as published at www.ocregister.com on June 20, 2012:
I’ve spent a year’s worth of afternoons asking my kids how was their day and what did they learn at school, only to be answered with "fines" and "nothings."
Well this month, like every other parent in Orange County, my counter is being splattered with evidence of all the fine nothings they learned at school. And in digging through the notebooks, collages, and projects, I’m learning a lot about my kids.
Like what makes 32 of my third grader’s friends special. The Star of the Week program is always a classroom crowd pleaser to give each kid his moment to shine, and thus one I fully support (except at 10 p.m. the night before I realize it’s my kid’s turn and we haven’t started our photo poster). But I didn’t know that during each kid’s week, the rest of the class journals about that friend.
I love this. I love discovering that whilst my son Gavin’s sloppily printed "spetial" transformed through the year to a beautiful cursive "special," he recognized that "Nathan is special because he likes lasagna," "Kate’s special because her nickname is Kate the Great," and "Justyn’s special because his mom’s house has a dog and his dad’s house might get one." This spiral green notebook is a keeper as it holds within it budding friendships, potential wedding video ammo, and at its core the building blocks of community and respect...
Read the rest:
Cracking Up: Digging for treasure in a backpack - OC Moms - The Orange County Register
