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October 20, 2011
School bans parent pajamas at drop off?
The first few weeks of school drop off were stressful for me. Were we going to be on time? Would we remember the right entrance? If a parent said hello, would I be able to match a name with a face in my not-quite-caffeinated state?
Clothes were the furthest thing from my mind. But apparently for some folks, your sartorial choices to elementary school are a very big deal.
I had to chuckle at this New York Times story this morning about the “red carpet” in Manhattan with competitive moms getting all dolled up to drop off Janie and Jack. Although, (and I cannot believe that I’m about to say this) what is wrong with wearing your $400 jeans if you’ve got the money to buy them? I don’t, but I’m assuming they do, since the schools the Times picked are exclusive Manhattan private schools. Because in the end, whether your jeans are $20 from Old Navy or $400 from Rag & Bone, they are still “just” jeans.
But then again there is the other problem — the pajamas. Apparently the parental pajama situation has gotten so bad, according to BabyCenter, that an unnamed public school felt it necessary to ban pajamas for drop off.
“We respectfully request that parents who drop off their children and pick them up from school follow all of the dress code expectations that students are expected to follow including the rule stating that pajamas are not to be worn.”
According to the parent, the school goes as far to say that parents who fail to comply with the rule will be asked to make other transportation arrangements. Ahem.
I don’t know if parents wear pajamas at my school, frankly I’m too busy trying to walk my daughter to the door. I see lots of yoga pants, gym clothes, suits, dresses, jeans. And that doesn’t include the parents whose kids are old enough to be dropped off from the car.
Frankly, I sleep in yoga pants and if I didn’t have to be at the office at 8, I’d totally roll up in my yoga pants, too. (I don’t think I’d wear flannel pajama pants, but in a time crunch, I might.) In fact, several of the working moms drop their kids off and then go home to shower, put makeup on and get ready for work in peace, without risk of being smeared by breakfast or residue from school art projects.
Since the poster doesn’t name the school, I can’t tell if the issue is bad judgment in terms of unsuitable lingerie being worn to campus or just that some administrator has a complex about decorum in the modern world.
What do you wear to drop off? And is it really anyone’s business?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: School
August 25, 2011
Back to school: Checkbook burn-out?
Now that we’re a few days into the school year, we’ve moved past the tears of anxiety to checkbook exhaustion.
I had lunch with some of my girlfriends yesterday and they offered a good deal of insight into how public schools are coping with tight budgets. Elementary Spanish once a week during school hours? $150. Tech support for teachers and student computer labs? One Hays school has a team of parents assigned to come to school and fix the projectors and computers when things go awry. (Last year this was a paid position: half-time IT and half-time library aide.) Other school PTAs are holding fund-raisers to pay for IT help.
Required school agendas? $5. Required gym uniforms? $20. At Gorzycki Middle School (the district’s newest middle school) parents are also considering having a fundraiser to pay for more lockers because the school is about 60 lockers short. The estimated cost of 200 more lockers, not including installation is $15,000 to $20,000, according to an email to parents. They have asked eighth graders to volunteer to share a locker so that the sixth graders can have one, but you can imagine how well that is going.
School T-shirts (required), lab fees (required), field trip and activity fees (required). Feeling the burn yet?
The fees do not include voluntary PTA fees, booster fees, optional spirit wear and the annual fundraisers that will also be coming down the pike.
Many of the schools that have the highest fees also have enough financial resources to cover the fees for low-income families who can’t pay. At schools with a higher share of low-income families, the schools simply do without.
More than a decade ago, I was a public schools reporter in Austin. At the time there was lots of discussion about ensuring that school facilities and academic offerings were equitable across town regardless of PTA resources. But as school finances have gotten squeezed, much of that discussion has receded into the background, with low-income schools relying on grants when they can get them and parent communities scraping by according to their means.
How’s your checkbook holding up? Do you feel like the fees are excessive or just part of the new budget reality for public schools?
Illustration: Detroit Free Press
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: School
August 17, 2011
Back to school: The first drop off
Well, that’s done. And it went fine. In fact, it went better than fine.
First day of “big-girl” school and I didn’t even cry (OK. I misted slightly, but that does not count.)
For most of Central Texas this is about a week early for back to school. Most schools open their doors next week. But for you anxious first timers, I have this to share.
I have been a nervous ball of energy all week, worrying that I might forget something or that something will go wrong. I wish I could tell you it went off with out a hitch, but I would be lying.
For example, 10 minutes before we left this morning I discovered that the water bottle I planned to send leaks like a sieve. This is the bottle that Ayanna has been using for months at daycare, but it always comes home empty. This morning I filled it, closed it and left it sideways on my couch.
“Ayanna! Has this bottle always leaked?”
“Yes. It leaks every day,” she said nonchalantly, watching the Disney Channel. Fortunately, I found a substitute and a quickly wrote her name on it.
Then I shoved her new lunch box into the backpack (also a holdover from preschool), along with her new folder. I had tried each item independently and they fit no problem, but this was the first time I had pushed everything in packed with food, plus a teacher requested show-and-tell item. Technically, everything fit, but for a 4-year-old pre-kindergartner having to unpack everyday I belatedly realized that fit was way too snug. (I’ll be buying a new backpack on my lunch break today.)
Even so, we made it out the door on time. Everyone dressed and smiling.
On the ride to school we listened to the soundtrack to “Winnie-the-Pooh,” which we’ve been listening to nonstop for a month. Ayanna’s favorite song is one by the character Tigger, who has great plans to turn Eeyore into “Tigger 2,” including providing a brand new outfit and is giving the dubious donkey a grand pep talk. Ayanna sings the song at the top of her lungs, especially the chorus. She requested it three times during this morning’s drive.
I don’t know whether she internalized the rollicking song’s message, but I did. “Do it! Do it! Do it!
It’s gonna be great, it’s gonna be great, it’s gonna be….
Greaaaaaaat! ”
We shot a few pictures on the school lawn and then — the big moment. She put her belongings away in her cubby, hung up her backpack and walked away from me. She didn’t even turn to say goodbye. The one picture I have of her in the classroom, is her walking away from me. It was over before I realized it. I’d been warned about this phenomenon, but I didn’t expect it from my own kid. I had nothing left to do but leave. And I did.
