Tales From the Classroom

More and more, I find myself missing my classroom days.  I miss working with the little guys, and I miss the constant change and ebb and flow of days and schedules.  I've been rethinking a couple of decisions and choices that I've made over the last two years. 

Anyway, this is a repost of an earlier article about the kids.  I'd subbed several days in a row, and there were three very particularly memorable stories I wanted to share.

1) "That's Wrong!"

I was subbing for a Special Ed. assistant, and was sitting through a second grade math lesson with one of my favorite guys.  The teacher was going through a subtraction lesson with the kids.

(The key part to remember to this story is... 2nd grade.  Remember, at that time, they still made us move the big number to the front and then subtract the smaller number.)

The teacher had the problem 3-5=___  written on the board. 

"Now, how do we solve this?"  She asked.

My little friend promptly raised his hand and said "It's negative 2!"

"No, it's not," the teacher replied, "Can someone else help me?"

"No!!!"  He shouted.  "It's negative two!!"

"No, it's not," she replied, looking at me for help.

"Actually, it is," I answered, and turning to my little friend I said "In 2nd grade, most of the kids haven't learned negative numbers yet.  She's trying to get you to set the problem up the 2nd grade way, and put the big number first."

"Well that's just stupid."  He replied.  "The answer is negative two, and she's just making the problem harder for everyone to solve by making them switch it around.  If they're going to switch the numbers, they should switch the signs."

The teacher and I both sat stunned, staring at him for a moment.  The teacher recovered first and said "You guys are right.  BUT, we since we're in 2nd grade, we will do this the 2nd grade way."

"It's still stupid" said my little friend. 

2) The Voice of an Angel

Subbing again in special education, in a different classroom, I was with a friend in kindergarten.  He was working on a cut and paste number identification sheet.

While he was cutting, he broke out into a SPOT ON rendition of "Oh Danny Boy".

He knew all of the words, hit every single note, and sang in the most beautiful child soprano anyone has ever heard.  It brought tears to my eyes, and the classroom to a halt.

When he finished, the teacher whispered to me "I never make him stop singing.  He has the voice of an angel, and I feel like we are blessed every time we hear it."

 

3) Those Letters Spell WHAT??

I was subbing in a kindergarten class where kids were working on the sight word "this".  The kids each had a bag of cut out letters:  t, h, i, s, that they were to glue into appropriate places on a worksheet.

The first group comes up and glues the letters into place, with no comment whatsoever.

The second group comes up, and one little guy starts playing with the letters, rearranging them, moving them around, and finally comes up with an entirely new word and I hear him say "Oh, wow!  Look at what I can spell!"  (Take one guess what that word was...)


You know, there are some bad days when I'm subbing.  There are days when everything goes wrong.  But then, things like this happen that make me laugh, and I realize just how fortunate I am to be able to work in a profession where I get to see the world through the eyes of children.

Moving Day

We moved oldest child into his apartment over the last couple of days.  This is a totally new experience for me.  I went straight from my Undergraduate Degree into the work world, and I moved back home after I graduated until I got married 2 years later.  I completed my graduate degree as an adult, with a family and a job to juggle.  His experience will be different.  His school is giving him a stipend to study.  Must be nice - to be paid to go to school!  THAT was never MY experience!

Anyway, he and a friend are both going to the same graduate school.  They found an apartment townhouse, and found a third person to share expenses.  I met the third person, and really like him.  He worked in the real world for 3 years in order to save enough money up to go back and get his PhD.  Nice young men, all of them.

Anyway, this is the progression of events over the last few days:
Cleaning out his room.  Remember I said I had to sit down with him in order to get him to clean out under the loft bed?  If you look closely, you can see that under the bed is clean!  As of Tuesday afternoon, this is what the rest of his room looked like.  His brother's stuff is all shoved firmly under his loft bed.

This is the pile of stuff in the living room that he had sorted out to go.  To be fair, not everything is his.  Daughter's pile is next to his pile.  She's adding stuff to one of her boxes here.

