Free Range Parenting, or not, as the case may be...

So last week a teacher friend expressed her frustration that parents of a high schooler didn't want the student to read some books in the grade level curriculum because of the adult themes in them.  I've always subscribed to the "let them read whatever" philosophy, but this situation frustrated me because so many people were so judgemental of the parents.

The parents in this case are actually grandparents who are very conservative and have strong Christian beliefs.  I agree that they can't protect him forever, and if I had been directly involved in the conversation, might have even "sided" with the other teacher.  I probably would have given some reasons why the materials were chosen and why it might be ok, with guidance, for the student to read them.  However,  I am disappointed that so many adults were ready and willing to "jump in" and automatically side with the teacher rather than the parents. Not one person involved in the conversation said, "Hey, we should find out more about this"or "maybe the parents have a point and we should find something different"....

Situations like this always make me analyze my own curriculum choices as well as how I interact with parents and other teachers.  As teachers we do have a responsibility to expand students' horizons...but we also have a responsibility to respect their beliefs and their parents beliefs.  We are given so much responsibility for students during the school day that we sometimes forget we are not their parents....that we don't get to make decisions about what is right for each kid, just like we don't want our kids' teachers to make decisions without our input. We, as parents and teachers, don't always agree, but we owe it to each other and to the kids to respect each other's beliefs and have responsible, polite conversations with the goal of doing what is best for kids.  And as bystanders, we have an obligation to remind each other to be patient and listen to each other.

Things I could do better

February is hard.  It is a time of self-doubt and loathing (of ourselves and everyone else) for many of us in education....I think I wrote a post about that last year.  I promise I'm not suffering from too much self-doubt and loathing, just a little self-evaluation prompted not by the February blahs, but by Lent.  Many years ago I participated in a Bible Study where we discussed how to add more to our Lent to make it more meaningful.  These are some of my random thoughts of things I can add or improve ( and maybe a little self-doubt and loathing...)

1.  Meal prep.  Seriously, do all of you who post on Facebook really make all your meals for the week on Sunday afternoon?  Really?  When do you get the grocery shopping done?  Egads...really, meals in general have been a struggle lately...I would really love for someone to just cook for me for a week.  I found myself obsessing over what to cook for dinner at 9 am this morning during US History.  Tonight we had soup that Mr. IM made on Sunday afternoon for the 3rd straight night (and, if you don't count breakfast, the 5th straight meal) for me...Ugh.
2.  Cleaning.  Ugh.  Including the dirty dishes from the non-existent meals.
3.  Blogging.  Yes, yes, I was listening when you said you enjoyed my blog.  (Thank you) but then I read ther people's and I wish I had the guts to write about certain things and the creativity to write about others.
4.  Keeping in touch with family and friends.  I used to be the world's best letter writer.  Really, I was.  I even sent birthday cards, by mail, to everyone I'd ever met (almost).  Now, if it wasn't for Facebook, some of you would never hear from me (sorry).
5.  Prayer list.  I need to find my prayer journal and use it again--it did keep me more focused.  A lot of my praying these days is happening in the car during my commute, which is good in a way, but sometimes feels rushed and unfocused (because I am focusing on driving, in theory)
6. Not yelling at the children and the dog.  Ugh.  This one has been tough this week.  The dog is out of control, the children at my house are driving me nuts and the students at school are right behind them....I am really struggling with patience (and I know it, which frustrates me).  Tonight the children are in their rooms, even though it is only 7 pm, because it was just too much.  And if that dog digs one more hole in the yard, I am not responsible for my actions.
7.  Patience, patience, patience.  Enough said.
8.  Exercising every day.
9.  Creative lesson plans for my support lab.  Just keeping up with the paperwork I've created for myself is wearing me down this week.  I need to simplify.
10.  Stepping away from electronics and doing something else.  Maybe take up knitting or cross stitch again?

Sigh...Ok, I feel better after sharing...so thank you all for listening....

The Village

No, no, not that M Night Shyamalan movie, although that would make a great post later... (Movies I hated for most of the movie then loved afterwards?  Movies that weren't quite as good as the director's first try?)

No, I'm taking about Hillary Clinton's Village---the one from the late 1990's, that according to her it takes to raise a child.  Her book (and speeches from that era) always leave me conflicted, because although I disagree with many of her beliefs and stands, the older my kids get, the more I think she could be right on this Village thing.

