theinfamousmissbeth

You know what I mean. It's that time of the year. It's time to hold that new box of crayons up to your nose and take a big sniff and think "all is right with the world." Okay, that's probably only me, but I'm sure everyone has their own special school memory. Today I would like to speak to teachers of young children. I have some tips that I think (hope) you will find helpful as you and your little ones begin the new year. First, remember since you are an adult the frontal lobe of your brain is developed and you have higher order thinking skills. This should give you a slight edge over the children. With that being said, remember that you are outnumbered, probably by about 10 to 1 at least. So, just remember when you are facing an angry mob that you are the adult, you are in charge, and you have got this. (Smiley face). Second, what ever you do, keep moving. I am talking the whole time that class is in session. Believe me, the children will b

I recently read an article from the New York Times  written by Dana Goldstein that dealt with the results of a new study regarding the use of a more rigorous curriculum in preschool classrooms. The study suggested that preschools do not mix enough "fiber" into their curriculum and therefore might be doing their young children a disservice. The article told the story of a teacher doing a group geometry lesson extolling the attributes of a square. I have talked about group lessons before and I will do so again. When you sit all your little children down together in a small confined space, such as "the rug" and proceed to "lecture" to them with a flat paper object of some kind as an example, you most likely will not achieve the outcome you are hoping for! Dollars to donuts, at least one child will have their hand down their pants the entire time, another will have their shirt over their head, and of course, there is always one with their finger stuck in

It has been one year since I began this little adventure called retirement. During this time, I have continued to complete part time assignments for my employer, take care of my aging dad, and have been trying to answer the question, "what exactly do you do when you retire?" I stopped to talk with a neighbor the other day. We did some catching up and then she asked, "So what do you do now that you have retired?"  I answered, "Well, I walk the dogs."  (I'm sure she had already deduced that since they were slobbering all over her feet at the time). Then for some unknown reason I added, "and I vacuum a lot". What? Seriously? That's all I could come up with? Surely I have accomplished something! I later remembered that I could have told her that I am studying to be a Tai Chi master. However, that's a bit of a stretch since I am beginning to wonder if the class I am in (there are three), is the remedial class. The instructor s

On a recent very early morning flight, a couple with two small children in tow struggled down the aisle towards me. The man resembled a pack animal of some sort and held the hand of a blond headed little girl. The woman had a diaper bag over one arm and carried a blond headed little boy in the other.  They all collapsed into the seats in the row behind me. They lived in Vermont and had spent the previous night with Grandma in Connecticut (they already missed her) and were on the way to Mexico for a family vacation. The little girl was Lily and the baby brother was Waylon. I know all of this because, with the exception of about three minutes , two minutes  one minute (of the two hour and 6 minute flight), when Lily enjoyed a juice box, she chattered non-stop.  As we waited to taxi out to the runway, Lily asked her mom if she could have the phone. I'm not sure what a 3 year old was going to do with the phone, but apparently very young children using phones is a "thing"

I didn't grow up in a porch sitting kind of family. My house was ranch style and while we had what would pass as a patio, there was not a porch. You know the kind that had a railing and a place for a swing. I'm talking about that kind of porch. I do a lot of porch sitting now, however. Well, technically it's a deck with a screened in part that we call "the porch", but it certainly serves the purpose. It's my firm belief that porch sitting is essential to my physical and mental well being.  For me, it is a place to eat breakfast or lunch, read, write,  daydream, watch the birdies taking a bath, watch the pups  stalk squirrels, and simply "take the sun". My mother-in-law recently passed away. While thinking of what I could say at the funeral service, aside from the fact that she was a sweet and supportive mother to her three sons and a "non-invasive" mother-in-law to me and her other daughters-in-law, the main thing that came to my mi

I recently read a blog post about "slow" blogging. Slow blogging is basically not stressing out over creating new posts and not getting in a hurry to post new items. Since it has been over a month since my last post, I guess I really took the advice from that article to heart! With that being said,  take what you will from that little nugget of information and let's continue on to today's post. As many people can attest, retirement has many perks. For example, an inordinate amount of "robo" calls for new hearing aids, back braces, chair lifts, and walk-in bathtubs can provide entertainment on a daily basis.  However, today I'm writing about one of the more, to me anyway, desirable perks: more time to travel.  I have several short trips planned in the near future, but today I would like to share some photos from my trip to the northeast.  In a way it was like a time travel experience. I left my house in the spring (trees were budding), travele

So I've noticed there seems to be a plethora of articles on the subject of retirement. Apparently, old folks need an enormous amount of guidance on how to spend their days, money, and leisure time. One article encouraged moving into a community of "like minded" people, whatever that means, and another suggested getting a dog. I guess that one is so if all else fails, at least you'll have one loving and loyal friend.   Although there are numerous articles that  deal with different subjects, they all seem to end up  with:  You need to get up off the couch and get moving!   Apparently, lack of movement is the number one hazard for old folks. Who knew?  I would have thought the only way to avoid a hip fracture or other catastrophe would be to stay completely still. But I guess that's just me.  I am not going to waste any one's time by saying I have always been and continue to be a fitness buff.  I wouldn't even know how to start making up a story like that