The van, with seats removed, packed and ready to go.  We went up in two cars.  Husband and oldest son went up together in the van.  The rest of us went in the Civic.  It was a beautiful 4 hour drive, straight up into the mountains.  I would have had one of the kids take pictures while we were driving up, but somehow, a camera phone just can't quite capture the majesty of the mountains.

The day after we moved him in, we went exploring around campus.  Of course, his mother is a librarian, and he's going to be working on a graduate degree.  What do you think was the first place that I insisted we go and visit?

The library.  Isn't this gorgeous?  I just love this atrium!  What an awesome place to curl up and study in between classes!  It's nicer than my library where I went to school!

The Leisure Reading Room of the library.  I could live in here!  I wonder if they're hiring librarians?  Wouldn't that be a hoot?  To go to graduate school at the same university where your Mom works? Livin' the dream, that's what that would be!

Says it all, doesn't it?

I have many, many more pictures, but you would get sick and tired of looking at them all and never come back and visit my blog again!

He lives in a sweet spot. He's far enough away from campus that he should be able to get some peace and quiet.  His neighborhood is mostly graduate students and young professionals.  They are within walking distance of a grocery store, and on the bus line, with a bus stop at the end of their street to get them back and forth to campus.  For now, he is going without a car.  He doesn't think he's going to need one to get back and forth to campus, and the walk from any parking lot would be much, much longer than the walk from his door to the end of his street.  

Before we left, we took him grocery shopping.  We bought his "start up" groceries for him.  Before we left, we made a chili and left it in the slow cooker for his dinner.  Unfortunately for him, he left his graduation cookbook home.  I am under strict instructions to send it to him ASAP.  

Moving him in was an experience.  I'm looking forward to going back when he's been there for a while and he can walk us around and give us a campus tour!  

I really do hope that he enjoys himself!

A Bittersweet Moment

Daughter came home with the Senior Handbook this week.  This handbook has it all - the dates for the talent show, prom, senior cruise, graduation dates, etc.  Everything from here until the end of her mandatory K-12 education is detailed, written down, and explained in detail.  While reading it, I couldn't help but reminisce about my own high school graduation.  I remember how excited I was, and how much I was looking forward to going off to college and starting on my own journey.

It was equal parts excitement and terror.

*sniff*  already?

Last night, I was looking through her Senior Handbook, and listening to her babble on about how excited she was about graduation, and how much she was looking forward to starting on her own journey.

It was equal parts excitement and terror.

I am so proud of the girl, words can't even begin to hold it all together.  She has done so well, and risen above so many obstacles that have been tossed into her path.  I have watched as she has learned to pick herself up, dust herself off, and begin again more than once.  I have wiped away tears of frustration, sorrow, and joy, and commiserated with her about how to rise above a situation with grace and dignity.   Journeying with her from gangly, awkward little tomboy with two pigtails who was constantly trying to keep up with her brothers to a self-assured young woman who has hopes and dreams of what she wants to do with her life.

I am so excited for her - for the opportunities that lie before her - the adventures she will have as she goes forward into her life.

I am also terrified.  Did I teach her everything she needs to know?  Did she listen to all of those things that I said?  What happens when the world tries to crush her spirit?   Will she be able to rise above the horrible situations that present themselves and prevail?

With all 3 of my kids, I have always had their back.  But then, they go out into the world, and I have to know that I only have their back from a distance. 

Have I given them the tools that they need to survive and thrive?

I really hope I have.  I pray that I have.

It seems like only yesterday I was putting the little pumpkin on the bus for kindergarten, and I was receiving instructions on kindergarten graduation.  Hard to believe, but sending her off to kindergarten for the first time was just as terrifying. 

Tales from the Classroom

Years ago, when I was a full time teacher, I had a situation going on in my classroom.  (It was third grade.)

There was a young woman in my class named, shall we say, Jamie.

Another young man, named, shall we say, Jeff, had a mad crush on Jamie.



I was working at the table with a reading group when I noticed Jeff intently scribbling away on a piece of paper.   This level of passion regarding his work was unusual for him, so I watched the proceedings with curiosity.

Jeff put his pencil down, folded it up into a paper football shape, and wafted it across the classroom in Jamie's direction.

