Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘education’

by Megan M., Contributor, All A Bunch Of Momsense (@taxmegan)

It is a foundation on which we build our futures. The decisions we make regarding our children’s education today will impact them for the rest of their lives. Whether we chose home school, private school, or public school with our children we all agree that education is vital to the futures of our children.

In my home, we have chosen public schooling as the best fit for our family. While I have never regretted our choice, it has not been one without its share of burdens.

I shared with you several months ago some of the impending changes in our local school system. Over the weeks that have passed since that time, changes have been made to those cuts. We were able to retain the media center specialists, at least for this year. Other cuts were suggested, 70 educators lost their jobs, and challenges such as elementary classrooms with 37 students in them are now a reality. Our schools are facing a true crisis, and I don’t know how to fix it.

As a working parent, it’s hard to give much in the way of time to the schools. I’m lucky that the seasonality of my job, along with an exceptionally supportive employer, allows me a great deal of flexibility. I volunteer my time in the library. I go on field trips with my kids. I’m active in our PTO. But this? I can’t fix this with a few hours a month.

Parents, please, be involved and engaged with your children’s teachers; they want your children to be successful. They would be grateful for your help in the classroom; even things like making photocopies of worksheets for the teacher frees up time where they can be doing something more productive. An hour or two here or there isn’t much to you, but can make a huge difference to a teacher.

Not a parent? No kids in public school? Volunteer anyway! You bring a different perspective to the environment! We have some fantastic reading tutors that come to our school to work with kids who are struggling; they come from a local senior’s center.

Know what your children are studying, talk about it; if it’s something you know, help them. If it’s something you don’t, learn it with them. Demonstrating to your children that you value their education makes it important in their minds. If you don’t care, why should they?

By Megan M., Contributor, All A Bunch Of Momsense (@taxmegan)

I’m a reader. I’ll read about anything with text on it. There are books scattered through my house, and usually I’m working my way through two or three of them at a time.

My books are my escape. When I have downtime – after the kids are in bed, or times when it’s daddy’s turn – I fall between the pages and read. I curl up on a sun-warmed couch, or lounge in a bathtub, or nestle amongst the pillows on my bed, and let the writer weave images with their words. Sometimes, I’m in a castle with wizards, seeking answers. Other times, I’m watching two people find love on a ranch. Currently, I’m hanging with a saucy bounty hunter in Jersey.

When my children were small, I read to them. As they’ve grown, we’ve changed our roles. As each of my children worked their way through the sounding out of consonants and vowels, they’ve done much of it aloud, excited to share the stories with me. They would read to each other, to their dad, to their stuffed animals.

Today, my kids are strong readers – my boys both read well above grade level, and my daughter, who just started first grade, exploded this summer. We didn’t pass a sign, poster, book cover, or magazine that she didn’t sound out. Going to the grocery store was a particular treat. That’s a LOT of packaging in one place! My van has books tucked in every seat pocket, and I have to limit the number of books they check out when we go to the public library.

I’m grateful that I have a “guilty pleasure” that is not really guilt-inducing. That this thing that I truly enjoy is worth sharing with my children, and that I can be glad they have a love for it as well.

What about you? What is your escape, your guilty pleasure, and is it one that you can eventually share with your children? Is it something you already do together?

By Mama Michie, Contributor, Mama Michie’s Musings, (@MamaMichie)

I love my children. I can’t imagine what life would be like without them. And yet I’m looking forward to classes starting up again in 4 weeks.

Had someone told me a year ago that I would one day say that I’m looking forward to going back to school, I think that I would have laughed politely and walked away thinking that they were an idiot!! I dreaded the thought of going to classes filled with teenagers and 20-somethings. I mean, here I was a mom in my 30’s (low 30’s, thankyouverymuch) and I was sure that they would look at me and wonder what an old person like me was doing there.

