School has begun!

Another "first day" and this time they're both in the same school...  for another two years!

Freshman & Junior

...love, love, love our school district and we are excited to have a new Superintendent this year too!

Excellence is Our Standard
Posted by Robbinsdale Area Schools on Thursday, September 10, 2015

Cooking with Oliver

Oliver had to complete a cooking assignment for Spanish class.  He chose beef enchiladas.  The boys both ate them for dinner and they're "brother approved".  The video editing isn't the greatest (by little ol' me), but the homework has been submitted!

Fun to see him enjoy his homework, literally and figuratively!



Taking after his father?

new school year

The boys are beginning 8th (Oliver) and 10th (Henry) this year.  Oliver didn't have a whole lot of positives to share when he returned home after his first day, Henry was the opposite.  Funny how they can be so different in attitudes and view points, yet are the product of the same household/child-rearing.  Guess it really does go to show that they're individuals in every sense of the word!

I'm sure they'll both have great success this year and get through the rough bumps of the first week of school ~ thankful that it's only 4 short days too!

Henry said this morning that the thing he was looking forward to the most was a nap after school.  Ha!  All those lazy summer days will take a while to work out of his system.

274 days

Seems only yesterday these two were starting off on 7th and 9th grade and today...  is their last of "middle middle" and Freshman.  Another grade completed.  We started the day with Bruegger's and a photo to mark the occasion.  Smiles and shorts, the same as they began their school year a mere 274 days ago.

A fresh happy summer ahead for them, a new routine for Mom.

Exams completed, homework turned in, instruments shelved.

Lunch boxes put away, bottles washed and stored until next year.

Sleeping in for them, getting to work early for me.

Another school year behind us.  My how time flies. 

let the summer crazy begin

another school year {poof}

Back in September,
big smiles of anticipation,

new shoes in neon colors,

big smiles and hope for all
that another school year would bring.

 

My wishes for you were simple:

Have fun.  Make new friends.

Respect your teachers.  Learn.
...and live in the moment,

before the moment is gone.

Nine months, the last day of school.

I woke you early to have a breakfast.

We talked about what you've accomplished.

Oliver even used a metaphor and named it.

Celebrate today.  You made it.
Yearbook signing for Oliver. End of 6th grade.
Valleyfair (in the rain) for Henry.  Middle school completed.

Lessons learned.  Science projects.
Concerts performed.  Homework done.
Winter sports and family life crammed into the middle.
Some habits {procrastination} still hard to break.
But, overall, you both had a great year.
I'm still very, very proud of you.

love,
Mom

the feeling is mutual

It might be drawing near to the end

of the school year when...

• my kitchen table is no longer available for eating and looks like something like this on a daily basis
• we run out of glue sticks and double-sided tape from the dollar store faster than I can replenish it 
• the request for a tri-fold poster board has me hitting three different stores because I'll be darned if I'm willing to pay $6.99 for something that's going to be thrown away immediately after graded {dollar store had one that he liked best of all...  for $1}
• you go to bed nightly before the kids do, by almost ninety minutes
• the boys wake up looking exhausted and needing a 5-hour energy shot just to get moving and to the breakfast table (no, I didn't give them one)
• titles of homework in a Word document show increasing less descriptors for what they are and more of how he feels
• morning routine now includes statements like, "what's left to do?" and "don't forget to hand that in", as well as printing copious amounts of documents that suck up the last of the printer ink

 

Yes, folks, it's almost time to be finished with 6th and 8th grade for the year in our house,

and most importantly, no more nagging about late and missing work to get the grade*!

 

Come on, June 5th!!

 



*anything higher than currently failing five classes due to missing homework

 

 

First School Day, 2012

Where does the time go?!  The alarms' were buzzin' and the kitchen hummin' as we started our morning routine again today.  For the first time in almost three months, there was an air of urgency again in the morning; I even had to share my bathroom!

Back to making lunches, picking out clothes, brushing teeth and heading out the door on time to catch the bus.  While I'm not yet overly emotional about these milestones in ma boys' lives, I am a very proud Momma that they're growing into such wonderful young men.

