lawmummy

From the Philadelphia Home and School Association:

Do you want to protect your child from unwanted calls and contacts from military recruiters?

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that school districts automatically release the name, address and phone number of your child to military recruiters unless parents sign an opt out or student exclusion form which states:

“I, the undersigned, do not want my child’s name released to the armed forces recruiters by the School District of Philadelphia.”

The School District issues this form in late September/ early October. That’s when families of all high school juniors and seniors should be receiving a copy from their high school – usually sent home with students for parent’s signature.

If you would like to prevent the SDP from releasing your child’s personal information to military recruiters, be sure to fill out, sign and return the opt out / student exclusion form promptly to your child’s school.

If you did not receive this form by Oct 5th, call the Office of Accountability 215-400-5820 or 215-400-5829 and request one.

I am trying not to be one of THOSE parents. You know, the crazy kind that freak out about everything.

And I got Katie’s report card today.

Now, you have to understand this about me. I was a straight A student. And not a borderline A student. A top A student. Some of it was because I worked hard. Some of it was because I had some natural talent. And some of it was because of my father.

If I got a 93 on my report card, my dad always said, “Where are the other 7 points?”

He was a perfectionist and he wanted me to be perfect.

Maybe that explains some of my issues.

The thing is, the pressure worked. It did make me a better student. And I did become the first person in my family to graduate from college. And I did go to law school. Blah, blah, blah.

So, there’s something to be said about wanting your children to do their very best. Sometimes, it pays off.

But I don’t want to be one of those moms who freaks out about every little thing - especially when it’s not really that important.

Which brings me back to Katie’s report card. She is in Kindergarten. Her report card will not affect her college admissions. And yet, I still read it just about as defensively as a parent could do.

Two things that stood out?

1, Katie doesn’t know her phone number - neither do I. Or Chris. We have a land line but we don’t know the number because we never use it. The phone is really just for 9-1-1. We do have 2 cell phones but that’s a lot for a kindergartener to remember.

2, Katie doesn’t know her birthday. This one is tricky. Her birthday is in June (she knows that part). It is only 2 weeks away from her sister’s birthday. We do not make a big deal about either date because we celebrate them together - one party. We never focused on the dates. In fact, as I am typing this, I just asked Amy when her birthday is and she yelled, “JUNE!” That’s all that they know.

It’s not a learning flaw.

And the crazy perfectionist mom in me wanted to call the teacher and explain. But I didn’t.

I am trying to be more Zen. And just understanding that their lives will not be shattered by the little things like a report card that goes on her permanent record that states that she doesn’t know her phone number.

(breathe out - be Zen, be Zen)

Gosh, it’s hard.

Penn’s Wharton School of Business is offering a FREE Career Comeback Fellowship Program for Mothers who are ready to transition back to the workplace.  It’s made for women who exited their careers for 2-7 years, and are ready to re-enter, but need to be brought up to speed. Details here.

(Hat tip: Tricia Streit Perez, MS, ATC, LAT, Founder and CEO, One Fit Mama)

Seriously, this is just nuts.  In a great kind of nuts way.  And I would think all of you law students would qualify.  Read all about it.  Win some money.  Make me proud.

Is Your Blog Worthy of a $10,000 Scholarship?

Do you maintain a weblog and attend college? Would you like $10,000 to help pay for books, tuition, or other living costs? If so, read on.

We’re giving away $10,000 this year to a college student who blogs. The Blogging Scholarship is awarded annually.

Scholarship Requirements:

• Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!!!
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
• Currently attending full-time in post-secondary education in the United States; and
• If you win, you must be willing to allow us to list your name and blog on this page. We want to be able to say we knew you before you became a well educated, rich, and famous blogging legend.

Important Dates:

• Submission Deadline: Midnight PST on Oct. 6th
• 10 Finalists Announced and Public Voting Begings: 9am EST on Oct. 8th
• Public Voting Ends and Winner Declared: Midnight PST on Oct. 28th

Why a Blogging Scholarship?