Unfortunately, the football missed Jamie entirely and bonked Michael in the head.  Michael (a very tough kid), scooped up the football, opened the note, and read it.

In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet, waving the note around, shouting at the top of his lungs:  "I am not that kind of a guy!  Who sent this?  Who is this from?  I'll meet you out behind the cafeteria at lunch time!  Who did this?"

I looked over at Jeff, who at this point, had sunk so low in his chair you could only see the top of his head. 

I grabbed the note from Michael, and sent him down the hall for a drink of water.

Reading the note I see the words:  "I love you.  You are so beautiful! I will always love you!  You are the only person for me!"

When I took the kids down to lunch, I let the rest of the class go into the cafeteria, and I pulled Jeff aside.

"I wouldn't mention this if I were you."  I told him.  "I wouldn't sit near either him or Jaime at lunch today.  We'll keep the author of that little note a secret just between us."

He nodded his head. 

Ah.... young love. 

To this day, the memory of Michael, standing there, waving that paper around and screaming for vengeance, and the look of sheer horror on Jeff's face takes me back 20 years and makes me smile...

Tales from the Classroom

I've been subbing a lot over the past two weeks.  It's been a hoot.  The kids are wound up over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they are boisterous and full of life.

These are some of my highlights from the past few weeks:

Dry Erase Boards:

I do a lot of subbing in Special Education.  I love the children... they are all so amazing.  This particular day, I was subbing in a regular ed. kindergarten class.  I was working with a group of kids at the reading table, and we had just finished a book.  I asked the little girl sitting next to me "Could you please get the dry erase boards for me?"  She looked at me, and with the look that only a 5 year old can give you said, "Seriously?"   I looked into her brown eyes as she started to grin and pointed at the floor on my left side.  Lo and Behold, there were the dry erase boards.

I sighed, and turned to my other side and asked the little boy if he knew where the dry erase markers were.  (When I sub in Special Ed, I pull this particular friend a lot.  He and I know each other fairly well.)  He started laughing as he pointed to the ground on my right side to the basket of dry erase markers and erasers.  I made a silly face at the kids, and he said "That's okay... it's nice seeing you have trouble with something, too!"  At that point, all of us started laughing.

It's not only the Kids:

I was at choir practice last night.  There is a very prim and proper older woman (age 75) who stands in front of me.  Just as our conductor raised his baton, she suddenly turned around and started fanning the air behind her.

"Whoops...Sorry about that... Really spicy lunch today..."

On Marriage:

During bus duty, one of my friends in first grade told me:  "I know who I'm going to marry when I grow up.  She's the most beautiful girl in the world." 

"I'm so happy for you!"  I told him.  "But remember, if you want to get married, first you have to finish high school, graduate from college, and get a job.  THEN you can get married."

"So, the proper order is College, Job, Marriage?"

"Yes."

"But..." at this point his little eyes got really big..."I want to become a doctor.  I have to go to 8 years of doctor school after I finish college before I can get a job.  That's a REALLY LONG time to wait!!!"

What do you say?

During recess, in first grade, (remember, age 6)  one of the little guys comes running over to me and says...

JJ says he doesn't want to die with his underwear on!

Portfolio Day

I'm not an artist.  I didn't go to art school.  I don't know any professional artists.  So, daughter's decision to go to art school is something new for me.  I feel like I've been playing catch up as I struggle to understand the different requirements.

The most recent struggle (for me) was portfolio day.

The child has art safely stashed in a cardboard portfolio in a corner of the dining room.

Portfolio Day is an event.  Representatives from the art schools across the country show up at a pre-determined location and review portfolios for the kids.

For an artist, grades and high SAT scores are not enough.  They also have to have a portfolio.  The portfolio is reviewed as a major part of the admissions process.  At portfolio day, the admissions officers review portfolios.  For Juniors, they make suggestions based upon the current portfolio for improvement.  For Seniors, they will accept a portfolio.  This is huge, as online portfolio submissions only allow a student to submit 12 -20 pieces, and they are all digital copies of what they have done.

Since daughter is a junior, she was interested in the critique and the suggestions.

Our first challenge came when we realized that the cardboard portfolio was not the most efficient way (or safest for her art) to transport items around.

