Middle School

The talk. I had so many questions. When is the right time? How do I bring it up? Do I use diagrams, books, charts? Which ones? How much detail is enough? For the past year, I have asked myself these questions over and over again, never giving myself any answers. On the day I noticed my 9 year old daughter had “blossomed," I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. Complete and utter dread is what I felt when planning how this talk would go down. So I took the easy (read: cowardly) way out and bought a book to do the explaining for me. Shameful, I know. If you are also coming up on this stage of parenting, allow...

School lunches! Whether you’re packing because you have to or because your picky eater just can’t handle school lunch, packing lunch can be a daunting task! How does one keep from packing PB&J every dang day?! We’ve got a little hack at my house! I’ve seen the awesome moms that have buckets of lunch approved items & the kids (or parents grab something from each basket for a well balanced meal. And it’s awesome, but our tiny cabinetry doesn’t allow for such a set up. BUT we have found keeping a list of each kids food preferences helps. Our lists are broken down into categories: veggies, fruit, grains, dairy, protein, sandwiches, snacks, & dips. Our kids eat a pretty good...

I was 15 years old on a road that was almost to my school. I was a sophomore riding with a senior to school. I looked at her and asked her to pull over. I was so sick, and just so glad I was able to not get sick all over her car. I was mortified. Why was I sick? My acne medication. I was 16 and in a swimsuit at a party. The girls were chatting with me regarding their hair, down there. "Ugh, I just shave it all. It's so gross." I looked down and crossed my legs. I thought it was natural. I didn't even know a razor could get that close to my area. I was 16...

We're all smiling, but we're bracing for each other. Every year our school has a “back-to-school” night. The parents of my students, most of them moms, drop in for a short amount of time. I scurry through a PowerPoint, make a couple of jokes about using an old textbook, and take routine, innocuous questions at the end of my speech. Then I shake a lot of hands as they all leave, knowing our next encounters could range from the joyous to the depths of frustration. As they leave, I can’t help but feel there is more I want to say to them – more that would make the unpleasant conversations have a happier ending, more that would secure a tighter circle...

As the new school year is starting, I am shifting from stay-at-home in the summer mom to teacher-mom mode. People ask me what my perspective is about school being a teacher mom a lot, and as my kids get older, I'm noticing the things that I feel like are the most important to help children feel successful at school. Read, read, read at home. I know some children like to read more than others, but the more you can read at home, the better. We read fiction, non-fiction, funny books, silly books, books about whatever animals they are interested. Anything at all! Reading to children early is so critical, because it fosters a love for books, and it builds...