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A photograph of a hand-drawn sketch of the aerial view of Fort McKavett in 1876, depicting the layout of the buildings of the fort, including the barracks, stables, laundry, bakery, hospital, officer's quarters, and more.

A Trip in Time: Exploring the Great Frontier, Fort McKavett

By: Don M. Winn February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 history, Texasa trip in time, American Frontier History, Don M. Winn, Edwards chert, Edwards Plateau, Fort McKavett, forts, frontier, life as a western soldier, westward expansion

In January of 1977, I remember watching a docudrama mini-series with my dad called “Ten Who Dared.” Produced by BBC in association with Time-Life films and narrated by Anthony Quinn, it re-enacted 10 of the most challenging explorations of recorded history. The first episode recreated the voyage of Christopher Columbus, while three others included Captain…

Photo of the exhibit at the African Burial Ground National Monument depicting five mourners gathered around two coffins.

A Trip in Time: African Burial Ground National Monument

By: Don M. Winn February 5, 2019February 19, 2019 education, historyAfrican National Burial Ground Monument, author, Don M. Winn, museum visit, Trip in Time

Last October, my wife and I were profoundly moved and sobered by a day at the African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan. I offer this report to my readers, not to politicize or create polarity, but in the spirit of remembering an important (and often unrecognized) part of this nation’s history, and to…

The Electronic Babysitter: A Trojan Horse?

By: Don M. Winn January 16, 2019February 19, 2019 child development, childrens education, parentingelectronic devices, how to be balanced, kids, recommended, screen time, side effects

A mere two thousand years ago, Virgil wrote the Aeneid. Many of its concepts have meaning for us thousands of years later, but my focus today is the cautionary tale of the Trojan Horse. Briefly, the Greeks had been unsuccessfully striving to take the city of Troy for 10 long years. They devised a trick…

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

By: Don M. Winn October 2, 2018February 19, 2019 parentingbook review, Carolyn Gregoire, creativity, how to be more creative, Scott Barry Kaufman, teach kids to be creative, Wired to Create1 Comment

Poet Dorothy Parker once said, “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” Imagination and creativity are two topics that we discuss frequently here. Indeed, they are two of the greatest strengths of human nature and increase both our productivity and sense of fulfillment in life. But what if the slog of our daily…

Screen Time Vs. Creativity: Finding the Balance for Growing Children

By: Don M. Winn September 18, 2018November 9, 2018 parentingcell phones, creativity, iPads, iPhone, is it bad for little kids to use phones, kids, nurturing creativity, screen time

It’s hard to believe, but the iPad has only been part of our world for 8 years. And the iPhone has been around just a little longer—a mere 11 years. During that tiny slice of human history, people everywhere have become lit up by glowing screens. I’m no exception, and certainly no Luddite: I have…

Distraction vs. Happiness

By: Don M. Winn June 27, 2018November 9, 2018 parentingimmersion, mindfulness, multitasking, unhappiness3 Comments

How skilled are you at multitasking? Many of us think we’re pretty good at it, but truth be told, the human mind is not wired to multitask. What we call multitasking is actually a shifting of our focus from one task to another, like channel surfing on your TV. It’s simply not possible to receive…

Living with an Adult with Dyslexia

By: Don M. Winn September 19, 2017January 16, 2018 dyslexiadyslexia, help, marriage2 Comments

In my last blog, I talked about 5 hallmarks of being an adult with undiagnosed or misunderstood dyslexia. In my youth and well into adulthood, I knew I was dyslexic, but it was just a label, nothing more. I was ignorant about dyslexia and its many implications. When I met my wife and we got…

Dyslexia Articles

Click here to read some of my archived blogs and other published articles on dyslexia.

Chapter Books

The Sir Kaye the Boy Knight series by Don M. Winn is an award-winning four-book series for middle readers about the adventures of a twelve-year-old knight.

Picture Books

Don M. Winn is the author of 12 picture books designed to help parents instill great literacy habits in their children. Click here to learn more!

A child sounds out words in a book with the help of a teacher.

When Reading is Hard

By: Don M. Winn March 4, 2019

dyslexia, education, parentingcourage, despair, learning to read, reading, Reading Awareness Month, reframing, struggle, struggling reader

Author Kate Di Camillo said, “Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.” I couldn’t agree more. But the sad truth is that millions of children view reading as a chore (and avoid it as much as possible) because of learning…