Selling Frogs and Fighting Crime: A Day at the Student Store
So my tween soon to be teen doesn't care for me to be on her turf.You know it's not cool to help in the classroom or within a 5 mile radius of it when you're in 8th grade.
Ooh big girl on campus can't have mommy around.
Truth is, I just gots to.
I have to work in some capacity to fulfill my hours at my daughter's magnet school.
It's in the rules dear, ha. I win.
Oh sorry. Childish.
But oh so fair.
Anyhoo. I chose to work at the student store.
Each week on Friday lunchtimes, myself and another volunteer sell Oriental Trading Co. and Windy City Novelties goodies to the young'uns.
It's a friggen hoot I tell you! The stories are hilarious and quick scary too.
-----------------------
--A student buys about 5 dollars worth of plastic frogs, pencils, and bouncy balls, BUSTED--used his lunch money.
--One boy comes each week and asks for free stuff. Dude, sorry.
--One boy prefaces, "it's for my mom" when he buys a pink alligator. Surrrrrre it is *coughcoughGIRLFRIENDcoughcough*
--Each Friday one student asks, "will you be here tomorrow, I'll pay you then...." no, tomorrow is Saturday and you won't be here either.
--Learned last week, "don't sell to the detention kids!" Dang, they're our biggest customers!
--Today a girl bought a second pair of deely-bobber headbands. What happened to first, "oh I sold them for $2 to a guy at the restaurant!" Are you going to sell this pair, "I don't know, maybe" (She bought them for $1! Entrepreneur in the making--I admire that.
--Lady pulls out a $50 bill and is ticked we don't have change. Um we aren't the bank.
--Vampire teeth are our best seller (will kids still wear them for Christmas??)
--We can't keep colored hair extensions in stock!
--We made $174 in a 2-hour spurt a few weeks back.
--Sorry parents, it was the same week as the book fair and um, I'm sure we outsold the library!
------------------------------------------
Then there's the part of the job that we don't care for, breaking up fights.
Today, in my super "used to be a teacher/yard duty/ now a mom" hero mode I ran and got in between two boys smacking the crap out of eachother.
Scary as heck because 1. they are only in 4th or 5th grade, and 2. because they were hitting HARD...oh and 3, my son is that age!!
Yard duty and supervision is minimal thanks to the stinking CA education budgets, so I stood between two crying boys for what seemed like an hour until my co-worked flagged down someone to escort these boys to the office.
I felt sick. One boy had a brace on his arm that has a metal strip through it. He smacked that kid hard in the head/face and I wanted to cry. I'm glad I was there, but if I wasn't who would have been?
Ugh. I hope that never happens again, and especially on my shift.
I'm ready for more funny stories and less drama.
Sigh. Another day at the student store.
Home Alone with a Big Decision to Make
Home Alone, can you picture me doing that Macualay Culkin face? (0.0)All 3 kids in school. All day. It's been two and a half weeks and my nest is empty.
I've been catching up on work, chores, using the potty without, "MOOOOOOM!"
It's been nice. Though I'm not without responsibilities.
I am now expected to have grocery shopped and cleaned and ready with a hot dinner each night.
Plus, I still have this school dilemma hanging over my head.
K is on the waiting list for a magnet school for Spanish immersion.
It's a fabulous school, my nephews attend and my 5th grade nephew is fully bilingual and was at 4th grade. It's amazing, clearly.
But, K started her home school and is adapting there. Her teacher is superb, her classmates are also on her soccer team, one also was in her preschool class. It's a block from our house, My Boy also attends, and she really loves it.
Being FIRST on the wait list, she can get the call from the dual language academy any day.
But, it can also be next month, or even February! How long do I wait before it's not okay to pull her from her comfortable surroundings. I'm not doubting her adaptability, she would be fine if she HAD to switch schools, but in this case she doesn't have to move, but it would be a great opportunity.
I'm going back and forth and forth and back. K now says, "I want to stay at MY school." I mean, it's her school, she owns it now.
AHHH The Stress!
