A freelance writer and editor based in New York, Natalie Schwartz is the author of The Teacher Chronicles. She is an active volunteer with the Parent Teacher Association in her local school district. She graduated in 1991 from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

Natalie Schwartz wrote: When my son was in 3rd grade, the mother of one of his classmates felt the teacher was not challenging her child. To convey her opinion, she shredded her child’s homework and returned the pieces to the teacher in a plastic bag with a note admonishing the teacher not to assign her child such simple work again.

For the rest of the article go HERE.

“Aging” By Catherine Moore

‘Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!’ My father yelled at me. ‘Can’t you do anything right?’ Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.

‘I saw the car, Dad. Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving.’ My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble Dad glared at me, then turned of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil.

What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon . He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.

The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn’t lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn’t do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing. At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived.

But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor’s orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.

My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue. Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad’s troubled mind. But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered. In vain. Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, ‘I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article.’ I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons, too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world’s aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed. Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog. ‘Can you tell me about him?’ The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement.

‘He’s a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him, that was two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.’ He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. ‘You mean you’re going to kill him?’

‘Ma’am,’ he said gently, ‘that’s our policy. We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.’

I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. ‘I’ll take him,’ I said.

I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch.

‘Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!’ I said excitedly.

Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. ‘If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don’t want it’ Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples.

‘You’d better get used to him, Dad. He’s staying!’ Dad ignored me. ‘Did you hear me, Dad?’ I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate.

We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.

Dad’s lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne . Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne ‘s cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father’s room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad’s peace of mind.

The morning of Dad’s funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life. And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.’

‘I’ve often thanked God for sending that angel,’ he said.

For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article.

Cheyenne ‘s unexpected appearance at the animal shelter. . .his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. . and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.

Life is too short for drama & petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly.

Live While You Are Alive. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

One of the best children’s activities in winter is art. Lots of parents regard art with suspicion simply because it makes such a mess. But art is one of the most “teaching” and “learning” experiences there are for kids.

Getting organized about art is not hard, but it does take a little thought and it is important to keep the art flowing. Art can begin with something as common and available as the back of old envelopes and a stray pencil or pen in the back of a car. The only problem with this is if the drawing is worth saving, you can’t transfer it to another piece of paper. So establishing a time, a place and some minutes to do this gives the whole project a place in the life of a child.

Establishing a place for art is probably a good idea at home. The kitchen table makes a really great place to do art because most kitchen floors are washable. Paints, crayons, clay and glue seem to have difficulty in the hands of a three year old in the living room. Even an eight year old spills. The other disadvantage to rooms other than the kitchen is the TV. Art should never be done passively in front of TV. Art is not meant to be passive, and TV is. TV creates an immediate conflict of environments to the serious artist and to the child learning.

Keep art supplies close to the art place, and make art times frequent – like telephone time or dinner making time, or work homework for a parent make excellent art times for kids.

A place to put the equipment is another dilemma for many parents. I use a drawer in my kitchen. Outside a drawer, a big shoe box holds most things pretty well – at least for one child.

What to buy? Go slowly at first. Good crayons are the best starting point. Crayons bought at a dollar store are usually weak and don’t have as good color as real Crayons. Buy eight crayons to start and let the child explore these colors first. The big boxes are great for older children who have experience. The many colored boxes of crayons only get in the way of the art. Keep it simple to start, and then add more as your child wears out his first set. Let children spill out the crayons into a bowl or a plate. They can’t see them tucked into the box. Crayons don’t need to be put into the box to keep. They can be rubberbanded together or even have their own disposible kitchen keeper.

When you feel it’s time for water colors – good next step – always buy Prang Paints. These are the very best paints available. We’ve tried just about every kind of paint there is, and Prang Paints are deep colors and easy to use. Find a nice flat bottomed mug fill it half way and sit with your child teaching him, “Water, paint, paper.” Sometimes it’s good to take out the black paint. Let the child feel the sweep of the paint across the paper. Remember – we are not painting a barn!