So, we set off to buy a portfolio.  I had a 50% off coupon to Michael's, so we went there.  After way too much discussion and agonizing, she decided upon a portfolio that has a strap, so that she could sling it across her body, and carry it easier.

Then, came the agony of what to wear. After much research, and conversations with her art teachers at school, she decided to dress as she would for a job interview.  Of course, the weather was cold, windy, and in the teens!  

After school let out, she spent an afternoon going through the portfolio with her art teachers, deciding what pieces showcased her abilities the best.

Last Sunday morning, we headed to the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA) bright and early.  We took the tour of campus, ate in the dining hall, and then mentally prepared ourselves to stand in lines.  Holy cow.... those lines were unbelievable!  

Since daughter is a junior, she "short lined" it.  If the line was short, she stood in it to have them review her portfolio and take their suggestions.  Unbelievably, by the end of the afternoon, the lines at the "big" schools were short!  She was able to get reviews from the schools she really wanted, as well as excellent schools that she was not that familiar with.  

She got the reviews she needed.  She found that there is a very big difference in what schools are looking for in a portfolio based upon whether the school follows a contemporary or classic philosophy.

She knows what skills she needs to work on over the next year.

She did have a couple of friends from our high school who's portfolios were accepted at portfolio day.

And me?  I struggled not to be a helicopter parent.  I did not stand at the tables while her portfolio was being reviewed.  Her art is her own.  If she can't handle the review process, or speak for herself, she doesn't belong in the field.  I also didn't want to intimidate the reviewers or my daughter by hovering while they were talking.

So, I spent my time sitting on benches or floors in the main hallways.

I cruised Facebook.

I called my Mom.

I took a lot of pictures.

When we left, daughter was happy and content.  She'd discovered new schools she wants to look into.  She told me what the comments and suggestions were.

Even better, she thanked me for leaving her alone and letting her handle everything on her own.  She told me it made her feel like an adult, and let her know that I trust her to handle herself.

Nobody knows how hard it was for me to sit back and let her handle this on her own.  (OK, maybe you do... If you have kids of your own.)

But to hear her thank me for letting her handle it in her own?

Priceless.

College Visits

When I was looking at colleges, my parents refused to take me out to tour the colleges until after I had accepted the offer of admission to a school.  To this day, I still think that if I had been allowed to visit the campuses of both schools I was interested in, I would have chosen to go to the OTHER school, and not the one I went to.  The other school was smaller, closer to home, and also had a beautiful campus, but it was a very different atmosphere than the school that I went to.

So, with our kids, we have toured every college campus of every school they were interested in during the course of the Junior year of high school, and the summer between Junior and Senior years.
Over three children, we've now visited 10 campuses.

It's funny, because with some of the schools the kids were looking at, I was totally opposed to the school going in, but was charmed enough by the admissions program and seeing the campus and talking to the professors that I was willing to consider the schools as excellent matches for my kids.  Other campuses, I went in thinking they'd be okay, and walked away vehemently opposed to the school for some reason or another.

Many of the schools now include lunch as part of their tour.  So, after you walk around campus, you get to eat in one of the dining halls.  It's a great opportunity to sample to food, and check to make certain that the food is edible, and that dietary choices are offered.  (A very important thing for vegetarians and those of certain religious beliefs.)  Believe it or not, that dining room visit can make our break a college in the minds of the kids.  Considering that they are going to be eating there every day for at least a year, I do think that knowing what the food is like in the dining hall is crucial.

We had the day off of school yesterday, so we went to visit another school on daughter's list.  I went into the school with an open mind.  After visiting it, I can honestly say I don't hate the school, but I don't think it's a good match for my daughter.  I didn't say anything during the tour, but I was relieved when we got into the car and she told me she didn't like the school. 

We've had some interesting highlights over the years on our school visits:

1) A tour guide at one college was called "Girl on Fire" by the admissions staff.  One of the parents asked "Why do they call you that?  Are you on the track team?"

