The Addiction

Turns out, I was pleasantly surprised that absolutely no sales pitch given to us.  None.  We were asked, but not required, to leave a comment on Leapfrog’s community forum.  We were not even asked to blog about our experience.

OK, now I’m listening…

In lieu of a sales pitch, Leapfrog enlisted the help of Dr. Cunningham, a Leapfrog advisory board member and director of the Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education at UC Berkeley.  Dr. Cunningham engaged us in an hour long discussion regarding the importance of frequently speaking and reading to your children ages zero to five.

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to a podcast from NPR’s This American Life in which they did a segment narrated by “Whatever It Takes” author Paul Tough entitled Baby College.  He findings show that the typical middle class family speaks to their infants and toddlers dramatically more often and more positively than the typical lower income family does.  Fascinating!  His work focuses on breaking the cycle of generational poverty by focusing on the children.  If you have 30 minutes to listen about his ongoing work in New York, it’s truly worth your time.

Dr. Cunningham suggests that we should expose our children to rich language through our words, books, and technology, and in turn our children will have a better chance of reading fluently and comprehending difficult vocabulary at an early age.

What a powerful connection, and a fabulous discussion.

I left the event with a gift bag full of the latest Leapfrog products.  My children will be getting some pretty sweet Christmas gifts this year, thanks to our new favorite toy company, Leapfrog.

OH, did I say toy company?  I should clarify.  Leapfrog first identifies the skill that needs to be taught, then creates a system in which to teach that skill.  Kinda like a really smart teacher, huh?  So I should say that thanks to our new favorite teacher, Leapfrog, my children will have hours of fun learning through play!

*****Leapfrog also provided us with a coupon to save $10 off any order of $50 or more when you shop at leapfrog.com which is good through November 15th, 2008.  So shop away!  I know I will be.

Coupon Code: HY8BHPR

Thanks Leapfrog!!  I’m a new convert.  I’ll promote you.  I’ll consult for you.  I’ll work with you.  Heck, I’d even help birth some of your cute little froggy guppies if I could!  I appreciate how nicely you treated us mom bloggers!!

Leapfrog, an educator’s perspective.

Last night’s melt down only took 35 minutes, not an hour and a half.  Thank God.

Anyway, I decided to write a post on a lighter note… my new iPhone!!  Squee!!

Actually, it’s not new, it’s my husband’s hand me down.  Heck I don’t care.  Anything’s better than the P.O.S. I use to own.

Today at Silicon Valley Mom’s Blog, I write about my love for the new iPhone.  Let’s just say that this little device is good, oh so good, for my personal life!    Now go read, and leave me a comment!

On a lighter note…

In my ten years of teaching, I’ve encountered many children who could have benefited from some basic household routines.  As a result I’ve compiled a list of healthy habits & routines that help make the transition from summer to school much smoother.

1.  Bedtime, bedtime, bedtime.
Your child’s body, age 12 and under, on average requires 10–11 hours of sleep per night.  Every night.  If you have a teenager, they generally require 8 1/2 hours to 9 1/2 hours of nightly sleep.

Why is this information important?  It’s simple.   Kids perform better, are able to focus more, and have better days when they are fully rested.

…sleep deprivation adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, sleep deprivation can lead to:

• decreased attentiveness
• decreased short-term memory
• inconsistent performance
• delayed response time

2.  Eat a healthy breakfast each morning.

Make sure that your child’s breakfast consists of high-fiber and nutrient-rich whole grains, fruits, and dairy products.    Limit the amount of highly refined sugars and carbohydrates your child eats each morning.  More sugar in the morning equals a less focused student.

Evidence from the report suggests that eating breakfast may improve cognitive function related to memory, test grades, and school attendance.

Eating breakfast, a healthy breakfast, is important.  VERY important!

3.  Pack a healthy snack.

Around 5 1/2 hours passes between the time a child eats breakfast to time lunch is served.  That’s a long time to ask one of our students to be without food, calm and on task.

Remember to pack a healthy snack each and every day.

Not cookies or sugary, prepackaged foods. But healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, cheese, or dried fruits & nuts.

4. Routine, routine, routine!!

Create a routine your child can count on for the after-school hours.  Have a special spot for homework completion and make clear how much rest time your child has prior to beginning homework.  Have a set dinnertime and bedtime.

Having a family routine can create a sense of security.  When a child feels safe and secure at home, he/she always performs better at school.

Good luck and have a wonderful school year!!

Original Silicon Valley Moms Blog post.

Tips to Start a New School Year

Thankfully when BC woke up this morning, he came running out of his room, smile on face, straight into my arms. Thank goodness children are so very resilient.

Hopefully BC’s getting close to the end of this new defiance phase and all can go back to normal in our house.

I wrote about our exchange over at SVMB today.

Growth as a parent

I did it.  I went to my esthetician and got microdermabrasion done, and wrote about it.  Head over to SVMB to check it out.

