Friday Things
1. Joseph is 19 months old today! He still only says a handful of words, but his attempt to say new things is so adorable. He’ll spend a day making the same sound over and over, and we can’t figure out what it is, but I love that he’s trying harder to communicate. He also calls Cheerios “yo-yo’s” which might be the most adorable thing, ever.
2. We are now at T-minus less than 7 weeks until my due date. HOW did that happen so quickly?! I feel like this pregnancy has gone crazy fast compared to when I was pregnant with Joseph, probably because my days are consumed with chasing after a toddler! We have our crib and dresser and I’m working on getting the new nursery ready. I found some leftover size one diapers and oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe how tiny!! Now that Joseph is running, climbing and being a wild man, I forgot how absolutely teeny tiny he was!
3. The last time I went to the grocery store, they had an entire display of mums outside (and Hatch chiles inside!). Two signs that fall is almost here. CANNOT WAIT.
4. So, I’m not sure if this is a regional thing, but I saw some friends talking on Facebook about how schools don’t teach cursive anymore. I was totally stunned! Like, kids don’t know how to actually sign their name, as in an actual signature. One friend is actually teaching her kids cursive at home. This is beyond nuts to me! I know so much is digital nowadays, but I just figured that was like a basic skill.
5. Since Instagram has rolled out Instagram stories, it totally means that I don’t actually have to figure out Snapchat, right?! (Please say yes.)
6. I went to college in the late ’90s and we decorated our dorm rooms with um, Christmas lights and lava lamps. Nothing like this. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever been stylish enough to pull something like that off!
7. I looked at the 10-day forecast on my phone and there are multiple days in a row with highs in the 70’s! Finally! Relief from the disgusting heat and humidity.
8. Speaking of cooler weather, am I the only one who’s kind of, sort of excited for the holidays to roll around? I’m just ready to be all hunkered down and cozy for a few months.
9. You may remember me talking about the comfort dogs in the past – they are a Lutheran Church charity that trains Golden Retrievers as therapy dogs that are then deployed all over the country when disaster strikes, like tornadoes, flooding, mass shootings. My husband and I have supported their organization for years and were heartbroken to hear that a van with church members and two dogs were hit by gunfire last weekend. Luckily, it seems that everyone will be okay, but so sad :(
10. TGIF! Best friends :)
As a teacher, I have to agree about the cursive thing! I teach 7th grade and wrote the morning assignment on the board the first week of school in cursive…over half of my class told me that they couldn’t read cursive! It’s such a lost art, I’m going to have to teach it in my history class!
xoxo, SS
8YWU-5HNLYT-HKG2E3
Joseph is really beginning to look like a little man. How his face has changed. So cute. He is going to make a great big brother. As far as the cursive, the schools are not teaching spelling either. Take notice how many times you are seeing the plural of words by using ‘s. For example, instead of candies, you see candy’s. Instead of shoes, you see shoe’s. Kids are not learning plural vs possessives anymore. And correcting a child’s spelling is now considered to be “racist.” No, I’m not kidding. Start watching for ‘s and you will see it everywhere. A definite argument for homeschooling.
My pregnancy went faster too, until the end. My two year old was 3 days early… My 6 day old was 3 days late! Get ready for a faster labor, r too! Good luck! Oh and my Essie manicure lasted almost a week this time, but it still is a little chipped on my tips.
Happy Friday! I also cannot wait to hunker down this winter. I am pregnant and due in January so I am looking forward to wearing more comfortable maternity clothes. I really do not like heat. Also hating my current “is she gaining weight or pregnant?” stage. Have you found any great maternity jeans? I am looking into splurging this time around. This is my third and I am not interested in wearing saggy pants again. Worth it to be comfortable and still feel put together.
Regarding cursive — you should check out Cursive Logic. They have a neat looking workbook for teaching cursive and are advocates for everyone learning it (obviously). Not to mention, who doesn’t love receiving a personal, handwritten note in the mail from time to time (with great penmanship of course)? I will definitely teach my kids cursive. It is a great exercise in discipline and actually does help me write faster. I can’t keep lists digitally, has to be paper.
Joseph was born in January and it was so cozy to be pregnant during the fall and winter! I’ve hated having the bulk of my pregnancy during the summer months, bleh… so much more swollen! I actually found amazing maternity jeans this time around – Jessica Simpson bootcut… I ordered them online from Macy’s. The ONLY pair I’ve had that don’t sag and the full belly band stays put. LOVE them! I hope you have a great pregnancy!
I’ve been teaching for 41 years and every time they drop something from the curriculum we find out later that it was really needed.