"No", she admitted.  "When you become a student tour guide,  you get these really nice fleece jackets.  I like mine a lot and wear it a lot.  I'm also on the swim team.  So, I got done with practice, took a shower, and put my fleece on to go back to my dorm room.  When I got back to my room, my friends wanted to go to the dining hall to get dinner.  So, I tossed my fleece into the microwave to dry it off.  Who knew that the fleece would catch fire in the microwave??"

2) A mother and son were walking behind us on a campus tour when the tour guide mentioned that the school had a planetarium, and that on Friday nights after the planetarium show, the staff would open up the telescope on the roof and let people look through it.

"Justin would love this place."  Said the mother.

"Well then, keep it in mind when Justin looks for schools" said the son.

"No, I really mean Justin would love it here!  The planetarium, the telescope..."

At this point, the son starts screaming.. "Then bring JUSTIN here when he's looking for schools!  Right now, I'M looking for schools!" 

(Okay, that one was a very awkward moment, and a lesson for all of us parents on what to do and not to do when looking at colleges!)

3)  A group of students joined in with our tour group and was walking along with us while the guide was telling us about the wonders of the campus.  The kids start talking in low voices amongst themselves:

"Hey, this campus is pretty nice."

"Yeah, I hear they've got a really nice student body."

"Good school, great sports teams..."

"But there is that cocaine problem..."

I did turn around at that one, started laughing at the kids in our group, and thanked them.  They all sheepishly grinned and left our tour group.  I know there are drugs everywhere, and I don't think the drug problem on that campus is any different than the drug problem on any other campus.  What I really appreciated was the effort it took to add some levity into a tour that was growing pretty old by that point in time!

4) Oh hey... Penn State has ice cream from their creamery.  You don't get it on the tour, but the tour does end fairly close to the ice cream place.

University of Maryland ends their tours in the same building as their creamery, and they aren't shy about pointing out that they have the best ice cream anywhere.

5) Jim Henson (creator of the Muppets) went to the University of Maryland.  The character of Miss Piggy was based upon a girl he went out with in college.  Not only is he immortalized on campus with a bronze statue of him and Kermit, but somewhere, in one of the dorms, the person who inspired Miss Piggy is also immortalized...  

We've got 4 more schools on daughter's list to visit.  We're hitting up three of them over her spring break.

And then?  Oldest son is looking at Grad. Schools, and he is compiling a list for us to visit over his break this spring...  I've more than made up for the schools that I didn't get to visit when I was in high school!

Girl Scouts

I've been a Girl Scout leader for several years now.  I took over when our old troop leader said that she didn't want to do it anymore, and refused to sign the paperwork to be a leader for another year.  It looked as if our troop was going to fold, so I agreed to become the leader.

Over the years, the troop has gone from being led by one person to more of a co-op arrangement.  All of the parents have signed on as Assistant Leaders, and we all take responsibility for leading meetings and getting things accomplished.

As the girls grew into high school, the challenge of being leaders has been easier than we expected.  High school is the age of girl led programming.  In short, the girls take over the meetings.  They decide what they want to do next, and our job is to help them find the resources to reach their goals.

It's been wonderful watching them grow, and take on responsibilities and reach their goals.

When we started our Bronze Award, it was a project initiated by our then-leader.  The girls initiated a wonderful project, and earned their Bronze Award.  They were in 6th grade, and they were unstoppable.

Predictably, we lost a few girls through middle school.  The programming changed, and even worse, the grade levels changed.  Our girls were caught in the middle of the transition.  They became Cadettes at the end of their 6th grade year, and that was when the new age guidelines were handed down from national. Previously, Cadettes were in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades.  Now, they were to be in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.  This presented a huge challenge for us.  Two years to complete the requirements for the Silver Award, find a project, and complete said project.

We all quailed at the prospect.  We went to the first Silver Award meeting we could find held by our council, and I was almost in tears.  Since that time, Girl Scouts has changed the Silver Award requirement to the completion of a Journey.  At that time, there was a long list of badges, experiences, leadership demands, and community service requirements to be met. 

I still remember that meeting with the parents and the girls as we looked at the requirements.  The girls were amazing.  "We are going to do this."  They said.  "Nothing will stop us." 

