Cool Room Mom

It’s official – it’s summer at our house. It’ll be great to sleep in a bit more, forget about spelling tests, and just enjoy ourselves for a few weeks (10, to be exact, but who’s counting?)

While my son is out of school, I’ll be able to focus a bit more on this site, in hopes of having all sorts of stuff ready by the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. I’ll finish up party idea pages, post some resources and pictures of various projects, and things liek that. Watch this space!

As my son’s final day of classes approaches, I’ve been trying to come up with a good end of year gift for his teacher. I finally did decide on something, and thought I was “done” when it occurred to me that his classroom teacher is not the only teacher who has meant a lot to him this year. He’s had two other teachers who have been of great help to him, and we wanted to be sure they were not forgotten, so I picked up a little something for them today as well.

I’m not of the mindset that every teacher a child comes into contact with should be given an end of year gift, but it does seem only right that, if there have been others in addition to the homeroom teacher who have been a big part of a child’s year, they should be recognized, too. This could be just about anyone, from a resource or elective class teacher to the librarian, music or art teacher, a club sponsor, coach, and so on.

Sadly, I fear many of these elective or support teachers often go forgotten at the end of the year. Do you have any ideas about how to ensure that these other, equally hardworking teachers are recognized? If so, leave a comment! The more ideas, the better!

We’ve only got two more days left in the school year here, and excitement is mounting – and not just among the kids! I’ve been working with my son’s teacher to put together a fun, low-key day for Friday, in hopes of keeping everyone happy and sane. School is only in session for 4 hrs that day, which does help!

My son’s class will be watching a movie, doing class awards, some reflecting (his teacher has a “looking back”-type survey for them to fill out: My favorite subject this year was… My best friends this year were…), and, of course, there will be snacks.

When I dropped by the room late last week, the teacher gave the kids an overview of the last day, including sharing with them that they’d be seeing a movie. Needless to say, it was interesting to hear what some kids suggested for the day’s film. I’ll start by saying, what they will be watching is some portion of Planet Earth. This thrills my son, as he’s an animal lover and nature freak, but some kids weren’t so thrilled. What did they want to see? Coraline (a movie that scares even me, it looks so creepy), Avatar, and Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland. While I have nothing against any of these (well, except, maybe Coraline), it surprised me how many of them went for slightly creepy &/or violent films. It’s made me wonder if I’m more strict about what I allow my son to watch? (Full disclosure: he’s got Transformers and Transformers 2 memorized.) Maybe I’m not so much strict as just not convinced my son needs to know all about Tim Burton yet? Frankly, I thought they’d all ask for one of the Harry Potter movies – I know it’s what I’d pick if I was given a choice.

While they watch the movie, the kids can look forward to homemade goodies from our fabulous parents – we’ve got cupcakes, cookies, Rice Krispy teats, popcorn, juice, and bottled water coming in.  I tried to steer people toward sending in more healthy snacks, but hey, I’m making cupcakes, so I don’t have much room to talk, do I?

If I had all the time in the world, I’d make Star Wars cookies using my new cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma, but instead I think those will have to wait until next year. I guess this gives me all summer to perfect my icing piping skills! (They’ll also be a great “kick off summer” surprise for my son. I can’t wait to get baking!)

Yearbooks came home today, and I’m so pleased with it. My son’s school has only been open for 3 years now, so I realize the yearbook staff are doing a bit of trial and error work in looking for what works best for our school. Each year’s book has been better than the last, and this year I think they really hit their stride. Finally, we’ve got a full-color, hardback book. I think they realized this year that parents will shell out a bit more for a good quality book ($25, as I recall). I’m still a bit irked by the book 2 years ago whose cover came off the day my son brought it home.

One thing I really like about the book is that parents were invited to submit pictures they’d taken throughout the year at school events, field trips, etc for consideration. Of course, I loaded up a flash drive and turned one in. The results? At least 3 great candid shots of my son, and who knows if I’ve missed one or two?

