-
Military Kids Website Also Helps Parents, Educators
Technology has come a long ways since I was a military-brat PCSing around the world in the 80s and 90s. I didn’t have to deal with year long deployments but I remember Dad being gone for six months at a time for training and schooling. Fast forward a ‘few years’ and I watched my husband head off to Iraq with the Ohio Army National Guard. I had a few print pamphlets and a couple of Internet articles I could share with teachers that weren’t accustomed to having military-children in their classroom but there wasn’t much more support then that.I am so glad to see our military families getting the support they need! The Defense Department…
-
Two Very Different Veteran Day Celebrations
Last week I was privileged to be invited to the 3d Annual USAA Influencer Conference in San Antonio, TX. Today, I was invited to Pine Ridge Elementary School in Ada, MI. Both had Veterans Day celebrations that impacted me but in two very different ways. Both sent and had a wonderful message! USAA is built around veterans and their members are veterans and their families so there is a natural appreciation and their Veterans Day program certainly showed their affiliation. A dignified and respectful ceremony with flag officers, wounded warriors from the nearby medical center, family members, USAA team members and a crowded, standing room only audience. Captain Smiley speaking…
-
Homework Help
From Kindergarten through High School, homework is a recurring theme through the school year, usually met with loud, obnoxious groans from around the world. If you struggle, like I do, with motivating, encouraging and helping your kids to ‘get the job done’ here are some great resources. What can Parents do to Help with Homework?As millions of children return to school, the burden of homework and new schedules can often lead to anxiety and almost certainly new amounts of stress. This is not only true for the children, but for their parents as well. Homework can be frustrating for students and for parents as well. Research shows that parents can play an…
-
A Very Special Valentine’s Day
Today we are happy to share a guest post from Maya Szydlowski, community manager for Veterans United Home Loans: Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and for moms with kiddos that means trying to round up cards and candies for your kids to hand out to their classmates. While grabbing a classroom list is no hard task, trying to get your kids to simply scrawl names on cards can be a little more difficult as the work hardly keeps their attention. To make Valentine’s Day a little more fun and creative for both you and your kiddos this year, consider giving a few of the following craft ideas a…
-
Seems Comfort Is Not Immediate and Abuse is Prevalent
Music plays in my life like breezes in an open field, sometimes noticeable, often relaxing and at times bone chilling. I hear songs in the background without recognizing the words. I might know them; I did when I first added an album to a playlist, but now, they fit in. Robert’s desk was front row, front seat. Robert was Robert, not Robbie, Bob or Bobby: Robert. He would cringe when an unfamiliar person would call him Bobby. I saw it as I was the substitute teacher who was coming in February to finish the school year: 6th grade math and home room. Robert could not sit still. He would squirm;…
-
Teen Time
Can you go back in time… in your head to revisit being a teen? Oh the world was not friendly. It is not that it was hard, scary or compressing or even too demanding. It was expanding, about as fast as the body does. That time before high school graduation is a time of growth. The tallest in the class… guy or girl or the shortest; the quietest person in the class, in the back of the classroom or the chattiest in the front row; allows a persona to develop all based on the physical. All out of the control of the teen.Out of control… it rather describes what is…
-
What a journey!
Today is *C*’s last day of preschool! Wow. For five years now I have been bringing a young ‘en to “HT Preschool” in the morning and picking him up a few hours later. For five years I have heard about what the class learned, did, made them laugh, songs they sang, computer games they played, what they did on the playground. I learned all this as we drove home, his little mouth chattering away in my rear-view mirror. *E*, 7 years old now, was the school’s inaugural preschool class. He was almost three when the doors to the preschool opened. *C*, now 5, was still a baby in a baby seat…
-
Patriotism and My Community
I live in a great community! I have been here for about 9 years… (WOW! That’s a lot for this Air Force Brat.) I brought a newborn baby home to this same house that I am in now, 7 1/2 years ago. Over the past few years there have been rumors; hubs has seriously considered going Active Duty, or there have been job opportunities in other areas of the state (multiple times). With each rumble of moving I have been excited (You can take me out of the military-community, but you can’t take the ‘Brat’ out of me) but then a bit forlorn as I just /love/ our little slice…
-
Seriously?! Don’t Tread on Me!
Once in awhile things get my goat. Is it that my grandfathers, my father and my husband all served to protect our freedoms as Americans? That I recognize what the American Flag stands for? That I hope my children recognize the freedoms others have fought so hard for … “California Students Sent Home for Wearing U.S. Flags on Cinco de Mayo“I’ll admit: I don’t think I have a trace of Mexican in me. I am a melting pot of ethnicity from generations gone back, but Mexican … I don’t think it is in there. HOWEVER, we still had our fun at dinner time last night and enjoyed Tacos, one of…
-
Training the Afghan Army (Part II) – DoD Roundtable with Brigadier Simon Levey, British Army
Military bloggers enjoyed another DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable today with Brigadier Simon Levey, British Army, Commander, Combined Training Advisory Group-Afghanistan. Brigadier Levey was interesting, informative and he brought a new perspective to the training issues for the Afghan National Army (ANA). The efforts of the allies in Afghanistan for 8+ years will be successful if the Afghans prepare for the eventual departure of allied forces with a trained, professional, educated and ethical army. The trainers might be said to be the linchpin of our efforts to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The camaraderie between military personnel, their trust and cooperation can be the glue that holds this…