Good-luck to the rest of you. And thanks, Tigger.
P.S. Some of you may be wondering, why on earth did this woman post a picture of shoes and a backpack, instead of the traditional back to school pic? Well, it’s part of a deal my husband and I made when I started writing for this blog. We won’t identify where the kids go to school or preschool. And since Ayanna’s school uses a uniform, I won’t be posting any of those. But trust me, she’s adorable.
August 12, 2011
Back to school: Get the waterworks ready
For years I have sat on the sidelines, watching my friends and colleagues ship their kids off to kindergarten. The stories of tears and cry rooms were baffling.
I mean, it’s not like we’re sending them to boarding school. And, especially in the case of working parents, our kids have been in someone else’s care for years. What is the big deal?
I’m pretty sure that, once again, I will pay for my smugness. My daughter is starting pre-kindergarten this year at a school that runs through eighth grade. So for me this is the big start of school, and I’m starting to feel my internal water pressure rise.
The other day, I ran over to the uniform store to get Ayanna some matching hair ribbons to go with her uniform. She’s been pestering me about the ribbons for months and I had told her that if she left her hairbands in at daycare I would get her some special ribbons for “big kid school.”
Yes, it was a bribe. But it worked. The ribbons were the last thing on my back-to-school list and I plan to surprise her with the ribbons on her first day next week. But instead of smiling on my way back to the office, I started to inexplicably well up with tears. This does not bode well for the first day of school.
I know she’ll be fine, and as I’ve told many friends this summer, I’m honestly looking forward to this new stage in our lives. I loved school and it’s my dearest hope that she will, too. But I underestimated the power of milestone marking. Ayanna’s babyhood went pretty darn quick and I am startled to realize how quickly the time is passing. I don’t want her to be a baby again, but I’m not sure when the change happened.
I asked some moms for advice for handling the first day of school, and this is the sage advice I got from one mom Soraya Justice, whose oldest daughter is now in high school:
“Don’t even try to not cry. Even I teared up….and I am not one that gets upset at Rocky reaching such milestones.
It’s not just the moms…I saw lots of fathers get all emotional.
Then when she gets older…you can stand around on the first day with the other parents and watch the re-school and kindy-parents.
There are many types of crying….from wailers, to sobbers, the dashers (who make drop off very quick to run out to their cars before the lose it), the silent misery types, the ones that stand their stunned at their child blows them off and runs into the classroom without so much as a look back.”
So, now I aspire to be a dasher. I hate public displays of emotion. I can keep the water at bay until I get back to the car, right?
What kind of crier were you?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Milestones, School
August 11, 2011
Study: Most preschool sack lunches are improperly packed
Think you know everything about packing a safe lunch? Think again, say researchers at the University of Texas.
A recent study, which will appear in next month’s Pediatrics journal (and is currently online), shows that more 90 percent of sack lunches prepared at home and sent with kids to preschool were kept at unsafe temperatures.
The study was an outgrowth of a nutrition research project designed to test the effectiveness of a program to teach parents to pack better daycare lunches. As part of the study, the researchers checked the lunch boxes of 700 preschool students (ages 3 to 5), measuring contents, temperatures and nutritional values.
They found that while 45 percent of the lunches studied had at least one ice pack, 39 percent had no supplemental ice packs. Even including lunches with ice packs, 88 percent were at room temperature. Fewer than 2 percent of lunches with perishable items were found to be in a safe temperature zone, while more than 90 percent (even with multiple ice packs) were kept at unsafe temperatures.
The temperature readings were surprising to the team, which included a number of registered dieticians, said the study’s co-author and postdoctoral student Sara Sweitzer. (Lead author Fawaz D. Almansour was unavailable for comment due to the fact he’s just become at new dad.)
“When you pulled out the non-perishable items, 97 percent of items were outside the safe zone two hours before lunch,” she said.
She’s quick to add, especially for those who remember that insulated coolers and ice packs are fairly recent additions to a school sack lunch, that they are not suggesting that children are getting ill at record levels. But food borne bacteria does grow at unsafe temperatures and that queasy feeling your kid has been complaining about or that touch of gastrointestinal distress, could very well be the result of improperly cooled food, she said.
“We are not suggesting that these kids are winding up in the emergency room,” she said. “But there are some easy things that parents can do to help keep food cool longer — after all this is Texas,” she said. The best storage temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for cold foods and above 140 degrees for hot foods. Between 40 and 140 degrees is the “danger zone.”
Her recommendations
— Use two ice packs, not just one. A frozen teething ring or juice box will not be enough to keep a whole lunch cold.
— Consider placing the lunch box itself in the freezer the night before, especially if you are packing a lunch that morning. A cold container will help the ice pack do its job.
— If sending hot food, be sure to prepare the Thermos or other insulated container. Fill it with boiling water and allow to sit for a few minutes before filling with hot food.
— Separate perishable and non-perishable items and place ice packs strategically around the items that need it. This includes cut fruits and vegetables. Once the skin is broken, bacteria can start to grow. “But on a scale of one to 10, I’d still be more concerned about the turkey and dairy,” Sweitzer said.
The goal is to keep food in the safe zone for as long as possible, especially for smaller kids whose immune systems are not as fully developed as their older counterparts (though the advice is good for big kid lunches also.)
“There is a two hour window, where food can exceed the recommended temperatures levels and still be considered safe,” she said. “But if you pack a lunch at 6 a.m. that means that it needs to stay chilled until 9: 15 or 9:30.”
Staying organized and custody sharing
Juggling shared custody is tough, especially as kids get older and have after-school activities.
My brother is a single dad with two boys and it seems like he makes weekly trips to Target/Wal-Mart for items that his kids forgot at their moms’ houses. His oldest is in elementary school and he also spends frequent overnights at both grandparents’ houses. So my nephew has clothes at each house: underwear, socks, shorts, tops, swim trucks and tooth brush.
The dirty clothes stay at grandma’s house for future washing and the clean set goes with him to the next house. Growth spurts are a problem and as is karate, where there is just one set of special clothing and a belt that needs to be at the right house two days a week.
So, I was intrigued by this pitch for days of the week closet organizers called Organizables ($29.95). They are essentially garment bags, labeled by the day of the week. Each day has zippered pockets for shoes, jewelry, socks, etc. There’s also a weekend version ($24.95), personalized with a child’s name.
