Down on the Farm

Yesterday, I had an exciting day!  I went on the my field trip with A!  We went to a local farm and it was so much fun!

I will be honest here and let you know that Tuesday night I was nervous and anxious.  After I had tucked away the kids I started thinking about what I was going to do with my "charges" on the field trip.  All my worries melted away when we arrived at school the next morning.  My "charges" were the 3 most quiet, shy and girlie girls of the entire class.  I happily thanked A's teacher and she said that she thought those particular girls would do well with me since they knew me.  (Disclaimer:  I'm one of the room parents for A's class and recently got elected to secretary of the PTO at her school.  I'm around a lot!)

The farm we traveled to was very informative and educational!  The girls were in love with the animals, especially the baby animals!  Oh, and there were all kinds of baby animals!  There were goats, lambs, piglets, kittens, ducklings, and chicks just to name a few.  They also had a raised vegetable garden and an herb garden for the kids to explore and learn about!  The cutest part to me personally was the hike we took into the woods and fields.  Having three girlie girls in my charge, when we would come upon mud or something equally icky they would tiptoe around saying "eww, eww, eww".  Whereas, another group of boys just charged right through without even hesitating, laughing all the way through.  The girls were interested in finding flowers and looking for turtles.  The boy group were looking for "bears and fox".  Eventually, the all boy group got ahead of us, but the girls and I still had a lot of fun! 

I thought I'd share some of the pictures I took while there.  The picture with A in it shows how extremely humid yesterday was!  It was in the high '80's and humid as all get out!  Wow, it was hot!  Then again, we all had on long pants, so that may have played a roll in it. 

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Communication woes

I know I said I wouldn't talk about A as much on here.  I made a promise to her that unless it was something that I needed to discuss, I would only mention her.  Lately though, I've been having a personal issue with her.

I am finding it hard to communicate with my 6 year old.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I know, it's probably a normal Mom thing, but for me it is absolutely breaking my heart.  See, A and I have always had a love/hate relationship.  Why?  Well, I honestly believe it's because she is so much like me.  She's very headstrong, independent, quiet, shy, nose always in a book and full of opinions.  Like me, she rarely expresses her opinions to people though, for fear of hurting the other persons feelings or causing a controversy.  Both of those traits are exactly like me!  Now, on the flip side of that coin, A has always had a strong relationship with Chuck because of those reasons. 

At the tender age of 6, A and I have had HUGE disagreements over topics (see the headstrong part above).  I mean screaming arguments (I'm not proud of this, but it is what it is).  I'm also sure that to some extent this is normal.  Especially when you have two strong personalities that are so similar.  Lately however, things have changed.  She doesn't talk to me like she used to.  She doesn't come running in the door after school breathless just to tell me how her day was.  Now, she just walks in, takes off her backpack and gives me her folder.  Then she trudges off to change out of her school clothes and starts her evening.  No more "Oh my goodness Mommy, guess what?"  or "I did the best thing today". 

Maybe I'm at fault for not asking more, I honestly don't know.  I'm not even sure where to start at this point.  It's become so routine for her NOT to talk to me.  Yet, I miss our talks.  So, what's a Mom to do?  Do you have any suggestions?  I'm wondering if it's just her age or a stage.  Either way, I'm at a loss.

Letting go

Do you have issues letting go of sentimental items?  I do, well, a little anyhow.  I've learned over the years how to contain my sentimentality.  Take for instance, my kids little things.  How many of you keep kids clothes, toys, special little items that remind you of their baby-dom or childhood?  I do.  However, with three kids this can get out of hand quickly.  So, when Ren was born I came up with a solution.  I went and bought a plastic bin with a lid.  I put the sentimental things in this bin.  1 bin, for all 3 kids.  Not three separate ones.  My bin is full at this point, so if I want to add something else to it, I have to take something out.  It really has made me value what's truly important to remember. 

Yet, my delimma lies in A.  Before the holidays we cleaned out the kids rooms.  Letting go isn't an issue for Ren or CS, but for A it is.  I allow her to choose what to let go and we then take them to donate.  I don't always take things to the Goodwill.  Sometimes we give them to the preschool, or to the baby/nursery room at church.  Other times I take them to the local homeless shelter or the women's crisis shelter.  To be honest, it depends on the item and condition as to where it goes.

Well, a few nights ago, A broke down.  I mean sobbing.  Chuck and I were at a loss.  We had NO IDEA what was wrong with her.  This came out of the blue while we were having our down time before bed.  Once we got her settled, she told us what was wrong.  She wanted her small white bear with the red ribbon back.  Chuck, typical Dad here, had no idea what she was talking about.  I knew right away.  She had a bear her great-grandmother gave her.  It was white with a red ribbon that said "Kennywood" on it.  Well, she decided she wanted to donate it before Christmas.  So, off to the crisis center it went.  Now, she wants it back. 

We talked to her about the bear and she couldn't come up with a reason why she wanted it back.  She just kept saying "how do I get my toys back when I grow up Mommy?".  Oh, the pleas of a child.  How do you make them understand that when you are an adult, you no longer play with toys?  We told her that we would never, ever donate her most special toys.  That those will be with her forever (if you know her, we're talking Sally and Skittles here).  We also reminded her that she chose to donate it.  We also calmly told her how proud we were that she donates her toys she doesn't play with and that some other child now has something to love because of her generosity.  I know, kind of deep, but it seemed to work.  Then she ask about it again this morning. 

Our solution to the problem is one I came up with.  We will be donating toys again soon (our house rule is for every toy in, one goes out) and I think it's time A took the trip with me.  I realized that unless it's taking them to the Goodwill, I've never taken the kids with me.  Mostly for selfish reasons.  I just didn't want my kids exposed to the harsh realities of homelessness or abuse before they needed to be.  I don't think that's the case with A any more.  I think she needs to go and see a child with no home or toys be given something.  I believe she would have an easier time if she saw the smile on a the face of a child she doesn't know.  I think it's time my little independent spirited child be officially shown that life isn't always like ours.  A is a child who has always been wise for her age, so I think she'll understand.

