Category Archives: education

29 Again

Posted in education, summer fun by

David has been attending a summer reading program at a local university, 4X a week in the AM. The class is geared for kids that need a little extra help with reading, and the goal is to bring them up to grade level (or exceed, which most of them do by the end of the clinic). The program is one of the best in the region where I live, and it’s not that easy to get into it.

To get David in, I basically had the program’s secretary on speed-dial from February onwards, and literally hand-delivered forms to ensure our paperwork was first in. Once accepted, the children are tested, and then separated into small groups (not more than 2 kids per tutor). The tutors are graduate students, mostly, and they work under several professors.

You may be wondering, “hey Shelli, how are you working if you are taking David to this class?”  Let me tell you, it puts a serious dent in my working schedule. I am basically M.I.A. from 8:30am to 11:15am. I’m sure my co-workers think I am working on a tan in the mornings.   Bonus! Major university.. no public wifi. That’s right, no Internet connection. The closest wifi is at McDonald’s about 4 miles away. Thank goodness I have a boss who understands and likes me.  Maybe she won’t after this summer.

So I download my e-mail before we leave in the AM, and just spend the time doing what I can do offline while I wait.

The reality… I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure David is successful in school. He had a rough year academically, and we are just catching up to grade level with the help of this course.  I am grateful every day I walk onto campus that David has this opportunity.

So, it’s been three weeks into this course, and I am getting to know and talk to the other parents that are there.  Mostly moms, a sprinkling of dads.

Some observations:
1. Most of the moms that wait with me in the waiting area are teachers themselves, that is perplexing to me, somewhat, but I do get that they are hooked into the latest and greatest, and this is it. I guess even Moms who teach have their limits. lol.

2. The other moms are SAHM’s and bored to tears. They are there because they just want their child in an activity that is learning focused. They make me jealous talking about their large swimming pools.

3. The tiger moms. I say “tiger” because, if I said “cougar” you might think they were there to troll for hot male grad students. But no, these are not older women (like me?) they are simply barracudas when it comes to their kids. By “barracuda” I mean, their kids already have reading skills above average… but they want their child to be THE BEST. IN. THE. UNIVERSE!!

That last observation sets me off. I mean, there are people who COULDN’T get in the program because these jack-o-lanterns (that’s Mom speak for jackasses) push their kids way beyond center.  Argh, they are on the soccer field AND here too!!  groan………….

I am just so perturbed by that.

Annoyed.

So, here’s a funny story about today in the waiting room. A dad sat down next to me… I thought he was a student, but he’s like 30, with 4 kids…. hmmmmm…. did I mention he was extremely good looking? Anyway… we got to talking about what we do for a living, he saw my laptop, and eye-rolling commenced. I thought he was aiming at me (what did I do NOW?!), but he was actually eye-rolling the barracuda mom on the other side of the room PAINTING HER NAILS IN THE PUBLIC WAITING ROOM. To which he whispered, “are you the only normal mom here?” LOL.

It gets better.

He asked me about David, and then the loaded question… “do you have any more kids?”

Oh, no he didn’t!  I was just starting to like this guy.

I evaded… no I didn’t really… I think I just said… “no, but we wanted more.” Then he started talking about someone he knew that just had twins and added “get this, can you believe she is 44 years old????”

I smiled (ok, I laughed in my head and almost peed myself). The I said, “well, I wished that had happened to me!”

To which he replied, “well, gosh your so young, you have time!”

bwahahahaha!

OMG. What did he just say???

This guy has NO FLIPPIN’ IDEA that I am 42 years old.

Dude, you made my day….

BLESS YOU.

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More good news (for a change)

Posted in education, Kindergarten by


Well, things are starting to look up in the BagMomma house.

We finally received the long-awaited call we thought would never come… a spot opened up for David at the local Catholic School. We are ecstatic! This was our first choice, and we are so happy that we don’t have to use our Plan B ($$ Private School) or Plan C (Half-Day Public School).

Could the tide be turning??? Could GOOD LUCK be just around the corner?

I guess we’ll see. But for now, it’s happy times around here.

Get out! They LEARN there??

Posted in education, Kindergarten, They grow up so fast by

You’re tiring over my education ramblings, I know.

Oh, how I wish I could turn back time to two weeks ago, when positivity was all around. Life was looking up.

And then…….. well……. you know.

So this kindergarten thing has served a purpose. It has taken my mind off of wallowing in self pity from the miscarriage.

It gave me a MISSION. A GOAL.

I’ve been to two private schools since my last post. One good (more on that in a sec) and one I didn’t feel good about. I have one more appointment on Saturday. So far, I’ve put down one check for registration as of today. We may or may not end up at this school, but I wanted a sure thing, so I got it if I want it.

You know what was weird researching these schools, visiting and asking questions? I came to the realization that Kindergarten nowadays is far more academic than I imagined.

Oh pshaw, Shelli….. you didn’t know that???

In my mind, I knew it, sure. I am so used to going to David’s Pre-K school, and seeing him mostly playing and having fun, with a secondary emphasis on academia. The school he is at now goes by the belief “Learning through play”… which is a common one among daycares and preschools.

But when I toured this particular new school yesterday (which I subsequently went back today and put down my check) I was… I don’t know…scared.

This school offers an environment that is vastly different. Sure, there’s still playground time (and art, and music), but the class time is serious. I saw 17 five year olds sitting at little tables with books, and papers and #2 pencils. Smiling and raising their hand rather than jumping out of their seat and yelling for Cheez-Its.

And I panicked.

Is David ready for this?

So I asked my questions, talked to the teachers and some of the students who seemed five going on fifteen. Ok, I exaggerating. They were well-behaved, intelligent little people that looked like they LOVED learning.

LOVED IT.

And it stirred very odd emotions in me.

My baby is going to be FIVE in May. And in September he is going to SCHOOL, not daycare. He is going to LEARN. And WRITE and READ. Jeez, he could be writing a symphony by first grade for all I know.

Good lord, this just dawned on me. And I know you are probably reading this and laughing at my oversight.

So check in hand, I also made an appointment to bring David in for a pre-test in April. Placement, if you will. Because at this school they have THREE levels of Kindergarten. Which I liked the idea of. Because it allows the child to learn at the pace comfortable for them.

So it was an eye opening day. We are not 100% on this school yet, but it’s a start.