Please Send Gas Cards and a Cloning Machine.
Our schedule is going to make me crazy this year, but I wouldn't have it any other way.Anyway, people only know me by my crazy.
If I was all sane and calm and content, people would think I was smokin' something herbal.
And, most people know I only enjoy smoke if I'm in the center of a casino.
So, here it is, the schedule of crazy for this school year.
Monday
7:45-School drop off
9am-Preschool drop off
12pm-Preschool Pickup
2:08-4th grade pickup
3pm-7th grade pickup
4:15-K Soccer
5pm-My Boy Soccer
5pm-DQ Dance
5:15-Soccer Pickup
6:30-Soccer Pickup
7:30-Dance Pickup
Tuesday
7:45-School drop off
2:08-4th grade pickup
3pm-7th grade pickup
3:30-K Dance
4:30-K Dance pickup
Wednesday
7:45-School drop off
9am-Preschool drop off
12pm-Preschool Pickup
2:08-4th grade pickup
3pm-7th grade pickup
5pm-My Boy Soccer
5pm-DQ Dance
6:30-Soccer Pickup
7:30-Dance Pickup
Thursday
7:45-School drop off
2:08-4th grade pickup
3pm-7th grade pickup
7pm-DQ Dance
8pm-Dance pickup
Friday
7:45-School drop off
9am-Preschool drop off
12pm-Preschool Pickup
2:08-4th grade pickup
3pm-7th grade pickup
That doesn't even include dr/orthodontist/dentist/eye appointments, playdates, or parties.
Not to mention, how much driving will I be doing? I should put a Taxi sign on the top of my car and add a meter and make a buck!
Or we should live in the car. If it had a hot plate and wi-fi, i'm telling you I would.
At least 3 nights a week dinner-prep and execution is going to be insane.
AND...2 nights a week, I have to be in two places at once. Superduper.
Hmm...smoking a little something is sounding better and better.
Just kidding mom and dad.
Dodge Ball Drama
Second year now that DQ has had a separate PE teacher.That's what happens in junior high.
It's also a man, who apparently likes to talk on and on and on and on.
DQ has never had a male teacher until 6th and 7th grade PE.
It's a terrible combination.
85% of last year, the sport they played was Dodge Ball.
Aside from the ass-inine movie, I don't recall that being a sport.
It's an elementary school (think K-3) recess activity.
Why do I hear about Dodge Ball all the time?
Every day all year, they are playing "Nation" a fancy name for Dodge Ball.
DQ gets her glasses knocked off every time they play.
We see the optometrist frequently for adjustments.
Today I hear she was yelled at due to lack of participation.
Boys steal the ball when she gets it.
And apparently she's not good at the whole 'dodging' thing.
"Can you please discuss with the teacher that Nation/Dodge Ball is NOT a sport and it must be outlawed?" is what I'm supposed to do at Back to School night.
Seriously, there are other sports to play, soccer, baseball, basketball...come on, there's even square dancing...and dancing is something DQ can do!
Volleyball, badmitton, track, yoga?!
Even monkey bar races would take more skill than nailing eachother with a big red ball.
That apparently leaves a mark all day when you get hit in the leg from your own teammate.
She speaks from experience.
Anticipation.
For what you might ask.School, of course.
Only 15 days left until the precious first day of school.
Ahhh, let me take that in for a moment.
....
Moment's up, someone is screaming in the other room.
I'm pretending I'm asleep.
But, that never works, at 7am and especially 2:45pm...*sigh*
Two thirds of the children will be gone, so two thirds of the noise is going with them to seventh and fourth grade.
Let's face it, I don't want them growing up. It's hard enough cycling with the tween (oh yes). I want them to be non-tantruming little kids forever. But, alas another thing I'm not in control of.
Who knew I was a control freak? Don't answer that.
So it's school shopping time and DQ is an XS in the women's department. Oh how I long for those days to be a size XS and a 0....like my mom used to tell me, "enjoy it now because after kids...." She was right. She's always right.
My Boy on the other hand tells me he just needs a new sweatshirt and we can call it good.
