The Way Things Are

Did you know  my printer broke? I mean...flat out busted. And right when I was gearing up to do the most interesting weeks of summer school (in my opinion)...two weeks of India, France, and Australia. I was so looking forward to these...and then...BOOM!!

I guess I could've begged people to print stuff for me...but the fact is that it is A LOT of paperwork (worksheets, coloring pages, graphs...and lets not forget my highly detailed and highlighted lesson plans)...but I felt guilty requiring that much ink from anyones printer but my own.

Hey...times are tough...and ink is expensive.

Likewise, to go and spend hours at a Kinkos sifting through my stuff and printing there didn't seem feasible either.

And besides, I have been known to get a sudden idea and run to my computer, look it up, and print the directions or article or WHATEVER...all on the fly. And I couldn't very well do that if my printer was...well...not HERE.

So...we stopped.

I mean...we still swam, and went to the beach, and the dollar movies. We still did scripture study, and had time for reading, and I broke out the old handwriting worksheets...but for the most part...summer school ended.

And I was kinda sad.

My kids weren't. Although they won't admit it while they are in the throes of school, they actually ENJOY summer school. When I'm gearing up for it, they get all excited about it starting. And when it's over, they are always mourning the loss. But in the MIDDLE of it...when they want to go out and play and I make them write their journal entries first...there's a lot of moaning and groaning.

So at first...they were all excited. More time to play!! More time to be on the Wii!!

After about 4 days, the: "Mama...what can I dooooooooo?" 's set in.

I hate the "Mama-what-can-I-doooo"'s.

Bane of my existence.

Seriously.

Anyway...there are so many things to write about...we have Brighams short career in football (and just like summer school, yet another example of not appreciating what you've got till it's gone).

And there's my birthday (which really is just a story about a cupcake, and might get relegated to the Food Chain portion of this blog).

And there's all the upcoming Back-to-School...what with insane supply lists (they get more elaborate every year), all the "special circumstances" that each child seems to have this year, and even the weather (we're already on storm name "G"...can you believe it? None of them have come close...but still...we're just careening through the alphabet and it's not even September!!)...

But today I wanted to share this article from the New York Times about over-booking kids.

I am a purist parent. And it's mostly because of finances. We simply cannot afford to put 5 children in every activity they desire. It's not that I wouldn't LIKE to...it's just not feasible.

I think Kaitlyn would really benefit in private voice lessons and art or photography classes...just to build on her strengths. And Joseph could use private music lessons as well, along with joining a swim team. And Savannah wants to dance, and cheer, and play sports, ride horses, and learn music...all at once. And Brigham NEEDS a sport (although his foray into football was a slight disaster...but more on that later)...and Nicolette has a SERIOUS talent for gymnastics and/or diving...and I would LOVE to build on that.

But I just can't. I have them signed up for Scouts because it is the most reasonably priced activity there is...and I stay very active and involved in it so THEY stay very active and involved in it.

But finances aren't the ONLY reason...I also believe that children gain more from being at HOME...with their FAMILY...than they do out in the world. Children learn everywhere...how many of your kids picked up a swear word after hearing a random construction worker utter it as you walked past? (Just for note: My kids didn't need a construction worker...they learn all the swear words they'll ever need...plus many for special occasions...right from their mothers mouth every time she stubs her toe). I'd rather have my kids getting those learning moments at home...from me...than from a coach, teacher, or other parent. After all...I think there's a lesson to be learned about seeing your mother wash her own mouth out with soap.

It's not that I don't believe in extra-curriculars at all...I just believe in moderation.

And in almost direct contradiction with the above statement...I DO wish I could do more. And when I talk with other moms, and the conversation rolls around to: "Well...MY kid does____________________ (fill in the blank with multiple activities)"...I always get uncomfortable.

First of all, these moms that talk about the expense and the time commitments LIKE they're complaining...but they're really not. There's a hint of bragging in their voices, like we're all supposed to be impressed that their kids do 20 different activities a week, or spend every weekend traveling for various sports teams, or that her husband and her haven't seen each other for WEEKS because they're so busy chauffeuring different children to different commitments. And then, when other moms chime in about THEIR kids, and the sacrifices THEY make to ensure their future soccer stars and art prodigies are successful in the world of fame and fortune...it becomes an almost-argument...the whole: "My-kid-is-better-than-your-kid"...which is really a cover for: "I'm-a-better-mom-than-you-are".

Eventually, these moms notice that I have not offered any assertions of my parenting prowess, and like hungry wolves, they stop bickering amongst themselves and collectively turn on me.

"What do YOUR kids do?"

And I am caught...like a deer in the headlights of a monster truck. And I weakly offer: "Scouting."

"That's IT?"

They are condescending...incredulous at my obvious lack of mothering pride. They gang up and start spewing random facts they read in their latest issue of US Weekly and Better Homes and Gardens about how kids NEED sports, and MUST have multiple extra-curricular activities to fill in the gaps of what they are NOT receiving in our budget-cut schools...and how will my kids grow up and be functioning members of society without joining three separate traveling tennis teams?

I'm all but accused of contributing to childhood obesity, the fall in scholastic performance scores, and the rise in crime.

"Busy children are happy children," I'm told...and with a sniff and a flip of their $250 highlighted hair with feather extensions, they stomp off to further berate me out of my presence.

I used to try and justify myself...I'll admit it, I was a little ashamed that we couldn't do more...and I wanted to prove that I was a good mother, too. I'd start by giving excuses because we have a large family on a single income, only one car, and that we do A LOT of activities together as a family. But these excuses often fell on deaf ears, and I realized that no matter what I said, these women held the opinion that I obviously didn't love my children, because if I did, I would happily go bankrupt paying their activity fees.

And so...I stopped arguing, and let them tirade against me...figuring that they weren't exactly the kind of women I'd want to make friends with anyway.

I, personally, can't stand reading Us Weekly.

And, as time has gone on, I've stopped feeling (as) ashamed. True...I still wish I could do more...but not to prove to other moms that I am, indeed, a qualified parent. But rather because, as I previously stated, I see a lot of untapped potential in my kids, and I wish I could help them develop it. I would like to assist them in finding a sport, or hobby, that they truly enjoy.

But alas, the world is an expensive place. Gone are the days that you could go to the local community center and sign your kids up for a slew of classes. Everything is privatized, and EXPENSIVE...amounting in hundreds of dollars a month for membership fees, supplies, uniforms, gear, food, gas, and competition entry fees (in my area, some sports, like swimming and horseback riding, require you to enter so many competitions a month in order to stay on the team).

