Another Shooting!

My parents live near Discovery Middle School where a shooting of one ninth grader by another took place last week. Today, another shooting happened within miles of their home. This time it was at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Apparently, a female professor at the university was denied tenure today and opened fire during a faculty meeting killing 3 and injuring 3 others.

It used to be (with the Colombine shooting) that parents were afraid to send their kids to high school. Then with the Virginia Tech shooting, college campuses became vulnerable. Discovery has brought the middle schools and junior high schools into the violent school category.

I really hope I never live to see an elementary school shooting by elementary school students.

Leaf Raking

Our church does an annual community service day. For the last few years, they added helping out at the neighborhood elementary school as an option. Since Mr. Bean attended that school, he can point out such historic locations as the door which he cried at every day for a week when kindergarten started and the place he got beat up in first grade.

We went to the school to do some yard work. Because of the economy, there isn't much room in the budget for anything beyond mowing the grass and removing the snow.

When we arrived, since String Bean was with us, we requested a work assignment without a playground view. We were given rakes and paper bags to fill in the side yard of the school. String Bean was given her own rake which was the perfect size.

For the first hour of the event, String Bean did a great job "helping" us clean up the side yard. Then, she hit herself in the head with the handle of the rake one too many times. Luckily, our friend Fred was in charge of collecting the full bags of leaves and depositing them at the garbage site. He had a wagon to assist him which made the perfect perch for String Bean as she then assisted Fred with his assignment.

Mr. Bean and I both walked out of there with a few blisters. I think String Bean managed to not have a bump on her head, and we all enjoyed spending a few hours out in the sunshine!

Back to School

String Bean is much too young for school, but Mr. Bean and I both work for the college in our town. We are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of preparing for students to return.

Many of you are working on trying to get your children ready to go back to school. Having been a teacher in the past, here are my back to school tips from an elementary teacher's point of view:

1. Your child's teacher does not want to start off on the wrong foot with you and you don't want to start off on the wrong foot with your child's teacher. Stick to the school supply list. Don't send little extras like race car pencil sharpeners, cutesy but non functional erasers, or pens if they aren't on the list. You can imagine what is going to happen to your child and that race car pencil sharpener. Vroom, vroom.

2. If you're sending your child to school for the first time, it will break your heart if your child cries at the classroom door. Teachers are used to this. Give them a hug and move on. More often than not, your child will be just fine in 5 minutes, but prolonging the drop off only causes stress for the teacher, you, your child, and the class. It is not a good way to sart off the school day.

3. Junk food in your kid's lunch (or for a mid-morning snack) will only make your child hyper immediately following lunch and then crash after that. Please don't do that to your kid (or their teacher)!

4. Remember that your kid's teacher wants to work with you-not for you. In the end, the teacher is there to assist you with your child's education. Ultimately, you are responsible for supervising your child's education. This includes helping with homework, practicing reading and math facts at home, teaching character and citizenship at home year-round, and supporting what is happening in the classroom.

As you sing "It's the most wonderful time of the year" down the aisles of Target, be determined to help your child have the best school year ever!

School's out for Summer!

Today, it's been a week since school got out for Walnut and Peanut. We don't have any big plans, yet. Walnut is going to be in a Pepsi and Hot Dog bowling league and Peanut needs to get some speech therapy. All three of them need to have swimming lessons, but I'm not sure if that will happen. Lots of outside time is definitely on the agenda.

My plan is to do lots of sewing and jewelry making. I'm really enjoying my sewing machine. I've made pillow cases for the boys and just finished a skirt for Cashew. When Mandie gets back, I'll have her post some pictures of some of the stuff I've made. (I'm html impaired) I have material to make some shorts for the boys and on Wednesday, my blessed mother-in-law is taking my kids for the entire day and I'm going to attempt to follow this tutorial and make a blouse for my self.

I'm growing some plants, too. I have 3 tomato plants and 5 pepper plants growing in my back yard. I'm pretty excited about them, but I'm getting annoyed at those pesky weeds that keep popping up.

So that's the update on the Nuts. Stay tuned for news of a possible jewelry giveaway. I've made some bracelets that need a home.

Indianapolis

We are in Indianapolis visiting my parents. They claim Indy is the half-way point between our houses, but I know we are getting the better end of the deal driving-wise.

