To send my child to Kindergarten early or not, that is the question!
 
As each new school year approaches, many parents of kindergarten-aged children have a decision to make:  Is my child ready for kindergarten or should I keep him/her home one more year?

Traditionally, we look to a date on the calendar to determine whether or not it’s time for our child to enroll in school.  Most schools have an early September deadline to be qualified for starting kindergarten.   However, that deadline becomes ambiguous for families whose children turn five sometime over the summer or later, in September.
 
Here are 3 broad criteria to consider when deciding on your child’s readiness for school.
 
(1)Emotional Maturity   ...... [ Read the rest of this story ]

I have been busy this summer taking classes to keep my teaching certification current.  On the first day of my Science and Health Curriculum and Instruction course, the teacher asked us to share our memories from our grade school science class.   What came to mind almost immediately was my 6^th grade Science Fair project.

            It was a fiasco.   

            For many parents, the words, “Science Fair” is their worst nightmare, as they brainstorm (supposedly with their child!) about what experiment to conduct at home.  Of course the project should involve the scientific method: ask a question, do the research, construct a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, analyze the data and draw con

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         So, it’s a week after school’s ended and the kids are gone.  I am in the middle of cleaning up my classroom for the summer.  Piles of unfiled papers, leftover notebooks, art supplies, and paperbacks are strewn all over the floor.  Everything I see is a reminder of an event or a student from the past school year.  Some are good memories; others, not so much. 

As I clean, I spend a lot of time pondering what I "would of, could of, should of, done" better if only . . .

            In the midst of my reverie, my principal steps into the room to let me know she just received a call from a concerned 4^th grade parent.  (One of our ‘frequent fliers’, as we like to call those who are constantly distressed about something.)  Apparently, I said something

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I have come to that point in the school year where our school undergoes a huge transition.  My 8th graders are about to graduate and I look to the 7th graders and wonder if they are capable of being school leaders.   It is a time of uncertainty and excitement, and a time for reflection.  Not just for the students but the teachers as well.

Each year, I have my 8th grade language arts students write a graduation paper.  The parameters are pretty simple:  reflect on your time at our school (most have been here 9+ years); tell a few stories but keep them school appropriate; thank your parents, teachers, and the congregation; include a Bible verse, perhaps from your confirmation; include a poem, famous quote, or song verse if you choose; and don’t spend the whole paper givin

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One of the greatest things about being a teacher is that you get to laugh everyday.  Sometimes I’m laughing at myself but most of the time I am laughing at something my students said.  Whether I am with a Kindergarten class or the 8th graders, I always hear something that gives me a belly laugh.

 

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I had one of the most amazing nights of my life last week.  No, my husband didn’t bring me flowers or take me out on a date; nor did my children surprise me by cleaning their bedrooms without being asked.  No, what I experienced was an achievement of dramatic proportions:  My middle school students presented their first full-length theatrical performance.

 

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"Childhood is a journey, not a race."

I stole that quote from a friend’s Facebook status.  She told me she stole it from a bumper sticker.  I guess both of us felt a connection to this phrase because we both long to give our children the school year schedules and the

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When I was a brand-new teacher decades ago, I rarely noticed a child experiencing depression and/or anxiety.   

           

That’s changed. Now, I have many students who are clearly struggling;

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So, what did you do this weekend?  Soccer practice, club basketball game, the movies, a sleepover, church, out for a Fish Fry, volleyball tryouts, a trip to the mall, and a band concert at school?  If you’re like most families in the U.S., your weekends are overscheduled and anything but restful.   

 

Our school-aged children today are scheduled from the minute they must get up in the morning until it

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Believe it or not, at the start of each semester, a teacher can look out at her class and tell if the kids sitting in front of him/her are going to be to be a “Good Class” or a “Bad Class.”  Though made up of individual children, each class has its own unique personality and there’s consensus among teachers that, for whatever reason—whether it’s something in the water or the way the moons aligned the year a particular class was born—some classes are a gem to be with while others are, well, not.

Last semester, I had a “Bad Class.”  

Don’t get me wrong – individually each of these kids is an absolute gift from God.  There’s not a one I wouldn’t want to spend time with, eating pizza and ice cream and chatting teen-speak.  But collectively this group was explosive and disruptive, like a crate of dynamite and a box of matches.

I had four students I named, “Chuckleheads.”  They couldn’t stop talking no matter what punishments I threw at them.  Their disrespectful behavior should’ve gotten me very upset but they were so darn fun

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As a teacher, mother and a friend, “Not my child” is the most common phrase I hear come out of other parents’ mouths.  