Regular copy paper will do for most activities like drawing and painting, but when it’s time to cut and paste, a multiple package of construction paper and a bottle of glue make a lot of fun for young children. Colored paper is my favorite medium. Buy a good pair of children’s scissors and find a little tiny bowl for glue. Children should learn to glue with their fingers because that’s how they learn to work with the paper. Gluing with the end of a nozzle or that dreadful stick glue doesn’t teach the real thing. The point is, glue is supposed to work.

Clay is another excellent art experience for kids. There are several kinds of clay available. Play Dough is a commercial product that kids seem to like very much. You can make a home version of play dough by mixing two cups of flour, one cup of salt, two tablespoons of cooking oil and three quarters cup of hot water together either by hand or by machine. It lasts about a week. Keep it in a ziplock or another kitchen keeper.

There is also petroleum based clay available in dollar stores that costs about a dollar. This clay lasts forever. It’s best not to mix the colors because the sum of the colors is a nasty gray. This clay keeps any old way, but keeping “stuff” from invading the clay means putting the clay away into a bag or another kitchen keeper.

There is also earth clay which is a treasure and lasts for years. Crayola puts out a product very near earth clay, and some of the art stores sell the real thing. I still have earth clay ornaments my kids made years ago. Earth clay dries hard in the sun, but it is fragile.

There are hundreds of other things that make wonderful art supplies, but this is a good place to start with very young children.

Never give a child materials without supervision. It’s best not to mix media because of chaos. Chaos and art never mix well. Decide what you want to do and pull out the materials you will need and begin there. It’s nice to have an adult prototype as a model if you are teaching children how to do a particular thing. Yesterday in class, I wanted to teach the children how to draw naked trees on a hill. It was a stick drawing with a few curves. I chose crayons to work with. It went very well because I did the prototype in front of the class. Some of the younger children had trouble starting, but once they had the starting point, each one was able to take off and draw an excellent free art scene on his own.

Art is supposed to be expression, but children will become frustrated if they don’t know how to do something and there is no one there to teach them. Keep it simple. Keep the lines and the curves simple, and every child will respond positively. Our Principal, Mrs. St. Louis, teaches what she calls directed drawing to large groups, and the result is amazing. She calmly talks to the children about where the lines come from and why, and then each of them tries to do it, and every child goes away from his artwork thrilled with what he has accomplished.

Next week: teaching the creative child to explore!

Good morning and welcome to another week at the GS. This week we will be watching The Wizard of Oz. ET was a wonderful success, and we are hoping this movie will charm the children as well. They are a wonderful audience, and not one child was sent from the “theatre” in disgrace!

Wednesday is International feast. This is a yearly thing we do at school to celebrate the study of different countries and areas of the world. It’s strictly volunteer. If you are interested in joining us, please plan to bring a dish we don’t commonly call American. Make it for about 6 people, and bring you and your dish to school on Wednesday about Noon. Please let me, Miss Judy, know if you are going to join us. I am making curried chicken; I think Mrs. St. Louis is making poppy seed chicken – I think Miss Kelly is bringing a fruit pizza, and not sure what Miss Amy is making. It is always fun to see the children pick their lunch. I will have hard boiled eggs and fruit as well for the kids to eat.

It’s going to be cold and snowy this week. Please send your child in regular shoes unless it snows. Please watch for school delays and closings. Please send your child in LONG sleeves. Short sleeves are summer wear and children are cold. If you must send your child in summer clothes, please send a winter garment like a sweatshirt along with him so that he won’t be cold all day.

This weekend, Miss Molly’s dog had puppies. I was fortunate to watch one of the little guys be born, and it was wonderful. I watched Miss Molly give birth to all three of her children, and I can only say it is a breathtaking experience to see new life come into the world. The little puppies are brown, brown and white, and black and white; they have heads like little walnuts. Mother is doing well and seems to love her puppies.