And I do believe that too many activities can hurt your children. I believe kids need down time to relax, to engage in creative play away from technology and structured activities (getting my kids away from technology is tough...getting ME away from technology is tough).

I believe that families need time together...that meals need to be shared, that regular activities and meetings need to be scheduled and honored...but also that impromptu moments need a chance to blossom.

And I believe that moms and dads need time to re-connect...time alone without the pressures of kids and family. And that can't happen if you're always heading in different directions.

Everyone has a different situation. I'm not saying that sports and classes are in of themselves bad things!! Like I said...I wish we could take part in more activities...but not an endless conveyor belt of extracurriculars. You may have that kid that really IS a prodigy, and traveling soccer is exactly what your kid needs. But I believe the majority of activities are just overkill.

I think a lot of kids don't need ten different sports and five different classes. I don't think that if the only time you spend with your kid is in the car while you shuttle him all over town necessarily makes you a good parent.

Every once in awhile, I find an article that agrees with me...and this is one of them. I encourage you to read it. Whether your a feather-extensioned soccer mom, or a dedicated homebody like me...it's an interesting read.

And you can weigh in on this debate...ARE children over-booked? And what does that say about us, as their parents?

The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience

I didn't take any pictures of summer school last week because Jason had borrowed my camera and repeatedly left it at the restaurant...and it's a real shame, too...because last week we studied Morocco...and I could've shown you pictures of the kids studying and learning, making couscous and Moroccan flatbread, going to the beach at Bill Baggs, learning to wrap turbans around their heads...and all kinds of other fun.

*sigh*

So, in lieu of that, I thought I'd post this article I discovered. I keep going back and forth about homeschool...wanting my kids to be home and able to freely grow in intellect...but also daunted by the fact that I am an incredibly fallible human and my terror that it actually might do more harm than good.

And I'm not as worried about my kids in the charter system as I am about Joseph...

*bigger sigh*

 Think I'll ever get the nerve to homeschool my kids? I don't know...but this article (printed in Scientific American) makes me want to... 

 The educational value of creative disobedience

By Andrea Kuszewski

“The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done - men who are creative, inventive and discoverers” –Jean Piaget

Looking back on my childhood, the times I remember most fondly were spent with my father, learning how to be a scientist. He’s not a scientist himself, though—but an artist. He’s one of those people who knows a little bit about everything, quite a bit about most things, and loves sharing those bits of insight with anyone that will listen. He is a perpetual observer, a noticer of peculiarities, a collector of knowledge. Being a relentlessly curious child, I saw him as my walking encyclopedia. My afternoon routine consisted of perching myself on a stool in his workshop, peppering him with random questions as he worked.

Why do chameleons change color? Can lightning follow a trail of water? Why do we go in the basement during a tornado? How do those guys karate-chop planks of wood without breaking their hand? (Because I had tried this myself and believe me, it wasn’t pretty.)

No matter how silly or trivial the question, he always had a generously detailed answer for me, thick with scientific evidence. I was perfectly content with this symbiosis until one afternoon—I must have been about 7 or 8 years old—when everything changed.

The Irresistible Taste of Color

There was a question that had been plaguing me for days, and I wanted my dad’s full attention. He was working on a new project, so I bided my time, respecting his need for silence during his creative flow. I loved watching his process, trying to imagine what was going on behind his eyes right before his pencil struck surface. His arm moved swiftly across a large sheet of paper, effortlessly laying out a composition in a series of graceful sweeps and snaps of the wrist, a conductor creating life in a symphony of strokes, dancing and multiplying before me. The intensity of his concentration was clear in his grimace. I held my breath. A minute or two of heavy staring at the page, a few more swipes at the paper, and he stepped back, smiling to himself. That was my moment.

“Dad?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“What are   black holes ? I mean, how do they work?”

He turned to me and laughed a little. I had managed to shock him with my latest inquiry.

“What specifically do you have a question about?” he asked. He was probably regretting buying that set of World Book Encyclopedias, which I had since claimed as my own.

“Well, where does all the stuff go after it gets sucked inside? I thought matter couldn’t be created or destroyed? It has to go somewhere, right? So—where does it go?”

“I’m not sure,” he responded “I don’t think it follows the same rules.”

I was stunned. He didn’t know? How? Why? In my young schema of the world, my father knew everything there was to know. I looked to him to be The Teacher of All Things Important in Life, and I was watching my reality crumble away in one unanswerable question. Realizing for the first time that my father was not a god was life-altering enough, but my world changed in an even more profound and quite unexpected way: in that uncomfortable moment of dissonance, when my thirst for knowledge went unsatisfied—I was exhilarated. There was a scientific mystery, and neither one of us knew the answer. It was ridiculously exciting, and I didn’t quite know why, but I was drunk with wonder. We spent the rest of that afternoon discussing black holes—looking through books, making little diagrams, trying to make some sense of theoretical physics—together.

My mind awakened that day. I fell in love with not just knowing things, but in solving mysteries. No longer content to just get an answer, I went seeking answers, pleased with my newly discovered investigative prowess. And when I came upon something interesting, I shared it with my Dad, and we discussed it like colleagues, sorting out the little pieces of the puzzle together—not always succeeding, but having a splendid time trying.

It was as if a whole new color was added to the world’s palette that my eyes had never noticed before. More and more hues revealed themselves in time. Life became deeper. Things moved slower, had more parts. There was so much I didn’t know, and so much I wanted to find out, layers upon saturated layers of discoveries waiting for me to uncover. I was hooked. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was when I first became a scientist.

The pain of withdrawal

I wish I could say that was the happy ending of my childhood story. Instead, it was the beginning of a rather torturous developmental period. My new outlook on life, which could be summarized as “Don’t tell me—I want to figure it out myself!” was not an attitude that went over too well in school. For many years I struggled with wanting to please my teachers—listening to directions and following the rules—but feeling creatively unfulfilled and unchallenged. At times I had an instinct to speak up and offer an alternate explanation, or an urge to try something a different way, but I quickly learned that only ‘undisciplined and obnoxious children’  challenged authority and caused disruption. These were not the kinds of students that teachers favored. I learned to ignore the pangs of my creative spirit, which only seemed to bring me misery when answered.
As much as I loved learning, school was uninspiring and left me hollow. I saw school as a necessary time commitment, but not much else. I ended up doing most of my learning and exploration on my own with whatever tools I had at my disposal—books, observation, watching people, and of course—my imagination.
Obviously my love for science and learning was not completely destroyed by my early school experience, or I wouldn’t be where I am today. But I certainly bear some scars. Now that I know a lot more about neuroscience and psychology, I wonder:

What effects did the discouragement of creativity and independence have on my developing brain, and how much of it was permanent? How much of a role did the inflexible, rule-dependent nature of school play in my cognitive development, versus my own independent or   experiential learning?