 What's your suggestions for a solution?

Wordless Wednesday ~ Meet A

Yes, I get that Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about a photo or picture with no words.  For the next 7 weeks though, Andrea and I will be introducing you to each of our kids.  We realized that Mommy Confessions Blog is about our families, but that you may not know which kid goes with who and so on.  This is week 1 and I'm going to introduce you to A.

A is in kindergarten and 5 going on 15!  She's a sports girl with a passion for anything art, crafts, design related.  She loves to read and is 100% a Daddy's girl!  Over the next while you may see her mentioned, but probably not any "exclusive" posts as she requested I not write about her anymore (I think this has something to do with a couple of her friend's Moms reading this...Hi! btw!!).  This is A in her fall portrait, taken by me and enhanced with Picnik!

Schooling Mom 201.A --Lost things

Photo from www.semillasnackbags.com

 

It should be no surprise to anyone that I adore Semilla.  If you follow me on Twitter, or FB or even on here you've seen Andrea and I praise Semilla and their wonderful green sandwich bags.  If not, go check them out.  They are well worth the investment!  Well, yesterday A took her lunch to school.  She takes her lunch every day, so this is nothing new (have you seen school lunch menu's...um, Jamie Oliver is MY HERO!!). 

So, A comes home and I start to empty out her lunch box.  I notice that she is missing the sandwich size Semilla bag.  Oh NOOOOO!!  I use my best "I'm just curious" voice and say "hey A, where is your bag that I put your turkey sandwich in?"  She looks at me and said "I have no idea Mommy.  Isn't it in my lunch bag."  I dropped the conversation from there, because really, it IS just a bag.  Inside though I was thinking Oh no, I don't have Ziploc sandwich bags...Yikes! 

Needless to say, today she is buying her lunch at school.  I need to get more bags stat!

Wordless Wednesday

She lost her first tooth...TWO OF THEM!!

Wordless Wednesday

This week, Wordless Wednesday is dedicated to A. 

Today is her last day of school.

Her first year of school.

Pre-school.

I'm sad it's ending.

I cried.

I'm THAT sappy.

I know! 

A has enhanced her love of learning.

She learned about school.

She loves it!

Her teachers were wonderful!

The best.

This Mom knows how special educators are.

You're two of the best!

Thank you John XXIII for a fabulous introduction into school! 

We'll be seeing you in the fall....

 

Why we chose private school

I have a lot of topics that swirl around in my head.  This is one of those topics I wanted to discuss.  Why post about it now?  Well, right now is when you need to start thinking about next year, especially if you want your child to attend a private school.  Now that the "disclaimer" is out-of-the-way, here is our family's personal reasons for choosing private school for our kids.

I'm going to be very honest and tell you we didn't initially set out to put the kids in a private school.  Much the opposite.  We began looking for houses in the spring of 2008 and also began researching preschools for A around the same time.  After purchasing our house, we continued looking for preschools, but on a much smaller scale. 

The city our home is in has quite a large school system.  Many of the schools are great, a few are not.  Location of our home didn't seem to decide which of the schools our kids would attend.  Sadly, our kids were assigned to one of the "not so great" schools in our district.  Neither hubs nor myself were very thrilled with this news.  So, we started looking at our options. 

In Ohio, there is something called Open Enrollment.  Open Enrollment basically means that a school district allows children who live outside of the district to attend their school.  These placements though, are based on space and class size.  This was an option, and still is actually. 

The other option was a parochial school.  There are several right around our neighborhood.  While we are not Catholic, I looked up the local Catholic school and found they had terrific recommendations (trust me I did my homework for all the private schools in our area).  We called and ask for a tour.  Stepping into the school a sense of calm came over me.  Sort of like and "aha, we found it" feeling.  A was more than thrilled with the school.  We were too.

Now, fast forward to today.  A is almost finished with her first year at "her" school.  She loves it.  We love it.  Ren is looking forward to attending there next year! 

Why do we all adore this school?  For a number of reasons.  I'm going to be a dork and list them.  Mainly because it's easier, but I kind of have a thing for lists too ;)

• A sense of community.  Everyone is helpful, kind, they ACTUALLY KNOW YOUR NAME!  They also know your kids names (even the ones NOT in school!)


• The teachers are fabulous!!  How many others can say their child was taught in preschool by a certified teacher with a Master's degree?


• The way they teach.  I know, that sounds silly.  Yes, they are held to the standards of the state, just like any other school.  Yet, how many public schools allow their children to pray before eating?  Or integrate Bible stories into everyday learning?  Ours does.  They even start learning a foreign language in Kindergarten there! 


• This one is a more personal one, but it allows A to understand the Catholic faith more in-depth.  Like I said, we are not Catholic, but hubs family is.  I cannot tell you how thrilled his family was when we told them where the kids were attending school. 


• The size of the school was a huge plus.  The building houses Pre-K through 8th grade.  There are loads of siblings!    


• Uniforms.  I know some people aren't into them, but we are!  I think it helps kids learn when they are all dressed alike.  That's just my opinion though.


• Lastly, parental involvement!  They live it, preach it, ask for it and love it!  They even encourage parents to bring smaller siblings to school when they help.  Just to reinforce the sense of family. 

I know this sounds like an endorsement for parochial school or private school in general.  Let me just reiterate that this is OUR families perspective on school.  There are many great things about public school.  Lots of fabulous public school systems out there.  For us though, Catholic school works.  We are very family focused in our house and the school we chose reflects that focus.  We love it!