At first I though they were a bit over the top. Really, who needs to be that organized? Even my 4-year-old can get herself dressed in the morning. But for trips to Grandmas, dance class or household juggling, it could be just the thing. And who knows, as she gets more involved in activities and spends more overnights away from mom and dad, they might be just the thing.
But right now, for every day, I’m hoping that putting all of her school pieces for the day on a single hanger, will accomplish the same goal. (Shoes and socks by the door.)
What do you think? Could you use something like this?
Photo: Organizables.com
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Clothing, Divorce, School
August 6, 2011
Back to school: Tips for getting back on schedule?
In today’s Raising Austin, my colleague Dale Roe writes about getting kids back on a school-year sleep schedule.
The experts say the key is setting consistent bedtimes and the rest will sort itself out, if you leave enough time for elementary school age children to get 10 to 11 hours of sleep.
But buses run early, with some kids having to be ready and waiting by 6:30 a.m. and many parents work. Moving up bedtimes for small kids, who need the most sleep, is often easier said than done.
My 4-year-old already gets up at 6:45 in the morning, and she usually does so under duress. Lots of poking, prodding, tickling and haranguing go into getting her alert enough to get dressed and ready for her day at preschool. If left to her own devices, she would wake up on her own at 7:30 or 8 a.m. (Oddly, baby sister Elizabeth loves to be up at 6 or 6:15.)
To get to school on time this fall we will have to ratchet up that wake up time to about 6:15 a.m., but it is unlikely that we’ll be able to add that 30 minutes to her bedtime to compensate. Right now we start bedtime at 7:45 p.m. and both girls are usually in bed by 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. I typically walk in the door from work at 6 p.m. With dinner at 6:30 p.m., you can see there just isn’t much time — dinner, talk, maybe little playtime outside and bath.
So to ease the transition (I hope), we’re gradually moving the alarm back. This past week we woke the girls up 10 minutes earlier and next week I’ll add ten more minutes to the alarm. Hopefully by the start of school we’ll be where we need to be.
What are your tips for getting kids back on schedule?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: School
August 5, 2011
Staying after school when parents have to work
We’ve been doing a lot of talking in my house about what will happen when school starts.
Will sister come, too? No. Will I take naps on my nap mat? Yes. (At least at the start of the year.) Where will I eat lunch? In the building where they play basketball. What do you want in your lunch? Pickle, sandwich, applesauce and milk.
One subject that I have not broached yet, is that at some point during the day most of Ayanna’s classmates will go home. She will stay in extended-care with the other kids whose parents work full time.
On the one hand this is not a huge deal. Afterall, she is in an all-day program now and doesn’t get picked up until 5:30 p.m. On the other hand, all of her friends get picked up about the same time and so it’s not like she knows that another option exists.
I was honestly hoping that she wouldn’t notice. But I was at a work function a few weeks ago and in talking to the mothers of other elementary school kids, it seems that yes, they do notice.
Every, apparently, kid wants to be a “pickup” and the older they get, the more vocal they get about the situation.
I can empathize. School is hard and mentally taxing, learning to write, read and cut paper is tough work. That extra two hours is a lot to ask of little people. I can tell on the weekends when Ayanna is maxed out on going “out.”
“Do you want to go to the park?” I ask on Saturday mornings. “No.”
“Do you want to go with Daddy to the store?” “Nope, I want to stay here and do puzzles.”
What’s a parent to do? One mom took a job that starts at 5 a.m. so she can pick her girls up at 2:30 p.m. Another couple flexes their schedule so that dad picks up one day, mom picks up two days and they pay a baby sitter for the other two days. But most parents I know, who have the double working dilemma, do some version of extended-care, either at the school or a nearby daycare center.
Once both kids are at the same school, perhaps we will look into the babysitter option. But for now, Ayanna will just have to make the best of it.
What is your after-school solution?
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August 2, 2011
Austin campuses still have room in tuition-based Pre-K
One of my friends was on her way to work last week when she saw the sign outside Dawson Elementary School advertising that spots were still available in its prekindergarten program.
That came as a pleasant surprise to my friend, who had assumed that she had missed the enrollment date after the spring lottery deadline. She was particularly interested in Dawson’s dual-language program and had hoped to enroll her son there for kindergarten.
Like most moms, especially with first kids, school can seem a long way off until suddenly IT IS TIME. When she asked her son this week about making the switch, his only question was “Can I wear a backpack?”
“He’s pretty much exhausted all the resources at his current daycare,” she said of the home-based daycare he’s been in for the past few years. “I really think it’s time to start getting him ready for school.”
I called the Austin school district to find out the results of the lottery (I, too, assumed that all of the spots had been snapped up for the pilot program to open up selected pre-kindergarten programs to parents willing to pay tuition.
This is the answer I got from Austin schools spokeswoman Roxanne Evans via email:
The first round of the lottery is complete. Parents secured their slots by July 29, 2011. Becker, Zilker and Casis have filled all available slots for this year. Our other campuses have slots available. The next placements will occur after our eligible students are in school. We encourage parents who are interested in the program to call the Early Childhood Department at 414-4790 for assistance regarding placement in the tuition-supported prekindergarten program.
Other campuses offering the tuition-based pilot program are Allison, Baldwin, Boone, Brentwood, Casey, Davis, Dawson, Govalle, Gullett, Hill, Kocurek, Mills, Odom, Palm, Perez, Ridgetop, Summitt, Sunset Valley and Travis Heights elementary schools.
According to the district, parents may choose to send their student to any tuition-supported campus in the district but parents must provide their own transportation if the campus selected is not their designated home school.
When applying for the program, parents must bring the child’s official birth certificate, photo identification of the parent/guardian who is enrolling the student, social security card of the child (if available), proof of district residency (such as a current electric bill or lease), and a current immunization record signed by a physician.
The annual tuition is $4,656 per student (and payment plans are available.) A $50 non-refundable application fee (payable by check or money order only) will be collected with the application. A $100 non-refundable supply and materials fee will be collected at the time of notification of placement in the program.
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July 27, 2011
Back to school: Getting out the door
Getting out the door on time has been a struggle ever since I went back to work with my first kid. Now there are two kids and school is starting in a few weeks and I am petrified.