It was at this point that we became a co-op troop.  Each parent took a requirement, and agreed to research it.  We as parents then sat down and figured out the mechanics of the requirement, and the parent who researched that requirement was the one who presented it to the girls, arranged the trips, and followed it through to it's conclusion.

Once we finished the requirements, we had the girls sit down and research possibilities for projects.  They presented their ideas, voted on suggestions, and chose Project Linus.  Much as the parents had done, assigning roles to meet the badge qualifications, the girls sat down and divided up the responsibilities for funding, researching, etc. 

To this day, I am still confounded by the fact that it took us less than a year to finish this.  I won't go into all of the details here, but I will say that the girls completed 80 blankets for Project Linus.  They even learned how to sew in the process - a skill that is no longer taught in the public schools!

They bridged on to Seniors, and began their Senior Journey.  We finished that two years ago, and the girls began to look for Gold Award projects.  Keep in mind, Gold Award projects are individual projects, and they must have a long lasting impact on the community.  Projects must be found, and project proposals submitted to council and approved by council before work can begin on them.

Now, fast forward to this past summer.  We still have 5 girls in our troop.  They are in 11th grade.
All 5 have submitted proposals and had them approved by council.

The first project went off without a hitch in late July. 

Today is the second project.   

Believe it or not, we have at least one, if not two, projects scheduled to happen every month from now until December.

What continues to amaze me most of all is that these girls are all in High School.  They are all in 11th grade.  And they all choose to remain in Girl Scouting.  Even with the commitments to sports, band, drama, friends, and school work, these girls are still involved in Girl Scouting.  They are all honor roll students.  To me, this is unbelievable.  When I took over this troop, I honestly never expected it to last more than a year.  And here we are, years later.  Unbelievable.

I am so very, very proud of all of these girls.  They are AMAZING!!!

And the other parents in this troop who have stepped up and helped to keep our troop running and help the girls achieve their dreams?  They've done it all while balancing careers, other commitments, other children, cancer treatments, health problems, and the sickness of their own parents?

They are PHENOMENAL.

None of this could have happened without the combined efforts of us all. 

It really does take a village. 

Mom, Can You Bring?

My oldest child is a freshman in college.  He's in the midst of final exams right now.  I am to pick him up on Monday afternoon for winter break.

His last day of class was on Tuesday, so I posted a little note on his facebook page congratulating him on completing his first semester of college, and wishing him good luck on finals.  I told him, I'll see you on Monday!

Little did I know....

He called home on Tuesday night, and I asked him what classes he was taking next semester.  "Two Math classes, two Physics classes, a Computer Science class, oh, and orchestra."  he replied. 

"Sounds interesting" I said. After I hung up the phone, I looked at my husband and said "orchestra?"  We both shrugged and said nothing.

A little back story here...  the kid has been playing Viola since he was 8 years old.  He made All-County Orchestra every year since 6th grade.   And here's the truly annoying thing.... he never practiced!  He has a knack for playing.  If he'd practice, he'd be an amazing violist.

Anyway, he played his Viola for the last time in May.  He hasn't touched it since then.  I asked him in August, when he was packing up for school, if he wanted to take his Viola along with him.  "No",  he'd replied.  "I don't see playing that thing again any time soon."

I deeply sighed, but I said nothing.

So, on Tuesday night, he tells us he's signed up to take orchestra.

Thursday morning, I get a call from him.

"Hey Mom, you know how I said I was going to take orchestra in the spring?"

"Yes"

"Well, it turns out that you have to audition to get in to the orchestra.  Is there any chance you can bring me my Viola.  Like, today??"

"What?  Why?"

"Well, my audition is this afternoon.  I could borrow one of their violas, but I'd feel better if I had my own."

And that is how I found myself headed back to school to drop off his viola on a Thursday morning.  I asked him if I could just leave it at the desk at the dorm and tell them "This is for the absent minded blonde kid".  He very quickly responded "You'd have to be more specific than that, Mom."

I guess this is the mixed blessing of having a child go to school in state. 

Anyway, I am wishing the absent minded kind of blonde-ish kid good luck!

(This was originally posted in my blog "A Mom's View" in 2011)

Reading to Your Kids

I loved reading to my kids.  Starting before they were born, I would read to them.

