Browsed by
Tag: school

The Power of a Mother’s Story

The Power of a Mother’s Story

My mother accompanied me to freshmen orientation. When we dropped into the Honors Department office, everyone turned and warmly welcomed her by name. They knew her because she was a student at the university. My mother and I had a two year overlap in our undergraduate education. She would sometimes swing by my apartment to drop something off on her way home or I would go visit her in the photo studio where she spent a lot of time working…

Read More Read More

Snowy Monday Mornings

Snowy Monday Mornings

Snowy Monday mornings make me long for summer – when children sleep in and no one cries about their clothes. That peaceful reign is distant from today’s anarchy. Bodies collide in hallways, shoes are wrestled onto unwilling feet, both food and clothing negotiations culminate in hysteria. We spill into the garage a cacophony of nagging and whining. Grievances abound until we reach the school’s circle drive – a place of injustice amnesia. Ill will erased, little limbs clamber for hugs,…

Read More Read More

1st Day of School, Etcetera

1st Day of School, Etcetera

This year, the first day of school was completely bananas. There was such an overload of emotions that I was pretty much numb. (And for most of the day Noel literally was numb.) But, let’s back up a minute. The Tuesday before school started, Noel had an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon. We knew there was a strong possibility that his arm would need to be reset since the bones didn’t look like they matched up in the x-rays from…

Read More Read More

Commencement

Commencement

Nothing could make a parent more proud than to see their child work hard and finally graduate . . . from kindergarten. I personally think kindergarten graduation is a little silly, but as a parent, I have to admit it was both adorable and hilarious to see the kids in their cardboard graduation “caps” and see the slideshow of what they want to be when they grow up. (Cooper is going to be a firefighter.) Cooper really has worked hard…

Read More Read More

First Week of School

First Week of School

Whenever the word “kindergarten” was mentioned over the summer, Cooper would light up and I would try not to hyperventilate. Back in the spring, we met with the special ed team from the preschool and the elementary school to talk about his transition. After the meeting, the two teams collaborated to make him a book that would hopefully help him adjust easier to his new school. I also took Cooper on a tour of the school and then during the…

Read More Read More

Second First Day of Preschool

Second First Day of Preschool

I think preschool is really the only “grade” you don’t have to be embarrassed about doing more than once.  If anything, attending multiple years is bragworthy amongst the parents which makes for amusing chit-chat during pick-up and drop-off. This year Cooper is at a new school, the one within walking distance of our house. It’s definitely a different crowd from last year as we’ve swapped parents smoking in their cars for parents that camped out overnight to get their kids…

Read More Read More

A Blustery Halloween

A Blustery Halloween

We kicked off Halloween with Cooper’s first ever school Halloween Party. I was slightly appalled at how much sugar the kids got at the party and realized that I may become that mom who is suggesting we have carrot sticks for the kids to eat. I was, however, the only mom at the party that dressed up so I could still potentially be in the running for coolest mom, right? Before heading home we picked up a few items at…

Read More Read More

First Day of School

First Day of School

I never thought I would be one of those moms that would get teary-eyed when their kid started school. I could just blame it on how fast things moved when Cooper was offered an opportunity to go to preschool, but truthfully I’ve been on a downward emotional spiral ever since Noel found a way to melt my snow queen heart and it’s only gotten exponentially worse with the arrival of my children. Cooper had so much fun picking out a…

Read More Read More

Stickers

Stickers

When I was in 7th grade I had a science teacher that decided grades were stupid, irrelevant, and unnecessary. Instead of grading our assignments, she would give us stickers for satisfactorily completing them. As students, we were concerned. We had already spent seven years investing ourselves in the letter grade system and we weren’t sure how stickers would translate to our report card. Despite how juvenile her mockery of good education seemed, we were still barely in the stage of…

Read More Read More

When I Grow Up

When I Grow Up

Even though I went through 5 1/2 years of school to get a degree and a teaching license, I often find myself considering different career paths. Here are my current favorites: 1. Event Planner – I actually had a couple of summer jobs where I did this. I’m a planner and I like schedules. There’s just something exciting about orchestrating the lives of hundreds of people, even if only for a few days or hours. I loved the adrenaline rush…

Read More Read More