Song lyrics keeps ringing in my head this morning: “It’s the final countdown!”
Less than two weeks until school is done for the year. Gone will be third and first grade for my big kids. Gone – at least for 10 weeks – will be the homework wars (mostly with my first grader). Gone will be the anxiety of reading and making AR points.
I posted on my personal Facebook page – “I’m not sure who is happier, mom or the kids!”
My school-age children achieved a lot this year. They both did …

There are less than 25 days of school left for my children.
An academic progress report came home last week. For my son, his grades are anywhere from high Bs to high As in math, reading, writing, social studies and science.
He took the AIMS last week (as a third grader, it was his first time).
He’s gone from doing single digit addition and subtraction to double digits. He’s nearly mastered multiplication of single digits and started division; a big jump, I think, in just eight months.
And though he’s still reading the types …

Arizona allows children to attend school without vaccines as long as parents sign an exemption form. When diseases appear that could lead to a large outbreak – such as the case of the mumps in Higley Unified School District that I reported on this week – those children are removed from school.
Just today, a story came out about additional states looking to pass exemption laws.
Arizona doesn’t rank very high when it comes to children who are vaccinated. Parents choose to not vaccinate for a number of reasons – religious and …

What does your Sunday week-starting prep look like?
Mine started Sunday after church as the kids and I went through their backpacks, looking at any papers I missed last week, doing homework, and having my husband assist our son with a particularly troublesome area of reading.
After putting away about two-thirds of the laundry (the rest is still on the couch. Oh, well), we had family time.
After the kiddos were in bed, I spent an hour last night on the computer and with my calendar – figuring out what meetings I have …

The kids and I had big plans Monday when they were out of school. We had our annual MLK Day lunch and playdate with friends, an afternoon at Bounce U and gymnastics in the evening.
My big kids – 7 and 9 – always have to have SOMETHING to do in the car, be it a book to read, a movie to watch or an electronic device to play with. It was a 20 minute drive or so to our friend’s house so I knew they would grab a few things.
Little …

Ah, school lunch.
It’s been topic of many jokes, tough scrutiny and endless questions.
Lately, it’s also been in the headlines because of growing problem with children facing obesity and diabetes at a young age. It’s tough to get kids to eat healthy. And with many children at school now for breakfast and lunch, many school leaders have taken this to heart. Even Michelle Obama is leading an effort to clean up what’s served in school cafeterias.
But according to a recent L.A. Times story, the kids are not only passing on the …

Each year, I try to remember and give my children’s teachers a gift. Most years, it’s a coffeehouse gift card. Sometimes, we make it personal. I try to remember the after-school care instructors and bus driver, too.
But this year, we’re going homemade. Inspired by my middle child’s desire to make holiday goodies, we’ve made more than three dozen chocolate “pops” and chocolate covered preztels. The latter was decided after a friend called Friday exclaiming, “I have chocolate and preztels. Want to get together?” We had eight kids at the house …

She looks at me in the review mirror, those piercing blue eyes full of wonder.
She doesn’t say it – at 15-months her vocabulary is limited to “momma, dad, bye-bye” and her siblings’ names (though sometimes we hear other things).
But I can tell what she’s thinking: “Where are we going?”
This week, my toddler started at a new preschool. Prompted by a change at work and a desire to have her closer to me, I woke up Monday morning and decided to make the jump to a preschool. She’s been cared for …

It’s a trend, apparently.
For the second time in a week, I’ve dropped the kids off at school only to have to return within the hour.
Last week was the best excuse: I had to bring SHOES to a child. (He went to school with sandals, but needed running shoes for running club.)
That same day, I had to bring a lunch to school that was forgotten.
Today, as I dropped the kids off I heard, “Mom, it’s cold. I need a jacket.”
He was right. He did. And he didn’t know how cold it …

“Mom, you know you can go to school on the computer? I want to do that.”
That comment was COMPLETELY unsolicited this morning from my 9-year-old as I drove him to school. This third-grader is doing well – As and Bs – but he loves to come home and do his activities on the computer that have been suggested by his teacher.
It’s funny he should say this today. I just wrote a story for the East Valley Tribune about a blended-learning program in Chandler.
I’ve heard lots about this model from educators …