Sounds like his dad, who seriously has shirts from our college days in the closet. We graduated 15 years ago.
He is loyal through and through, though I did make him get rid of some god-awful racing shirts from H.S.
Honey, the tour de France look never works unless you are ACTUALLY on a road...in France...on a bike.
He gave me the pouty lip and now some 13 year old who shops at Goodwill has a sparkly new tight shirt in florescent yellow and green. You're welcome.
Anyway, Wednesday August 18th you'll find me first in line at both schools with the kids at the dropoff loop giving them a gentle nudge out of the car.
I'll grab a coffee and come home pop in a movie and start the countdown until K's first day at preschool. She gets 3 days this year. Equalling 9 mommy-hours a week. A 25% improvement from last year baby!
But just to bring me down to earth and balance out my utter joy on the way home from dropoff, I'll switch on my iPod and "You're Gonna Miss This" will start.
I'll shed a tear, feel my mommy guilt and then curse, damn you Trace Atkins!
I gotta delete that song!
Little Kids Trapped in Hormone-soaked Bodies
State testing went on for DQ last week.Math and Language Arts for 4 days, the kids were drained and needed a bit of fun.
In the past, her teacher has chosen one day during the school year to celebrate all the kids' birthdays in the class.
What a way to ease the stress and pressure than a big birthday party!
At first, I thought...6th and 7th graders, ages 11-13, really are they going to go for it?
Hells yah!
Trapped inside those hormonally-challenged bodies are children who love to have fun.
Together with their teacher, we blew up balloons and got the games ready and anticipated the kids to come in.
SURPRISE!
The kids entered the classroom and lit up with smiles stretched across their faces. "PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY? YES!" they screamed.
Seriously, they turned back into 6 year olds and had the times of their lives.
Frozen bubble-gum game went over well (first one to make a bubble wins).
I had groups come out and use sidewalk chalk and they were in heaven.
Boys were making football and basketball logos, girls were making their names in bubble letters. At one point, the perfectionists in them asked me for water to "erase" their mistakes. Gotta love over-achievers!
Often when I'm at the school offering my help to the teacher, I rarely get a glance in my direction from my embarassed tween. It was great to have her come up and tell me how she was "a mile off" in pin the tail on the donkey..."mom I had on a blindfold and no glasses!"
Even more, I loved the class, they are so sweet and overall nice kids. I most often do paperwork for the teacher so I don't get to spend time around them, but it was pretty fun.
Who knew all you need to soften a tween was some cake and games geared for age 3 and up!
No Mom, You Can't Come!
My oldest went to Science Camp today.Away from home for 3 days, 2 nights.
I miss her already, it's been 5 hours.
She's in good hands, her teacher, the principal of the school (also a mom of an attendee), and all her friends are going.
To the beach.
To study sea life.
Kayak, hike, build sand castles, not too shabby.
I wanted to go.
Hubby wanted to kayak.
DQ said NO.
We're too embarassing apparently.
I sorta understand, I was 11 once.
I know she's channeling me at that age, I would have been scarred had my parents offered to chaperone as much as I do.
I'm jealous of the other 6 parents who went.
I want to be the cool parent that I think I am.
I wouldn't embarass her.
I would hold back the cutely talk that we still have as mom/daughter.
I wouldn't tease her, hubs and I both promised that.
Still no.
On the flip side, My Boy has secured me a spot on the trip when he goes.
In 3 years.
If he goes.
If the school budgets allow.
Which at this point looks grim.
But, it's the thought that counts.
And, I didn't have to make any promises.
Oh am I going to embarass him!
Just kidding.
Maybe.
How to Save Hundreds a Year on Your Kid's School Lunch.
My son eats school lunch pretty much every day.Even though he takes a home lunch every day.
Yes, that's right he eats two lunches a day.
Technically for free.
I know! (Monica voice)
So I'm sliding this $5 to you to keep quiet about this alright? Alright.
...
So the school lunch area has this table.
I call it the "free crap" table, My Boy says it's called the "share" table. Whatever.