At College Scholarships.org we believe that everyone deserves a shot at a decent education. And we love bloggers. Not for the least of reasons, because we blog, and one of the founders of this site makes a living as a blogger.
We believe passion is important. As the world gets more competitive, those who are passionate about what they do, and work close to their passions, will be able to become and stay successful even as technology and automation eat away at many business models. Those who are willing to share their experiences with the world help make the world a better place, even if most bloggers only consider blogging a hobby.

We believe those who freely express themselves are far more likely to find their true passions and connect with people to bring on large scale social change.

Full link here.

Katie did, in fact, survive her first day of kindergarten.  She loves it.  She has a few classmates from Pre-K and lots of new kiddos in the class - there are 16 kids.

I have volunteered to be a Class Parent.  Yep, you read that right.  Katie often looks like a gypsy (she has an interesting sense of fashion and I let her wear what she wants, more or less).  I cannot do decent hair braids.  Our baked goods for class are usually from an actual bakery and not from my oven.  And Katie’s lunches are not elaborate affairs that elicit envy from the other children.  But I am a good organizer, I have lots of enthusiasm and I really want my daughter to be happy.  This, I figure, qualifies me to be a Class Parent.

Amy had been out of sorts ever since Katie started school.  On Tuesday, she angrily accused me of “keeping” her out of her school.  She didn’t quite get that her school had not yet started.  Open house preschool (or “Pre K”, she’s decided, even though she’s only 3) is tomorrow bright and early.  I have told her that it’s the same as going to school.  She is extremely excited.

So, the girls are surviving.

Me too, except for being completely and utterly exhausted.

As for Mom?  Her results aren’t back yet from the doctor.  Don’t even get me started.  I made her call today and ask.  They told her that it would be about a week but that if they “found anything” before then, the radiologist would mark it “stat” and they’ll call her.  I know, I know, this is probably a good thing - not to have heard anything.  But this is the same town where, when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, no one wanted to “bother her” with the news.  So, you’ll have to excuse my cynicism in this regard.

Speaking of cynicism, I spent a weekend remarkably uncynical (is that even a word) and - dare I say it - even a little bit relaxed?  The house looks lovely, we did some much needed sprucing up.  It’s still up for sale, we’ll see what happens.  As fall creeps on, I am less inclined every day to sell.  I swear I’ll post more about this later…

And I have crafts projects and Halloween costumes to keep me company.  I bought a label maker for Katie’s stuff for school.  And get this:  it has other uses.  Everything in our house that doesn’t move will be labeled.  Who knew I could be this OCD?

And that’s all for the recap.  It’s late, I’m tired, Top Chef is on in a bit - and I have a pile of client papers begging for my attention.

I have a significant birthday in a few weeks.  Not AARP significant, but getting there.  But even the spectre of that day looming ahead doesn’t make me feel as old as the methodical marching of events in my children’s lives.

Yep, you’ve guessed it.  Today, Katie started Kindergarten.  Kindergarten!  Not Pre-K.  Not preschool.  Full blown real school.  It is incredibly surreal.

(and psst, Katie’s friend started 1st grade today - and rode the school bus!!)

I am, apparently, the queen of flip-flop.

Not on purpose, mind you.

Remember this big announcement?  And my reasons why?

Well, I take it back.  Sort of.  The house is still on the market but my heart is no longer in it.  At least not for fall.  We picked the worst market in 16 years to try and sell our house.  In summer.  A hot summer.  We don’t have an agreement of sale yet.  And that’s a problem.

You see, school starts next week.  Next week.  And Katie is in kindergarten.  And I am not moving her about from school to school.  So, she is officially going back to private school at Greene Street Friends.  I love it there, she loves it there.  They were kind enough to keep a spot open pending all of the craziness.  And on next Tuesday, that’s where she’ll be.  And where she’s staying for a bit.

I am so not good with change.  Well, that’s not true.  I’m fine with change.  I’m the kind of girl, pre-kid, who could change on a whim.  I would fly on a moment’s notice, get on a train just to see where it was going, open my own firm just for fun…  Yeah.

But kids change you a lot more than you think.   Now every decision isn’t about me.  Or even me and Lawdaddy.  There are three other little creatures to consider - four, really - we can’t forget about Lyle.