Even bigger question: Was school helping or hurting my intellectual growth?

Before I answer those questions, let’s take a look at this from the other side first—how creativity and exploratory behavior is diminished by traditional teaching models—then I’ll explain how that relates to intellectual development overall.

We already know that everything we do changes the brain in some way, but to help frame this in a practical context, I’m going to put out a few broad hypotheses to consider as we look at some research and discuss what it means over a child’s lifetime.

Hypothesis I: Teaching and encouraging kids to learn by rote memorization and imitation shapes their brain and behavior, making them more inclined towards linear thinking, and less prone to original, creative thinking.

Let’s take a look at our typical education paradigm: From the earliest days of school, we hammer specific scholastic values into our students: pay attention, watch the teacher, imitate what the teacher does, stay in your seat, don’t question authority, and receive praise. But instead of teaching children to think, we are teaching them to memorize. Instead of encouraging them to innovate, we expect them to follow the outline and adhere to rules.

There are two very interesting studies recently emerging from the field of developmental psychology that address the issue of early childhood education and teaching methodology. The first one, by Elizabeth Bonawitz and colleagues, has to do with direct instruction and the limits it puts on exploratory behavior. The second , by Daphna Buchsbaum and her team, looks at imitation of action sequences—what situations and specific criteria make a child likely to imitate an act, or to perceive it as a “correct” answer.

Alison Gopnik, a researcher that worked with Buchsbaum on the second study, wrote an article for Slate, Why Preschool Shouldn't Be Like School: New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire, in which she explains both of these studies and what their results imply for learning. The two studies each took a different approach to assess how teaching style influences learning, but both drew the same conclusions. The type and intensity of direct instruction we give children, from a very young age, has a profound impact on how they approach learning and creative exploration. They found that too much direct instruction—showing a child what to do, rather than letting him figure out the solution himself—can severely affect his ability and/or instinct to independently and creatively solve problems, or to explore multiple potential solutions.
Gopnik explains:

“Perhaps direct instruction can help children learn specific facts and skills, but what about curiosity and creativity—abilities that are even more important for learning in the long run? Two forthcoming studies in the journal Cognition— one from a lab at MIT and one from my lab at UC-Berkeley —suggest that the doubters are on to something. While learning from a teacher may help children get to a specific answer more quickly, it also makes them less likely to discover new information about a problem and to create a new and unexpected solution.”

This “new and unexpected solution”  she is describing is at the core of creativity, and what we should be encouraging in children. However, it seems that by directly instructing children—giving them the answers to problems, then testing them on memory—we are inhibiting creative problem solving, to quite a significant degree.

She goes on to describe one of the methods used in her study on action sequences:

 “…[We] gave another group of 4-year-old children a new toy. This time, though, we demonstrated sequences of three actions on the toy, some of which caused the toy to play music, some of which did not. For example, Daphna might start by squishing the toy, then pressing a pad on its top, then pulling a ring on its side, at which point the toy would play music. Then she might try a different series of three actions, and it would play music again. Not every sequence she demonstrated worked, however: Only the ones that ended with the same two actions made the music play. After showing the children five successful sequences interspersed with four unsuccessful ones, she gave them the toy and told them to “make it go.”

The same nine sequences were used with all the children. The only difference: in one group she acted as if she had no idea how the toy worked—trying out different actions until it made music—and in the other group, she acted like a teacher—telling them to watch her, making it clear she was showing them the correct sequence to get the toy to make music.  The children who were shown the “correct” three-action sequence (the direct instruction scenario) were indeed able to imitate the researcher and get the toy to make music. Good, right?
Well, the “correct” three-action sequence demonstrated by the researcher was not actually the best solution; a two-action sequence worked better. However, the three-action sequence was the one demonstrated, so that’s what the children imitated. No need to explore other possibilities, right? The scientist in me likes to think that I would totally be the type of kid to find my own solution to make the toy work, but then I remember how obliged I felt as a child to follow the teacher’s rules, and it saddens me. I probably would have performed exactly as the children in the study.
Gopnik explains,

“When she (the researcher) acted clueless, many of the children figured out the most intelligent way of getting the toy to play music (performing just the two key actions, something Daphna had not demonstrated). But when Daphna acted like a teacher, the children imitated her exactly, rather than discovering the more intelligent and more novel two-action solution.”

That last sentence is key. When the teacher instructed the children and gave them a working sequence, they were able to replicate that correct response effectively. Some would say that the children “learned” that information. But what did they learn to do? They learned to imitate. The fact that they generated the less intelligent response immediately, then stopped looking for alternate solutions, is quite troubling to me. Yet this is the type of behavior is expected and encouraged in most schools. Do we want children to learn how a system works, exploring lots of possible solutions—even if some of them fail—or to merely copy one “correct” method of arriving at a solution? What happens if that one solution stops working? Then what?

As a behavior therapist, teaching children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other learning disorders, this has been one of my hot button issues, and the subject of quite a few battles I’ve had with defenders of the   Errorless Learning paradigm. The goal shouldn’t be getting a correct answer; the goal should be learning why that particular answer is correct, and why others are not—as well as knowing when and if there are multiple correct answers to one problem.

What these two studies showed, is that children are very susceptible to adult instruction. We seem to be hard-wired as children to turn to adults for direction, and from an evolutionary perspective, this would make sense. But the inclination to obey and follow adult instruction is both good and bad. On the one hand, if very young children weren’t instinctively driven to listen to adult directions, there would be some major safety concerns. Let’s face it—the world can be a dangerous place. But we’ve come a long way since the days of running from wild beasts in the woods and living in caves.

Creative problem-solving skills are increasingly important in this age, and over-instruction inhibits their development. We shouldn’t be so quick to teach everything to a child in explicit detail and hand him the ‘Instructions for Life’  just because we know things and he’s still naive—that prevents him from developing the urge and the ability to explore and solve problems independently. Also, what if the adult is occasionally (gasp!) wrong?

Hypothesis II: Teaching kids to ask questions and think about problems before receiving the solution encourages more non-linear, divergent and creative thinking, to produce better innovators, problem-solvers, and problem-finders.

The studies we just discussed looked at how direct instruction and teaching imitation of one solution can inhibit creativity and exploration, so now let’s take it to the next theoretical level, only this time—reverse it. If restricting kids from asking questions and teaching them one solution (or giving them the correct answer) inhibits creativity and encourages less innovative behavior, then what happens if you encourage asking questions and require them to think problems through and come up with their own solutions? Will this tend to result in greater creativity over time? What about learning? Will they learn at the same level as kids who are taught in a more traditional method?

