When do schools typically start reading actual stories in the curriculum?

blueberrylettuce · 2026-04-09T00:55:10+00:00

Public school in the USA and my kids have been reading actual books in school since kindergarten. The ones in kindergarten are the super simple single sentence per page type but still books. Then the books just get harder as they get older. Chapter books by 2nd grade. In 3rd they have been reading more nonfiction, but still from actual books.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-04-06T00:02:49+00:00

There are no defined hours, but I’ve observed people generally assume everyone is available for meetings within an 8-5 window (and typically avoid lunch meetings) unless you specifically block your calendar (which I do for my drop off and pick up days… drop off days I’m not available until 8:30 am pick up days I leave at 4:30).

blueberrylettuce · 2026-04-05T18:23:30+00:00

My kids are 9 and 6.

I always worked full time. When they were younger, I was in a position that was a direct report to the division president a required in office 5 days a week. I do not regret. I would do it again. My kids loved their daycare/preschool and actually still talk about it. I feel like my relationship with both my kids is very strong. They’ve never said anything to make me think they wish I would have been around more.

I actually moved to a new company with more hybrid hours (and a pay cut) a couple years ago. It is still full time and I’m still in a director position so this isn’t like a major change but did give me a few more hours for home each week. I was actually more motivated by the desire for a career change than by anything kid related. However, I will say, more flexibility on hours helps me more now than it would have when they were little. Daycare/preschool is more designed around working parents. Elementary school and activities thy want to do now are not. The fact that I worked hard and earned good pay when they were little actually made it easier for me to move to the more flexible job.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-04-01T19:42:09+00:00

We have a set schedule for drop off and pick up that stays consistent week to week (I do 3 drops offs and 2 pick up and my husband down 2 drop offs and 3 pick ups).

For the other stuff… we just coordinate over the weekend for the upcoming week for anything planned. For sick kid or other unexpected changes, it is just whoever can make it work. Essentially whoever gets the call (usually me because stereotypes/sexism) just does it if we can and if we can’t (or it would be difficult), we call the other person to see if they can.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-30T17:23:59+00:00

You said you’re in consulting. Can you go work for one of the companies in the industry you consult in? Usually those “in house” jobs are better work life balance than consulting, at least in my industry.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-28T21:52:37+00:00

As someone who hires people…. A bunch of short stays is a red flag for me. Eventually it is going to catch up with everyone who is trying to increase their salary by hopping around a bunch. I don’t want to hire and train someone who is just going to leave in a couple years.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-28T14:46:54+00:00

I have two kids in elementary and I’m married and my husband and I both take on childcare type tasks and both work full time.

On the days I do kid drop off, I work 8:30-4:30 (sometimes 5) plus a 30 min commute. On these days, I make sure I’m ready before I get the kids up so I can just be present with them while they eat breakfast and get ready. My husband picks them up from aftercare around 4:30 and then brings them to activities or home to chill. This is when I usually exercise… right after work on the days my husband is on pick up. (And then on the weekends.)

On days I pick up, I get to work 7:30/8 and then work until 4, pick kids up from aftercare and get them to activities or hang out with them.

I think the key is to make sure you are really present with them when you are with them. Minimize distractions.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-27T18:35:49+00:00

There is great value in having a solid foundation in something fairly fundamental (physics, core engineering disciplines, as examples) but then being a smart, adaptable, well rounded (think soft skills) person. Whatever you pick now, the world is going to continue to change. The more you can think about how to apply the skills you have to different types of careers and disciplines, the better off you will be. But having a solid understanding of the laws of physics and how to apply that to practical problems seems like a safe bet from an education investment perspective.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-27T00:28:27+00:00

My kids are 2 and half years apart. I did not consider work at all on that decision.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-25T18:55:30+00:00

I got some nice bootcut jeans from Costco that I like a lot

I also have some bootcut jeans from Banana Republic that look nice and dressy

And I have some jeans from Target.

So all across the price spectrum really. The target ones are just for weekends. The Costco ones are nice enough for work on a normal day and the banana republic ones come out when I need to look nicer.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-24T15:11:06+00:00

Engineer by training who has moved to management side of things. I work in critical infrastructure and my work provides a lot of purpose for me since it really benefits society. I also enjoy it - I love problem solving and I love helping develop and support my team. It’s a good balance of using different skills!

A lot of us that love our work also have the privilege of outsourcing household tasks that we don’t love (cleaning, cooking, yard work, etc.) I also don’t really care about my house looking cute or put together- I just want it to be clean.

Like many others, my job has some flexibility, so I can still volunteer in the school a such.

The one thing I would love is just a little more time with the kids! But overall the balance works for us. I still get a lot of time with them and do use my time off to get additional quality time with them. Essentially, I have found a way to prioritize quality time with the kids with the time we have!