It's for the stuff kids hate, that their parents make them eat (or not) and for the school lunches that other kids PAY for and don't want.
Daily I can imagine this table is covered with veggie sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets and fruit that us hopeless moms just fantasize our kids eating at school.
Newsflash: the only fruit 3rd graders eat is Fruit by the Foot.
What kid eats anything but Doritos and red Koolaid out of their sack anyway?
Oh, Koolaid is aging me, sorry...JUICE POUCH. Teeth rotters. Meal spoilers, you know what I mean.
So anyway, every day my son claims to finish his lunch and then stroll over to the leftover crap and have his 2nd helping.
One day he told me he ate FOUR cheeseburgers, and I asked, "at once??" and he replied, "no mom, I can only take one at a time!"
So he ate his bag lunch and then went back to the table 4 times.
I presume the lunch lady thinks the poor kid has a tape worm and just ignores it.
That's like $8 worth of school lunch, in one day!
Other days it's soft tacos, pudding, jello, corndogs.
We're literally saving hundreds of dollars all thanks to the dump table.
I'm proud of him for saving us money.
But if only he'd pick up some celery or salad sometime.
A mom can dream.
Luckily I found out those cheeseburgers are the mini-size so I don't have to worry about his hollow leg.
So I asked My Boy, do you ever leave anything at the table that you don't want, and he immediately shakes his head no, "I eat it all."
That's a lie. We find applesauce and peaches in his bag like twice a week. He doesn't leave it, he brings it back home. Brilliant.
Loser Mom Award
.....And the winner is.....Me!
*hold your applause*
I totally suck.
I blame my meds.
So I'm the type who only answers the door to the FedEx guy and UPS.
They rap 3 times and run.
Only small talk when I need to sign for a package.
Other than that, I've written before about solicitors being the bane of my existence.
So today was a mixed up day.
Went to the doctor for K again.
Got an early lunch, hubby back to work.
What I failed to remember was Thursday is minimum day-early release at 12:40pm.
Normally hubby is home for lunch and I head to the school.
Because of our schedule, hubby wasn't here.
I continued with my weekly routine.
The doorbell rings at 12:50pm....
K, don't run to the door and tear apart the blinds!!!
I peek to see if it's a package, no truck.
I actually don't see anyone at the door.
Well, anyone of normal height.
I look again, and look down a bit.
A small child!? That's weird, it's mid-after...D'OH!!!
OMG it's my small child!
My Boy.
HUH!?
OMG.
I forgot to pick him up from school!
Minimum...
Holy....
He WALKED HOME ALONE!!
I opened the door, and peeled the backpack off his sweaty back.
Apologizing and near tears the kid is fine, crossed two streets, made it unscathed, sweat-drenched and thirsty, but made it.
I feel like crap.
What does DQ say when I tell her?
OMG I never have gotten to walk home alone and i'm OLDER than he is!
He now wears a badge of pride.
A badge that his older sister doesn't have.
One he earned at my fail.
Can I do that again tomorrow!?
Hell-to-the NO!
Algebra Schmalgebra
It's 10:30pm and it's still 90 degrees out.Hello, last time I checked I wasn't living in Arizona.
There it's 120 and their cool-down is 108.
Anyway, I sit hear sweating listening to my oldest two kids....
...Hubby and DQ...
... argue over algebra.
That's right.
She is still up.
Working on math.
The same 7th grade math she was bumped up to from her 6th grade class.
Proving a bit challenging, no?!
It's good, very good actually.
The arguing, not so much.
Help is asked for, then the resident mathematician goes to help...and all hell breaks loose.
"Oh you just wanted me to magically tell you the answer...well I don't have a teacher's manual, so I have to work each problem out too!"
That takes too long, and DQ is tired. And cranky. And getting a cold.
Not a good combo.
She's not going to care too much about this post either.
But, you know this drama is affecting me.
They are both acting stubborn.
I am calmly here typing my my feelings out...remember the whole cheaper than therapy part...it's true.