You know what? There’s data on that, too. Short answer: Yes. Also, they’ll learn better.

In previous post I wrote on increasing your intelligence, I mentioned a study done by Dr Robert Sternberg, called The Rainbow Project [PDF]. The goal of this project was to find out if it was possible to develop both teaching and testing methods that were a better measure of the quality and quantity of material learned over a college course. He wanted to see if by teaching creativity—both using creative teaching methods, as well as teaching students to think creatively about a problem—then testing for practical application of the material learned, if more learning took place. Basically, he wanted to show there was a better way to learn rather than sitting in a lecture hall, listening to facts being presented to you.
His results? A huge win. As I summed up in my previous article:

“On average, the students in the test group (the ones taught using creative methods) received higher final grades in the college course than the control group (taught with traditional methods and assessments). But—just to make things fair— he also gave the test group the very same analytical-type exam that the regular students got (a multiple choice test), and they scored higher on that test as well. That means they were able to transfer the knowledge they gained using creative, multimodal teaching methods, and score higher on a completely different cognitive test of achievement on that same material.”

There are an increasing number of studies on educational methodology that demonstrate the same types of results—they find increased learning and participation in classes that use an integrated approach to teaching, as opposed to the traditional lecture. A recent report in Science showed that a group of students taught by an inexperienced instructor, but one that utilized hands-on demonstrations and student involvement, learned twice as much and was more engaged in a Physics course, even when compared to a similar group taught using traditional methods (lecture) by a highly rated experienced professor.

The quality of the instructor didn’t have nearly the impact on student learning that getting the students actively involved in the learning process did. Just by moving the students from passive observer to active participant, you are lighting a fire in the brain—making more connections across association areas, increasing plasticity, and enhancing learning. Not only that, students that are more actively engaged are more intrinsically motivated to learn—no bribes or artificial rewards needed, just pure enjoyment of learning .

So the good news is, the brain is plastic, and these types of thinking patterns can still be taught, even into adulthood. It may take more work to break habits of behavior the longer you’ve engaged in them, but the brain can still adapt to new ways of thinking.

Here’s something to consider: those last few studies involved college students. Can you imagine how much increased learning could occur over a lifetime if we started utilizing some of these teaching principles in grade school?
 
The fringe benefits of teaching for creativity

In this age of innovation, even more important than being an effective problem solver, is being a problem finder. It’s one thing to look at a problem and be able to generate a solution; it is another thing to be able to look at an ambiguous situation, and decide if there is a problem that needs to be solved. That’s a skill that isn’t really targeted by traditional teaching methods, and in fact, it is often discouraged. In order to teach problem finding, more creative methods must be utilized. Rule-breaking , to an extent, should be tolerated and encouraged, and yes—even taught.

Teaching how and when to break rules and take creative risks isn’t a neat and clean process—it can get a little messy, and errors will be made. But we should be aware of this from the beginning and reward smart risk-taking, even if it leads to an error.

You need to make mistakes in order to learn. If you never know why an answer is wrong, you will never be able to come across a novel situation and make a good decision about how to act. Making errors and struggling through problems is what increases cognitive ability . Spending time pondering a question, weighing choices, thinking about whether or not an answer fits, and why—this is what drives positive change. That’s what learning is. That’s what our education system should be focusing on.

So how can I put this information to use?

Data and research is interesting to read about, but you may be thinking: How do I use this information? Direct instruction discourages creative thinking, but I want to encourage my child to be an independent problem-solver. Yet I want to provide him/her with a rich learning environment, so completely backing off seems counter-productive. What are some other ways I can teach my child and encourage independent problem-solving, while still providing guidance, without falling into that single-solution-answer-trap?

Glad you asked! It’s really not difficult, just takes a little more time and patience. I’m so used to taking this approach with my young clients, that this has become my baseline response pattern to children’s questions.
When your child asks you a question, rather than immediately delivering the answer, hold back for a moment, and say, “I’m not sure—what do you think?” He may be unbelievably off-track with his answer, but that’s ok. At least he tried. If he gives an obviously incorrect answer, explain why it’s incorrect, or why that method won’t work, maybe a give a general set of rules for that condition. And if it’s a novel response, and there’s the slightest chance it may work, consider that possibility and reward that response like he just won the gold medal. In fact, reward all attempts at novel solutions to problems, even if he makes errors. Provide differential reinforcement, though—more praise for answers closer to the correct one—so he has a benchmark to gauge the worthiness of an acceptable response. This teaches him to make decisions about choosing the best answer, given a selection of multiple correct solutions.

Another method I like to use is purposely making a mistake, such as getting ready to play a game, without having a critical piece there, like the spinner (you can increase the subtlety of the missing piece as he gets better). Act as if you have no idea there is a piece missing, and see if he catches it. If he realizes the piece is missing and brings it to your attention—reward this like crazy. He is on his way to being a problem-finder, which is exactly what you want.

Finally, take a lesson from the research referenced earlier on imitation patterns—don’t always play the role of teacher. When you act like a peer, engaging with a child on his level, he is less likely to imitate you and expect answers. He will probably be more independent and try more things out on his own if he isn’t inclined to turn to you for instructions on what to do.

Time for action

In summary, we’ve looked at quite a bit of information that shows traditional teaching methods:

1. Encourage linear, single-solution thinking, rather than exploratory learning (rewarded for the single correct answer, i.e. standardized tests, conformity is expected)

2. Hinder creativity and discourage innovative thinking (once students have the answer, they aren’t motivated to look for alternate solutions; errors are not rewarded when resulting from a potentially beneficial risk)

3. Don’t measure up to other types of integrated teaching models in regards to the amount of information retained by students (less effective at actually teaching material)

4. Aren’t as motivating or engaging for the students (students report less satisfaction and show poorer attendance)

5. Really aren’t that much fun for the teachers, either

So—why are we still using these out-dated methods in our schools?

The biggest problem I see: once the research is conducted, the data collected, and the conclusions drawn, the researchers move on to the next study and everyone forgets all about that most important part—putting the research to practical use in actual schools with real students, not just subjects in a lab.

