World Moms Blog

When my big girl gets really excited to learn about something, I love to dive right in with her.  I find it thrilling to explore with her and watch the learning through her eyes.  So a few weeks ago she came home all excited about salmon, I knew I wanted her to understand the life cycle of the salmon, but I also wanted her to learn about the important role of salmon in Native American culture here in the Pacific Northwest, where salmon  not only serve as nourishment, but they are also honored.  Read more…

A few weeks ago, my son had a friend over for a sleepover. This friend is just a few months younger, but they are in the same pre-K classroom and have developed quite a wonderful friendship.

I let the boys stay up late watching movies and playing superhero games because, why not? When I finished up the project I was working on, I told the boys it was time to brush their teeth and get ready for bed.

The friend went straight into the bathroom and started brushing his teeth. My son came to me so I could brush his teeth.

And suddenly I noticed that I might be babying my child, without even realizing it. Read more…

In an ideal world, your children leave the house in the morning with their backpacks on and walk down the street to school or to the corner of your street and get picked-up by the school bus. That is how it works (almost) everywhere in United States. Everywhere, that is, except in San Francisco, CA.

A number of years back, San Francisco tried to diversify schools by creating an assignment system in order to give disadvantaged children better options. What it did was make a mess out of the system, and now they are trying to take steps to clean it up. In the midst of this mess, middle-income families, like myself, began to flee the city for neighboring counties where you go to the school where you live – as you should!

But we just don’t want to leave – if we don’t have to. So this year I am playing the school lottery game! The most talked about game in the city – if you have a school aged son or daughter. Read more…

This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maggie Ellison.  She asked our writers,

“If your child is having a problem (name calling, teasing, taking things) with other children at school, how would you handle it? Or how have you managed it if it has already happened? Is there an age when you stop interfering?”

This is how some of our World Moms have dealt with the situation…

Multitasking Mumma of Ontario, Canada writes:
“We don’t have this problem yet, but when I had foster kids I dealt with it by discussing their feelings first and how it was affecting them.  Then we went through how they can handle it next time it happens, ie: ignoring, walking away, addressing it.  Should it become aggressive or persistent then we would discuss telling an adult or involving parents.” Read more…

This year I sent two children off to school, but I’m keeping one at home.

Even though Brody just turned three, I’m waiting another year before I enroll him in preschool and two more years after that before Kindergarten- which he will start having just turned six.

Yes, six.

And yes, I’m sure.

In our school district there’s a movement to change the rules, and our views, on the Kindergarten entrance age, and I’m against it. Here’s why. Read more…

The letter arrived in the mail on Saturday.  There it sat, long, white and unopened.  My heart skipped a beat.  No, it wasn’t the anticipated college acceptance or rejection letter.  Nor was it a job offer or denial.  It was the letter that would represent my young son’s future:  His teacher assignment for first grade.

I opened it up quickly with mixed feelings.  Who would it be?  Would it be who I wanted?  Would his newly made friends from Kindergarten be in his class?  Or, would he be all alone, faced once again to meet new friends? 

As I read the letter, these thoughts raced through my mind, but a deeper, more powerful reaction took over my mind.  Read more…