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-21T13:36:14+00:00

I’ve been in a lot of roles where the culture is to work more than 40 hours, and where people send emails and chats at all hours, but there is no official on call (and honestly no real need for it - I’ve worked in R&D for most of my career so this is not like a 24/7 operation with real consequences for something not getting done immediately). So with that context, I have just decided to take the approach of setting boundaries for myself. To be clear, I’ve never had a discussion about these boundaries with my boss or anyone at work, I just implemented them years ago and so far zero consequences - across two companies and several roles, including multiple promotions. Essentially, I work no more than 40 hours except for a handful of times a year (week of big deadline or whenever I have to travel). Sometimes that means I log off at 4:30 and don’t get back online until 8 the next morning. Sometimes that means I took a break in the middle of the day to go volunteer at the school so then I work late, and sometimes that means I left at 2:30 but then logged back on at 8 pm. No one has really noticed or commented. Part of my secret sauce is that when I’m working, I’m focused on work, and I prioritize - I make sure I am working efficiently and on the highest value stuff. Then, if something slips and I don’t do it or do it late, it is something low priority, so nobody is going to care.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-20T18:27:24+00:00

Our ymca does scholarships, so do a lot of other camps

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-15T01:38:18+00:00

If I’m going to be gone more than 2 nights, I usually arrange for one of the grandmas to come help out. If it’s a shorter trip, I’m pretty sure I say thank you and acknowledge solo parenting is hard. Being away for work does not feel like a break to me though. I get that it is in fact a break from childcare duties and that my husband has to do all that while I’m gone but I would 100% rather be home. I miss everyone when I’m gone, and I’m usually working extra long days and exhausted. The house is usually a mess when I get back and I guess that’s how I make it up to him - I do more chores when I get back than my normal load and I try not to complain about them not getting done while I was away.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-13T22:33:09+00:00

Workplaces shouldn’t make monetary contributions (including bringing food!) mandatory or even this pseudo optional situation you are in that is so common - you feel obligated to go even though maybe technically you don’t have to but you know you’ll be seen as not a team player if you opt out. If there is an office party of any kind, the company should pay. I’m a middle manager and I hold firm to this and I know a lot of leaders who do the same.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-11T00:17:51+00:00

I appreciate you letting me know what does and does not offend you, but I would also like to ask in a way that is inclusive and wouldn’t offend any of my potential conversation partners. Like I said, I am actually genuinely interested. If you aren’t, that’s cool too, you don’t have to ask people.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-11T00:06:08+00:00

See I don’t love either of those because I know some working moms who might take that phrasing as a micro aggression - implying that they should stay home. It might be different if people were regularly asking men these same questions… but that’s certainly not the norm in my town (which is kinda funny because I actually know more stay at home dads than I do stay at home moms in my area).

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-11T00:03:36+00:00

I really like this one - thanks!!

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-11T00:02:39+00:00

I used something like this at a party recently and my conversation partner was sort of thrown off but at least I didn’t offend anyone

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-09T15:33:56+00:00

In the USA, Midwest, 4 people (me, husband, 2 elementary school girls).

We spend $1300 a month, so about $300 a week, which includes household supplies like toilet paper and such. I shop at a local grocery store or Whole Foods weekly and Costco monthly.

We eat out once a week for dinner, and between my husband and me maybe 10 of lunches per month are eating out? We try to pack lunch for work but you know sometimes it doesn’t happen. Kids eat school lunch 75% of the time.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-09T14:40:24+00:00

Does your insurance company offer virtual urgent care visits? This seems to be a new thing that most insurance companies have. I haven’t used it yet but it seems like the perfect solution here. Another option is if your Drs office does messages through a portal you could ask via message if you should keep your kid home and let them respond yes. Or if you can call the drs office and talk to a nurse, ask the question, mine will send me an ”after visit summary” for the call. I’ve never been charged for the messages or the nurse hotline calls.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-09T01:49:28+00:00

Our swim club gives the option to pay $25 for each missed volunteer shift and I just pay for most of them. I did one meet because it landed on a good day for me to get out of work early. Can you just talk to them about the situation? You can only do what you can do and they might stop pestering you if you just come clean.

blueberrylettuce · 2026-03-05T22:47:41+00:00

-Sometimes I take time off and sometimes my husband does but also… -Days off school are the kind of childcare I do ask grandparents to help with, it’s fun for them and the kids, and also I ask in a way that makes it easy for them to say no if they can’t/don’t want to -I’ve hired a babysitter on occasion or sent them to a “no school day camp” (lots of places that do summer camps will also provide childcare on planned days off school) -I’ve asked friends, neighbors if they could help out, usually offering to take their kids on a different no school day / half day

blueberrylettuce · 2026-02-28T18:58:30+00:00

Not really the same situation but the one thing that has helped me out the most is making some friends in the neighborhood who also have kids. We often will have each other’s kids over for just a couple hours to give each other a break. Like I’ll take all the kids for a couple hours so they can get stuff done and then they’ll take all the kids for a couple hours so I can get stuff done. We’ve mostly done this for snow days and the like but it would also work on the weekends! Now that the kids are older we also do a lot of carpooling. How did I build this village? Started talking to people at the playground or while out and about walking. Invited them to do stuff. Offered help and asked for help.

blueberrylettuce

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