The Sounds of School

nietra · September 2005

They are bitter sweet this year as my baby started Kindergarten but our office is located across the street from a middle school. It's a beautiful Iowa day and I have my window open and am enjoying the sounds of school:

The PE kids on the field playing a game of softball

The bell ringing (oh the memories that brings)

Now the marching band is practicing on the field and afterwards the sound of recess

Ah to be young again!!!!

LivindonSouth · September 2005

My first advice for you is to never, ever, ever throw away anything she brings home from school, no matter what it is, how small, how insignificant. One day 22 years from now, the simplest line drawing in one color will be worth a million when you sit on the couch beside her and give it to her.

My second advice for you is to never, ever, ever let a teacher or principal define for you what your baby's goals should be or how you should expect her to define herself. If they tell you 'she plays outside the circle', tell them, "Hooray for her, I hope she always will choose her own path."

Shadowfax · September 2005

You are so often right on the money. We have an offer on our house, and are starting to pack everything up. We have been good about throwing out stuff..but when it comes to anything having to do with our baby (now 25) we cannot bear to part with any of it. She is still in school and in a small apartment, so cannot expect her to take her stuff with her yet, which is ok with me, because I enjoy the memories it brings back. Good advice my friend.

Dasher · September 2005

Oh, yes -- I am with you here! Sometimes I go to my daughter's room and just look through the drawings and cards and hug the dollies. The memories are so nice. Gee, aren't we lucky to have known such wonders as childrearing gives.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-20-05 AT 06:39PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I've said before, I have everything my two kids ever owned properly catalogued and boxed upstairs and labeled with the tag line, love dad. Sadly I do not have a single thing saved from my childhood. My mother taught first grade all my life and recycled all of my things to her rural, Mississippi Delta, poor children. That's OK. But I sure do miss some of my stuff. I never will forget my plastic, green transistor radio.

Each Christmas I go upstairs and bring down some toys to place around the fireplace that are at least 20 years old. If not to anyone else, they have special meaning to ME.

Save all the stuff Nietra.

nietra · September 2005

Don't need to teall me about this one. I have already saved almost everything already. I even (ok don't tell me how gross this is because I already know) saved her umbilical cord that fell off.

We lived for five years in Europe and she was born in Italy. She has done more traveling at five years old then most adults. Her passport if full of stamps and I kept everything from everywhere we visited.

At six months old we went to the Eifel Tower and we went to the post office in the tower and mailed her a letter with our hopes and dreams for her. It's still sealed and has been placed into her scrapbook.

I barely can go 24 hours without taking a photograph of her! One thing that I did do that maybe those of you reading can pass on to your kids/grandkids as they have children:

Pick a piece of clothing that comes in almost any size. For us it was a red sweatsuit (we knew we would always be able to get the color red) and started a video tape. At day one, behind a white sheet, then 1 week, then 1 month, 2 months, now it is about every 6 months or so that I do it.. but she just stands (or sits there) for about a minute of video tape (not alwasy cooperative and usually now says stuff or sings). I always use the same tape so when we watch it it's about 20 minutes long now but you can see her grow up in front of your eyes!

HRinFL · September 2005

Take the time to read a book called Letters to Phillip. I read it several years ago and it was very influencial. The author, if I remember correctly, is a family counselor. Each year, he wrote a letter to his son on his son's birthday. He saved all of the letters and when his son turned 18, he gave the box of letters to him. He also did this for his daughter (another book). I started this when my son was born and do it as well for my daughter(whi just turned a year old). Not only do I write notes for birthdays and save them, I also write short notes for other occasions. I write each year at the start of the new school year. I wrote a letter when he had his first Little League game. I wrote one when he said my name for the first time and when he took his first step. I do not go back and read them (although there are tmes I really want to) because they are his. I hope that one day he treasures them as much as I do. I know that it has been something special to write them and to voice my pride in the person he is shaping out to be.

atrimble · September 2005

>My first advice for you is to never, ever, ever
>throw away anything she brings home from school,
>no matter what it is, how small, how
>insignificant. One day 22 years from now, the
>simplest line drawing in one color will be worth
>a million when you sit on the couch beside her
>and give it to her.

Three months after I moved out of the house to go to college, my family's house burned down. I thought I'd saved only the stuff I had with me at school, but Mom apparently thought ahead and had spread treasures throughout family & friends' houses through the years before the fire, so each year now she returns one item each to my sister and me. She won't tell us how many of these trinkets she's apparently got stored all over our home county. I'll tell you, though, Christmas Eve evening is becoming a "Hallmark Moment" tradition of Mother-Daughter bonding for us, though I'm 35! And it's not just school-work. Girl Scout projects, summer/winter at-home crafts, home-made birthday cards and presents, etc. Keep it all, and keep it all safe.

JudyT929 · September 2005

They have recess in middle school? My step-granddaughter just started middle school (6th grade) and she doesn't get recess. I think we should get recess at work, put some swings outside and a seesaw and maybe one of those things that goes around and around. I'd work a lot better knowing that recess was coming.

nietra · September 2005

Our community has one high school and we used to have 2 middle schools (north and south). Once kids made it to high school the kids had a hard time interacting with each other and the south side kids were not as wealthy as the north side kids.

In an effort to remove some of this they school board decided to mix them together earlier. So now kids attend elementary school K-4 and then 5th & 6th graders are all at one school and 7th & 8th graders at another. The 5th and 6th graders get recess. Not sure how the integration is going..

WITracy · September 2005

Don, you always touch me when you talk about your kids. I'll never forget your post where you said you held your daughter & "cried like a baby" because she was growing up so fast. Thinking of that still brings tears to my eyes.

My family experienced a great tragedy 3 weeks ago yesterday when we lost a dear friend at the age of 19 to a motorcycle accident. The grief his parents are experiencing is beyond words & the only things that bring even a glimpse of comfort are the memories.

Save what you can & treasure what you have. Every. Single. Day.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

I thought I had the Guinness Record for things saved and stored in boxes in the attic. But, the umbilical cord knocks me out of the competition. x:-)

HRGirl · September 2005

Unfortunately for my daughter, our school district is on strike and has been for a week. Looks like no hope of a settlement and according to the newspaper the teachers will be forced into binding arbitration on October 10th. This will eliminate all holidays and force the school year to go until the end of June.

I feel sorry for my daughter, she has no idea what she's missing. There will be NO field trips, etc...no time for extras. Oh and GOD forbid there be any snow days.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

Off the subject, but it's interesting you say 'till the end of June'. My wife teaches and school is out down here about June 12 and starts back up August 12 or 13. I think I can remember being out an entire 3 months back when. And now if they miss a day for weather or power outage they have to make it up. The state was requiring 180 attendance days but have upped it to about 193.

The Sounds of School

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