Last week, I decided to make a concerted effort to streamline the process, knowing that not only will we have to get up earlier, but we will need to squeeze in breakfast for my older daughter. The result: We are running even further behind.
So I posted a question on one of my favorite mom boards, which is populated mostly by moms with three or more children. If a mom of seven can get everyone off to school on time, surely I can get my two out the door. (My colleague Dale Roe will be writing about how to get your kids up earlier, so I will leave that to him in Raising Austin.)
The best tip for young kids is helping them be accountable for time. Set a timer for breakfast. One mom recommended the Time Timer (at right). It is a visual timer, since in the early grades even if kids can read a clock the actual concept of time — or time running out — can be tough to grasp. The Time Timer retails for $30, but there is a $1.99 iPhone version. It is a favorite of teachers, especially those who deal with kids who have attention disorders.
Other tips include:
— Think about ditching breakfast — or at least the idea of eating at the table. Kids can make a meal last forever. So think about portable breakfasts (smoothies, bags of cereal and dried fruit, oatmeal in a cup) and hand them breakfast on the way out the door.
— Lay everything out in advance. That means socks, bottoms, tops in the bedrooms. Shoes and backpack by the door. Make sure lunches are in the fridge and homework is in the folder before bed each night.
— For girls, do hair last if it still requires a parent’s help. At my house, that is when I use the television to my advantage. It doesn’t come on until every one is dressed and each girl takes a turn on the bar stool while I comb out the horrific bed head.
— If hot breakfast is the only way to get kids to eat, then make pancakes and french toast in advance and freeze. Our food writer Addie Broyles, who is also a mom of two, did a great story in January on how to do just that.
What are your back to school tips to beat the tardy bell?
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November 11, 2010
School warns parents to stop early drop offs
Northwest Austin parents got a pointed reminder from the Round Rock school district this week in the form of an email, asking them to stop dropping off elementary students before staff members arrive.
The email was prompted by concerns from administrators who say they observed kids as young as 5 years old being left at Live Oak Elementary as much as 30 minutes before teachers arrive on campus. (The cafeteria doesn’t open for breakfast until 7:15 a.m. and the school day starts at 7:40.)
Such reminders are not uncommon during the school year at all of the district’s schools, says district spokeswoman JoyLynn Occhiuzzi. And the problem is not unique to Live Oak, she said.
“It’s something that happens in the nature of having school. But the doors are locked and there are no adults around before 7:15 at most of our schools, parents need to be aware of that,” she said. “We understand that it may not be convenient, but parents should talk to their circle of friends or relatives to make sure kids aren’t being left alone, in the dark, unsupervised.”
For commuters into Austin, making the school schedule work can be a challenge. The drive to downtown from Northwest Austin easily takes 45 minutes to an hour in morning traffic. For a parent who must be at work at 8 a.m., that means being on the highway and done with the school drop off by 7 a.m.
I asked Occhiuzzi if the district had seen in increase in early drop offs from previous years, perhaps because of the recession. She said officals hadn’t noticed one.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Round Rock district is seeing some additional pressure as commutes between the northern suburbs and the center city lengthen. Not only do most Austin district elementary schools open their doors to children by 7 a.m. (it varies by campus), but by sheer location more of those parents have shorter commute times.
It is not the district’s responsibility to watch kids outside of normal operating hours, but working parents are often left with some unappealing or expensive options, especially if they live too close to a school to qualify for bus transportation:
1) Leave your child at home unsupervised or with older siblings, and let them walk (the bus zone is 2 miles or more.) For a fifth grader maybe, for a kindergartner not so much.
2) Find another non-working parent, neighbor or relative who can carpool or lead a walking group.
3) Pay for early morning day care, which is available at some centers, who offer transportation to nearby elementary schools. This would likely be in addition to the cost of after school care.
Leaving your child at school early is not an option. Kids can get hurt, they can wander off or be approached by strangers. Bullying opportunities can also abound when there are no adults to intervene.
“We have 31 elementary schools,” says Occhiuzzi. “We only have so many resources to take care of children. The district can’t watch them 24/7.”
Permalink | Comments (25) | Categories: School
August 25, 2010
Finding friendship in preschool
Every day when Ayanna comes home from school we ask what she did that day.
Her answer: “Sofia, that’s it.”
Sofia is Ayanna’s BFF. Apparently they are inseparable, on the playground and in the classroom. When Sofia is absent from school, I hear about it and it is usually followed up the next morning with “Maybe Sofia will be at school today.”
Sofia and Ayanna started in the same class a few weeks apart, shortly after they turned 2. According to Sofia’s parents, Sofia did not take the change well and was shy and very withdrawn in the new envioronment. When Ayanna showed up a few weeks later, that all changed.
Watching a 3-year-old friendship blossom is really an amazing thing. We have play dates and Ayanna has other friends that she enjoys playing with, but Sofia is the first person that Ayanna has personally chosen to spend time with.
Studies show close friendships can boost a child’s self-esteem and confidence. They also set the stage for children to develop empathy, the ability to listen and console, and the skills involved with arguing and making up. Studies have also indicated that the quality of a preschooler’s first friendships have a profound effect on the quality of their relationship with their younger siblings.
It never occurred to me that the school would separate them when they transitioned to the next class. But on Monday, after Ayanna’s first day in her new classroom, I asked about Sofia. “I lost her,” she said.
On Tuesday, I scrutinized the class roster and couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so I asked the teacher if Sofia was in Ayanna’s class this year.
“She is now. Her mother requested she be put in this class,” was the response.
Internally I breathed a sigh of relief. I was gearing up mentally to make an impassioned case to the director, if needed. I understand trying to teach kids independence (There’s also a movement afoot documented by the New York Times for schools and teachers to separate friends to circumvent bullying), but good grief, they are just 3 years old.
On the way home yesterday, I asked Ayanna if she played with Sofia that day.
“Yes,” she said with a big grin. “I found her.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: School
August 23, 2010
Back to school
Just looking at the drop-off line this morning at our local elementary school caused my heart to palpitate. I’m still a few years off from the big back-to-school rush, but watching my colleagues and neighbors navigate the first day of school stresses me out.
We had our own problems this morning, aside from the awful back-to-school traffic.