I read them everything I could get ahold of.  Textbooks, Dave Barry, Dr. Seuss.  When our oldest one was a wee little one with colic, the one thing that could calm him down was the sound of us reading out loud to him.  He would scream and scream, and one of us would pick him up, snuggle him up close and read the exploits of Dr. Seuss or Dave Barry.

As he got older, he eagerly awaited our weekly trip to the library.  He learned to count early because we would limit him to 20 books a week.  I'd sit on the floor of the library with my basket, and count books with him.  There were a couple of times when he'd sit and look closely between two or three books until he could find the one book that he liked the best to make 20. 

Some of my favorite preschool memories involve trips to the library.  I enjoyed picking out new books and reading new books almost as much as the kids did.  I have a Longaberger Medium sized market basket that used to go to the library with us each week.  It was the perfect size.  All of our books would fit in there.  The kids picture books would fit in spine up, with all of the bright titles shining out at us.  When the books weren't being read, they lived in the basket so that we could keep track of them between library trips.

I have to admit, we lost a few books over the years.  We've paid "rental" on several books that were late.  But the cost of those fines and replacement fees pales in comparision to the knowledge that my kids are active readers.  And I have 2 boys.  Boys are known for being reluctant readers, and yet they both love to read.

Why?  Because we set the stage early.  Reading was something we did as a family.  It brought us great joy.  We spent time together, looking at books, snuggling our children, and exploring new worlds together.

The boys did love to read non-fiction.  I do not.  So, we'd save the non-fiction books for when Daddy got home, and in the evenings, he'd sit and read endlessly from "The Animal Encyclopedia"  or "The Way Things Work" or "The New Book of Knowledge".  And, I'd sit there close beside them, listening with glazed eyes while the kids asked questions and Dad would go into infinite detail about say, how a screw worked.  And then, he'd get out his toolbox, a few screws, some wood, and a screwdriver, and they'd sit around putting screws into wood for half an hour before bedtime, all the while talking about where you'd use screws, and why you'd use screws instead of nails in certain situations...

I guess we didn't do all bad.  The oldest one graduated with a 4.0 and is double majoring in Physics and Math.  The middle one has something around a 3.5, and is an avid reader of business books and journals (and yes, he is Dyslexic, too.)  And our daughter has close to a 3.8.

I bring this up because I saw an article on CNN this morning that says something I think most of us already know  "It's the parent's job -- not the schools -- to find the books to get your kids reading and keep them reading".  http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/patterson-kids-reading/index.html accessed 9/29/2011. 

We as parents truly are our child's first and most important teachers.  What we show and model to our children is what they will live.  I know, it's frightening to think, isn't it?  They are such little mirrors of us and what we do.... 

And giving them a love of reading, which gives them the power to unlock doors, find out more, and make new discoveries?  To give them the curiosity to ask questions and find out why things are the way they are and work the way they do and see if they can understand it better, or make it work better?

I think that's the greatest gift that we can give to our children.

What Enthusiasm?

I was tx the other day, and saw a wonderful commercial with young children running with abandon through the house.

So, what happens to that abandon as we grow older?

I just watched my two teenagers leave the house.  Heads down, dragging their feet, they walked out the door and down the hill to the bus stop.  I remember 10 or so years ago, when they used to race each other to the bus stop first thing every morning. 

The joy in watching the bus pull up to the corner was only matched by the excitement in their faces as they got onto the bus, looked at me out the window with big smiles on their faces and waved enthusiastically as the bus pulled away.

Now, I'm not allowed to go to the bus stop in the morning.   I am told to stay here at home, and not even allowed to kiss and hug them before they leave.

Our college age son was home on Saturday.  He was happy beyond words when we picked him up, and chatted incessantly.  We dropped him off Saturday evening.  He got out of the car, his eyes alight with excitement.  He ran across the street, ran up the steps to his dorm, turned and waved to us enthusiastically and then went inside.

Okay, so the excitement is there, but it leads to a rather disturbing question:  was it always there and we just missed it?  Or is it just that he's thrilled to be away from us?

I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that question.