Wednesday, May 18, 2011
School is almost out — are you giving your child's teacher a gift?
As the school year ends in Johns Creek, the backpacks my children bring home include letters from room moms requesting money for end-of-year gifts and end-of-year parties. Of course, there is also the note that it is all optional and if you choose to do something else for your teacher then that is fine, as well. Herein lies my dilemma. With four children, I will soon not be able to afford extravagant gifts for their teachers. Not that I don't think they deserve it – they certainly do – but my wallet is simply heading toward empty. Eventually, gifts will all be handmade. My children's teachers will receive homemade cookies, lotions, homemade chocolate-covered fruit or handpoured candles. I will not be one of the moms who competes to give …
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
How do your children spend summer break?
After Spring Break, the school year goes by in a blur. Testing, then preparations for graduations and then summer will be here before you know it. For most kids, the only thing that reminds them of school will be the summer reading book that has to be completed. And even that may not happen until the week before school starts. Studies show that during the summer many skills are lost, especially in math. Test scores actually decline from spring to fall. This is regardless of economic status or background. Those that advocate for year-round schooling cite studies that show that teachers spend a significant amount of time in the fall reviewing topics that were covered in the previous year. There are some parents who implement a full summer…
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
What are your Mother's Day traditions?
One of my favorite days of the year is coming up. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8. For our family, Mother's Day is an all-day event. In fact, some years it has been an weekend-long event. On Mother's Day, the entire family of aunts, uncles and cousins visits the grave of my grandmother. She passed just a few years ago and is buried in Buford. We meet there to honor her. After church, each mom goes to eat with her own husband and children. I then get to pick what I would like to do for the day. In past years it has ranged from the Botanical Gardens to the zoo to just laying around the house all day. The evening ends with my entire family getting together again. We give small gifts to everyone that is a mother, including aunts, sisters and …
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
How do you handle sibling rivalry?
Recently my husband and I took our four kids to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules." The second "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" movie was just as funny as the first. The basis of this sequel is the rivalry between Greg and his older brother, Rodrick. During the first half of the movie, you see just how much they dislike each other, with pranks going back and forth, fingers being pointed at each other and lots of name calling. Their mom even instills a "Moms bucks" program in an attempt to get them to spend more time together. In the end, it is their own efforts that show them the importance of brotherly love. In our household of four kids, a day does not go by without a fight between siblings. A wonderful day spending time together can …
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Do your children still believe?
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, weigh in. We invite your, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: I still believe in the Easter Bunny. For that matter, Santa Claus is still one of my favorite people. The Tooth Fairy doesn't visit me anymore, but she visits my kids a few times a year. As Easter approaches, my children are busy thinking about what the Easter Bunny is going to bring. As we were shopping for a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt, my oldest…
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What do you tell your children about others' religions?
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we'll present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, will weigh in. We invite your, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: A recent article in The New York Times was titled "Bishops Urge Catholic Schools to Ban a Nun's Book." The book discusses what people understand about God. It talks to the poor, those of other religions, those that have gone through troubled times like victims of the Holocaust, as well as those of other races. The bishops do not want this …
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Childhood obesity, along with the health and psychological problems it causes, is on the rise.
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we'll present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, will weigh in. We invite your, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: In the last 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled. The two top reasons for childhood obesity are lack of physical activities and unhealthy diets. Is that a surprise? With so many ways to entertain themselves without leaving the couch, physical activity is dwindling. The fingers and thumbs are still working out though, on handheld games, …
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The tsunamis in Japan may have some children feeling afraid and anxious. How do you help your children cope?
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, will weigh in. We invite you, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: Many, if not all, of us have seen the devastation on the news. The earthquake and resulting tsunamis in Japan have left many dead and wounded. Villages have been flattened, cars swept out to sea, and people left without heat, power or any connection to the outside world. Now, Japan faces a food supply that has been tainted with radiation as a …
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
CRCT testing will be starting next month. With only a little more than a month of preparation time, how will you help your student be ready?
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, will weigh in. We invite your, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: For Fulton County Students, April 25 may seem far away, but with Spring Break taking a whole week, that leaves just a little more than a month of instruction time before CRCT testing begins. The past year has shown that 4 percent of Georgia's schools were involved in some type of cheating. Although this was a blow to Georgia Public Schools, the…
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The days off school were fun, but now they have to be paid back.
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of parenting topics that we'll present each Wednesday. Johns Creek Patch's Mom's Council, led by Melanie Fleury and including area moms and Patch writers Janet Shan and Sheryl Schapiro, will weigh in. We invite your, our readers, to join the discussion by adding your own comments. Is there a future topic that you would like to see addressed? Let us know! Melanie: Remember that week earlier this year where we got to spend extra time with our children cuddling in warm houses after building snow men and making snow angels? Well, it is time to pay that time back to the schools. Fulton County, including the schools in Johns Creek, had to cancel six days this school year. Up to four weather days are …
ronny d sutton
2:54 pm on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
I feel like teachers get enough "stuff." Growing up I remember my aunt, who taught second grade for 30 years, bringing a box of gifts from her students to play that party game where you each take a wrapped gift and then people can take it away from you, all without knowing what's in the package... We were always amused by the gifts that her students gave her, some better than others. Don't get me… more ›