Ayanna was all hyped up this morning because she was switching classrooms at her preschool. She was going to the “big kid” class — pre-kindergarten for 3-year-olds. All weekend she talked about the loft for climbing, the computers and the new books. It seemed like they had done all the right things to prep the kids for the change, giving them a tour of the classroom, letting them meet the teacher, and shifting their nap schedule.
Except they forgot to tell the parents what to do on Monday morning. So this morning, we first went to Ayanna’s “new” classroom only to find it empty. Ayanna was crestfallen. She was looking for her friends and her cubby hole for her new backpack and nap mat. We couldn’t find anything. So then we went down the hall to the 4-year-old room. No one was there either.
Turns out the plan was to start the kids in their old classrooms and then move them all together at 9 a.m. Wish someone had told me. (There were five other parents doing the same thing as me, and we all wound up leaving clingy confused children this morning.)
I know in the grand scheme of things that by the end of this week everything will be running like clockwork again. However, this does not make me look forward to starting “real” school in a few years.
How’d your morning go?
If you’ve got back to school pics, send them to us. You can submit your first-day pics via e-mail them to mypix@statesman.com.
You can view the gallery here.
Permalink | | Categories: School
July 16, 2010
Back to school: Preschool backpacks
Updated to fix a math problem. The difference between 12 inches and 16 inches is 4 inches, not 3 inches. Thanks austex99.
I don’t usually do product blogs, mostly because it is an endless quagmire, and I get pitched lots of things that I would never use, even if my kids were the right age.
Example: I have two bottles of vegetable and fruit wash on my desk. Really, how about some water and a colander? Same thing with the suggestions of nursery sanitizer, kits that teach your baby to read and toddler leashes.
However, now that back to school season is upon us, this year over the next few weeks I will mention some of the useful things that have come across my desk or my inbox.
The preschool backpack:
Buying a backpack for someone less than four feet tall is difficult. Even the small size kid backpacks can be awkward and make kids look like they are about to be pulled backward.
Word to the wise: Small backpacks are 16 inches high. Preschool backpacks are 12 inches. Four inches make a huge difference.
If you or your school is anti-licensed characters Lands End, Pottery Barn Kid, Skip Hop (sold at Macy’s) all have cheerful preschool size backpacks, made for kids ages 2 to 5. (They also have coordinating preschool lunch boxes, also smaller than their big kid counterparts).
WalMart has a junior backpack line from Lego (which is unbelievably priced at $44) and Toys ‘R’ Us has an assortment 12 inch high backpacks with licensed characters, including Dora the Explorer and Super Why!.
I’m so smitten with some of them that I’m having to refrain from buying one since my oldest is still a year away from school.
Photo: Skip Hop
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April 27, 2010
The TAKS is upon us
Today, possibly right now, my son is taking his first TAKS test. He is a bundle of nerves. For the last two months, we’ve been gearing up for this test. His homework has looked like the tests. He’s taken practice tests. And he’s had endless amounts of discussion about the test.
His homework this week has been: go to bed early and eat a healthy breakfast. My homework has been: get him to bed early, serve him a healthy breakfast and write him a letter of encouragement.
So, last night, on the eve of the dreaded TAKS, he could not sleep. He tried at 8. He tried at 8:30. Around 9, he was still trying.
And this morning, I served him the breakfast he wanted: waffles, apple slices and turkey bacon. He couldn’t eat. On the way to the bus stop, he threw up the one apple slice he got down.
Despite all my reassurances that he’ll do fine, that it’s no big deal, that it’s just one silly test, he’s a bundle of nerves. He’s got the TAKS Tummy — that dreaded disease that happens around April when you’re in third grade in Texas.
And the kicker: this is a kid who has straight A’s, missed only one question on the practice test and could ace this test on any given day… but maybe not today. Maybe not when he’s freaked out because this is all everyone has been talking about for two months.
How have you prepared your kids for this day? What encouragement have you given?
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November 2, 2009
Frame it or chuck it?
At daycare Ayanna does an art project every day. And then there are special days like for Mother’s Day or Easter when she brings home two.
And then there’s the stuff she draws at home with her markers and crayons — scribbles that she says are rainbows and frogs. Tiny dots that she says are her ABC’s.
Do we save it all? No way. I’ve got a folder in my office, where I tuck extra special pieces to save for when she is older. Like the finger painting she did with her grandmother, who is also an artist, and a few of the items that are the most colorful or creative.
We’re talking about getting a bulletin board just for the girls’ pictures since our refrigerator —the traditional parental showcase — is not magnetic.
This Associated Press story talks about parents who go so far to frame their kids’ masterpieces.
What do you do with art projects brought home from school or daycare?
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September 29, 2009
Talking to children about kidnapping
If you haven’t already seen this story, read it and then you will know my horror.
This happened in front of my subdivision to a girl who goes to my children’s school.
We were out of school yesterday because of Yom Kippur, but last night at the Cub Scout meeting, the kidnapping was what a sister of a fellow Cub wanted to talk about. What do we say to her? What do we say to our children?
I think we have to explain again to them why they can’t walk to school by themselves or to the park or to the mailbox. Why Mommy and Daddy will always meet them at the bus stop even though we can see it from our house. Why even though they think they are so big at age 8 and almost 6, they are really just kids who should be able to walk to school and be safe, but they can’t.
What would you say?
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September 1, 2009
Let the check writing begin
On Friday, five days into school, my children brought home not one, but three fundraisers for the PTA. Last night, I sat down and wrote checks for T-shirts, overpriced wrapping paper and the PTA membership. I have no complaint about the last one. I love our PTA. I’m happy to write that check. In fact, I’d rather write one big check at the beginning of the year that would go directly to the PTA than to buy more junk that the school will only get a percentage of.
A co-worker brought in his kid’s PTA form. It’s a write-one-check-for-the-year-and-be-done form. And if you can afford to, sponsor another kid whose family can’t afford to write that check.
This seems like a dream come true. Then, another friend piped up that her kids’ school did that last year and it didn’t work. The PTA wasn’t able to raise as much money that way.
How does your kid’s school raise money? What’s been successful? What hasn’t worked?
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August 24, 2009
First day of kindergarten, third grade
It’s a whole new world today. Finally, we have two grade-schoolers. Whew!
