- "The foundation of every state is the education of its youth" - Diogenes Laertius
The kids had Open House at the their Elementary School last night. It was good. I like the principal, and actually, I have seen a marked difference in the school since last year. I am admittedly a snob. I have grown into it I think as it pertains to the education of my children. They are not in the school system I had always dreamed of for them - one that mirrors my own experience in a country suburb. They could have been, but that's a different story. But they do well in school and mostly enjoy it. Except Friday mornings when I bring them and Pickle is not pleased and cries. Ahhh...the joys of shared custody and being a working mother.
But the school has some good programs running this year that shows me their efforts. They have a federal grant to supply fruit and veggie snacks to all of the kids at snack time. I am sure they have found that nutrition is a challenge as it is for the entire nation's youth. Heck, some days I am challenged in getting them the healthiest thing possible in their bags. But through this program ALL the kids get fruits and veggies AND the opportunity to try new things that they may not have before and try things under the peer guidance/pressure of their peers. Mo is in fact excited about trying grapefruit today. And maybe they will get celery one day as I hate it and refuse to even keep it in the fridge (yes, I am weird). And they have good community programs in place to teach respect and responsibility to community and the environment and I like the teachers. I feel better about their school year this year and look forward to getting into the PTA to be more involved. Mo wants to get involved in the school council. Yay my Mo!
They also had a book fair last night. I love those. I could have spent hundreds of dollars on books for them. They each got a couple and a character pen and pencil. Pickle had quick picks - Scooby Doo and a book called Pinkalicious. Mo wanted all things Pokemon, but in the end he got one Pokemon and one chapter book, The Age of Dinosaurs (I think that is what it is called). I love reading with them and seeing them learn and grow. It is my greatest treasure in life. And it makes me feel more secure knowing that their school is making the efforts too.
It will do for now. I still have hopes that come the higher grades I will be in a suburb again where they take a bus and they teach Italian as a foreign language and offer lacrosse and all the other fancy sports. See, snob. But a goodhearted public education snob. I can learn to live with it.
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