Have a brilliant day!

Good morning!

It’s been another fine week. Lots going on. The movie has been a wonderful success. We have watched ET, and the kids have really enjoyed it. They are quiet, they answer questions, and they seem interested in seeing “what happens next.” Teachers are delighted with the kids desire to find out the next episode. This is what happens when you stretch out a movie into parts. It might be something to do at home. We divided the movie into 25 minute increments, and it seems to work brilliantly. Not too much time to drift, and just enough time to think about.

Report cards today! The kids are doing so well. We are so proud of them.

We had State inspection yesterday, and we did fine. It’s amazing how much paperwork there is to see. Some medical forms are not up to date, and Miss Molly will begin getting those on Monday.

I stopped by the Asian market yesterday and picked up some Asian pears for lunch. They are half apple half pear, and the kids loved them. They are lighter than either apples or pears. We studied Asia yesterday for a bit, and used the picture album about China I made years ago. We also used a book called “The Material World” which is fascinating because the project for the book was to empty houses out around the world to see how people live. The kids loved looking at the world’s houses. Their favorite page was the world’s toilets. The kids poured over the book for a couple of hours after class. That’s a hit!

We have had lots of interviews this week for new children. Not sure how we are going to handle that. We are mostly full.

If you want Girl Scout Cookies, Hadley, one of our graduates is selling them. The sign up sheet is at the front of the school and she will bring them back to the school.

Please note that boot days are days when there is snow outside. Some of us wore boots on Tuesday and by the time it was time to go outside, the snow was gone. But we will try again. Please do not send your child in boots every day.

Please fill out your new emergency card and return it a.s.a.p.

Today we will finish ET. The preschool will be making snowflakes out of coffee filters with the decoration scissors. Not sure what that will produce – probably snow rather than flakes, but we’ll have fun with it anyway. Still working on the letters and sounds. Most of our children are getting it. Some are still too young. You know when a child must be re-taught something, it means he was not old enough to understand in the first place. We keep plugging until they remember.

Have a great day!

It’s the New Year, and everyone is making those ready to be broken resolutions that are always too big and always too heavy on the conscience. Here’s a suggestion for yet another resolution that is so earth shattering it will change the life of your family home.

Years ago I wanted to be one of those mothers who popped out of bed close to dawn and had the world turning before my little guys got up. I wanted to be the kind of mom who had breakfast made, clothes ironed and ready to be worn, homemade lunches packed if that’s what they wanted and even some fresh baked cookies to take to school to share.

Fat chance! I stayed up sewing and having alone time until far into the wee hours and getting up in the morning was like dragging Godzilla out of bed. Nasty McNasty slowly placed one body part on the floor until the whole person was painfully separated from the bed. The screeching witch moved down the stairs to the coffee pot and there I attached my morning until my kids dared to mention “A piece of bread, Mom?” Flying after them on my broomstick, I chased them out of the house anyway they could scamper.

It wasn’t until my youngest was new born and my oldest was fourteen that I actually accomplished routinely rising before dawn. But even at that late hour, it really did change my life. Today, sleeping to six is a luxury I can easily pass by because rising early means my day belongs to me not the pirate of chaos.

But a good morning routine doesn’t begin in the morning. It begins in the evening. It begins with a good bedtime routine for the children in the house. From the time a child has a bedtime, bedtime should be a quick business. This long drawn out read a dozen books, snack, get up fifty times to drink, potty and otherwise drive you crazy is a sucker’s routine. And the worst is lying down with the child because he doesn’t want to go to sleep alone. Nobody can go to sleep with you- that’s a fact. The whole idea that we share bedtime with our children is downright amusing. There are two kinds of people – those who hate giving up the day, and those who can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring because today has been spent – it’s done. We want to rear kids who are curious about tomorrow, and holding onto today by drawing out bedtime is like saying we are doubtful about tomorrow – not an encouraging moment.

