Making the Grade

Not to long ago I received an email from a friend who wondered if I was still in school because she didn't notice it mentioned in recent blog posts. Which means I am clearly not doing enough whining and complaining in this blog! I am still in school, headed into the last week of the quarter. I've even been doing an internship this quarter. Wednesdays I am at a local elementary school from 7:15 until 3; then I have class in the evening from 4 until 7. I also have class on Monday nights. The reason I haven't written about it more is that I'm usually blogging as a break from all the school work I have been doing on the computer and I just don't want to talk about it! :-)

I started my program last June and I'm getting pretty close to the finish line. I will take four classes during summer quarter (two each half), and then I will only have the exit seminar to finish up in the fall. If all goes as planned (watch the lightning strike me down), my graduation date will be November 17, 2007; which is also Harper's 3rd birthday. I think it will also be a day of celebration for Ann (Matt's mom, Harper's Nana, my amazing mother-in-law) who has been the primary babysitter through all of this. She has been a real trooper. I feel that I'm asking her for something nearly every time I pick up the phone to call her and if she is cringing on the other end of the line, I've never been able to tell. My mom has also provided periods of relief, swooping in and taking over a few babysitting days here and there. We are so blessed to have such a supportive family.

As part of a current class, I had to develop an educational website. My website is geared toward parents of young children who want to help them prepare to be readers. Many of the people in my class are currently teaching and had classes to design their site for; not me! So if you are a parent of a young child and you are interested in the topic of preparing kids to read and do well in school please check it out! It would be nice to know that I created it for something beyond the grade I'll receive. There is a book blog tied to it, which I will continue to update if I sense there is any interest whatsoever. Curious?

The website is: Tending the Garden: Raising Children as Readers

The blog is: Tending the Garden: Book Blog

The main concerns I had were: not making it too preachy (I feel pretty strongly on the importance of reading with children), not making it too overwhelming, and not making it seem like I thought everyone else in the world is a moron who doesn't know how to read to children! It is something I have been asked about a lot and I hope the information is helpful. Some of the tips are probably things we all know/do naturally but might not think about. I am interested in feedback, but you don't have to leave it in the comments, just email me.

Okay, enough babbling!

Coming soon -- a gymnastics update, with photos!