Our third-grader, Ben, woke up at 4:30 a.m. in anticipation. Already he’s worrying about the TAKS test and being out in a portable for the first time. He’s also concerned that his little sister won’t leave him alone now that she’s at the same school.
Our kindergartener, Ava, was in denial that she was actually going to be in kindergarten. When we talked about it, she kept saying that she was just going to stay home all day and play while her brother went to school and we went to work.
This morning, she was a tough one to rouse, and against all attempts, we could not get any food in her. “My belly hurts,” she said. It’s probably just the nerves of starting something unknown.
The actual dropoff at their classes was relatively painless. Ben walked into his classroom. Gave the teacher all of his paperwork and found a seat. He gave me that look of annoyance when I gave him a kiss goodbye. Eye rolls were in full force this morning.
Ava was a little tougher. She didn’t want to wear her name tag. She didn’t want to find a seat. She didn’t want us to leave, but we know from the kindergarten dropoff with Ben: keep it short and be positive. We also learned: point out the bathroom and explain to the teacher and to the child that the child will be eating school lunch and that there’s money in the account.
Later, my husband and I had breakfast together. We saw other kindergarten parents at the restaurant. These were first-timers and they looked shellshocked. They told of their kids hanging onto them and they spoke of crying when they dropped off their kid.
While I’m a little sad that my daughter is old enough to be in kindergarten, I’m jubilant about all the things that await her. I’m also thrilled that summer and all of its day-care issues are over.
How did the drop off go for you today?
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August 19, 2009
Who will make your kids' lunch this fall?
When I was 5 my mom made me make my own lunch. Every morning I made a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on Roman Meal bread, filled up the Thermos with milk and put it all in my Bicentennial lunch box.
My kids have never made their own lunch. Mostly, we buy lunch at school because that way I know they are getting a protein, a vegetable, a fruit and milk. Left to their own devices, I think the lunch would look something like this: juice box, crackers, maybe a box of raisins, maybe a square of cheese, a fruit snack and Jell-O. There would be no protein or vegetable.
Have you had any success getting your kids to pack their own lunch? Addie Broyles offers ideas for lunch boxes in today’s Food & Life section.
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August 12, 2009
I hate kindergarten!
That’s what my daughter told me yesterday while we were talking about going back to school. While I’m doing the “12 more days until school” dance, she’s already decided that she hates what she doesn’t know.
Shouldn’t she be looking forward to going to the big-kid school with her brother? Shouldn’t she want to learn how to read and play on the playground and go to music class and art class? Why isn’t she excited?
I remember the fear that was in her brother’s eyes when he went to kindergarten three years ago. He hid behind the classroom door during Meet the Teacher. But he wasn’t so vocal about his fears, which made it easier on me because I could just blissfully believe that he was still excited, even though he was scared. My daughter is a tough one. We’ve done the back-to-school shopping. We’ve talked about all the great things she’s going to get to do. And every time she brings up some horrible scenario that is never going to happen or if it did, we’d find a solution.
“What if I miss the bus?” — “I’ll take you.”
“What if I forget how to buy lunch?” — “The cafeteria ladies will show you.”
But what she’s not saying… what if I hate my teacher, what if I don’t have any friends, what if I have trouble in school. Those are more difficult problems that are probably what really worries her.
Do you have a future kindergartener who is freaking out? Did you have one? Advice?
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July 31, 2009
Back to school not far away
Only 24 more days until life gets hectic again … (Or if you’re shuttling kids from day camp to day camp, it might actually get easier.)
This year I’ll have a kindergartener and a third-grader. These are big grades.
Kindergarten means having to learn essential things about school like how to find the right bus, how to navigate a new school, how to ask to go to the bathroom, how to get your lunch in the cafeteria.
Third grade is the first year of the TAKS test. It’s a big-kid grade with more responsibilities, more homework and more grades, less smiley-faces.
How are we preparing for school? We’re not. We’re in denial. Yippee! But look for a back-to-school countdown in Saturday’s Life & Arts section. It includes helpful hints about vaccinations, meal planning, school-supply buying.
What do you do to get your kids ready for school?
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June 3, 2009
Last day of school!
Some years you don’t ever want the school year to end. Your kid has a great teacher. Your kid is learning so much stuff and loving every minute of it. Your kid is just in a great place in his or her life. You cry on the last day of school when you say goodbye to the teacher.
Some years, you’ve been counting the days since September. Every day is a struggle to get your kid to school, out of trouble at school, motivated to learn and to be happy.
That’s how second grade was for my son. So, I breathed a big sigh of relief when I put him on the bus this morning for the last time as a second-grader.
How was your child’s year? Are you so ready for summer you can taste it? Or are you sad to see your child’s teacher go?
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May 5, 2009
Kindergarten Round Up: How did yours go?
We had ours this morning. I always forget how much paperwork you need to register one child.
So, after we filled out the mountain of papers, heard the teachers and the principal talk, we were ready to take the tour. We saw the library and the gym and walked down the kindergarten hall, but my daughter refused to go into the classrooms.
What’s her deal? She’s been in them before with her older brother. I’m always amazed when kids suddenly become scared and when they become fearless.
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April 23, 2009
Lessons from the Sea World field trip
My son’s second-grade class spent yesterday at Sea World, some of the thousands of kids there on field trip day. I got to be a chaperone, which is kind of like being both a fly on the wall and a cattle herder.
Here’s what I learned:
• The thing the kids liked the best: the bus ride. The buses had TVs and they got to watch three movies. Try competing with that, Shamu!
• But Shamu is still exciting no matter what age you are.
• Every kid marches to his own drummer. I chaperoned two kids who had different learning styles and different walking paces. That’s when my herding techniques came in.
• Kids love weird facts. My son was enthralled with a poster by the shark tank that said how many sharks kill humans vs. how many sharks are killed by humans.
• Mother Nature has a sense of humor. Did it really have to be 95 degrees when we had to herd all the kids from one part of the park to the other?
• The gift shop is very important to kids and if they see that their friends got to go and you made them see more education things instead… big trouble.
• Boys don’t care a flip about the Clydesdale horses, but the lizard that wandered into the aquarium was fascinating.