Parents should look at bedtime as a routine like going to the toilet, eating a meal, getting dressed. There comes a point where the child naturally takes the routine in stride and handles most of it himself. Choosing a bedtime should correspond to the hours you want your child to sleep. Question: will your child nap during the day? If so, the length of hours your child needs to sleep at night is not so many.

Most children need to sleep ten to twelve hours a day. If your child rises at 7:00 a.m. then a good bedtime without a daytime nap is 8:00 p.m. But that doesn’t mean starting the long process of bath, reading, snuggling, snack, toilet, teeth, prayers… it means all those things are accomplished before 8:00 p.m.

Now let’s discuss Mom’s bedtime. If the child is out by 8:10, and he will be without the stimulus of a doting parent’s presence, then there is actual alone time and mommy time in the evening without staying up until Midnight or past. If parents get to bed by 10:30, they can get a good night’s sleep and still be awake by 5:30 or 6:00. And if children rise at 7:00, there is a whole hour to an hour and a half of more mommy time.

Rising early and getting the day started gives the adult a whole other perspective on the world. It’s like taking command of the day. Having a cup of coffee all by yourself in the morning and thinking about the things you want to think about without a crowd of grabby handed bandits is magnificent. For the working mom, taking a quiet bath alone, getting dressed without stress and chaos has got to be a moment from God.

For the domestic mom, popping something into the oven or onto the stove for the kids for breakfast means a certain kind of accomplishment. Ironing a blouse or a dress or just making sure all the socks are found can make a day brilliant. Having time in the morning to pay attention to the details of life, like homework left on the table, like ball practice reminders, like a gift that needs to go to school, like a reminder for the bus driver and the other thousand things we all need to accomplish in the morning before work and school.

And for the working domestic mom, it’s got to mean order out of chaos. For me, an hour and a half of alone time meant I could bake, make, to take just about anything, and that meant a lot to my kids.

Starting the day with time is a luxury most of us resist, but it’s within our grasp and it begins with bedtimes the night before. If nothing more, think about it. The hardest part is the first day. But after the first day, getting up early makes the 10:30 bedtime a welcomed thing.

Good morning and welcome back after break! So much to do – so little time.

This month, because of the cold and likely snow, we will be learning how to watch a movie. We are trying to start with ET, but it’s been hard to locate. If you have a copy, please bring it along.

We were able to watch a docudrama on the discovery of the South Pole during the two days in school during break. The kids received this very well. My hopes for learning to watch are very high.

Please bring your children to school in long sleeves. It’s winter and it’s chilly in the building. Keeping the temperature down helps keep germs down.

In the preschool class, we are reviewing the alphabet, the phonemes and learning to listen to directions concerning art. Should be a great day – lots of prizes.

We will be sending home new emergency cards. Please return them promptly with current phone numbers. In case of an illness, we need to be able to get in touch with you.

We will be ordering sweatshirts this month. Not sure of the cost, but these are what we will wear on all winter field trips.

No field trips this month in lieu of the sweatshirts.

Miss Judy’s book is out. It is available as an e book at Whiskey Creek Press. It will be arriving in paperback in a couple of days. I’m excited.

Mrs. St. Louis had a fabulous time in Australia. She enjoyed her family very much and although her flight was long – 24 hours each way, she said she’d do it again – with some thought.

Miss Molly is expecting puppies from her dog, Sophie. They will arrive in a couple of weeks. If you would like a small poodle pug terrier mix, please talk to her.

Have a great day!

Happy New Year! Here is an excellent website to go to to understand your somatotype. That’s your body type and your child’s body type. The theory was developed by William Sheldon. The article is amazing and fun. It allows us to understand ourselves, our spouses and our children. It helps in dieting, in understanding eating and it allows us to understand why we have energy and the next person doesn’t. It helps us understand why some people can do yoga and some can’t. Why some children are lethargic and some are filled with life and energy.

For the website go HERE.