I see this as a collaboration problem and a funding problem, especially in regards to the research done with new technology and education. First, when teams collaborate on this type of research, there should be a final leg of the initiative that involves implementation, in the event of a useful outcome. I realize you can’t set up implementation programs ahead of producing a valid result, but there should always be an option of a Part II. That Part II should automatically considered for funding, provided there were significant results from Part I that support it. Nothing more frustrating to me than to read a fantastic study on new educational methodology that really works well, like increased student learning utilizing virtual world technology, only to find out the team went on to the next new problem to solve and the findings were left to collect dust in a journal because there was no money or plan to get those results put to actual use. It makes a few headlines, provides for an exciting read on a few websites, then: nothing. Is that really solving the problem? That’s only the first step.
Once data has been provided that demonstrates the usefulness of a new educational method, as a society, I feel we are obligated to make sure steps are taken to put it to actual use. Otherwise, why are we funding educational research, anyway? Just because it’s cool or fun to see what kinds of positive change is possible? Don’t we actually want those changes implemented in our own kids’  schools so they can benefit as well? I see lots of talk about the government’s new commitment to funding non-traditional research on education, but what about the next step? As well as funding the research behind these studies, we need to think of some funding to get the methods implemented in practice.

Now of course, there are exceptions —schools that have gone the extra mile to implement brain and technology research in actual classrooms, and their efforts should be applauded. I also know of several experimental schools that are doing their best to encourage creativity and fight against the traditional model, but it’s not enough. We need more of this—much more.

Some final comments

I can look back on my childhood and see the transition from passive to active learner, at first asking questions and receiving answers, accepting them as truth, not bothering to contemplate other possibilities. I think as a child, that’s our baseline. But once I crossed that bridge over to the other side—experiencing the pure joy of solving problems and arriving at a completely novel solution—it was painful to try and cross back, just for the sake of conformity and obedience to whatever the status quo stated was appropriate behavior for someone in my position. Once you’ve taken flight with your ideas and experienced all those brilliant colors, is it fair to force a child to live back inside a box, lined with a black and white filter?

I’ve shared my own personal story, but I am not the only one who has lived it. Many children today face a similar fate, and it’s tragic. Whatever curious drive any one student might have entering school, it is pretty much beaten out of you by the time you graduate. The lucky few are the ones who are too stubborn to follow the rules arbitrarily. They suffer the consequences for their rebellion, but might have a supportive other (typically a teacher or non-family adult) that provides just enough encouragement to keep them on their path, even when it proves to be treacherous. Walking that path alone is scary, lonely, and wicked hard.

We say we want children to achieve at the highest level—to be the next generation of great scientists and innovators and artists and world leaders—yet the system we’ve put in place makes it nearly impossible for each child to reach their potential. Those worst off are typically the ones whose unique skills and talents we need the most—the most creative thinkers, the natural innovators, the ones who find comfort in the discomfort of not knowing, fearless in the pursuit of their vision.

What is supposed to be the most critical learning period for shaping children into the leaders of tomorrow has evolved over the years into a stifling of the creative instinct—wasting the age of imagination—which we then spend the rest of our lives trying to reconnect with. The time has never been more ready for systemic change than right now, and we’ve never had better tools to achieve this level of creative disobedience, to successfully prepare our children for the big challenges that lie ahead. It might be uncomfortable and take a bit of work, but our future depends on this radical change in order to survive.

First Day of School INSANITYl!!!

Today was officially the first day of school for MOST of our kids...Joseph actually started on the 12th of August.

It's going to be SUCH a crazy year...I have Kaitlyn attending the IB magnet in Miramar at Miramar High. Joseph is attending the Science & Pre-Engineering magnet in Hallandale Beach (poor Joseph has to be on the bus at 5:30 in the morning!!), Savannah and Brigham are at Sunset Lakes (for a while...I'm not sure if they'll let us stay there after we move...), and Nicolette is attending World of Knowledge Preschool. Five kids in four different schools...and not just all over the city...all over THE COUNTY.

Wait...what's that you say?

Oh...yeah...didn't I tell you?...Nicolette started PRESCHOOL!! She is SO EXCITED!! She has finally joined the school club. She gets to wear a uniform, and pack a lunch, and go off to school for 3 hours a day. Not only that, but her little friend from Ms. Mellyn's Music Class, Alexa, is in the SAME class as her!! Isn't that LUCKY?

This morning was a comedy of errors...we found out seminary didn't start for two more days, so Jason was excited not to have to get up early and take Kaitlyn to school. Kaitlyn, however, had other plans. She didn't want to take the bus...she wanted to be driven. Now...keep in mind that her high school is in a whole other city...and on the FAR SIDE of said city. We were thinking how lucky it was to have two more days to not drive her...since we HAVE to drive her to school when seminary is in session, although she rides the bus home. Anyway...Kaitlyn didn't want to get up early to catch the bus...she wanted two more days to sleep in. And she didn't want to ride a dirty bus in her new clothes, and didn't want the wind from the outside to mess up her hair and the humidity to make it frizz. She was literally in TEARS...crying like a baby because she had to ride the bus.

"It's not fair!!!" she kept whining.

Frustrated, I said: "WHY? Why is it not fair Kaitlyn? Is it fair that we sacrifice to drive you out there every morning to a participate in a program you swear you want, but practically flunked out of last year? Is it fair to the other kids, who are littler and don't have the option of riding a bus, to go to their first day of school alone because we're busy taking our 15-year-old BABY to school? Seriously? Explain to me why it's not fair!!"

"It's just nooot!" she whined between gulping sobs and sniffles.

And this is why Kaitlyn is a spoiled brat who will never reach her potential...because I gave in and agreed to take her. When you find her at 40 years of age working in some crummy little retail hole, spending all her money on fake nails and home highlighting kits and living in a trailer with some loser husband...you can be assured in the knowledge that it is all her mothers' fault for always giving in and allowing her to waste all the opportunity that has been shamelessly showered upon her but never truly earned.

I got up to drive Joseph to his bus stop (Joseph, by the way, rode the bus on his first day of school, although his bus-ride is an hour and half long and takes him to a city 25 miles away, and although he has never ridden a bus before. He has ridden it every school day since...to and from school, with no complaints.) at 5:30...

his bus was late and didn't get there until 6:00am...so I had to RUN home and wake kids up and make lunches. Jason hadn't gotten up because he didn't expect me to be late...so nothing was done. I walked in and Kaitlyn assaults me at the door to help her with the curlers in her hair. I explain that I don't have time...she's 15 and she can do her own hair. I get a big: "FINE!!!" and she stomps off. Savannah and Nicolette are up and Savannah is dressed, with her bed made, and is making Nicolette breakfast (Thank God for Savannah...), so I go wake up Brigham.

Brigham has a good amount of Kaitlyn in him, and doesn't want to get up (he's NOT a morning person...much like her)...he's tired...and he doesn't want to go to school. I don't have time to play games like this (because I have to leave in 10 minutes to get Kaitlyn to school on time), so I yank the covers off him and yell: "GET UP!!!" So, he gets up crying...and of course he can't find his shirt, and his socks feel funny, and it's too hard to make his bed, and he doesn't like orange juice for breakfast...it's clearly a bad morning for Brigham.

