school | The Angel Forever

Category Archives school

Tuesday Tales – Summer Writing Time

Posted on July 2, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This summer, one of my goals with the boys is to get them writing more. Reading is important, but the teacher in me does not want the writing to slide over the time off. As JSL finished kindergarten, he seemed to be on a major writing kick and I did not want to let go of this enthusiasm. He was writing story after story, and loved alternating with fun poems that he would illustrate.

JSL’s writing book also came home from the school year and I could see growth within that small journal (photo above). A simple sentence that was likely copied, quickly became several sentences with his own inventive spelling based on his phonemic awareness.

One day when it was raining, I asked JSL if he wanted to write a new story or poem and start a book for the summer. He immediately said yes. To change things up and help inspire him, I gave him a new booklet of stickers with his composition notebook. Within minutes, the newly minted first grader was off and writing. He picked a sticker and started to write a poem about dogs called Woof. The next day, he asked for the notebook again and wanted to write more. The next thing I knew, he was sharing two more poems called Meow and Tweet.

I love watching him write and enjoy it. This was my favorite age to teach because of the way you could literally watch their reading and writing grow each and every day. An added bonus at our house was NHL’s reaction. At almost ten years old, NHL is a reluctant writer. For a variety of reasons, he has a hard time getting his thoughts on paper (typically, his brain is going a mile a minute and his hands can not keep up), so he uses tech devices to assist. Suddenly, he asked for a notebook, pencil, crayons, and stickers to start his own book. He began with a table of contents and then wrote a story about a doggy ball game and after that started something about fish. My next idea is to work on something that is more interactive with both of the boys. More about that coming soon.

Do you work on writing over the summer with your children? I would love to know what you may do with them. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
Educational school Tuesday Tales

Summer Time Fun

Posted on June 25, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Last Friday, I sent the boys off to a half day of school. They went into the building as a kindergartener and fourth grader. When they greeted me in the early afternoon, they were officially first and fifth graders. As they walked down the road to our car, they held hands.

It was a sweet moment and made me happy and sad at the same instant. Recently, it dawned on me that we will only have one more year of these moments. My boys are just shy of four years apart and are separated by four grades in school. Next year, NHL will be finishing up elementary school and moving on to middle school (HOLD ME). For some reason, I thought they would be in high school for a year, but they will not. The same year that NHL graduates from high school, my baby will be graduating from middle school.

So excuse me for a little bit. I need to take time to cherish the moments here with the boys. It seems like yesterday that they were both so little and now they are growing up before my eyes. We will be making the most out of the summer and started that this weekend with a family trip to pick strawberries.

I am not entirely sure what we will do next, but I know it will be special and hopefully give the boys memories that they will cherish and think back on when they get older.

Categories:
family school summer

Goodbye to Kindergarten

Posted on June 20, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It seems like it was just September. I remember the morning when I brought my baby to kindergarten for the first time. It was something new for us in this school, and I was nervous. Of course, I knew that JSL was ready to read, write, and learn more. Still, having both boys in school for the entire day was a major milestone.

Kindergarten 2012

The year has been absolutely amazing for my little guy. He has grown, flourished, learned a lot, and is really coming out of his shell. While he still tells me he is nervous in the morning (I think he wants extra hugs and kissing hand moments), the huge smile on his face at the end of the day tells me he is fine. Oh, and the other thing that tugs at my heart – every day he gives his teacher a hug on the way out the door.

Last week, JSL had his Kindergarten Celebration at school. TechyDad, Nana, Mimi, Aunt S, and I all went to be with him on this special day. The teachers and other support staff in the building did an amazing job. The focus was on the kids and celebrating their accomplishments. Each of the classes performed a song. Then, we watched a slide show of kindergarten memories. I have to admit, I wiped away a few tears. It hit me that my kids are really growing up. My little guy is going into first grade and my big kid has only a year before he heads off to middle school. Once this was over, the classes marched across the stage and back to their classrooms for some refreshments with family and friends.

I can honestly say, our kindergarten experience this year was beyond amazing. There was never a moment that I doubted his teachers, worried about my son’s well being, or questioned anything that the school could control. The truth is, I am sad to see it end. While I know JSL is ready for first grade, I am not ready to let go of this amazing year that he had because I know in my heart that this was something so special.

Categories:
milestone school

One Voice United for the Children of New York

Posted on June 10, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

On Saturday June 8, my family went to the One Voice United Rally for public education in New York.