In the past couple weeks, through a comedy of chaos, I've had to text friends more than once to save my you-know-what. Here's an example...the other night, I somehow ran over a large drill bit (not kidding) and shredded my tire (back passenger side, in case you were wondering) as I hurried to pick up the kids, run them home to change clothes, eat dinner and go to Cub Scouts.  Acura roadside service and the Acura dealer couldn't have been nicer--navigating the tire warranty for me and putting me in a loaner when they couldn't get the new tire until the next morning. IM was tied up in meetings and other things, so he couldn't get away to get the kids. While I waited in the Acura waiting room, I texted friend #1...."If you haven't picked up your kids at school yet, can you please take The Boy a pair of shorts?" (He needed them for a Cub Scout activity, she did) then friend #2 "Can you walk the kids from after school care in the cafeteria to the multipurpose room?  The after school lady won't let them go by themselves..."  (She did).  A couple days later I was again stuck (figuratively this time?) when I had to teach until 3:00 and The Girl had to be somewhere for cross country practice...enter friend #3, who took my child to school and had her husband return The Girl to after school care.  Needless to say, without my Village I would have had to take time off work or the kids would have to miss things...whew...Thanks, Village...I owe you (all) one (or more....)!

It's all about perspective..

Last week a friend of ours with little kids (both under 5) sent me a message asking for help planning her vacation.  She mentioned a dollar amount and the number of days and that she was asking us, because it seems like we travel a lot and have some kind of secret membership to save money when we do travel.  Luckily, we were chatting by message so she couldn't hear me giggling hysterically...I shared some of my secrets (see below) and started talking to Mr. Ranch about the difference in perspective--that I sometimes am disappointed that we don't get to go on "fantastic" family vacations, but that to someone else ,what we are able to do looks really exciting.

Mr Ranch and I started chatting and then we realized that we are actually very blessed and that we are able to do some fantastic and exciting things--we are able to do a reasonable amount of travel, especially when we take advantage of offers from friends and family.  We've been able to stay at relative's condos, on friends couches, and in RV's in their driveways, and we belong to every "hotel club" imaginable, in an effort to get the best price when we can't find a couch.  Our greatest vacation expense recently has been kenneling the dogs.  When we stay at a borrowed condo we try to eat in as much as we can--bagels and cereal for breakfast, casseroles or spaghetti for dinner, lunch and snacks out sometimes or sandwiches if we're near the condo.  When on a road trip we try to stay at places with a breakfast (friends or hotel...), eat lunch from the cooler, and then splurge for a meal in the evening or cook in the hotel microwave.

We also have been able to bid on and win a couple trips at the kids' school fundraiser--those are certainly not free, but are a reasonable splurge--a few years ago we stayed at a cabin in Breckenridge and this year we'll stay at a condo in Puerto Rico.  We've also splurged to go to a cousin's wedding in New Hampshire, but we shared a hotel room with Mr Ranch's sister and then stayed with friends, so the dog kennel and plane tickets are the big expenses there.  Several years ago now, the kids and I had the same spring break, so we splurged big time, drove to Phoenix, met Mr. Ranch's dad, and then spent 4 days in California, at Disney and other exciting places.  Even then we lucked out, our hotel not only had a kitchenette (and 2 bedrooms and 2 baths) but also a free (truly free) breakfast and a cocktail hour on Monday through Thursday nights--with real food (hamburgers and hot dogs one night, tacos another, cheese, fruit, crackers and other snacks the third night we were there)--again, all free with the hotel room.

This summer the kids and I will make the great Midwestern journey again--we are hoping to spend 1-2 nights in a hotel on the way out and back, and use couches the rest of the time.  I'm going to do some planning along our hypothetical routes--I'm not opposed to going out of the way if it means a free couch. I'm also not opposed to going a little way out of the way for something interesting--I found this website Road Trippers--I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it--it's amazing the weird things one can find in America. Like the Moai Dude in Altoona, Iowa, or the Largest Ball of Stamps in Boystown Nebraska.   I think that both of those locations could be on my route, if I really wanted them to be, but I'm not sure I care that much about either.  I'm sure I'll find something really interesting. A couple years ago, the kids and I actually "sacrificed" a day to visit the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois (free!  Well, $2 an hour for parking, but still!!!)

So there it is...it's all about perspective--I guess my vacations are pretty exciting after all, even if I don't really have any secrets!