I hear it when a friend tells a story about her teenager who just got a ticket for driving too fast. 

I hear it when the neighbor’s daughter throws a wild party when mom and dad are gone. 

I hear it when my nephew flunks Algebra class. 

I hear it when a group of teens is caught doing drugs and underage drinking.

I think parents say, “Not My Child” because we want to believe that everything we are doing as parents is placing a magical spell over our children and making them perfect.  I also believe that parents say, “Not My Child” because our children are really good actors who know exactly how to act based on time and place.  Of course they do.  We’ve taught them that. 

 

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One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from Fred, a veteran teacher with over 40 years experience.  Every year, he said this to his classroom parents: “If you will only believe half of what your kid comes home telling you about what happens in school everyday, I promise to believe only half of what your child tells me happens in your home!”  

Too frequently, parents don’t maintain a healthy sense of skepticism when it comes to what their children tell them.  I know you want to believe that everything your child tells you is the God-honest-truth because you’ve been working so hard to to raise him or her to be loving, caring, well-behaved and… truthful. 

As a teacher, I have been on the wrong end of the stick more than once with a child who misled his or her parents regarding a school issue. 

One particular incident involved the books all my students are required to read independently.  Each quarter, they must pick at least three books from an extensive list, read them and then take a test on the computer.  The deadl

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The pastor of my church recently began his sermon with the idea that Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, had become complacent parents. He was specifically talking about the story in the book of Luke in which Mary and Joseph were leaving Jerusalem after celebrating the Passover and were several days into their trip home when they realized their 12-year-old son, Jesus, was not with them.  

My pastor asked, “Had Mary and Joseph become so complacent with their perfect child that they just assumed that he was with their traveling party?”   

The pastor’s sermon hit me between the eyes and I knew I was guilty of becoming complacent as a teacher with Ellen, a “perfect” student in my 7^th grade classroom—a young girl I’ve had as a student for four years.

Ellen is one of my most scholarly, best-behaved 7^th graders.  She is intelligent, diligent, always submits high quality work and makes excellent use of her time in the class.  She’s quiet, enjoys close friendships, and never causes a problem. 

 

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The first time I met Libby*, I knew I was in for a rough time.   

Libby was the type of teen you hear about on Oprah and Dr. Phil.  She was full of anger and attitude and all of it was directed at her parents, who hauled her to my school completely against her wishes.  They said she was hangin’ with the wrong crowd, drinking, and messing around with a boyfriend.  I was asked to come to the principal’s office to meet and greet her.

When I came into

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Of all the classes I’ve taken to further my education and become a better-than-average teacher, not once has a class that instructs teachers how to deal with “The Smells of a Middle School Student” been offered. 

 

We who teach adolescents sure could use one! 

 

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      Each new semester offers an opportunity for a fresh start and fresh goals.  Parents hope this will be the semester their child comes home with their best grades ever – maybe even all A’s.  Children hope their schedules will be manageable, their teachers will be nice and won’t give too much homework and that their best friend is in their class. 

 

     As a teacher, my goal is that this will be the semester I will not have any parental interference.  Yes, you read that correctly: Parents often get in the way of teaching.  I believe it is an innate response that all of us as parents have.&nb

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I have helicopters hovering in and near my classroom everyday.  These choppers come in the form of parents and I call them, “Helicopter Parents.”  HP’s are parents who feel they must closely hover—or rather, smother—over every aspect of their child’s life.  These parents believe their child needs protecting and guiding from everything in the world, no matter how old their child gets. 

Every year, the Helicopter Parent starts out as my best asset in the middle school classroom.  She wants to help with the class parties, make copies for ME and bring in special treats for the class.  But that escalates to staying after the final morning bell to help the kids get organized, to showing up before the end of the day to help the children prepare to go home.  That’s right—help middle school students. 

If I leave her unattended, the helicopter p

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As a full-time middle school teacher, I literally spend more time each day with your children than you do.  As a result, I am privy to the little ups and downs of their academic and social life.  Your children tell me their secrets, share their jokes, reveal their anxieties, frustrations and dreams; they cry and laugh in front of me and even laugh at me.  I serve as their teacher, their mentor, their authoritarian, their friend, their parent, and sometimes their worst nightmare.  After 24 years in education, I am almost willing to say there’s nothing your kids can

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