• Feeding the dolphins was both exciting and gross and scary. The kids were squeamish about touching dead fish and those dolphins coming at the kids with mouths wide open was frightening.
• I don’t know how teachers do it every day. I was exhausted and all I had to do was look out for two kids.
Have you ever chaperoned a field trip? What did you learn?
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March 25, 2009
Remember when we rode the school bus or walked to school?
As the Round Rock Independent School District looks at eliminating bus routes at 17 schools for a savings of $700,000, I wondered, are students today riding the bus anymore or walking to school?
Every morning at 6:37, an Austin Independent School District bus picks up my son up at the corner. He is the only kid in our neighborhood who rides the bus every morning. Later in the day at 3:04 p.m., he’s one of a handful of kids who ride it home. A lot of parents in our neighborhood are not putting their kids on the bus. Why? It comes too early for them. Or they like the security of dropping their kids off at school.
I worry about losing our bus route. While we are less than a mile from our school, there are no sidewalks outside the neighborhood to provide a safe walking route. If we lost our bus route, would I walk him through the woods to get to school? Or would I join the long line of cars sitting in the dropoff line?
A friend of mine lives two blocks from her son’s school in Round Rock, yet, her son is one of the few kids in his neighborhood who is allowed to walk to school. The other kids are driven a block or two by their parents. Why? The parents are too afraid to let their kids walk to school.
What is going on? Are parents today overly cautious? Have we all become chauffeurs? Are our kids growing up too afraid? Or are parents right to be cautious?
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January 15, 2009
Parents fight back when homework piles up
My good friend Lisa, a Southwest Austin mom of two, is looking to switch from full-time work to a part-time job.
Why? Her kids’ homework load. Her son Scott is a first grader and her daughter Lindsay is a third grader in the Austin school district.
The kids attend an extend-a-care program after school, so the bulk of the homework needs to get done in the few hours between pickup and bedtime. You add up the time spent on spelling, reading and worksheets and it’s easily more than an hour each night per kid — and that’s not including special projects that can take up to 5 hours in a week.
The assignments tend to not be solitary activities either, requiring parents to check student’s work, assist in the project or ask questions to make sure kids understand the material. In household’s where both parent’s work full-time, it can be difficult to get it all done without sacrificing sleep or family time.
After third grade, parents say the homework load piles even higher. Apparently in some schools, according to this article in Parenting, some parents are fighting back, saying that huge homework loads do not necessarily mean better test scores.
… the truth is, a recent Duke University review of numerous studies found almost no correlation between homework and long-term achievement in elementary school, and only a moderate correlation in middle school.“More is not better,” says Harris Cooper, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and neuroscience who conducted the review. In fact, according to guidelines endorsed by the National Education Association, teachers should assign no more than ten minutes per grade level per night (that’s ten minutes total for a first-grader, 30 minutes for a third-grader).
Lisa says some teachers do a better job than others at following the guidelines. She says that she and other parents are frustrated when the work piles up and she is known to skip her son’s spelling or reading homework since those are his strongest areas.
How much homework does your kid get? And how do you fit it in to tight evening routines?
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September 12, 2008
Mad scramble before Ike
I lost it yesterday when I found out that not only are Austin Independent School District schools closing at noon today, but also my day care, which follows AISD’s policies on school closings.
This means that while both I and my husband will be very busy at work preparing for Ike and putting out the regular parts of the paper, we now have children who will be running amok at noon if we don’t go get them. And, our high-school baby sitters don’t get out of school until 2 p.m.
What to do. We talked in circles last night until we reached the conclusion that I would do the child pick up, bring both kids back to work (so, sorry co-workers), then my husband would try to leave early and then come back after 5 p.m. if he needs to when I who picked up the kids get off work.
Today, I’m freaked out that with everyone trying to get kids by noon, 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. (depending on your children’s ages), it’s going to create a massive traffic jam and I won’t get to the busstop on time.
Why are schools doing it? AISD Superintendent Pat Forgione said in a written statement: “This is a precautionary step to remove students and buses from the roadways as early as possible. We are expecting a great deal of traffic from evacuees on local roads and highways. The safety of students is our first consideration.”
I wonder if the traffic jam of evacuees that the school buses are trying to avoid is just going to be the traffic jam of parents trying to get their children.
Are you scrambling like us? What are you doing? Should schools be closing early or are we all just freaking out?
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August 26, 2008
The check writing begins
Last night, on the first night of school, I pulled out the checkbook again. This time it was the $25 check to the PTA. I’m happy to join the PTA and give it an extra donation. The group does great work. Sometime this week, I know my child will bring home the first fundraising packet for the school year. It might be magazines or wrapping paper, coupon books or dinners.
In his kindergarten year, my son was enlisted into 17 fundraisers at school. Last year, it was closer to a dozen. I know schools need money and I’m happy to write the check - one check, please. Don’t tell my child he can win an iPod if he gets his mother to solicit co-workers and all of our relatives to buy wrapping paper. Let me know how much it costs extra for my child’s public school to function, and I’ll happily give a donation.
Do your children’s schools do multiple fundraisers? Do they allow you to just give a donation? What’s the best fundraiser you’ve done for your school?
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August 25, 2008
Tell us your first day of school story
Public schools across the area opened their doors this morning. Are you glad the summer is over or do you wish you had a few more weeks? Did you just drop your little one off for the first day of kindergarten? Is it hard to believe your kid is a senior?
If you’re a teacher or an administrator, what message do you have for students, parents or just the average taxpayer?
Share your first-day-of-school story here.
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August 4, 2008
Waiting to start kindergarten has disadvantages
In the era of standardized testing, more parents are thinking twice before enrolling their kids in kindergarten, even if they meet the age criteria.
The theory goes that some kids could benefit from the extra time in Pre-K. So, a longer attention span and more maturity should increase the likelyhood of academic success. This article in Slate, suggests there may be a downside to “redshirting” little kids.
For the kids that don’t wait, it can create a huge age range in a classroom — 18 months is a big deal with kids that age. Socially and academically, it can be a tough task for elementary school teachers. The article cites evidence from Harvard researchers that kids are more likely to drop out when they start school later (More likely for kids from lower income families, not upper middle class.) Other studies suggest that delaying entry into kindergarten does not have an effect on test scores.
What do you think? Are you considering waiting on kindergarten? Why?
