Tag: children

Just How Grown Up is a Second Grader?

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Mama

Yesterday evening was “meet your teacher night” at my son’s school and today is our last official day of summer. Wow! I have absolutely no idea where it all went. Okay, so I have a few suspicions, but I probably won’t own up to the fact that I tried to cram way too much good stuff into a mere two and a half months (and I might do the same thing next year *grin*).

second grade — *PTA photo booth at Meet Your Teacher night.*

As usual, my son was a bit anxious about the school year but after he located his classroom, met his teacher and recognized a few peers he is now a bit more eager to get second grade started. Of course I would be happy if he was simply working his way backward and the first day of preschool was actually at hand. My sweet little boy is growing up so quickly and although I try to enjoy every new season of life, I’m not ready to cut the apron strings as soon as he might like.

Monday evening I asked him if he wanted me to walk him to his classroom on the first day of school. This has been the drill for the last two years and I thought it was simply a rhetorical question. Wrong!

“That’s so embarrassing,” he said.

I responded, “Really?”

*short silent pause*

“But you can walk me if you really want to,” he added.

That’s my boy! He is so on the fence when it comes to growing up, and if that is all I can get I’ll take it. I’ll let him make every justification in the book as long as it keeps him from morphing into a teenager at lightning speed. Yes, I want to walk him to class on the first day of school, and I bet I do it for as long as he lets me.

This Mama’s Broken Heart and R.E.M. Sleep Cycle

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Mama

It’s not even nine o’clock and the coffee is gone. . . It’s going to be a long day.

Our son, for whatever reason, has been waking up in the absolute middle of the night convinced that someone is trying to get into our home to harm him. He cries, wants us to sleep with him and refuses to go back to sleep for hours. This has been going on for over a week now and we are all running on a lot less than full steam. I actually took a three-hour nap Saturday afternoon (after a trip to the Missouri Star Quilt Co. in Hamilton, but that’s another story) because I was so tired. It wouldn’t have been an issue but we had a party to attend and the babysitter’s arrival was the only thing that got me out of bed. Now, that’s embarrassing!

Last night I finally had enough (this mama likes her sleep); so after an hour of more of the same I finally told him if he couldn’t sleep he should get up and clean his room. And so he did! This must be serious. We have talked, reassured, cuddled and reasoned. We have checked doors, told stories and tried tough love. We have recalled happy things, thought about favorite places and read books. We have tried essential oils, counted sheep and yes, even suggested household chores. I just don’t know what else to do.

Old Man Winter reared his grumpy head again this weekend with bitter temps and snow flurries, so if Spring finally decides to stay for good this time we will be able to get outside and exercise more, which should help. We already limit our son’s electronic time to 30 minutes a day and after last night I’m restricting his TV viewing to PBS (he actually thought this one was a good idea). I stay on top of what he watches on a daily basis, but perhaps there have been fear triggers and mature subjects that have escaped my perception. Of course the kids at school talk about all matter of ill-advised subjects like Five Nights at Freddy’s, the movie It (Why are parents allowing their first graders to watch this stuff?) and what they saw on the news; but that environment is somewhat out of my control.

We have to figure this out, because it breaks a mama’s heart (and R.E.M. sleep cycle) to have a child in fear tears in the middle of the night without being able to make it all better. That’s what we mamas do — we fix things!

If you have any suggestions or consolations, please leave me a comment below. This mama needs some help (and some serious sleep)! Thank you.

photo credit: Real Cowboys Drive Cadillacs early morning (rest your head remix) via photopin (license)

Vacation Bible School was “Out of This World”

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Mama

Oh my goodness, we had another great Vacation Bible School at church last week. I’m never sure who has more fun — me or the kids!! At any rate, we had sixty-one smiling faces come through our doors in five days and that was almost double the number we had last year. We also had over thirty teachers, helpers, and go-to girls and guys help us each day and that isn’t counting the folks behind the scenes praying, canvasing neighborhoods, decorating (and redecorating when items fell to the floor) and attending to all the little things that need to be done to pull off our annual VBS. I like to joke that we only had a few tears. . . and some of the kids cried too.

Our theme this year was Galactic Starveyors from Lifeway, and it’s always so nice to have a Lifeway store in my own backyard. Yay! We gathered at the Galactic Starveyor clubhouse each morning and had an awesome time “Searching the Visible” and “Discovering the Invisible.” We also took an offering to purchase bicycles for children who don’t have a reliable and/or safe way to get to school. Each bike costs $100 through Compassion International, and our VBS kids generously gave enough money to buy three bicycles! We also had a friendly competition between the boys and girls to see who could raise the most money, and this year the victors were the boys. Way to go guys!

It’s always so sad to see the VBS decorations go away and I can hardly believe we were all decked out just two days ago, but I want to share a few photos with you just in case you’re looking for inspiration for your own VBS or just like to see what other churches are creating. Here’s to all you VBS coordinators, I pray that your own VBS was amazing and that you enjoy a little peace after the chaos!

Miss Ruby and I pulled together the stage with props from Oriental Trading, Lifeway and Lowe’s.

We purchased a large rocket from Oriental Trading for fun photo opps. Here is just one example of my glowing personality all week!

We still do the three pledges during opening ceremonies. The kids love to have a turn at carrying the flags and the Bible.

This was my favorite mode of transportation each morning. With lights down low and the 2010 Space Odyssey music playing, I came riding in on my lighted scooter and pretended to wreck at the stage. My how those kids love a good crash!

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