Categories
Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
Uranus and Neptune may be rocky…but who cares?
The evidence that Uranus and Neptune must be icy is “all indirect, it’s all circumstantial,” says Jonathan Fortney, a planetary astrophysicist at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz. “This was always in the back of people’s minds: that the planets could be more complicated.” https://www.science.org/content/article/uranus-and-neptune-may-not-be-ice-giants-after-all But all the claims are based on computer models, […]
The Broken Valley: The Hidden German Civil War of the American Revolution
This is the third of a series of posts introducing the five-part historical fiction novel Unbowed, which will be published in November 2026. All five parts are based on true events and real people – my ancestors. The first post described the outcome of the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and one of its survivors, […]
Mind your own business!
If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be? As my Anglo-Irish immigrant ancestor Thomas Bushell wrote in his Will and Testament: “Live and let live.” Far too many people want to know what’s happening in other people’s bedrooms. You do want you want to do, and leave […]
Top Posts & Pages
-
copyright disclaimer
© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Category Archives: parenting
Taking Leave: 2015 in review
Taking Leave: 2015 in Review! Continue reading
Posted in book, book signing, child abuse, child safety, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, Paternity leave, Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon, child care, child-raising, fatherhood, Japan, Paternity leave, writing
Leave a comment
Summer Festival: Beat your own drum!
Four months ago, we gave away our long-used/abused baby barriers. Yesterday, we helped our children celebrate their nursery school’s summer festival. Time flies… Once again, my wife volunteered to be a member of the Ai-go-kai (愛護会, literally “love protection association,” … Continue reading
Posted in education, festivals, Japan, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, school, summertime
Tagged Anpan, child care, child education, child-raising, festivals, nursery school
Leave a comment
“International” kindergarten open day
Today we went to “open day” at a nearby “international kindergarten,” where our oldest daughter has gone for two years to Saturday classes. The previous week, our youngest daughter joined the four-hour class for the first time, but we were … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, parenting, school
Tagged English education, internationalization, kindergarten, language learning, wakon yosai
Leave a comment