And the move was a big deal.  We spent lots of time prepping the girls, and talking about Katie’s new school.  Only there’s no new school.  We’re back to the old school.  And I like the old school.  I just can’t afford the old school for three kids.

Sigh.

I always used to say that things happen for a reason.  And now Lawdaddy is throwing that back at me.  And my mom, too.  While crying on the phone (yes, I’ll cop to crying) when our potential buyers dropped their offer (don’t get me started), mom was saying (after telling me to pray about it - at which point I told her that I had buried a St. Joseph statue in the front yard which kept her quiet because that’s Catholic and she has issues with Catholicism) that things happen for a reason.  I’m not sure what the reason is yet.  I’m working on it.

Maybe we’re meant to stay put a bit.  I don’t know.  I’m not sure what any of it means.  I just know that half of our things are packed away in boxes, stored in the garage.  And I’m not sure we’re going anywhere.

Jeez, how did that happen?

The whole year has just flown by. Today marks the last day of school for the year.

Gulp. Next year, Katie starts Kindergarten.

If you live in the Philadelphia area and you’re searching for school information, I would urge you to consider Greene Street Friends School. Katie has loved her year there, she is super excited about Kindergarten and the staff and teachers could not be more wonderful.

Below are a couple of pics from Katie’s year. You can click on the thumbnail for a better view.

My parents think it’s cool that I’m a lawyer. My kids? Not so much. It’s kind of hard to define what it is that I do really to a four year-old. And to make it worse, my daughter’s classmates have parents that are doctors and teachers and artists - things that are more easily definable - and an airplane pilot. I mean, c’mon! How can you compete with that? That’s the epitome of cool among the pre-K set.

But all of the other parents were showing up at school to discuss their jobs, so I kind of felt like I should do it. And tax day seemed the most logical day to do it.

I had this whole great lesson planned and I have to say, it went off amazingly well. I was very pleased. I handed out stacks of pennies to the kids and we talked about the kinds of things that taxes pay for (the boys in the class were psyched to find out that taxes paid for the Philadelphia Eagles stadium) and everybody paid a penny or two into the kitty. It was great fun. Afterwards, we colored the phrase “Tax Day” since the kids are working on spelling and they were short words.

So, I was feeling really good. And this was my conversation with Katie:

Katie: “So, are you going to talk about flowers?” (I love to garden.)
Kelly: “No, it’s tax day so I am just going to talk about taxes today. Did you have fun?”
Katie: “Yeah.”
Pause.
Katie: “So next time, are you going to talk about flowers?”

Yep, I am researching schools and considering testing. I am requesting applications for admissions. I am RSVP-ing for Open Houses. For college? Nope. Pre-K. And I am so not making this up.

I had a conversation with a friend today that gave me pause about sending my oldest daughter to Kindergarten at our local public school. Chris and I had been discussing our options anyway, and this was one of those moments that made me think we should really discuss our options.

Ideally, I’d like to put Katie where we will keep her. No separate daycare, different pre-k and kindergarten. I like the idea of some consistency, especially for Katie. Despite how it may appear, Katie likes some structure and we try to give her some. There is no greater example of how a lack of routine makes her nutty than the past two weeks with Chris gone. She was impossible.

So, we’re looking hard and fast at Pre-K. You have to have applications in by January for most schools in order to enter in the fall, when she’ll be (gulp) four years old.

I’ve requested brochures from the schools that interest me the most. I am especially into the girls only schools, since I am a graduate of a woman’s college. I believe in education for women; it works (ask Sandra Day O’Connor or Hillary Rodham Clinton - or you can just take my word for it).

Other than girls only schools, we are considering some of the Quaker schools. I like their philosophy.

Boy, this stuff comes at you really fast. Nobody ever really prepared me for this. I had heard the chatter about preschools, and dismissed them as crazy parents (and I stand by that). But, it’s clear that the schools that serve through the 12th grade want your child to enter in Pre-K. It’s really overwhelming.

Wish me luck… We’ll be going through applications in the next few weeks. Open Houses start in November. Do they make a Kaplan course for Pre-K testing?