started by Fleace Weaver. All I can wonder is why I didn’t think of it first. But then again, I’m not so sure I would have attended such a seminar when I was single. Dating someone of another race wasn’t as taboo for me as it may be for others. I grew up on military bases and didn’t give race much thought as a child. My parents did not pressure me one way or the other. I think those are just two of the reasons I dated – and then married — someone of another race.
Black women lined up in L.A. to see what the men had to say. The tour is supposed to swing around my way at some point and I just may check in and see how it is received.
