PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
November 18, 2009
The popularity factor
My L. has always been a party-planner. While he’s not a fan of parties in general (too noisy, too many people, too much food), he likes to plan a party, especially when he can be in control of every single detail. But it’s been awhile since he’s shown any interest in planning any type of party, and we’ve been sad about this. Last year was a rough year for him, and he withdrew socially for most of it, and regressed quite a bit. This year is different, though, and we're keeping our fingers crossed, and watching it all unfold. [more]
- Tags: School Daze, Parenting Advice, Parenting, Moms, Dads, Children
November 17, 2009
Soap Box Tuesday
Years ago, when we lived in our old neighborhood, we visited the base school there as part of our kindergarten shopping for L. The school was nice, and clean, but large; still, we had an open mind. Part of the “plug” or gimmick, if you want to call it that (we have grown very wary of all the gimmicks so many of the magnet schools offer in our particular county—each one with a new and interesting spin on education and learning. [more]
- Tags: Teaching, School Daze, Parenting, No Child Gets Ahead, Education, Children
November 12, 2009
Eureka
By 10:00 on Wednesday, several friends had already e-mailed me the links to this story on a new study directed by the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. [more]
- Tags: Writing, Special Needs, School Daze, Parenting, Homework, Children
November 10, 2009
The pen is mightier...
People who know me would say that I am a very non-confrontational person, sometimes to a fault. I am a fixer-of-things, and a mediator. I prefer to look for the painless solutions, the ones you can reach with a minimal amount of emotional outpouring, or ugly exchanges, or hurt feelings. I also prefer to do battle on paper, and to outline my thoughts in writing before having a face-to-face discussion. [more]
- Tags: Teaching, Special Needs, School Daze, Parenting, Children
October 16, 2009
Doing the math
L.'s Fall Break ended last week and we're now a whole week into the second quarter of L.'s fourth grade year. I like to stand back and survey the big picture from time to time, and the start of a new quarter seems the perfect time to do that--coming on the heel of a good two-week break for L., and that brown envelope that came home--the one with the report card, and goal sheets; the one that always seems to reduce my child to black and white numbers on a page. [more]
- Tags: Special Needs, School Daze, Parenting, Early Learning, Children
October 7, 2009
Bag of Tricks: Bully Prevention Awareness
Did you know that this week is National Bullying Awareness Prevention week? Even if your child hasn't reported any bullying problems at school, I think this week is still a great time to talk with your children about friendship, kindness, and the importance of reporting bullying of any kind to teachers, staff and parents. So often we aren't motivated into action until something affects us personally; I'm guilty of this as a parent myself. [more]
October 1, 2009
So there
I was talking with a fellow teacher from another college recently and I mentioned to him how much I enjoy reading my students' essays and finding out more about who they are, and where they come from. I told him that the stories they sometimes share with me through their writing are sometimes deeply personal, and that I felt privileged to read them.
"Really?" He looked surprised and uncomfortable. He preferred, he told me, to think of his students in as anonymous terms as possible so he could concentrate on objectively teaching them the material.
"Really?" I countered. [more]
- Tags: Students, School Daze, Parenting Teaching, Children
September 30, 2009
Hunger
One of the things I really enjoy about L.'s school calendar, and the fact that he gets two weeks off for fall break and two weeks off in the spring, is that we get the chance to control the conditions of his day, and make sure he's coming close to eating three regular meals each day; or, if we can't manage that, at least we can send enough snacks his way to feel he's getting something to live on. When school is in session we're lucky if he gets one and a half "real" meals/day, and it takes its toll over time--turning him into a hyped-up, strung out mess. [more]
September 25, 2009
Unlikely albatross
The other day in the car L. mentioned that the year was going by really quickly.
"I can't wait for this year to be over!" he said.
"Is it that bad?" I asked.
"I just can't wait until the next year, and then the next, and the next. I can't wait until I'm eighteen!"
"Enjoy being nine while you can," the maternal voice of (40-year old) wisdom advised him from the front seat of the car.
He was quiet for a minute.
"You're right," he said. "I'll never get these years back once they're gone."
********** [more]
- Tags: Special Needs, School Daze, Parenting, Operation Bento Box, L., Children