My wishes for you today:

• may you make lots of new friends.
• may your teachers have leniency on you as you develop good study habits.
• may your schedule feel routine by end of month.
• may your brain be filled with unanswered questions, and may you then raise your hand!
• may you learn that procrastination is a habit best left behind.
• may you soak in each and every memory of this school year...  time flies much too quickly!

I love you, boys!

Oliver (6th) and Henry (8th)

Don't forget the new shoes!!

Henry's feet grew almost 2 sizes since the last pair of shoes.

Oliver's not far behind. 

They both had to have Nike.

Hoping these make it through the winter.

Happy Back-to-School 2010

Despite the cold, damp morning, the boys were happy to pose for the annual back-to-school photo on the front step. All smiles and up before the needed to be, they couldn't wait to get out the door to their first day of fourth and sixth grades.  Equally excited, they couldn't wait for Mom to get home from work so they could spill their stories of the day.  Henry said his first day was "awesome" and he couldn't wait to go again.  I asked him how long he thought he might have that response, he grinned and truthfully mumbled, "a week."  I think the excitement will last a little longer than that.  Besides forgetting how to work the combination lock on his locker, he couldn't have asked for a better day.  He even confided to me that he told a few teachers that he learns better if he can sit in the front of the class [that's my boy] and asked to be moved.  Oliver overheard this part of the conversation and said the same thing, that the kids who sit in the back of the class get in trouble and try to get away with things when the teacher isn't looking.  I told him I made sure to tell his teacher that he wanted a front row all year long too...  giggle.

I haven't heard from Alek about his first day as a senior, but I'm praying it went well.

First day of school statistics:
Students (K-12): 11,877
Kindergarten: 845
New students to the district (Grades 1-12): 999 

Excited [and Overwhelmed]

The boys are excited, Momma's overwhelmed.  I'm never one to be overly emotional when the kids return to school.  Well, not in a sad way.  I have been known to hop and skip my way down the hall as I wave goodbye on their first day.  This year, however, is feeling just a little bit different!

Our first stop last night was at Oliver's school.  We had discovered ahead of time that he was not going to get his "teacher of choice" and we would have to help soothe the child.  After discovering he had two friends in class, it wasn't as difficult as we imagined.  He did walk over to the desired teacher's class and longingly look to see who the lucky ones were that took his seat.  It's going to be a great year for Oliver.  I just know it.  Turning double-digits in November and on his own at school.

Next stop, middle school.  When did my boy get old enough to attend middle school?!  Here's where the overwhelmed comes in...  and again, I'm talking about me, the Momma!  Thankfully this "meet the teacher" night was just for the sixth grade.  With all of the anxious kids and parents walking around, it was a little crowded.  The kids were handed their schedule as we walked into the door and told to find their homeroom (advisory) and meet some teachers.  We didn't have any trouble locating Henry's advisory class.  JP also showed him how to work the locker.  His combination has only two numbers.  Who ever heard of a locker combo with only two numbers?  Success and easy memorization!  From there we wandered the halls looking for teachers and friends to compare schedules.  Henry discovered he's in three classes with one friend and none with another.  I took a little longer glance at his day and cannot believe he's in so many classes!  They've even tossed Spanish in there for good measure - a class I was hoping to put off for Henry until 8th grade due to all of the pre-AP classes he's in.

So, his day looks a little like this:

1. Pre-AP English
2. Pre-AP Social
3. Spanish
4. Pre-Algebra (broken up by lunch)
5. Pre-AP Physical Science
6. Band / Choir / Gym on a rotating day schedule
7. FACS

Wow.  Does that not look a little intimidating?   Seven classes with potential homework.  I best get my anxiety in order soon (and not show him) to help him off to a great start too!  We were also pleasantly surprised when we discovered that Henry's Pre-Algebra teacher was one we were familiar with...  Alek had him as a 4th grade teacher @ Neill.  Good ol' Mr. J (and yes, we talked about aging) was in our lives 8 years ago.  I am very thankful that he will be Henry's math teacher...  one of the areas Henry loves, but struggles just a bit.

