Ok, I am going to sound old and so not PC in this blog. If that bothers you, read no further. :) This past week, when we went into Lydia's school for parent teacher conferences, I was reminded of many fun memories of my elementary days. Friends, school work, recess.... While meandering down the hall, I saw a "Birthday Bulletin" for the month. That reminded me of the awesome easter basket cupcakes that my mom always sent in for my birthday. :)
Hmm...I wonder what I will send in for Lydia's birthday? WAIT - I am not allowed to send in treats. Well, maybe we can bake something yummy for the Valentine's Day party. NOPE - they don't have that either. In fact, they only have two pre-determined parties each year. A "holiday" party before "winter break" (excuse the sarcasm, but seriously?) and another "class party" some other time during the year. Children are not allowed to bring in birthday treats, etc.
Wow. It was not all that long ago that I was in elementary school; but boy, have times changed! We used to have a ton of fun party days - for example, Halloween. We actually went home after a half day, got changed into costumes, came back for a party and had a little costume parade around the playground for all the parents that wanted to come and see us. How fun! Then there was Valentine's Day - that rocked because we got to make a Valentine's box AND Valentine's cards. Sometimes there were Christmas parties - yes, we called them that - and of course your birthday was super exciting because you got to bring in a favorite treat! (the best parents brought store bought ice cream bars....yum!) I can only imagine what my parents were "allowed" to do during their elementary years. :)
This is not to say that we never did anything instructional or educational; I certainly remember a lot of that too! But I think the teachers did a great job of including good old' fun along with the books and lessons. And I will certainly admit that schedules and expectations and supplies and budgets have all changed since I was a kid; but, I don't know if they have changed for the good. It is important to be mindful of the students and their backgrounds, but for goodness sakes - everyone enjoys a birthday party, right!?
Things just ain't the way they used to be.
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