I was a student in the public schools of New York and so was TechyDad. I have spent some time teaching in the public schools of New York. These days, I am a mother of two boys in a public school in New York. The high stakes testing and curriculum manipulation that results in teaching to the tests has gone too far. The rally was a time for teachers and parents to come together to say enough is enough.

NYSUT was coordinating the rally where bus loads of people were coming into Albany from throughout New York. Seeing the streets lined with school and charter buses filled with people marching onto the Empire State Plaza by the State Capitol Building took my breath away. We were all there for the same reason – children.

Some may question why TechyDad and I took the boys to the rally. In my mind, it was an educational experience. NHL and JSL were going with us to the State Capitol and they saw history taking place. Of course, they also saw all of their teachers and their parents together. All of the boys’ main teachers were at the rally. The kids saw their teachers and colleagues, along with other families from our school together. Estimates also say the rally drew close to 20,000 supporters all there in the name of children and their right to learn, be creative, and not be taught simply for high stakes testing.

I am still digesting the experience because it truly was powerful. Listening to Albany High School teacher Jeremy Dudley perform “Stop this Madness” completely rocked the crowed to the core. My kids are still chanting the key words (sorry to their teachers).

17 year old Nikhil Goyal, a recent high school graduate from Syoset, New York talked to everyone at the rally. He is the author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School. He pointed to the need for students to join the fight for their education. Next year, he plans on rallying them to stand up for a world beyond No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. In his words we need to stop the “drill, kill, bubble fill” generation of students.

Then, Tom Chapin filled me with even more memories that will last. I watched as teachers laughed at his “Not on the Test” song. The biting words in the song that I shared the other day really do say a lot. Then, he introduced a new song that he wrote. “One Voice” brought tears to my eyes. I watched as two of my sons’ teachers linked arms to sway and sing together. I listened to my boys utter the words in unison with the giant crowd. I do hope this song will be shared for others to hear as well.

Thank you to everyone that worked on making this rally happen and to all those that showed up and stood on the Plaza in the name of the children of New York State. This is just the beginning of the public school movement, but it was a truly inspiring experience. More will be coming on this topic soon.

Categories:
Educational PSA school

Standing up for Public Education

Posted on June 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I went to my neighborhood elementary school. Then, I moved onto one of the middle schools in our district for two years. After that, I went to the giant high school where I had amazing opportunities that many other kids my age did not receive. Teachers in my life made such an impact on me that I wanted to be like them. I hoped to one day be in a classroom where I could be creative and teach to watch children grow and learn.

Of course, these days the world of education has changed a lot. As a parent, I have watched a dramatic change over the last five years. The difference from my oldest son’s experience in kindergarten to my youngest son’s current classroom is alarming. My youngest son is being forced to take 30+ minute tests on a computer several times a year to see how well he has been taught. The tests are not developmentally appropriate and most definitely will not show how well all children are doing academically. I know my son’s teacher is an amazing woman, but she is being held back. She is helpless if she wants to keep her job. Rather than teach the kids in creative ways that reach each of them, teachers must do it the way the curriculum guide tells her.

Looking into her eyes, I can see the level of frustration and it makes me sad. I am sad that my kindergarten kid did not experience things before the change. I am angry. My anger stems from teachers being told how to do things when they are the ones that know their students best. They should be able to create authentic ways to assess how well their kids are learning. Instead, we pay companies millions of dollars each year to frustrate our children.

I also see my older son with a year before he goes to middle school being taught for state tests. As a teacher, I know the drill and it breaks my heart. It hurts to know that kids are not taught to be free thinkers and look outside of the box. Instead, they are being shown how to systemically dissect a specific high stakes test. I do not blame his teacher or any of the others, it goes above them. I saw how stressed my son’s fourth grade teacher was each morning of the NY State exams (three days of ELA, three days of Math, and two days of Science). No child should be put through this, nor should the teachers.

This is why we will be going as a family to the One Voice United Rally in Albany at the Empire State Plaza on June 8, 2013. We will be walking side by side with people from our school letting them know that we have to be heard and that we support them. We need our children to be creative thinkers and not limited to the test. Grammy Award winner, Tom Chapin will also be at the rally. Mr. Chapin recorded the song Not on the Test which really does hit a strong note. Here is the video of the song and you will see why.