FamilyEducation Blogs


September 2009 Archive

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 29, 2009

Paper munché

Last week I mentioned that while T. and I were engaged in our Thumbelina diorama making, L. set to work drawing dozens of clone troopers on a long stretch of easel paper. This was one project we could undertake, at least. In the past few weeks he’s had a handful of very ambitious ideas—including construction of a life-sized battle droid. [more]

September 28, 2009

Pure indulgence

This past weekend was the perfect weekend in so many ways--filled with mundane yet soul-pleasing things: lots of playground time on Saturday with a neighborhood friend, then a trip to Toys R Us so L. could take all his hard saved money and purchase this coveted item, pancakes on Sunday, a walk in the park, with soggy fall leaves underfoot. [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]

September 24, 2009

Playground wisdom

There must be something in the air. Maybe it's the sudden return of the heat and humidity from the summer, maybe it's the constant rain, maybe people are just having a tough week. Yesterday I was crossing campus and passed two female students engaged in an all-out argument--name slinging, disparaging comments and everything. One of the girl's friends stood behind her, arms crossed, ready to jump into the verbal fray.
September 23, 2009

Diorama dreaming

I have a thing about shoebox dioramas. You know, those charming shoeboxes filled with miniature scenes? When I was in elementary school I remember making lots of dioramas. I loved the challenge of coming up with creative ways to make my shoebox scene come alive. Sadly, I think, dioramas have fallen by the wayside in elementary school curriculum--L. [more]

September 22, 2009

All things toothsome

T.'s loose tooth is still hanging in there--practically by a thread. Since its appearance we have had many conversations about teeth, and the tooth fairy, and I used her loose tooth as a chance to pull out my own tooth-related anecdotes from when I was a girl, because that's part of your job as a parent, isn't it? To pass onto your children those stories from your own childhood, even if they make them squirm? [more]

September 21, 2009

Discharged

If you look to the right of this column, at the sidebar where my links are housed, you'll see one there for CAPPS, an extensive and valuable resource for anyone dealing with craniosynostosis and also plagiocephaly. Ironically, I didn't use the resource much until after my own daughter had undergone surgery to correct her metopic craniosynostosis.
September 18, 2009

Spiral bound

In anticipation of the weekend, and since I wrote about kitchen legacies, and food memories this week, I decided to organize my cookbook collection. I was also prompted to do this because our new kitten Annie, who has definitely found her mojo now that she's been on antibiotics and her cold has cleared up, has decided her favorite resting spot while we're out of the house during the day is right on top of my cookbooks. [more]

September 17, 2009

IEP take two

Two weeks ago we bid farewell to T.'s speech therapist extraordinaire, and last week I sat down with T.'s new speech teacher and her homeroom teacher and signed numerous documents setting up an IEP for her to receive speech therapy at school. It was seamless transition, really, from private therapy to free services at school. There had been no haggling over whether or not she could even receive speech at school; they accepted her private therapy evaluation without a second thought, and a few e-mails later we got the paperwork rolling. [more]

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