Staying Cool in the Heat
Apparently the hot temperatures didn't get the memo that summer is wrapping up -- keep cool with these tips.

What’s New This Week 👩🍳
Summer Cooking Tips & Recipes for Cool, Kid-Friendly Meals: Summertime cooking is all about keeping things cool and simple — think refreshing salads, quick grilling outside, and even ready-made shortcuts.
No-Stress Summer Dinners That Kids Can Help Make: Cooking with your kids can be a great experience — especially when you plan ahead with these smart summertime recipes.
Seoul, Korea With Kids: Something the U.S. currently has in common with South Korea? The raging temperatures. Check out the route and activities our resident mom Jenn recommends from her own visit to Seoul, Korea, while dodging the heat.
What We’re Reading This Week 📖
Smoke Prompts Air Quality Alerts From Central Canada to the Northeastern U.S.: With climate disasters rising, poor air quality is affecting millions—especially children who are more vulnerable to respiratory issues. Understand where the immediate health risks are and when to consider limiting outdoor activities for your kids.
How a Michigan Program That Gives New Mothers Cash Could Be a Model for Rest of US: U.S. News explores a new bipartisan program in Michigan that aims to address the high costs of parenting by giving mothers thousands of dollars in cash with no strings attached.
Public Schools Try to Sell Themselves As More Students Use Vouchers: A decline in the number of babies being born and a boom in private school vouchers have combined to create an enrollment crisis for public education. Schools are funded on a per-student basis. As enrollment declines, funding plummets and enrichment programs are cut, driving even more families to withdraw.
Reading scores in NYC improve following literacy overhaul: New literacy strategies are based on data-driven findings and include a strong emphasis on phonics, vocabulary and comprehension. It move away from disproven methods, such as guessing at words from context clues an pictures (dominant in city classrooms for decades). Um, duh.
Birth Rate Soars in Taiwan’s Tech Zone: Since I’m in Taiwan this week, here’s some Taiwan news. Taiwan is set to become a super-aged society, with a youth population of only 11.9% of the total population. But Guanxin Village in Hsinchu Science Park (HSP), Taiwan’s Silicon Valley, has a youth population of 29%. The general sense is that birth rates around HSP are high because of good income, welfare and prospects. HSP is also home to TSMC which employs 90% of the residents and has benefited from the AI boom.
How We’re Feeling This Week:
Tomorrow marks the end of our two-week stay in Taipei. Welp. But I’m also looking forward to seeing my husband, sleeping in our bed, making breakfast and dinners (and not eating out or ordering in), and using a washer/dryer instead of hand-washing clothes. (Btw, these Tide travel packets for sink laundry were a life saver!) Look out for an article coming soon on our Taipei summer camp experience.
Last but not least, a Koala walking backwards!
Signing off,
Your Team at MomBrains