What’s the coolest or best teacher’s gift you’ve ever given, received, or seen someone else give?

My son’s teacher this year has been awesome (actually, we’ve been blessed in that he’s never not had an amazing teacher), and so I’m looking for something truly wonderful to give her. I know teachers aren’t in it for the loot at the end of the year (far from it!), yet I still like to give a little token to show our appreciation.  I’ve got a few ideas in mind, but would love to hear others’ thoughts, too. (And, truth be told, there’s no way I’m going to post my ideas here, in case our teacher is reading this – hi Merry!)

I’m just home from an end-of-year volunteer reception at my son’s school. I can’t quite believe how quickly this year has passed. They held the event outdoors, in the picnic pavillion behind the building (a LARGE covered space with seating for a few hundred). Parents got to sit on the benches, while all the kids surrounded us. Each grade did a short little (< 5 mins) thing to say thanks to all the parents who’ve helped out this year. As luck would have it, my son happened to be seated directly in front of where I’d sat down, which was nice. After the kids were done, they returned to their classroom and the principal recognized a few of the parents who’ve been involved in the Parent-Faculty Club (the equivalent to the PTA), the SchooL Site Council, which oversees the facility, and a few other key boards like that.

There’s an opening on the Site Council for next year, and I will admit, I’m intrigued. On the other hand, it would be one more thing demanding my attention, and I’m not sure I’ve got the time. I suppose this is just me, being my usual nosy self.  This does make me wonder, how much volunteering is too much? For anyone who might be reading this, what are your thoughts? I recall a few parents when I was in school who seemed to live at the school. I am sure that, on one hand, their help was appreciated, but I know for a fact that more than one of them drove the staff up the wall and down another. I don’t want to be one of those people!

As David Byrne famously sang, You may ask yourself, How did I get here?

This blog is a long time coming. I grew up in the middle of the country, have now lived on both coasts, and have been a room mom for seven consecutive years. I’ve always rambled on to my husband, family, and friends about what I’m up to, all the while feeling a bit frustrated that I had no time to write (I’m a writer & editor by training). Until recently, it had never occurred to me to put all of these things together. Now, though, it seems so obvious – why didn’t I think to do this years ago?!?

So, in brief, here’s who I am:

• Married mom of two: one older-elementary-aged boy and a very young daughter
• Full-time writer and editor (though I do more editing than writing these days)
• Room mom with seven years (and counting) experience. I figured it up one one day – the year (I presume) my son ages out of needing a room mom will be the very year my daughter starts preschool and comes into the room mom-years. When all is said and done, I can expect to have been a room mom for 18 years in a row! It makes me a little tired just thinking about it all
• Multi-year room mom experience in both private and public school settings.

In short, I feel a bit like everymom, yet also quite different. In my years of room momming, I’ve encountered a lively cast of characters – some of the nicest, best people I’ve ever met, and some that make you want to stab yourself with a fork rather than work with them. I refuse to stab myself, so instead, I’ll blog about them – annoying people of the world, you’re on notice!

I also don’t like to think of the traditional, boring room mom mold. I’m sure it works for some, but it doesn’t work for me. Who says having a kid means you have to lose your edge? Why play Barney for your preschooler when you could play Barenaked Ladies’ “Snacktime” album instead? Just the same, I’m always on the lookout for cool activities, party ideas, and projects to make classroom events fun – you’ll find no conversation hearts bingo here!

Where has the year gone? As I write this, many friends’ children in other parts of the country are out of school, or are getting out this week. We’ve got 8 more days to go here, but who’s counting?

The year has gone quickly for me, and no doubt some of this has come as a result of my “room momming.” Now I’ve got one more party to plan, one more field trip to help pull together, a school picnic/carnival to attend, and then summer can begin. (Oh, for the days when school never went past Memorial Day…)

While I look forward to being free from my weekly room mom duties and enjoying some downtime, I’ll also be using the time to bring my thoughts together, do some organizing, keep blogging and tweeting, and get myself ready for next year.