Youngest's school had curriculum night last week.
I love to go and meet his teachers and see what he is learning.
I love that the minute I see the lockers and take a whiff of the gym, I'm instantly brought back to age 13.
If only we had our teen years to do over again...
I would study more and care less about wanting to be popular.
I would be more involved in school activities and not be terrified to raise my hand during class.
I would ask more questions and observe more.
And I wouldn't perm my hair.
It's all easy to say now because I'm 50 and clearly not the person I was when I was 13.
Science class was not thrilling me and passing notes in class did.
I was never a great student and I'm okay with that now but I wish I had applied myself more.
I'm trying to pass on to my kids to have more confidence- something that I lacked back then.
As we toured the halls lined with beige tiles and sat in classes with whiteboards (I wonder if our children are getting gipped by not smelling chalk and hearing it squeak across a blackboard?), as I sat and held on to every word his social studies teacher said, I turned to DH and said how fortunate my kids are.
I live in a wonderful town filled with incredible teachers.
Teachers that think outside the box and make learning interesting.
I live in a town where special education services are top notch and help my children reach their full potential.
And then last period of youngest's schedule was art class.
His teacher went to Penn State so we knew we would love her.
Until she asked us to do an assignment.
Draw a piece of cake and a soup can.
I struggled to figure out a how to shape my cake and the chocolate chips that I added to it looked more like ants eating it and how I wished she had something for me to copy because I really do much better at copying then drawing free hand and as I struggled to feel confident about my cake I realized how much school can bring anxiety to our children; especially our teens.
Fitting in while trying to navigate the academia world is some tough stuff.
So all my "if only's" that I wish I could do over again I'm guessing my kids may feel the same in 40 years.
But I'm trying damned hard to make sure they only have a short list.
And know how to draw a piece of cake.
I love to go and meet his teachers and see what he is learning.
I love that the minute I see the lockers and take a whiff of the gym, I'm instantly brought back to age 13.
If only we had our teen years to do over again...
I would study more and care less about wanting to be popular.
I would be more involved in school activities and not be terrified to raise my hand during class.
I would ask more questions and observe more.
And I wouldn't perm my hair.
It's all easy to say now because I'm 50 and clearly not the person I was when I was 13.
Science class was not thrilling me and passing notes in class did.
I was never a great student and I'm okay with that now but I wish I had applied myself more.
I'm trying to pass on to my kids to have more confidence- something that I lacked back then.
As we toured the halls lined with beige tiles and sat in classes with whiteboards (I wonder if our children are getting gipped by not smelling chalk and hearing it squeak across a blackboard?), as I sat and held on to every word his social studies teacher said, I turned to DH and said how fortunate my kids are.
I live in a wonderful town filled with incredible teachers.
Teachers that think outside the box and make learning interesting.
I live in a town where special education services are top notch and help my children reach their full potential.
And then last period of youngest's schedule was art class.
His teacher went to Penn State so we knew we would love her.
Until she asked us to do an assignment.
Draw a piece of cake and a soup can.
I struggled to figure out a how to shape my cake and the chocolate chips that I added to it looked more like ants eating it and how I wished she had something for me to copy because I really do much better at copying then drawing free hand and as I struggled to feel confident about my cake I realized how much school can bring anxiety to our children; especially our teens.
Fitting in while trying to navigate the academia world is some tough stuff.
So all my "if only's" that I wish I could do over again I'm guessing my kids may feel the same in 40 years.
But I'm trying damned hard to make sure they only have a short list.
And know how to draw a piece of cake.
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