Picky eater..sigh

Thanks to the time change, we at the Ranch are moving slowly this morning.  We decided to go to church at 10:30 instead of at 8:30...meaning a great deal of my day will be done when we walk out...but not a great deal of "the list" (you know that list, parents!).  So, I snuck downstairs to start on my list (dishes, laundry, grocery list...) and Mr. Ranch snuck into the shower...guess I'll write a blog post while I wait for him to give me my turn!

Neither of the kids were a picky eater when they were little--occasionally someone's lunch or dinner plate spent some time in the fridge until the next meal, but not very often.  Recently, The Girl has become a slightly picky eater.  Unlike her friend E, who is a vegetarian, except for bacon, The Girl is just being picky.  I think it is part of her grand scheme to drive me absolutely nuts.  Thankfully, we still get the Sunday paper, and almost every week there is a recipe section, with pretty pictures and attention grabbing headlines...."Go Healthy!  Smart Lunchbox Layering!";  "Rice and Easy!";  "Your Nutrition Survival Guide!" and so on... Mr. Ranch pointed out to her that by the time he and her aunt were her age, they were in charge of cooking at least one meal a week.  Inspired, she has provided me with the following grocery list:  avocados, blueberries, bananas, turkey bacon, shrimp, vanilla yogurt, cottage cheese, pecans, slivered almonds, rice, and peanut butter cheerios.  I don't think the cheerios go in a recipe.  But I don't know for sure.  There were a few other things on the list, like oatmeal, that I assured her we already have (I believe we also have a great deal of the other things on her list, or did have, before the locusts ate them).  After we try a couple recipes I'll have her report back  to all of us.  In the meantime, here is the most likely recipe to be tried by the whole family:

from: http://parade.condenast.com/264496/sarahdigregorio/easy-oven-baked-risotto-plus-3-ways-to-make-it-special/
Easy Oven-Baked Risotto
Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 diced onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves. Season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 1¼ cups Arborio rice. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Pour in ½ cup dry white wine and season with salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until liquid evaporates, 3 minutes. Add 4 cups boiling chicken stock. Cover and transfer to oven. Bake 15 minutes or until rice is just tender. Stir in 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan. Taste; add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Choose a flavor (see below) and add stir-in. Ladle into dishes; add topping. Serves 4.
Stir in: Fresh herb puree
In a food processor, combine ¾ cup water, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 cup firmly packed chopped fresh mint, 1 cup firmly packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 2 Tbsp olive oil, ½ cup chopped fresh chives, and 1 tsp kosher salt. Pulse until pureed.
Top with: Cooked shrimp

Shrimp-Herb

My second job...or is it my first?

Today was supposed to be my "short" day of teaching--I teach two classes, both in the morning, and then I have two planning periods.  Funny how things work out and interfere with my plans.  All those papers I intended to grade are still in my bag (it is now 9 pm) and the projects I "needed" to do are on my desk. I left school and brought the kids home and spent about 3 hours helping The Girl with her homework.  No, I didn't do it for her, although it took every ounce of my teacher skill set to not just tell her "grrr...write this".  After many tears (from her) we survived, without me loosing my mind or my cool and both kids are tucked into bed.   I have a stack of US History papers to grade and a paper to write so I can earn credit for the conference I attended last week.  I was sitting here stressing a little about all the piles (not only the paper piles, but the laundry piles) and saw that one of my teacher friends posted this article on her facebook page. If you haven't read it, I recommend it...I think it rings true for What Students Remember Most About Teachers as well as what our kids (who live at our house) will probably remember about their childhoods as well.

Recipe to relax and then ruin it all at once

I spent last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association's literacy conference.  I'll write a real post about the conference soon--maybe as I write the paper for re certification credit I'll write a fun summary as well.  It was a lovely conference--it always is and I always leave feeling inspired and ready to go back to work on Monday to inspire my students.  This year's conference ended with a luncheon with Patricia Polacco as the speaker. I walked out the door feeling relaxed and inspired, ready for anything!  Feeling the collective love of 2000 other inspired teachers...Well, I was ready for almost anything...my strategic error was to go to Costco...on a Saturday afternoon...AGGGGHHHH.  Oh, my goodness...it was CRAZY.  Luckily I survived and came home to my family, my jammies, and some episodes of Downton Abbey. Ahhhh....