As you read this post, we are at the Indianapolis Zoo. I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back. We are excited to meet with Grace and her husband Chris who live in the Indy area. Grace was one of Mr. Bean's former student employees at the college.

This is going to be a fun weekend. I hope you are having a great weekend. What are you doing now that the kiddes are out of school?

Father's Day Homemade Gifts

Photo by Luxist.com

Ah, the ancient tradition going back to ancient Egypt of children purchasing ties for their fathers on Father's Day. Let's make this year different. Roll up your sleeves, moms, it is time for you to start helping your little ones make Father's Day gifts. No help from the Department of Education here. Dads have it so easy since the schools help your kid make Mother's Day cards and gifts, don't they?

For your viewing pleasure, here are some ideas for you as you plan your child's Father's Day gift.

Best Dad Desk Accessory: recommended for ages 6 and up with parental supervision. Requires dad to have a desk to display the gift on...or a workbench...or a dresser.

Car Nut Frame: recommended for age 5 and up, but I think a 3 year old could do this craft. Make sure you have a photo to put in the frame or it will sit under your bed like Mr. Bean's photo frame has since Christmas. This craft is really cute for any handy-dad.

Coupons: I recommend this "craft" for your older kids who will definitely understand their own sacrifice of love and understand how coupons work. You can make your own or print some here. Even cuter? Make coupons credit card size and stuff a new wallet full of them! I suggest an expiration date be put on them to encourage immediate use or they may end up like Mr. Bean's last batch of coupons--under the bed. Alternatively you could call them gift certificates or gift cards! That's language everyone understands!

Dad's Throne: No, not the toilet. This cute idea is great if you have multiple children and no plans (and good weather) on Father's Day. Helpful if you have a kid who is creative and another who likes to implement ideas, but not necessary. If the weather is bad, this could easily be transformed into an indoor throne.

Note Pad: This idea is really cute and can be done by most any child, toddler and up. A quick visit to the office supply store, some markers, and a ribbon later and viola! You have a quick and easy present just for dad! This is a Martha Stewart approved project.

Personalized Coasters: This is a great craft if you have a newborn since you can just stamp their hand print or foot print on the coasters. Three steps: go to home improvement store, decorate, seal. Love it.

Of course, a tie is easier.

Snow Days

My dad was in the Marines and I lived in a lot of places, but for the purpose of this story, I grew up in North Carolina. Anyone who has ever lived in the south knows that when the snow falls there, the towns roll up their sidewalks, hang their "closed" signs and brace themselves for the worst. In fact, much like hurricane preparation, there is a run on food and beverages of all sorts at the grocery stores when snow is even predicted.

It is no surprise that as a child I got incredibly excited about the possibility of snow for two reasons: 1. we never got it, so it was a special treat and not guaranteed to stick around for long and 2. there was a 95% chance we would have a snow day!

I have distinct memories of getting up for school, seeing some white stuff falling and waiting impatiently in front of the television to see my school's name scroll across the screen. Fingers crossed. Then, the glorious moment would come and boy oh boy would my sisters and I rejoice. I think it drove my mother nuts.

Here I sit looking at the snow outside. It has pretty much ruined my plans for today. When did I grow out of the joy and excitement of snow days? Welcome to the Midwest.

To Santa or Not to Santa

This has been the dilemma for Filbert and me. We thought we had decided that we would not do Santa and always present him as a legend or a fairy tale, if it came up. We reckoned not with Walnut. This charming little lad of ours has bought into the Santa hype, hook, line and sinker and there is no talking him out of it. A couple months ago, he would have said that Santa was not real, but no more. It all began when we went the Courthouse lighting in Newton, IA. There was a parade and Santa was there and in the words of Walnut "He looked right at me and he waved at me". It was like no one else was there in the town square as Santa and Walnut had a "moment". We've tried to counteract this in various ways. I found a website about St. Nicholas and read him stories about the real St. Nick (who, I was surprised to learn, calmed the seas once) and explained how the stories of St. Nicholas turned into the legend of Santa Claus, but he's not buying it. For him Santa is real and he believes it with his whole heart. The public schools aren't helping us out, either. Yesterday, in Kindergarten, all the kids got a boarding pass to "The Polar Express" and got to wear jammies to school. He came home and asked me if I believed in Santa and I told him no. He said that I wouldn't hear the bell that he produced from his backpack. He rang it and I heard it and after the look of great consternation that crossed his face, he concluded that I must really believe in Santa Claus, after all.