Oh!! I forgot to tell you that I am also trying to make this special treat for my kids for their first day of school (because I really do want to be a good mom...really and truly)...this easy little warm danish called Blueberry Cheese Rolls. It's easy...but does require baking...so I am pleading with Brigham, and trying to pack lunches, and arguing with Kaitlyn, and trying to bake breakfast, and threatening Jason that if he doesn't get his @$$ out of bed I'm going to file for a divorce.

Brigham comes out pouting and in tears because the new Sketchers we bought him for school are too big and slip off his feet when he walks. I look at them...and they ARE too big...so then I say: "Well - you're the one that tried them on and said they fit. Now you'll just have to deal with it." So he gets mad and tries to run off to pout, but the shoes are so big that he falls down and bangs his knee, so he curls up in the middle of the floor and just cries that he hates school, and he hates his shoes, and nobody cares about him.

Kaitlyn emerges from her room in a cloud of perfume and stands in the doorway tapping her feet impatiently because she wants to leave.

I ignore Kate, and sit next to Brig and tell him to wear the shoes today, and I'll try and return them at Kohls after he comes home. Then the oven timer goes off, so I rush in to pull out the blueberry rolls. While they cool, I run back to get Nicolette in uniform, and then run back out to serve the rolls and pack lunches, all the while begging and pleading for Brigham to get up off the floor and finish getting dressed and ignoring the impatient sighs and foot-tapping originating from my soon-to-be-sold-into-hard-labor-teenager. I don't know where Jason is...I think he's in the shower...and I curse him in my head because I got up at 4:45am to make sure that I got a shower and still had time to get the kids together. I holler at Kaitlyn to PLEASE put Nicolettes hair up in pigtails, and she does that huge exasperated expelling-of-breath thing and stomps her foot and says: "I'm gonna be late!!!"...and I yell: "Then you should've taken the damn bus!!"...at which point all the kids stop running around and stare at me with their jaws open because mommy just swore, and if mommy swears, then people are about to get spanked.

Kaitlyn, realizing she's the most likely candidate to be on the receiving end of some serious stressed-out-redhead-temper, yanks Nicolette into the bathroom to do her hair, muttering under her breath the entire time. Nicolette emerges teary-eyed from Kaitlyns less-than-gentle treatment, but otherwise unscathed and absolutely ADORABLE. I finish lunches, throw them in backpacks, grab Nicolette and tell Kate to get in the car...and we take off...leaving Jason with the responsibility of making sure the elementary school kids brush their teeth and get to school on-time.

I drive Kate to school...hitting EVERY red-light and school-zone between here and there...and manage to pull up right at 7:22am. She gleefully jumps from the car to meet her friends with nary a backward glance, wave, or "thank you"...slamming the door in my face as I lean across the seat to wish her a "Have a good first..." SLAM!!! "...day..." I end up muttering as I pull recklessly from the drop-off zone, daring one of these high school delinquents to step in front of my car...

Now I'm driving as fast as I can home...my red-light-school-zone-bad-luck maintaining it's stressful hold on me the whole way back (because God wouldn't find it so funny if it was easy for me). I round the corner of our community only to see Jason riding with the kids to school. I look at the car clock...it's 7:52...they have 8 minutes to get to school. They're going to be late on the first day. Why the heck are they only just now leaving? Why can't that man handle getting them to school on time? I mean, compared to what I've been through, what the hell has HE been doing?

I still have to get Nicolette to preschool by 8, so I run home, grab her bag and school supplies (silly me for leaving them at home while I took Kaitlyn to school...thinking I'd have enough time to get back, kiss my elementary schoolers good-bye, and STILL get Nicolette to school on-time!! What was I smoking?), and drive as fast as I can to the preschool...which is (thankfully) just around the corner. I get there at 7:59am. I walk her in to her class, where she immediately finds Alexa, and they run off to play with toys at one of the little tables. I snap a couple pictures, and since she's obviously not plussed to see me leave, I take off.

I get home just as Jason does, and manage to control my ire to ask how the rest of the morning went. He rolls his eyes dramatically and says one word: "Brigham..."

"What else happened?" I asked.

"Well...we got ready to go, and he said his bike felt weird. And it was because his shoes were too big. And then he couldn't find his helmet...so I said to wear Josephs helmet, but he burst into tears that Joseph's helmet was too big. So we tore apart the garage and found his helmet somewhere completely random from where it should have been, and then he can't get on his bike because his backpack is too big, and it bumps on his seat, and he's all upset because we shouldn't have bought him the shoes OR the backpack."

"HE'S the one who wanted those shoes and backpack!" I remind Jason (a bit defensively).

Jason puts his hands up in surrender or defeat...I can't tell which. "I know! I know!" he says. "I TOLD him that. But he wouldn't stop crying. I finally told him that if he went to school bawling like this that everyone would see and call him a baby...and is that what he wanted?"

"What did he do then?" I asked.

"He stopped...but he mumbled and grumbled the whole way to school. And then of course his teacher changed classrooms, and he has to walk farther, and that wasn't fair. And you packed Savannah a different Capri Sun drink than him, and THAT wasn't fair. And he was mad that you weren't there to kiss him good-bye."

I sighed...utterly defeated. "Yeah...I know." I said.

"Don't feel too bad, " Jason said. "I missed Nicolettes first day. I've never missed any of our kids first days...not even Kaitlyns...and especially not the first day of preschool. And today I missed Kaitlyn AND Nicolette."

"Well - Kaitlyn is a little big for parental escort on the first day, although apparently she doesn't seem to realize that...so don't worry. But I am sorry you missed Nickels."

"Kaitlyn IS too big for this crap...if she just would've taken the bus, it would've made everything a lot easier. I mean - she's had her day in the sun...it's the littler kids turn to get some undivided attention."

"I know...it's my fault, too. I'm the one that gave in. I'm sorry. This morning was just crazy...it'll get better."

"It'd better..." Jason said as he grabbed his keys to head for the gym, "or I'm gonna let you home school them after all."

Wait...is that a reward...or a punishment?

Me On My Soapbox

Just me on my soapbox about homework again. But it's not only about homework...I guess. It's about the entire educational model we set up for our kids in this country.

And my main argument is this: Every child is different. Every child has different strengths and weaknesses. Every child learns differently. And every child...EVERY CHILD...is talented in some way, be it academically, athletically, creatively, mechanically, technologically, or emotionally. It's time to celebrate our children's differences and encourage their strengths, and help them be all THEY can be...

Homework: Too Much, Too Soon?

