Project: Successful School Year

I am proud to say that my Third Grade student will start school August 24^th. I am so very excited!! It seems like only yesterday she was being dropped off to pre-school.

Over the last two years our life has changed, quite a bit. But she has been a real trooper adjusting to that change; some good, some bad. We had to adjust to no longer living with my parents, we had to adjust from having a car to not having a car, and we had to adjust to a new school in a new school district.

But I want to focus on her second year in this school. Why? Because if you are from the NE Ohio area, chances are, you have heard bad things about the Cleveland Public Schools (www.cmsdnet.net) but the truth is, I am much more happy with her at her current school, than I was with her in Shaker (which is a highly over rated school district).

She came from Shaker, reading below her grade level, and not enjoying homework at all. Now, she is on a 5^th grade reading level, and loves (most of the time) to do her homework. Of course we have days when we fight her to get it done, but she IS only 8 years old.

But I do love how enthusiastic she is about school. This week she started the whole, “can we please fast forward so I can start school already??” which makes me smile from ear to ear! In her last school we were worried we would need to switch to home schooling because her concentration was terrible; she was very over social for her age. Her teacher was not very involved, she was getting into fights, and she wasn’t doing her class work.

Our second move brought a new school, and new school year. And with both, it brought a new Kathleen.

This year we are trying to encourage her to keep up the good work, and have implemented two new ideas for encouragement at home. We bought a huge pack of construction paper, and created a chain link calendar for the school year; we will rip off one link foe each school day. We also have created homework charts for home as well; she will get a sticker each day she finishes all her homework and reading.

I am a firm believer that learning does NOT end in school. IT has to be encouraged at home as well. The home and school have to blend together; it’s the only way to encourage your child in my opinion. I try to attend the field trips, classroom parties, and I even have been known to take breakfast for the security guards (which I will do on the first day of school of course!!!). I also love to bake for the school dances, and bake sales.

Also, if you attend class parties or field trips take a camera along; Kathleen’s teacher was so thankful for the photos we were able to send her on an SD card! She got to keep memories of her class from 2010-2011.

Remember, August starts a new school year, and a fresh start. So how will you get involved this school year?

Here are some ideas –

If you get vacation days, why not make a commitment to use at least two of them to attend a school activity with your child?

Is there a school fundraiser coming up? Why not use Sunday afternoon as family fun time to make a couple dozen cupcakes for it, and let the children decorate them? (We do this, and can make 4 dozen cupcakes for $4. Being sold for 50c each makes the PTA a total of $24; that’s a $20 profit!! And not only that, but you get to cash in on some quality time with the kids as well!

Clip the “Box Tops for Education” and see if your child’s school uses the Campbell’s soup labels for education. * Both of these programs can be researched online, and often offer double, or free tops & labels for the school.

And what kids don’t like bringing gifts for the teacher? Find out the teachers favorite cookies, and send her a dozen after a big class trip to say thank you. Or make sure to send a card.

And make sure to be active with the teacher – don’t skip out on parent teacher conferences, always return calls, and if you miss the call, send a note to school telling them the best time to contact you the next few days. 

If you notice a change in your child’s behavior when they come home from school, inquire with the teacher and see if there is anything you can do at home to help.

So, what are some things YOU will do this school year to stay involved with your child and their school?

*Box tops for Education (http://www.boxtops4education.com/)

*Campbell’s Label’s for Education (http://www.labelsforeducation.com/)

Project: Parental Goals

I recently asked some friends, “As a Mother, what are some goals you want to achieve for yourself, and your children?” The answers I got were pretty genuine and many shared the same answers; To love God, to walk in his path, to be a responsible adult, a loving caring person, to understand we are all unique and no one is perfect, to always keep them safe and loved, to always respect themselves and others, and, my favorite of all (of course) “To Love God, Love People & Serve the World!” *

As parents, we want to see our children grow up to be better than us; yes I said it, BETTER than us. We can all sit down (mother of father) and find some fault in the way we raised our children, even if it was just once incident of losing our temper. So, how do we encourage our children to be examples of us, if not better? We share with them the truths we know in our heart.

These truths do not come from “Nurture vs. Nature” but more so from “Nurture & Nature & Fellowship”.   Yes, Fellowship.

As parents, we have to make decisions for our children until they are able to make responsible decisions themselves. But in making these decisions, we don’t say “This is what you are going to do, because I say so.” … *awkward silence*… Yes, I know, I’ve said it a million times to Kathleen!! But, the point is we are not making these decisions because we have the power to; we are making these decisions because we want to teach our children what decisions are best.