So as we head on to 11pm and someone is still not in bed, we are asking for trouble.
In the morning that is.
I can already hear the door slamming at 6am.
I better go to bed now.
I Stopped In...
I stopped in.Just to see if it looked the same.
It kinda did.
Same stuff on the walls.
Same small tables and chairs.
The wall separator was closed.
It was never closed when I was there.
I stopped into my old classroom last week.
The classroom I had for 2 years.
With my 20 students.
Ha! 20-1 ratio back then.
Not now.
I had more decor up.
But it's only the first week.
I had a paying job then.
I had no kids then.
Weird.
I remembered calendar time, shaving cream art, and Halloween parties of all things.
It's been 12 years since I had this other life.
I still do the same activities, only my class-size is 3, and I take these kids home.
Walking away from the room and thanking the current teacher for letting me snoop around, I felt the urge to cry.
Not for what I miss.
Not for the absence of a paycheck.
But for a time that I will never have again.
A part of my life that made memories that I'm sure not to repeat.
There at least.
In classroom C-4.
Or any other.
Sweet memory.
School's Cool, She Says
Junior High has proven positive for DQ, as of days 1 and two.Some quotes...
"I met two new girls today!"
"We did a human knot."
"Yes, I can wear my Converse with all my outfits and P.E."
"I have P.E. first period and I can wear my gym clothes TO school"
"We have block schedule like the high schoolers!"
"Our lunch menu is SO much better than the elem. school! It has PIZZA, salad, and deli sandwiches!"
"I found the restrooms!"
"One of the 7th graders remembers me from elem. school!"
(When picking her up by her last class) "You are SO not in the car pick up line right now."
Phew.
Good news, our oldest is already adapting far better than I worried!
Who knew that serving pizza by the slice (from her FAVE restaurant in town) could make her actually L-O-V-E her new school?
It's the little things.
So what will I worry about now?
-My Boy getting a new speech teacher this year.
-K starting preschool September 8th.
-K getting referred to speech in preschool.
-My Boy picking up soccer like he did with baseball.
-Meeting my new gastroenterologist next week.
-Practicing Spanish.
-The stress of the parent pick up car loops
And I thought all my worries were gone!
First Day Butterflies (Mine)
I admit it, I miss the kids a little.Today was the first day of school.
I scooted out a 3rd grader and a sixth grader out of the house into the world of education.
Both, still half-asleep, but excited nonetheless.
Me, I'm okay.
My son has a class full of his best buddies, a great teacher and a familiar school.
DQ, not so much.
She is at a new school, middle school!
Not so familiar faces, although she knows a couple (like 3) people.
New schedule, new teacher, new classes (welcome to real P.E. where it's a mandated jr. high subject and not just dodgeball and monkey bars).
So i'm nervous.
For her.
The usual, hoping she fits in, makes friends, is happy.
She doesn't need me to worry, but I do.
Middle school is different, kids are different, life changes for girls during these years (if you get my drift...).
For once the butterflies in my stomach are nerves rather than acid.
2 hours until pick up.
A Thousand Words Thursday
........................
Want to join me in A Thousand Words Thursday, read and grab my button from HERE. Then write in your name and the URL(permalink) in Mr. Linky below.
Please link only to "A Thousand Words Thursday" posts, and check out all the other participants and leave them some love!
MR LINKY IS WORKING...CLICK BELOW AND OPEN A 2nd WINDOW TO LEAVE YOUR LINK!
Just Not Fair
The reality is, i'll probably never teach again.Full-time at least.
With all the budget cuts, teachers are seeing more pink than a new mother of a baby girl.
It sucks, for everyone.
Parents, students, especially teachers.
My son has had an AMAZING teacher this year.
In his 3rd year, second school, grade change from 4th to 2nd, My Boy's teacher has struggled to stay firm in a classroom.
But, what he has done is much more than any parent could expect of their child's teacher.
He has used 4th grade techniques and strategies to stimulate the 2nd graders' brains in a way that my oldest didn't get in 2nd grade.