So, that's it.  Teachers have been met, classrooms found and I'm the one who had trouble sleeping last night.  One more weekend ahead of us and we're back to "school normal" come Tuesday! 

what's on your mind?

One of my favorite subjects in school was English, the other, Psychology.  Interestingly enough, my teachers in these two classes were polar opposites in every way.  I won't say that I despised my English teacher, because I really learned a lot from him ~ all three years I had him in high school. He challenged me. However, I adored my psychology teacher.  What they had in common?  A passion for the subject they each taught.  As I look back now on those impressionable young girl years, I can see how my favorite two subjects went hand-in-hand in helping to create who I am today.

Lessons learned from English teacher:  

1. Do not tempt your English teacher (who was a bulldog and the boys' high school basketball coach) if you were not prepared to answer in debate.  He knew his stuff.  His reputation both on and off court was something to be feared.  Clearly he had a passion for both.
   
   
2. Push yourself.  You know more than you think you know.  Let the learning sink in and then find ways to apply it.  I never understood the "reading aloud" thing in school, but for no other reason than to keep us awake with fear we might be called next.  However, it gave me courage to speak up, even if only in prose and through the written word of some fabulous historical writers.  One of my favorite books was Don Quixote; and the character he adored, Dulcinea, resonated with me in a mysteriously unclear way that year.  [So much so that the name I had engraved on my senior yearbook was Dulcinea, not my own.  Perhaps more on that in a future post.]
   
   
3. While pushing yourself, keep lesson #1 in mind.  Do not leave class early, even two minutes, to get your band instrument if you failed to bring the proper pass.  This is the one and only time I was suspended.  Yes, really.  It turned out okay in the end ~ the next day when I was called to the Principal's office and told the news, I called my Mom and we had lunch and went shopping for the day.  I believe this was my senior year in high school.  I had never, I mean NEVER, gotten in trouble.  At the time it was something to laugh about, heck, it still is...  and I now have a story to tell my children about the day I was suspended from class. 

Lessons learned from Psychology teacher:

1. It's okay to dream.  Embrace your inner-Freud and follow the desires of your unconscious mind.  There are reasons behind your psychosis. In your quest to find out why you exist and who you will become in this world, it will take some deep digging into self-understanding, social upbringing and uncontrolled circumstances be damned.  And the hard truth to swallow is, the why & who will never fully be defined.  Keep learning, searching & dreaming.
   
   
2. Even if you feel that no one else believes in you, your ability to define yourself in these formative years will be what carries you through the turbulence of young adolescence.  Your teacher believes in you.  He knows that your mind is thirsty for knowledge and it his daily quest to see you drink from that cup of education.  Who better to have on your side than a psychology teacher?
   
   
3. Writing and lessons learned in English come in handy when having to create papers of self-analysis.  You may not always agree with the forefathers of the mind, but there is certainly enough fodder for consideration that defining your dreams of who you will become as a young adult becomes a daily game of reinvention.

So my perfect blend of classes in high school consisted of taking the best of both teachers and letting their words of wisdom resonate into my being.  My motto became, and has been since, Carpe Diem. Sure there were other classes and teachers who made a lasting impression on me, but as I reflect on my life's passions lately, I clearly see how these two were in the forefront.  I am a social being who loves to explore the mind and write about it.  This much is true.  I don't have all the answers, my use of English grammar is lacking most days, and I have evolved enough over the years to know that perfection does not exist.  And as I thirst for knowledge...  my glass will always be half full, with an eagerness to make it overflow someday.

Today and every day, I am thankful for teachers.
May we never stop learning!

Center-Left

When entering a classroom, a church or an auditorium, where the choice is YOURS alone to sit - where do you sit? Do you gravitate to one area or another? Do you hide in the back - or prefer to call it observing from the back? Have you ever wondered what's behind your seat of preference?