·         Choosing family reading time over family TV time helps build imagination.

·         Helping your child fill her plate for dinner in correct portions helps build better eating habits.

·         Choosing upbeat music that is encouraging and positive will help your child stay upbeat and positive.

·         Encouraging your child’s learning and helping with homework will help them see that education is important.

·         Choosing healthy snacks over sugary treats will help your child understand why they are called “treats” and not “snacks”.

There are many more things you can do to help your child grow into the adult you envision them as. But there is one thing we must always remember; we can encourage, but we cannot force.

I am 100% positive I did not turn out the way my mother had hoped or dreamed of the day I was born, or while she was pregnant with me, but she is still proud of who I am. She is proud of my good qualities, and she is proud of how I have overcome some of the bad ones. And I am sure she is proud of the fact that after 17 years of dealing with depression, I am strong on the path to still finding a treatment plan that helps. I know she is proud of the mother I am, the woman I have become, and the daughter I try to be.

You see, while we have all these goals for our children, we must remember one thing, it is ultimately their life, and all we can do is instill our values with them, not in them.

You see, the greatest gift God gave us was the ability to make choices, and the greatest job as a parent it to make sure our child knows the difference between good and bad choices.

So, at the end of the day, our goals, no matter how wide variety they become all end up being the same; raise our child in a way that makes for an example of that which we are.

*To understand why this goal is my favorite and so close to my heart, please visit Momentum Christian Church web site (http://www.momentumchurch.com/) to check out more about my home church and even listen to some ads, and podcast. 

Nothing Last Forever

They said the only things certain in life are life, death, and taxes. Well, I need to add another; all good things must come to an end.

Yes, I said it. And think about it, think of all the things you have enjoyed that eventually came to an end.

·         A family vacation

·         A good book

·         A good movie

·         A trip to an amusement park

·         A lunch with an old friend

·         Maybe, the life of a close friend

·         The life of a family member

·         The life of a family pet

·         A family dinner

·         Special time with the one you love

·         A special afternoon with your child

·         A family reunion

·         Cooking dinner together with your family

You see, there are a lot of things that we do that are special. The problem is, we don’t always appreciate them until they are over. What can we do to appreciate them today? What can we do so that we remember these moments, lives, or activities even after they are over?

Well, I bet the number one thing that popped into your head is photographs or video tapes. But lets me honest, all those photos can fade, get sun damage, DVD’s get scratched, hard drives crash, online files can get corrupted, even tiny SD cards can get erased. Trust me I have had these things happen.

But, when those things are gone, what do we have left?

While you were taking photos or recording the videos, were you more interested in the subject of the frame, or the moment taking place? Were you worried about little Sarah’s hair and smile looking perfect, or were you just wanted to capture her just as she was running around on that playground. When that photo is damaged or lost, will you remember her playing, or will you remember how hard it was to get her to sit still on the slide?

You see, there is no point of capturing the moment if you have to stage the moment. If you spend your time worrying about how the photo will look, you will spend hardly any time enjoying the moment you are trying so hard to capture.

My favorite photos of Kathleen, or of anyone, are the ones when they aren’t looking, or don’t know I’m taking them, or when they ignore the camera all together.

THAT is when the moment is happening, THAT is what you want to capture. I mean, think about it. If you just wanted to take pictures of Johnny sitting on the swing, you could pack him up, grab the camera, and drive around and try out every playground in the city until you found just the right background. Then you would shoot 20 photos to see where you get the best light, least shadow, and best background scenery.

But that’s not what you want to catch is it? Because by frame 10, Johnny’s smile is weak, and he is slouching, and you’re fighting over getting him to look like he is really swinging, or really having fun.

What you really want, is to get a photo, and keep the memory of Johnny laughing and playing, and having fun with his little cousin, or sister, or best friend at the park. So, if those things are already happening, why stage it?

Let Johnny play, and snap the photos, 5, 10, 15, 30 at a time if you need to, and just pick the one you love the most. Because those are the memories you are trying to capture.

But let’s face it; you can’t always have a camera at your hip, so what about the other times? What can you do to make those times special so that they are never forgotten?

To be continued…

Project Mommy??

Yep, my next in a series of blogs I hope to accomplish good things with.
But this blog was inspired with a slew of blogs I have come across that have to do with, yep, Mommies.
There blogs are filled with amazing ideas, stories, and articles that have to do with being a Mom, and a woman.
And thats just the thing. We are not just Mommies, we are women. We need to take care of ourselves in order to care for our children.

I hope that the things posted in this blog can help you on your journey as a Mom.