Boy, did I have it all wrong!! Sure, I was among the oldest in each of my classes. Sure, the classes were filled with teens just out of high school and 20-somethings. But they didn’t look at me funny. In fact, many of them thought that I was in my low to mid 20’s!

And while I admit that I don’t necessarily look my age, I don’t think that I look 10 years younger either!!

I’m only going to school part-time… anything more than that would be too hard with the two little ones. So right now all I am taking are night classes.

For two nights a week, I get roughly 3 ½ hours to myself. I get to be an adult and try to forget about diapers, bedtimes and bottles. It’s a bit hard to do, especially if you have one at home that is still very dependent on you as her source of food. But it is possible and it is sooooo nice!!

So, after having spent an entire summer at home with my two munchkins, almost 24/7, I am not ashamed to say that I am looking forward to going back to school. Those 6 hours a week that I get to myself are almost as important as nap time!

I’m curious, do you have something that you do or somewhere that you go to that gives you  some “you” time?

by Megan M., Contributor, All A Bunch Of Momsense (@taxmegan)

It’s hard to believe that it’s back to school time.

The smell of pink erasers rubs out that of sunscreen and garden soil.

Crayons line up like little soldiers in their box, points as yet unbroken. Bicycles lay discarded in the yard.

Yellow buses and yellow Number 2 pencils replace the fading yellow blooms of Black Eyed Susans.

My children’s eyes shining in excitement, ready to see old friends and meet new ones.

My own eyes glistening with pride as they pour from the bus, eager to share stories of their day.

New shoes, new jeans, new backpacks.

Early mornings, concrete bedtimes, returning to routines that have slipped by the wayside, glossed over for lightning bug hunts and campouts in the living room.

While I mourn the end of summertime, I bask in the joy of learning. Watching my daughter light up as she sounds out a new word. Seeing my younger son puff up with pride as he tells me about an A on a test. Celebrating with my oldest as he nails multiplication facts.  Each time they succeed, I succeed.

For this is part of my job.  Teaching, guiding, celebrating, consoling. Encouraging them to be the people they can be. Helping them set their dreams as high as they want them, and letting them know that I’ll be there to give them a boost so they can reach.

And when they don’t need a boost? I’ll be waiting there at the bus stop at the end of each day.

By Michaela, Contributor, Mama Michie’s Musings (@MamaMichie)

As a child I dreamt of being a ballerina when I grew up… later on I wanted to become a pediatrician. When it came time to go to college I studied German, with the intent on getting some sort of business degree… then I moved to Germany after my first semester.

While in Germany I went to school and got what the Germans call an Ausbildung… I became an Industriekauffrau (an industrial clerk)… had a desk job… it was okay, but it wasn’t great. I had to opportunity to manage my (then) boyfriend’s mother’s house wares boutique. That was fun and just when I thought I was starting to get somewhere and bring in more business, we broke up and I moved back to the states. I went to work at a retail store with the hope of working my way into management.

That never happened. We moved and I moved to another retail job… and then I took the job that brought me to tears on many days and nearly gave me an ulcer… I worked in a call center for a major credit card company (I’m sure most of you have one of their many, many cards in your wallet). I hated that job. HATED it… but it actually didn’t pay too bad, so I stuck with it longer than I thought I would.

When Noah was born though, I started my most demanding job yet… the job of being a mother… it doesn’t have a Monday through Friday work week and you’re on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The pay is crap and you don’t always get recognized for the work and effort you put into doing your job, but it’s the best job I’ve ever had.

I’m going back to school to finish my degree over here, since the schooling I got in Germany doesn’t amount to much over here. I still have to decide if I want to end up with and Early Childhood Education Teaching degree or a degree in Digital Media.  There’s also a part of me that would like to start making soap and have that become my full time work from home job. *sigh*

I think it’s a little sad that I am 32 years old and still have no clue as to what I want my career to be when I “grow up”… I’m happy to say though that I’m already the one thing I  have wanted to be more than anything else… I’m a mother and as far as I’m concerned that’s the best job I’ll ever have!