After-hours school work doesn't always benefit budding brains.

By Rich Maloof for MSN Health & Fitness

Schools impose a substantial after-hours regimen on school children to intensify learning and heighten achievement. But does homework work?

As anti-homework advocates love to point out—and by this we mean educational psychologists and educators, not kids who'd rather be playing Wii—100 years of research have failed to prove conclusively that homework administered prior to middle school increases academic performance, improves skill sets, or leads to higher levels of achievement.

Back to front

Why is middle school the turning point? The answer may lie in how the brain develops over time.

In the initial stages of development, most of the gear-turning goes on in the back of the brain, where sensory cortices process the information absorbed from a child's environment. As a child grows and learns, the bits of information stored throughout the brain's memory become interconnected, resulting in a broadening set of skills and intelligence.

Come the teenage years, the sensory posterior becomes increasingly interconnected with the front of the brain, where more complex thoughts and emotions are managed.

"Once the frontal lobes start to develop, teenagers start being able to handle higher-level, more abstract concepts," says Istvan Molnar-Szakacs, research neuroscientist at the UCLA Semel Institute's Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity.

"The fiber tracts—highways that carry information from the sensory areas of the brain to the frontal lobes, and back again—have to be paved for information to travel."

Molnar-Szakacs explains that the paving, known as myelination, is the process by which the fiber tracts are insulated. With more learning comes more paving, and as the pathways become more efficient, the brain gets better at integrating information. There's a kind of built-in mnemonic device for understanding how myelination relates to learning: reinforcing lessons puts "miles" on nerves fibers, and information in the brain moves most easily along a well-traveled road.

However …

Myelination begs the question of whether the brain works best when lessons are repeated time and time again, as they are in homework assignments. The answer is a qualified yes.

Those students who have absorbed a lesson well in class and can recreate it faithfully on their own will reinforce neural paths and create new associations in the brain. In this respect, and for these particular students, the brain really can be worked like a muscle, trained to flex and make a good show of its strengths on request.

Moreover, Molnar-Szakacs explains, the brain builds in chemical rewards for students who take well to this method of learning, much like the body rewards exercise with endorphins.

"The system will release a certain amount of neurotransmitter to reinforce the feeling of accomplishment that studying brings," he says. "It's essentially the brain saying, 'This feels good, do it again.'"

The problem is, not every student does absorb or re-create the lesson well.

"There's a disconnect between cause and correlation," says Kalman M. Heller, Ph.D., a retired family and child psychologist who practiced for more than 40 years in Massachusetts. "Students who do their homework and get better grades are generally more organized and may be very eager to succeed. It fits their 'student personality.' They do their homework and get better grades because it's natural for them to do so."

Heller and Molnar-Szakacs both touch on the notion of multiple intelligences. Academic skills, and the homework used to sharpen them, simply do not cover the range of possible ways in which kids can shine.

Says Heller, "Students may excel at making personal connections, being creative, or having athletic ability. Generally they are not good fits for the traditional educational model, even though there are so many people whose success is based on those same talents."

Free to be

The narrow focus of many homework curricula can strand those kids. Brilliant creative thinkers who struggle through piles of math and science assignments may complete high school without ever putting the appropriate number of miles on their neural pathways. They will experience all of the stress and little of the reward, neural or otherwise.

Unrecognized and unpotentiated, their intellect is put on hold, delaying their success and their happiness. Many will not blossom until their adult life when, of their own volition, they pursue a career that plays to their strengths.

"Children come to school thinking the world is their oyster and that anything is possible," concludes Molnar-Szakacs, "and then every year we essentially limit their vision by teaching them how to narrow their thinking."

If homework can't be more universal in drawing on student strengths, the least our schools can do is allow a kid more time to be a kid. After all, the most respected thinkers in history are noted for their exploration of unconventional ideas.

Some of the hours now spent hogtied to a chair, trying to solve for x and y, would be better spent thinking outside of the box…or even simply outside of the house.

The Homework Revolution

Hey guys - just me on my soapbox again. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am staunchly against homework. I have MANY reasons for my opinion...the crunch it puts on family time, the stress it levels on kids, how it restricts kids from being active, and how it discourages kids from being excited about school, to name a few!!

Now, don't get me wrong...I think kids should read every day. But I find that they are more willing to read if they're not FORCED to. And I see nothing wrong with the occasional school project, like the Science Fair or a country report. But I believe that hours and hours of homework after school is actually detrimental to a child's learning.

I'm a mother of five...but that doesn't really give me the expertise to convince anyone, even though we all know that parents are the greatest teachers of all, but since I don't have a PhD, I usually get eye rolls and the brush off from the administrators that I talk to about the homework issue. And although almost all teachers will admit to me that they hate assigning, grading, and enforcing homework, and they hate dealing with it for their OWN children, in a professional parent/teacher conference, they'll all go on and on about it's supposed benefits (even though their eyes are glassy and they stare over my shoulder).

Well - unfortunately - there is a lot of misinformation out there...and more and more studies are actually proving that homework IS NOT beneficial to children at all. I told many of you about the study that Newsweek broke about the mental health issues that are rising in children (specifically boys), and that one of the Newsweek columnists suggested that the increase of homework and decrease of "creative expression" in schools (as in art, music, recess) is quite literally driving kids crazy, leading to an increase in behavior problems that often lead parents to seek professional help and medication. It was an opinion I agree with. see: http://www.newsweek.com/id/157898

Parenting magazine is has published an article about the homework overload, and is calling parents to a "homework revolution". It's an interesting read...whether you agree with homework or not. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28624181/?GT1=43001

I feel that these articles are related...what's your opinion?

UPDATE: Here are some responses I received via e-mail...