He's has inspired the love of reading, mathematics, science (geology in specific for My Boy) and has made learning fun.
His classroom management style is one unheard of in a room full of mostly 8 year old boys.
There is never a peep going on when they're working, the class is focused, and almost all of them were invited to take the gifted and talented education exam this year.
As a parent, and a former teacher, I look at teachers like Mr. D as a rarity. If only more can be as good as he is at what he does.
But, alas, his time is up in our school.
Low man on the totem pole, it's truly unfair.
I can name a few tenured teachers that should be the ones in his shoes.
Thanks a lot California for not giving a rip about the education of our children.
Just keep pushing the old biddies along and keep discouraging our new, dynamic, enthusiastic, smart, young teachers that have learned all the latest and greatest methods of teaching.
The system is f-ed up!
*edited to add...Years taught does not equal a better, 'seasoned' teacher. And, administrators should have a stronger evaluation system every year of ALL teachers and parents do need to speak up and follow the right channels if they feel their student's teacher is not up to par.
Two Dimes and a Nickel STILL Make 25 Cents
So it's a normal school night. The kids look in the cabinets and say in unison, "tomorrow is hot lunch day."I didn't go shopping, sue me.
We're scrounging up money for two hot lunches and a snack and the following convo ensued....
DQ--I have fifty cents (2 quarters), can you help me find fifty more?
Me--Sure. (finding some Hubby's bedside drawers) Here you go.
DQ--What's this??
Me--Um...you're in fifth grade, you're scaring me.
DQ--I need 2 quarters.
Me--I just gave you fifty cents. 4 dimes and 2 nickels. Fifty cents.
DQ--They don't take that kind of money anymore.
Me--WHO doesn't WHAT?!
DQ--The lunchladies. They don't take that kind of money, I need quarters!
Me--You've got to be kidding.
DQ--Seriously mom.
Me--(getting out my fighting armor) I'm going to put this money in a baggie for you and slip my phone number in there. You give them that money and if they don't take it, tell them to call your mom!
Me--(under my breath) I'm gonna send 100 pennies next time just to piss them off telling my kid they don't accept small change....grumble grumble roar.
DQ--Okay if you say so.
We'll see if I get a phone call tomorrow.
Hubby is sure that DQ is just embarassed to take small change. That's crazy! Could it be true?!
What's That About Cocoa Puffs?
I watched a group of DQ's friends on the playground the other day.They were doing one of those group hand-slappy things that, for lack of better way of explaining, is like a bigger girl patty-cake.
The song went like this.....
Down down baby, down down the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby, sweet sweet don't let me go
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy rock
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy rock.
I ate a biscuit, a biscuit!
It was sweet, a biscuit!
Apples on the table, peaches on the floor
Baby I don't love you any more.
To the front, to the back, to the side side side
To the front, to the back, to the side side side
Ladies and gentlemen listen to this
This little girl's gonna boogie for you
She's gonna turn around, touch the ground
Boogie oogie oogie til her pants fall down, FREEZE!
WHO comes up with these lines?
I swore they were talking about cereal in the beginning, then biscuits, and fruit?
Why are her pants eventually falling down, does she need a belt?
I remember the just-as-random jump-ropes songs when I was little.
2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate?
The boys, the boys
Push them in the hot stuff
Sock 'em in the jaw
Flush 'em down the toilet, RAH RAH RAH!
Now that makes so much more sense right?!
What exactly is the HOT STUFF?
Anyone care to help me out here? ;)
A New Chapter for Old Books
Hubby and I attended our sixth Back to School Night at the very same school I attended K-2. The memories here have left a huge impact in my heart and mind.*pause for memory recollection* Happy sigh.
As we sat in My Boy's 2nd grade classroom, we listened to his teacher discuss rules, goals, and needs for the year. He is a new teacher to our school, having just been told one week prior to the start of the year that he was teaching a 2nd grade class there.
The last 2 years he taught 4th grade at a sister school, alas he seemed a bit unprepared for his new challenge by the way of supplies.
