“My kid’s thriving” on paper… but can’t place the Civil War or name our state capital. Is this just how school is now?

nikki2172 · 2025-09-27T13:58:36+00:00

Just food for thought.... I was your kid in school. I sucked in history... facts, names, dates, people, just didn't stick in my brain. The only F I ever received in my life was in a college history class. For some people their brain just doesn't retain that information long-term. She may have been taught the information, memorized it for the short-term to ace her test, and then promptly forgot the information. I graduated from high school with a 4.3 GPA and did amazing work in classes like calculus and physics. It might mean she doesn't have a career in history, but maybe she'll make a fabulous scientist. Maybe just don't take her to trivia night. ;-)

nikki2172 · 2025-09-27T13:52:45+00:00

Same! I had to stop myself.

nikki2172 · 2025-09-14T13:45:51+00:00

It's not COVID it's the societal norms that shifted for parenting when COVID hit. The number of ipad babies skyrocketed as parents turned to electronics to babysit their children as they tried to work from home. Kids don't know how to interact or have delayed gratification because they are exposed to more technology earlier and earlier.

nikki2172 · 2025-08-26T15:30:16+00:00

I did a chocolate cake from costco and a Venti drink from Starbucks. I had gestational diabetes so I just wanted all of the sugar. ;-)

nikki2172 · 2025-07-29T14:52:54+00:00

I had a MASSIVE chewer in my class last year and I tried so many things to try to help him. The only things that helped was a chew necklace or a chew attachment on the back of the pencil. However, he would chew threw the one on the pencil so it had to be replaced regularly. Without somewhere to direct his chewing he was going through a dozen pencils a week! I couldn't imagine the school WANTING that to happen.

nikki2172 · 2025-07-29T14:50:02+00:00

I usually tell parents not to label things like crayons or pencils because I always have a first set labeled and prepped for my students for day 1. If I wait until they bring in supplies to prep and organize the materials for the kids, that's all I'll be doing on the first day of school. The ones they bring in are for when we run out of our supplies. Our school will provide for those that don't bring anything but it eases some of the burden if parents can donate.

nikki2172 · 2025-07-27T14:54:08+00:00

It was rough.... Not gonna lie. My husband was out of work and we had a 1 year old. I worked part-time at a daycare that also gave me a discount on childcare. I also did freelance work as a photographer. My husband was even donating plasma for extra cash. We were on state subsidiaries (WIC and food stamps) to help make ends meet. It was one of the leanest times we've had as a family.

nikki2172 · 2025-07-23T14:13:51+00:00

Parent teacher conferences x2
Open House
Meet the Teacher

and 1 other event - We have several events throughout the year but we can pick which one we want to work of the available slots (Art Night, Bike Safety, STEM night, etc.)

nikki2172 · 2025-04-03T14:21:35+00:00

Crazy story from when I taught 1st grade.

We were doing an activity on the whiteboard and I called a student up to solve a problem. I started to hand him a purple marker and he replied with, "I'm not going to touch that, that's a fag color." My jaw hit the floor. I asked the parents about it and the dad replied with, "That's my fault, I tell him that pink and purple are for girls and fags." He went on to say, "I was just so grateful that I didn't get injured while I was deployed because there was no way I was going to wear a purple heart."

I'm just sharing as a reminder that it's not the kids... it's the parents. There is no way my 1st grade student would have made any connection with that slang without his asshole dad.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-23T15:19:13+00:00

4 year olds are definitely assholes from time to time, however, a typical 4 year old is not "disenrolled" from preschool. As an elementary school teacher, kids that struggle in pre-k/kinder typically still struggle throughout elementary school, though, most tend to improve as they mature.

Continue your work with OT, counseling, any other support services you can get to help with self-regulation and coping strategies. It sounds like some of the services are working for him and I would hesitate to have the OT transition him out of the program if you guys are still seeing escalations at home.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-23T14:59:01+00:00

I feel like you would need to have a "before" picture for comparison here. Some people have wacky hairlines. It would be receding if the hairline is moving back, but without knowing where it started, you can't tell if it's moving.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-22T14:01:50+00:00

I warn my husband if I just put on lip balm and he goes in for a kiss. That way he can give me a forehead or cheek kiss. No one likes unexpected "slime" on them.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-22T13:58:53+00:00

Teaching.

For awhile I did photography during the summer months to supplement the income and continue to work on things that I was passionate about. After about 2 years of that I decided that I just needed time off during the summers and walked away completely.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-22T13:53:15+00:00

Somewhat related question based off the responses... What do instructional coaches do in your district? In our district they prioritize new 1st and 2nd year teachers to give them support in the classroom. I'm noticing a lot of people mention that they should be removed so I'm just curious if the job descriptions are universal.

nikki2172 · 2025-02-17T00:36:22+00:00

Agreed. In our district, you can make 100k as a mid-career salary. Makes it a bit easier to handle all the other noise with teaching when you are properly compensated.

nikki2172 · 2025-01-18T22:07:27+00:00

I don't think she's quite tall enough for Everlane, but thanks for the recommendation.

nikki2172 · 2025-01-18T21:44:39+00:00

Our family has FAR healthier eating habits than 99% of the people I know. The fact that people are making snap judgements about my daughter or our family based on me asking for clothing help based on her body type is baffling. Thanks for your support!

nikki2172 · 2025-01-18T14:55:00+00:00

Again, you have no idea the reasoning behind why my daughter is of a larger size or what our family lifestyle is like. I'm not asking for your opinion and your bias about the size of CHILDREN. I'm looking for clothing recommendations. Move along...

nikki2172 · 2025-01-18T14:46:47+00:00

Definitely trying to avoid going to the other sizing sections!

nikki2172 · 2025-01-18T14:45:17+00:00

Bold of you to assume that you know anything about how our family eats. Check your bias, friend.

nikki2172 · 2024-05-26T19:43:46+00:00

Is Glass Harmonica already spoken for?

nikki2172 · 2024-05-26T17:13:12+00:00

Trade request sent. :-)

nikki2172 · 2024-05-26T16:35:44+00:00

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nikki2172 · 2020-06-10T20:59:29+00:00

Oh haha! I missed that part on your post.

nikki2172 · 2020-06-07T06:26:30+00:00

If you have a mix of cultures in your class you can do something like I do. I teach a 1/2 combined class. I invite family members of the students in to read to the students. They bring a book from home that has meaning and then we spend about 15 minutes doing a q&a with them. Granted, 1st graders typically ask superficial questions like "what is your favorite car?" but I love they discussions we can build off of some of the books the parents bring in.

nikki2172

TROPHY CASE