Kari, a music teacher from Huntington Beach, CA said:

"Yeah, as a parent, I agree. Too much homework takes time away from my limited time with my kids after school, and furthermore causes more tension in our relationship as I am forced to be the enforcer of homework completion. I understand that it takes immersion to completely understand a subject, and it is common sense that teaches us that the more we do something, the better we get at it...but the time is the deal breaker here for me as a parent. As long as my two kids sit and diligently work on their homework with some amount of intrinsic motivation, then some homework isn't an issue for me. It is harder as a parent when the child simply does not want to do the assignments and then we engage in the power struggle. The school say, as you did, that the parent is the greatest teacher...that's a lot of pressure, especially when you're in a parent teacher conference face to face with your kid's teacher and the child's homework is consistently not done or late! The responsibility lies on you the parent. That's a tough issue to deal with, but as you did, I flat out told my son's teacher the same thing. I said, I work full time, and when I get home I want to spend some time with my kid, and yes, sometimes it is homework that is sacrificed. After a day at work, the last thing that I want to do is teach my kids! I guess that I fall into that category of the cobbler who has holes in their shoes!! We also need to teach our children about time management and sacrifice, and sometimes it the lesser of the two evils that you must choose between. I didn't read your attached articles, I have the experience as a parent to submit an opinion about the matter...I think that the premise of the article has it backwards...it is the parents that are being driven crazy by the homework, not the kids! Where's my meds? I am a teacher and I give very little home rehearsal homework and my "company line" about that is, however long it takes you to learn a song or section of a song, from the beginning to the end without stopping, that's how long you should practice. If a kid knows how to spell a word, they shouldn't have to copy it 20 times...that's just busy work..BS...homework should be meaningful, that's where the teachers are missing it. Many default to the book assignments that they can easily photocopy and pass out, teachers need to get more creative and give lessons that the kids need to learn disguised as something that they want to learn! Kids need to have some say in their learning or they will reject it altogether, even if it is a subject that interests them. We need more teachers who look for other ways to teach content, like we moms look for other "jellies to give our kids their medicine". That's my two cents."

Lani, a mom from Provo, Ut said:

Totally agree Shannan...Thanks for the articles. Another benefit of home school...of which I am not being blessed currently. :)

Amy, a mom from Miramar, FL said:

Right On Sister!!

Mellyn from Shreveport, LA said:

I absolutely agree! Loving homeschooling! NO HOMEWORK!!!!!!!!!

Back to School

I can't believe it's time. Time to say good-bye to my kids for another year. And while most moms are jubilant about sending their kids forth to greet a new school year, I can't help feeling melancholy and forlorn.

I enjoyed my children SO MUCH this summer. We did some GREAT activities and spent a lot of time together. Jason and I got the opportunity to teach them very intimately...and get to know each one of our children a little bit better. Jason focused on piano lessons and swimming instruction, and I got to help them with the more "scholastic" activities. We both shared in the spiritual responsibilities. And then, before I knew it, it was gone and over...and I was faced with the unpleasant task of getting my kids ready for another grueling school year.

And it wasn't just my elementary school kids...my oldest daughter starts high school this year...and early morning seminary. It's such a rite of passage for LDS youth...and I'm not quite ready to let her go. But she's been stretching her wings for a while now, irritated and scratching to be let free to fly from the nest on her own wings...seeking her own adventures.

I am so sad that I actually considered home-schooling my kids this year. Jason thinks I'm nuts.

We received a precious amount of borrowed time in the weather phenomenon called Tropical Storm Fay. Because of the threat of this storm, school was cancelled both Monday and Tuesday...postponing our first official day of school until Wednesday.

But eventually, I had to let them go. Amidst rising gas prices, my little ones have the added responsibility of riding their bikes to school BY THEMSELVES. I stood and watched as they pedaled away...with tears in my eyes and Nicolettes wails in my ears as her beloved brothers and sisters sailed forth into a world in which she so desperately wishes to belong...

"Kidddds...don't go without meeeee...."

Back to School Shopping

Did I ever tell you that I LOVE to shop? I shop EXCESSIVELY. It is a family trait...and a curse. A curse I have tried to rid myself of for over 11 years.

When I first became married, my shopping drove us into debt on to the brink of divorce. Over the years, I've learned painful lessons about controlling what I spend. But its a hard habit to break. Now, instead of buying stuff for me or our house, I tend to buy too much stuff for my kids. I love giving gifts and planning surprises. I love holidays because it gives me a chance to plan and plot and scheme for that special something that will make somebody's day.

As much as I STILL love shopping...there is ONE kind of shopping that I absolutely HATE...Back to School Shopping. I feel bad that I detest it so much...as I kid, I loved getting all those new school supplies...sharpening new #2 pencils, the smell of the inside of a new backpack, labeling all my PeeChee folders and dividers and, of course, the FABULOUS new school clothes!!

But now, as a mom, I can't stand it. The main reason is the RIDICULOUS Back to School Supply lists for the teachers. As a kid, I remember getting pencils and a new binder...but everything else was provided. But now, thanks to budget cuts and what I believe to be the misapropriation of educational funding, I feel like I am stocking the entire school district! I have four children in school...3 in elementary and one starting her freshman year at the International Baccalaureate Program at Miramar High. The lists are OUTRAGEOUS!!! My elementary kids are in uniforms, but I couldn't even afford to buy new clothes this year, even though all my kids have grown like crazy and won't last much longer in the stuff they've got. All they got were new undershirts, underwear, and socks. I still have to buy them all new shoes for school AND church.

I just get SO STRESSED OUT, because I worry about what people will think when they show up with polos so faded that it's OBVIOUS they're far from new. And then there's the fact that I re-used every folder, binder, and composition book I could from last year...if the first few pages were written in, I just ripped 'em out and called it good...even though Savannah stood there and cried because they were bent and old-looking.

So check it out...tell me if I'm crazy...here's the list:

• 1 box quart ziploc bags


• 2 boxes gallon ziploc bags


• 3 boxes of tissues


• 3 boxes of baby wipes


• 3 pairs of blunt scissors


• 1 1-1/2in. binder w/clear view window


• 1 2in. binder with dividers


• 11 composition notebooks


• 1 yellow highlighter


• 1 blue highlighter


• 1 5-pack of multi-colored highlighters


• 3 packs of low-odor dry erase board markers with erasers


• 6 boxes of #2 pencils


• 3 boxes of 16-count crayons


• 7 jumbo glue sticks


• 3 small clear pencil pouches with holes


• 1 plastic pencil box


• 1 red plastic folder with holes


• 16 duo tang folders with pockets and prongs (10 of which need to be in specific colors: 2 red, 2 blue, 2 purple, 2 yellow, and 2 green)


• 2 12-count boxes of colored pencils


• 1 red spiral notebook


• 1 blue spiral notebook


• 2 red pens


• 4 erasers


• 4 packages wide-ruled notebook paper


• 2 packages 3x5 index cards


• 2 black sharpies


• 1 small Thesaurus


• 1 small Dictionary


• 2 earbud style headphones


• 1 USB memory stick

And that is just my ELEMENTARY kids!! Plus, they all needed new lunchboxes (theirs were trashed and unusable), and both Savannah and Joseph needed new backpacks. Luckily, I was able to find a slightly used one for Joseph at a garage sale for $1.00, but Savannahs I had to buy new. I got it and 3 really nice lunchboxes at CostCo...the lunchboxes cost $10.99 each, and the backpack was $19.99. That makes my total, so far...BEFORE Kaitlyns lists and new shoes... $242.89. OUCH. Is there any relief out there?