I love the holidays – I send Christmas cards, bake cookies, decorate the house, bake cookies, sing Christmas carols, watch holiday movies, and bake cookies. However, along with all the fun comes the expectations. That you will attend holiday events, buy Christmas presents for everyone…
“Ms. P – are you ready for Ugly Sweater Day?” When my student came up to me after class, this was not the question I expected. It turns out that this school had a long tradition of Ugly Sweater Day. The day before Winter Break,…
If I let him, my husband would set up our Christmas decorations on November 1. But I won’t let him. I firmly believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. So, no decorations until after Thanksgiving. And then we go big. Big tree, lots of…
I’m going to let you in on a big secret. Ready? Teachers love coffee. Like, really 🤎 it. In every school I have taught in, the coffee maker is the hottest spot, next to the copy machine. Above the aroma of brewing coffee and clinking…
One fall, my roommate and I got in a doozy of an argument about . . . Daylight vs. Standard Time. He was going hiking the day the clocks turned back. I warned him that the sun would go down an hour earlier, so he…
“Hey, Ms. P. My grades aren’t that great right now. What can I do to improve it?” “Well, the semester ends this week. So at this point, nothing. I wish you’d come to me a month ago because there are so many things you could…
A few years back, I found my middle school diary. One thing that struck me (other than the generally high level of melodrama in my life) was how stressed I was by schoolwork. In the 8th grade. By college, I definitely had a few breakdowns…
When I started college, I was shocked by what my fellow freshmen were unable to do – laundry, making their beds, making a simple meal, and the list went on. Some of them were having a LOT of problems handling the adult portion of their…
For those of you (all right, most of you) who are too young to experience the joy of sleep training an infant – it’s tough, but so necessary. For those not in the know, babies wake up during the night. A lot. Sleep training is…
When I joined a gym for the first time, I really wanted to use the weight machines. But, I didn’t know how to use them. And I was too intimidated to ask anyone. “The trainers are working – I don’t want to interrupt them working.…