I've decided that my preferred seating is center-left. When I sit in church, I like the front row so that nothing separates me and the message. In a classroom, center-left and usually near the front. Watching my childrens' performances at school or in an auditorium? If you're late, you can always find me front, center-left. Sure this seems like a silly observation, but upon further analysis and reflection, this has become a pattern for me. A fingerprint, of sorts. And do you know where I think it all started? In my high school English class! We were always seated alphabetically. Gotta love Mr. Bolin, straight and narrow, by the book, must sit 'em alphabetical so they don't get out of line! Back then, my last name started with an L. There were just enough kids each year that landed before/after my name and so I ended up right about... yep, you guessed it... center-left! All three years in English, I was also seated between two Tony's. The one before me, his last name started with an L - and the one behind me - a P. So I guess that means that for that whole time we were together, no one else arrived with the last names beginning M-N-or-O!  All through school in choir, I sang alto (second row)...  center-left.

But I digress.  This has been on my mind lately, and for no real reason, but I decided today was the day to share such chatter.  Phew.  My brain is cleared...  and now left YOU wondering about your seating habits.


blessings,

art & story by Henry

(click image to enlarge and read)

Chinese New Year

It is the Chinese New Year today aka Lunar New Year. Oliver came home delcaring that it is the year of the RAT and anyone born this year is a RAT! (Chinese:鼠)

Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the new year containing a new moon (some sources include New Year's Eve)and ends on the Lantern Festival fourteen days later.

It is extremely enlightening to read about other cultures and their traditions. I am thrilled that my children are learning this appreciation at a very young age.

We had Oliver's school conference tonight and he is doing very well in first grade. He's all boy, of course, and has his moments of not sitting still or paying attention. However, his report from the teacher is that he's a very enthusiastic learner! The next thing of study is money ~ Oliver's favorite! His teacher has recently read Three Cups of Tea and is going to inspire the children to bring in Pennies for Peace. It looks like a very interesting book; I will have to add it to my reading list.

Left or Right Brain

I am sooooo not a left-brained individual. Or shall I say that the left side of my brain is not as strong as the right. As if it were not bad enough that I were in Geology right now (a class I only like on the surface of it all), the math that is involved in my online activities is bringing me to tears. Whatever will I do when I have to take my final class next spring for my AA degree?! Sending out the calling now for tutors to get me through my spring semester so I can accomplish this goal.

Left Brain
Logical
Sequential
Rational
Analytical
Objective
Looks at parts

Right Brain
Random
Intuitive
Holistic
Synthesizing
Subjective
Looks at wholes

If it were not for the assistance of my brother-in-law, I would have completely lost it today. The computer must have disliked it as much as I for it froze after I finally returned to complete the online activity.

(sigh)

It's now 8:41 pm. I took 600 mg of Advil, put the rice sock on my shoulder (full of stress and anxiety), am finishing a glass of wine with some dark chocolate, and will go to bed soon to start tomorrow fresh!

Thank you, Lord, for a brother-in-law who has a left brain!

Six more to go...

Plate tectonics, lithosphere, asthenosphere... molten lava, basalt, Fe and Mg. Oiy! A brain can only take so much at such an hour of the evening. I am taking my Geology class on Wednesday nights and because it has a lab component, I cannot take it online. So I found a condensed "seat time" class that is 8 weeks in length. It's a good thing too, because the seats are from the Mesozic era and hard like a rock! The silver lining is that we have a good table of four who all feel the same way... we can get through this together!

First Day of School

As I walked back from dropping them off at school this morning I tried to take it all in... with every sense of my being. The smell was not a fall crisp day, instead it was low humidity on its way to a 92* high. The birds were chirping in the tall trees grasping onto their leaves before the fall breezes set in to take them on their way. And the monarch that followed me home seemed to tell me that it will be alright to "let go" of the child who just entered all day school.

I took a few, deep cleansing breaths as I walked back up the driveway.

Where does the time go? I have a first grader, a third grader and my eldest just started high school. I even contemplated retirement for a fleeting moment today... and then quickly shooed it from thought.

We celebrated this milestone with lunch, just the two of us, and it was a nice feeling. Then we walked over to Barnes & Noble and got lost in books for an hour. I have two and a half more weeks of days without children to spend with my husband before I return to work. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?!