Microdermabrasion

I am a public school teacher and I work in one of strongest academic districts in the Bay Area. The school I teach at routinely ranks in the top five in California. It’s that good!

My school is also a ‘choice’ school, meaning that it is students come from all over the school district. You have to choose to send your kids there. Therefore school admission is based on a lottery. When a child’s number is called a parent almost always pulls their child out of their current private or public school to enter ours.

I know what great teaching is all about. I’ve seen both sides, the good school environment and the bad.

This is the best.

So why am I fretting about school?

Simple. I don’t live in the school district in which I teach.

Teachers can’t afford to buy a house there.

I have two children. My oldest will enter kindergarten a year from September and he cannot go to the my school.

Kinda stinks, doesn’t it?

Often one of the benefits that many school districts offer their teachers is automatic admission for their children. On top of it being very convenient for us, it also ensures the district that we teachers stay put for the duration of our children’s schooling careers. Teacher retention is quite a problem in Silicon Valley. It’s a win win.

But since my school is a choice school, my own children don’t even have an option of attending.

So I fret.

I’ve seen great. I teach at great. I want great for my kids.

The school district in which I live is alright. It’s neither great nor bad. My kids will probably do fine while attending school in this district. But then I think, Is alright good enough for my children?

No.

My husband and I have discussed private education, moving, public schools, private schools again.… But truth be told, two public servants living in Silicon Valley simply cannot afford a mortgage and one private school tuition, let alone two tuitions as my daughter enters school.

So we’re stuck. Private school costs too much, while public school just might not be great enough.

When it comes down to it, I’m just as confused as the next mom trying to do her best by her kids.

Any suggestions?

Originally posted at Silicon Valley Moms Blog

A Teacher Fretting About School

Gunplay is such a hot topic. Should we let our kids play with guns? Should we ban them altogether? Are moms who let their kids play with toy guns ‘bad’ moms? Will I raise an overly aggressive child if I allow him/her to play with guns? Will my children and I be shunned by the other moms and dads if we own a toy gun?

These thoughts have all gone through my head.

Am I making the right decision? Will my decision harm or alter the course of my children’s lives?

Well today I’m outing myself. My children each have a toy gun. Don’t shoot!

And my husband and I gave those guns to our kids at Christmas.

Phew, I said it. I can just feel the looks of shock and horror coming across the computer screen! And frankly, I understand. With all of the school shootings and other highly publicized atrocities occurring within our country, it’s no wonder many moms I know shudder at the though allowing their child to know about, look at, or touch a toy gun.

To finish reading this post click on over. Make sure to leave your comments (no flaming please!! :0)

A Boy and his Toy (Gun)

I’m being completely honest when I say that up until a few months ago I knew very little about the voting process and politics in general. I voted for upcoming presidents sometimes. I voted on local issues less. I couldn’t be bothered, really. I’d become pretty tired of the same old-same old that has been going on in the Oval Office for so many years.

I’ve often felt as if I was in the middle of a large lake, in a raft, without any paddles.

But then Barack Obama stepped into the spotlight and onto the campaign trail. And I became inspired.

I remember watching Barack Obama give the 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address. I was stopped in my tracks, silent, intently focused on the TV in front of me.

.…That is the true genius of America, a faith — a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — at least most of the time.…

After listening to his keynote address I knew that this was a man whom I wanted to see more of. A man who could do big things for our country. For the first time I felt hope.

Hope.

When Obama began his race for the presidency I was so excited. Due to my overall ignorance to all things political, I didn’t realize what a dark horse he was in this race. I believed he could win even when he was trailing the other democratic hopefuls by double digits in the polls.

And win he has. Currently Barack Obama has 1418 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1251.

It’s been such a close race between Obama and rival Clinton that the media coverage has been unprecedented. Due to the overwhelming coverage I’ve immersed myself in all things political for the last few months. I just can’t get enough. I know all about super-delegates and primary elections. I’ve watched multiple debates and had many conversations with friends and family about this upcoming election.

And then today I had the opportunity to listen to Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech and I felt it again.

Hope.

In his speech today Barack Obama said in part:

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina — or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

Bold are the parts that I find most important in these paragraphs. As a teacher, mom, and American, Barack Obama speaks to me.

Not this time people. Not this time!

This time I choose hope and change.

For the first time in all my voting years I feel as if the paddles are in reach, things are about to change.

Where do I sign up? I am ready.

Originally posted at Silicon Valley Moms Blog

“A More Perfect Union”

In the Oprah episode I’m speaking of, Oprah interviewed Seal and his wife Heidi Klum.

“Whatever,” I though, “I know nothing about them, and I’m not too interested. But then they began talking of their love for each other, their kids, and their priorities.  And somewhere during that show they displayed their family necklaces.

Family necklaces. What a cool idea!! My husband and I got talking. We wanted a family necklace too.… finish reading this article at SVMB.

A Family Necklace