Becoming a Tweeter

So much for minimizing technology!  All (five of) you other Tweeters out there can now follow me at: @igenkids

Why?  Well, one of my posts is soon to be featured, alongside some very talented writers, bloggers.....and tweeters, on a site called Silicon Valley Mamas.  If all goes well, we'll link to each other, they'll take future posts, and we can all grow together organically.  I'm looking forward to learning from these social media savvy moms and from this experience and, well, all those talented women tweet, so I figured....  My justification, because there always has to be one, is that it sounds like fun and yet another way to stay on top of this stuff and keep a half a toe in the world of paid work.

I'm equally excited and confused about this deepening of my relationship with the on-line world I fled a mere four years ago.  When I reflect on the fact that my three-month old blog hobby began, in the wee hours of a February night, out of sheer desperation to keep my kids partially free from the total technological immersion of Silicon Valley, becoming a Tweeter, seems like such a sell-out.

Will have to explore that later, I have a slippery slope to catch....

How the i-Generation Shares its "Cooties"

Head lice.  Do I have your attention now or did those two words make you click and run away? 

It's the fear and potential embarrassment of parents of school-age kids everywhere.  Spend some time chatting with a group of parents and you'll find that many have quietly dealt with them at one point or another. Regardless, just about everyone gets the heebie geebies at the thought of having to face the little critters in their home and on their child's head. Check out people's body language the next time someone brings up this engaging topic at a social gathering. Eeeeww. Not even the most detail-oriented person wants to literally be a "nitpicker". 

When we moved to the Bay Area we discovered that Lice Check Coordinator is an actual PTA role - and a difficult one to fill! Upon learning that our school conducts three official Lice Checks of every child throughout the school year, I realized I should probably educate myself and my family on how to avoid the little buggers.  Note: While I am certain kids in Washington state also encounter head lice as often as those in California, the small Seattle schools my kids attended did not have formal checking programs.

Quickly the kids and I started to educate ourselves about lice. They were as grossed out as I was. We read up on what they look like and how they travel - by walking. We learned what the nits look like and how to differentiate them from simple dandruff or cradle cap. In addition to experiencing the phobia-inducing checks by volunteer parents sporting fine tooth combs and surgical gloves, my kids learned they should neither share nor swap hats. A bigger challenge during t-ball season. On the home front, when I'm on top of my game domestically, I toss all coats - especially hoodies - into the dryer for 20-30 minutes on Fridays.  Whenever a lice notice is sent home from school, I launder the coats and perform little spot checks on the kids for a few nights while they brush their teeth.

Soon after taking these prophylactic measures, I was feeling well protected against the hassle of head lice.  "Can't Touch This!" Not my kids or our house, I thought. Life was good in lice-free land....until the day I spotted my Kindergartner and two friends, huddled together over an iPhone. Heads touching. Ack! Did they forget that lice can "walk" from one head to another?

Nothing resulted from the iphone huddle, yet I felt compelled to make sure my kids understood these new "risks".  While avoiding t-ball hat trading is easy, the pledge to keep heads from touching goes out the window as soon as kids are connecting over Cut the Rope or Angry Birds. Let's face it. They're gonna touch. It's another new fact of life with this i-generation.

While I thank my lucky stars for not yet having to battle the little critters, I know that our time may come.  Whether courtesy of a Nintendo DS, a Leapster, an iPad or something else, my kids' heads will touch other kids' heads. I just hope the heads they touch don't have lice.

Not sure what sort of comments are in order after this little piece, but, as with any entry, please feel free to share your thoughts!

Have a great weekend,
Rebecca

P.S.  You can thank me later for not including a photo with this post. ;-)

How Do You Counter the Summer Slide?

 

Inquiring minds want to know.  Really, we do!

I'd never even heard of the "Summer Slide" until a guy promoting summer camps spoke last night at our school's PTA meeting.  I missed the first few minutes, but I gathered the "problem" he was there to solve was an academic concern shared by schools and parents.  His one-hour response to that apparently urgent question could easily have been wrapped with a five-minute plea to send our kids to his camp and only his camp.  Instead, he lumbered through two dozen Powerpoint slides that did not even try to mask his message that the "hybrid" camps he represents are far more enriching and well rounded than all those other camps we were considering.  Surprise!

Going in, I knew how the "Summer Slide" presentation would play out; yet as PTA Secretary, I needed to attend the meeting. THAT is a another blog post for another time.

The one interesting part of the presentation was a discussion he fostered between the dozen or so parents in attendance.  We were asked to share our summer goals for our children in the areas of:  Academic, Physical, Social, Life Skills and Hobbies.

While many shared a concern about kids losing their ability to write or recall their multiplication facts,  the majority of parents expressed a desire for their kids to learn new skills or just to enjoy their families and their free time.  Swimming and playing were high on the list, as was visiting extended family in other parts of the country or world.  One mom with older kids plans to teach them how to cook.  Now there's a good life skill!  Inspired by that mom, I decided I will teach my older one to build a fire at the beach; the old fashioned way, with matches and tinder and kindling.  You know, in case he's ever stranded on a remote island somewhere.  Life Skill - check!

When they are not training for Survivor, my kids will attend a variety of summer camps and spend plenty of time in the pool.  This is not driven by summer slide prevention, but by the fact that I'm neither a martyr nor Julie Andrews.  They truly want to attend Mini-Hawks, Lego camp, a music/theater camp, and even an outdoor woodsy camp with a sleepover and macrame crafts.

Even with several weeks of camp, a ten-week summer still seems like a wealth of time.  You know how you always optimistically bring too many books for a cross-country flight or vacation?  I do.  In the same vein, right now in early May, summer seems like such a great opportunity to pick up new skills and experiences that we are unable to do the rest of the year when pesky school schedules and PTA meetings get in the way.

So here is the part of my blog when I ask for your input.  We're trying to create a little community here ;-)  You can comment anonymously, but please share:  Forget this summer slide nonsense, what fun things are your kids doing this summer?