To read the Statesman’s story in 2007 about the trend here, read the jump:
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June 25, 2008
The challenge of camp food
The schools have cut back on junk food and turned off the vending machines. But what happens when the kids go to summer camp?
According to this New York Times article not a lot that is healthy. Camps focus more on making sure kids don’t get food poisoning than they do on nutrition and parents, packing lunches for hot field trips, essentially do the same.
So out come the drink boxes, potato chips, sodas and 800-calorie cheese fries.
Kids who stay at home while there parents work have a similar problem, grazing off snack food without the benefit of playing outdoors.
If you are at a loss for ideas for packed lunch, check out these ideas at SchoolLunchIdeas.com They even have a section on summer camp lunch ideas, which include cold spaghetti salad.
What are some of your healthy and creative lunch ideas?
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March 8, 2008
Spring what?
Any kind of break from school is a challenge when you’re a working parent. For many families, it’s not really spring break … it’s more like spring scramble. For us, South by Southwest and all the news that comes with it, makes it impossible to take a vacation with the kids.
We rely on good ol’ day care. My 4-year-old is there anyway, and her center will take my 7-year-old for the week. Hallelujah.
Some of my friends aren’t as lucky. Their day care is closed that week, just like the schools. One friend drives his child to the Valley to stay with Grandma for the week. Another enlists a series of high-school baby sitters.
Our scramble elevates for Good Friday. No day care. No school. Panic is setting in. Maybe a friend can take them for a day. Maybe Grandma in San Antonio. Maybe my husband can work a night shift.
What are you doing with your kiddos this week? What about Good Friday?
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December 14, 2007
Recess gets a facelift
My re-entry into the land of kid stuff has been bumpy. Although I don’t think of myself as old, I look around and so much of what I enjoyed as a kid has changed — and my past blogs seem to reflect a certain level of bewilderment.
Take for example, today’s New York Times article about recess. Some school are banning competitive, physical activities like kickball and soccer in an effort to reduce injuries and tears.
Oh, my. And you wonder why kids are more obese than ever. I remember recess clearly — playing kickball with a slightly deflated rubber ball (I was terrible and next to the last picked every time), I also remember landing on my back while trying to do a penny drop like my friends who took gymnastics and banging my knees while playing football and soccer with the boys in second grade. (I still have a scar on my shin from one spectacular fall.)
A few bumps and bruises, yes. But so much fun. I remember trying to control the wiggles while standing in line, lest the teacher decide no recess if we misbehaved. It also gave some kids, who might not be the best spellers or mathematicians another place to stand out. I also learned that Monica, my deaf classmate, could rough and tumble with the best of us. And yes, I learned that competition could be fun, losing was less fun, but dealing with a poor sport was the worst.
Everything in life doesn’t have to be win-win. Sometimes win-loss is better.
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October 2, 2007
Dark days ahead
This morning my son and I stood at the bus stop in the pitch black at 6:46. The sun was nowhere near rising.
It’s hard to motivate a kid to wake up this early when his natural biorhythm is telling him that it’s still dark out; he should be asleep.
And it’s just going to get darker. This year, we don’t turn back our clocks until Nov. 4 — a full week later than last year.
This means that by the time we get to the end of October, I’m going to be doing the 7:30 day-care dropoff in the dark, too.
It also means that for the first time in my lifetime, we’ll be trick-or-treating in daylight. How odd will that be?
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August 31, 2007
First week down, only 34 more to go ...
We have almost made it through the first week of first grade. It was a tough one.
There’s the getting everyone back on a schedule, getting bags packed, kids dressed and fed and out the door, on the bus and to day care for my daughter. That whole choreographed morning dance is just ripe for stumbling blocks that leave us limping along and exhausted.
This morning, Ben didn’t want to go to school. It’s much harder than kindergarten, he explained to me. “We have to work, work, work, without any breaks, Mom.”
I tried to be sympathetic, but then I told him, that I have to “work, work, work, without any breaks.”
It’s a hard life lesson to learn at age 6. Of course, he forgot that he does get recess and art, music or P.E. and lunch. All I get is a trip to the vending machine and a lunchtime errand to run for my temple.
Are your kids having trouble getting back into the swing of things?
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August 29, 2007
Missed the bus
A friend of mine passed along this story about the first day of school in McAllen.
Does your child ride the bus? Mine does. I see so many kids in the neighborhood whose parents won’t let them ride the bus. Maybe this is why. Or maybe they’re afraid of giving their child some independence.
Kindergarten was a big deal for my son last year. He had to learn how to negotiate a lot of things: how to get permission to go to the bathroom, how to get lunch in the cafeteria, how to listen in class and how to get on and off the bus. The bus was a big key toward his independence.
So on this third day of school, when my son was one of the few kids on the bus in a neighborhood full of kids, I had to wonder what was going on.
Are we too afraid of letting our children out of our sight? Are we holding them back? Or are we just too harried to get them to the bus stop at 6:46 a.m.?
Permalink | | Categories: Milestones, School
August 28, 2007
The bribery begins
The first day of first grade went well … until it came time to do the homework. Then there was a meltdown.
“I’m too tired.” “I can’t do it.” “You write it.”
Ever hear that?
I bribed him with chocolate chips. One chip for every sentence he wrote.
Am I a horrible mother? What do you do to get your kids to do their homework?
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August 27, 2007
Back to school, again
This year’s drop off went much better. This year, Ben’s a first-grader. He’s more sure of himself. He knows the school and some of the kids in his class.
In fact, up until this morning he talked a good game. He begged us not to take him to class the first day. He’d ride the bus. He didn’t want a repeat of last year: mom in the hallway with little sister screaming and kicking about how she wanted to go to kindergarten, too. Dad in the classroom refusing to leave and actually doing the assignment for him.
But somewhere between 9 last night and 6:15 this morning, he lost his courage. He begged me to take him to school. So I did, which was a good thing because between Friday’s meet the teacher event and today, he forgot where his class was, who is teacher is, possibly who he is.
But once inside, he let me take the obligatory picture. He found his hook for his backpack. He asked me about lunch. And he sat in his seat. No fuss. No hysterics.
That came later, when his sister once again realized that she wouldn’t be joining him.
How’s your first day going? Who cried more, you or the kids?
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