We all know that teacher's are underpaid and the school budget is at an all-time low, so I try to support the classroom as much as one person can.
His classroom library was sparse with only a handful of books. My heart skipped a beat! I CAN HELP YOU! I wanted to shout, but kept quiet so I didn't look like a kiss-up.
Having been a K/1 teacher and owning practically a bookstore of beginning/intermediate reading material, I came home and started packing up a box to donate to Mr. D's class.
I was so excited, and so were the kids. I searched through 8 shelves of books (and that was just in the house) and chose about 100+ titles (for now) appropriate for the classroom.
We reminisced of all the stories that meant so much to us over the years. Books I used in my classroom. Books DQ received as gifts. Books My Boy purchased with his birthday money. Books K will love now that we've unearthed the Strawberry Shortcake collection.
I kept all my favorites and those sentimental to our family.
Some I smelled, some I read for memory's sake, and some I kissed goodbye.
It gives me great pleasure to pass on these precious nuggets of learning. It's the least I can do to help another teacher. A new teacher, as I was once. Especially one that will nurture the love of learning in my child.
Blah Blah Blah, Cell Phone, Blah Blah
I don't get it.DQ came home on day last week and said, "mom, I need to find some friends who don't talk about their CELL PHONE all day long!"
Yeah, well...allrighty then.
I mean wouldn't that be annoying?
Me--Do you talk about dance all day?
DQ--No, only if they ask me. I want my own phone.
Me--Well that ain't (yes i said ain't) happening, so either listen to them or find some other girls to hang around with.
DQ--Their phones are cool.
Me--Big whoop.
I'm sure these 9-10 year olds are proud of their blinged out new camera/iphone/does-their-homework-for-them phones, but I frankly think it's ridiculous.
Apparently the rule they instilled at school is that they can bring them, but they have to house them in the office all day until the bell rings. So what's the point?
I understand DQ's close friend has one...her parents are seperating and it's to communicate between them during mom or dad's week. Another friend has one...well because she's a latchkey kid and her parents work until 5 everyday. There is plenty I don't agree with in that situation, but it's not my business.
But the other girls just have them for fun. Because they asked for one. Because they're spoiled? Probably.
What do our little ones have to look forward to if they have their own Ipods, camera phones, laptop computers, and everything else under the sun at 9 and 10 years old! Where is the line drawn?
Driving age moved to 13? Drinking age to 18?
Remember when the reply to the "I'm bored" dilemma was "use your imagination" or "go in the backyard and play" NOT "go text a friend" or "go play Pacman on your DS."
I feel old.
This One Time, At Band Camp....
Okay so I've never seen American Pie, but it's the first thing I thought of when DQ bought home the note from school.Apparently in 4th grade you can also join the elementary school band, but she wasn't interested then. She is now.
DQ--Can you sign this? (handing me the note)
Me--You want to play an instrument? Really?
DQ--Sure.
Me--Did you have an assembly today and now you're interested.
DQ--Yup.
Me--Really?!
DQ--Yeah, can I?
Me--Well what do you want to play?
please don't say the drums, please don't say the drums, please don't say the drums
DQ--The flute. Or the clarinet.
Me--(phew) You do? Really?!
Dq--Yeah.
Me--Well, if it's after school, it's OUT. We're booked.
DQ--No, all practices are during school hours and there's maybe one or two concerts.
Me--You know I played the flute for
DQ--So can I?
Me--I'll talk to dad.
I only remember having the flute, the little room at school we'd practice in, and the spit that would accumulate inside the mouthpiece.
Not much else. I think I quit very soon after I started.
Hubby says if she starts, she'll follow through all year, even if she complains.
Tough guy.
I researched it and it's $28/month to rent a flute or clarinet. $14 for the music book, and a $25
I guess this is the time to explore other activities. She is a dancer through and through, but if this doesn't interfere, I think it would be good for her to try it.
DQ--So can I do it?
Me--Dad and I will go to the meeting to make our final decision, but it looks like it might work out.
DQ--Cool.
I'm still getting earplugs, but at least it's not the drums!
