Layla hasn’t had that many teachers so this isn’t something I’ve had to think about a lot.

But as our bible study drew to a close and I wasn’t entirely sure if we’d be returning next term, I really wanted to thank the three volunteer teachers who’d been helping Layla ease into the drop-off class routine over the last four months.

I found two articles on OhDeeDoh with gift suggestions (read them here and here), but the most interesting thoughts were actually located in the comments section.

• Do you want a photo mousepad with a photo of a child who is not your family member? I certainly don’t…

• a thank-you note describing specific reasons why the kid and/or parent appreciates this particular teacher (as opposed to “Thanks for a terrific year! Have a neat summer!”): wonderful
• If you plan on giving any food items, please keep in mind that a box of chocolates/goodies is quick and easy for you to pick up, BUT no teacher wants to be left with 18 boxes of chocolates.
• There is a staff member who even mentioned a school that she taught at before where there is a shelf designated for particularly strange/funny gifts.

In the end, I opted for Starbucks gift cards — it was recommended by teachers and well, I’m a Starbucks junkie myself!

For those of you who teach, what are gifts you love? Or hate?

Here’s the deal: Layla’s turning four soon. She’s not in school, and has never been, and we have no plans to put her anywhere as yet, so help us God.

We’ve been lucky so far because we haven’t had to fend off questions and doubts and general negativity.

But there’s always a first time.

This morning, I followed a lead on the motherhood forum and got in touch with a home-based phonics tutor.

“Urm… no offence to you, but it’s important for a child to have social experience.”

What I said: We used to have five kids on this floor. At one point, quite recently, we had seven! Our doors are open to one another every single day, and the kids run in and out of homes and play with minimal supervision. And that’s just on this floor.

What I could’ve said: Why on earth would you want to make a “no offence” statement to someone you haven’t even spoken to for five minutes?

*gasp and giggle* (in response to what our school plans were, and hearing that Layla would either be enrolled in MGS or RGPS)

What I said: I attended both these schools, and she’s guaranteed a place in either school.

What I could’ve said: Lady, we’ve got three postgrad degrees between us so in the eyes of this country, my kid has good genes. And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure it out, because that’s what we do.

“Are you local??” (asked repeatedly throughout the conversation)

What I said: Yes.

What I could’ve said: I’ve already said yes, twice! Whaddya need, my birth cert?

Maybe I pegged this teacher wrong — after all I’m no angel over the phone either. Didn’t matter, because our conversation degenerated into a sort of “I’m not free and I don’t need you anyway” contest, and she really hit the fast forward button on her thank you and goodbye.

The search continues…

We’ve known about this storytelling site run by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation for a while, and I suddenly remembered it this morning when Layla was bugging me for some computer time.

The Bad: The stories don’t seem to have changed since we last logged on two years ago.

The Good: We’re far from getting through them all anyway.

For now, my favourite storyteller is Sean Astin, who tells the story of a girl who just wants to fit in, until she comes down with a bad case of… stripes. Look out for it!

Update: This contest is closed and winners have been picked.

Hi all!

I’m doing another giveaway (be warned: it’s a CONTEST!) and running a blog subscription drive at the same time.

Some of my sale items are now on this list. To view the items and participate in my giveaway, please click on the “Subscribe” options on the right — the RSS Feed, Add To Google, and My Yahoo buttons — and choose your preferred way to bookmark and view this blog regularly.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to view my Giveaway page within your reader. Leave a comment if you need help!

If you’re a parent you probably know this. I’ll say it here anyway — there’s a lot you can pick up from books meant for kids.

Here’s one of my recent discoveries: Did you know the Chinese once tried to kill off all their sparrows?

***

One day, not too long ago, war was declared in China.

“Sparrows are our enemies! They eat too much grain. We must drive them from the land!”

Older Brother held out the bag of firecrackers that Father had given him to help fight the war.

“I like sparrows,” Ming Li said quietly, walking home with Older Brother. She looked up and tried to imagine the sky empty, silent.

***

I was shopping around for enrichment classes in the last two weeks and the overall feel I got was that these places need us less than we need them. Read More »

My sis-in-law Jac’s been thinking up some easy photo projects that everyone can try, and we’ve put them up on our photography blog. Hop over to find out how you can make a pop art piece or a two-minute photo frame!

This post is now hosted on MyPlayschool.net. Follow this link to read it!

Click here if you’d like to see what books we own — titles in red were full-price purchases from Kinokuniya, Page One, Amazon, Acmamall and The Home Library when it was still up and running, everything else was a bargain buy.

My target was for us to complete books 7a/b in our Ladybird (Peter and Jane) series by June, but that’s not going to happen. We’re done with the level 4 books and we started on 5a but it’s starting to get wordy and with all the emoting that’s been going on (“Why don’t I know this!!!!”) and my own impatience (“Let’s get to the end of the page, for crying out loud!!!”), the mood hasn’t been right and Layla finally announced that she doesn’t like reading anymore.

Or, in her words, “I’ll read when I’m big.” Read More »

I met up with my sis-in-law Jac yesterday, and as usual we traded stories more than talked business, which is good for our souls but probably not our bank accounts.

Is there such a thing as the terrible fours? Read More »