From The Archive: The Star Ring Story
This story originally appeared on the blog in 2021. The world feels a little heavy at the beginning of this holiday season, so I thought it was a good time to bring back this hopeful, heartwarming story of a true encounter that happened in our little town. Enjoy. On a rainy Tuesday morning, I found myself doing something I hadn’t done in probably 20 years. I warily stepped foot inside a high school gym. It was pretty much as I remembered it: that elusive smell with undertones of body odor, the squeak of shoes on the floor, the marks on the walls from errant balls, and so many backpacks everywhere.…
From The Archive: 5 Ways To Help Transition Kids To A New School
Editor’s Note: It is back-to-school season and I thought it would be a good time to reshare this classic post from the blog archive. I hope it helps any parents who have children starting a new school this year. I wish you and your children all the best. Need ideas on how to help transition kids to a new school? You’ve come to the right place. The start of a new school year is always full of promise. There’s always a chance that we’ll never be late for school. That no lunches will be forgotten. That no parent will lose their ever-loving mind no one will get frustrated during homework time…
5 Ways to Help Transition Kids to a New School
Need ideas on how to help transition kids to a new school? You’ve come to the right place. The start of a new school year is always full of promise. There’s always a chance that we’ll never be late for school. That no lunches will be forgotten. That no parent will lose their ever loving mind no one will get frustrated during homework time because that’s not how we did math. That all permission slips and forms will be turned in on time. That a pandemic won’t disrupt the school year over and over again. See? So. much. promise. I give us a week before one of those balls gets dropped. *sigh*…
What is the Best Constructive Criticism You’ve Ever Received?
What is the best constructive criticism you’ve ever received? Or has it all just been plain ol’ criticism of the regular variety? I’d love to know! As a blogger, I’ve received my fair share of criticism over the years. That’s always fun. *sarcasm alert* However, the most caustic environment I’ve ever been in was not work-related. It was while serving on the PTA at my kids’ school. That was a tough crowd! The best constructive criticism I’ve ever received was in college. I was 19 or 20 years old and had secured a prestigious marketing internship with a well-known company in Portland, Oregon. It was the gold standard for internships because they gave their…
Maybe I Was Wrong About My Child Playing the Recorder
My son is in 3rd grade. If it’s been awhile since you’ve been in 3rd grade, let me refresh your memory. Being in 3rd grade means he’s learning multiplication and division. He’s spending time writing long stories. He’s no longer learning to read. He’s reading to learn. He’s also learning to play the recorder. If this blog had music that last sentence would be followed by a ‘dun, dun, duuuun!!’ sound. Handy Husband and I both recall learning to play the recorder in school at about that same age, so it has been part of school curriculum in many U.S. schools for a good long while. If you want to…