They have started studies to see what effects not teaching cursive has on the brain.
And they say it does affect a part of the brain. I don’t know how reliable these studies are though. Many corporations now have candidates hand write answers to questions on the premises to check the candidates actually skill level. I wonder how many candidates for the job can match what they put on their online applications? I doubt illegible writing will get the job when usually there are so many qualified applicants.
Hi Michelle,
Totally love your blog. Since you mentioned the therapy dogs, I wanted to let you know about an event called GoldStock. It is held over Labor Day weekend in PA. Perhaps you have heard of it? It is a camping weekend to promote, raise awareness, educate people about Golden Retriever rescue! it is a absolute blast.
I have not heard of it, but totally checking it out!
We love the Comfort Dogs as well and like to see the work they do! It broke my heart when I heard about the shooting and 2 of the dogs were hit. So grateful everyone is doing well now.
My son graduated high school 2 years ago. When we took him to get his drivers license I told him he needed to “sign” his name, not print. The kid didn’t even know how to do it! I made him sit at his desk and practice his “signature”, because I had to explain that at times he would need to sign things and that didn’t mean printing his name. He was taught it at one point in elementary school, but it was never required after that.
My girlfriend is the mother of 4 and she and her husband use cursive to speak in code since her kids can’t read it yet. The only time it’s been used it by post-it conversation on where the cookies are hidden ?
Joseph has changed so much this week! What a difference from last Friday.
We just took our daughter to college over the past weekend, and I can assure you her room does not look anything at all like the one in the picture. In fact, after 3 years, her room this year is even more simple starting her senior year than it was her freshman year. High maintenance dorm rooms . . . too funny!
Common Core (and thus the federal gov’t) can be thanked for the demise of cursive in the classroom. CC says that after 1st grade, handwriting/penmanship is no longer necessary. After that it’s all about the keyboard. This is really bad because there is a strong connection between cursive and brain development. That cognitive development is so important as in cursive there are brain pathways that are opened that are not opened by keyboarding. It’s been shown that children learn better from handwritten note-taking in the classroom than from keyboarded note-taking. The fine motor skills that are developed with cursive help kids pay attention and think – this is needed to actually write in cursive, and of course translates into all other areas of learning. There’s a relationship between the hand to the development of thoughts and ideas – part of critical thinking skills. But children are not really taught to think any more, let alone to do it critically. So, Common Core is not a friend to students (in fact it’s bad news!), and parents really need to be proactive in demanding their school districts keep or reinstate cursive/penmanship in the curriculum. And most definitely teach your own children to write in cursive.
Hi everyone! I’m also quite upset about the schools not teaching cursive. But, please take a few minutes and listen to humorist Jeanne Robertson from North Carolina tell the story of how she encouraged her grandson to learn cursive. Jeanne is a former Miss North Carolina and has such a delightful way to tell a story. They are always, always clean and family oriented.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4OxmFfKStA
Hi Michelle,
Joseph is so handsome and already looks like a big brother! You will be shocked how big he will appear when his baby brother arrives.
I live in St Louis (where it’s hot & very muggy!), so I’ve had occasion to meet the Comfot Dogs and they are amazing. Lutheran Church Charities website also puts out a
great daily devotional that can be subscribed to via email. I was glad to read that you are supporters because those dogs and their owners provide a wonderful service.
Have a great weekend!
What a change in Joseph’s appearance in 1 week!!! He looks like he’s 3 in this picture but last week he looked more like a baby! He is growing fast! He looks like he is going to be tall too. Have a wonderful weekend!
I thought it was just my advancing old age that has a problem with the elimination of cursive from school curriculum, but since you are only as old as my grown children maybe I’m not alone in my sorrow! Joseph is adorable and reminds me of my 2 1/2 yr. old Grandson at that age. Joseph and the pooches will so love and enjoy the new addition. Always anticipate “Friday Things” and you never disappoint! Thank-you!! P.S. Absolutely love the little bentwood rocker!
The dorm room article! My cousin’s daughter is a freshman at Ole Miss this year and posted a picture of her dorm room yesterday and it looks SO similar to the one in the article! My husband and I were thinking how much went into it. My house isn’t even that fancy ;) It’s definitely a very southern thing to do, it’s just their culture.
I was surprised to find out that school had stopped teaching cursive in schools and kids in turn couldn’t read it. Crazy although I have to say that I never wrote cursive outside of school and my signature may be based in cursive it has evolved into chicken scratch. My kids’ school does teach cursive and have heard that a lot are adding it back into their curriculums. Personally, I would rather have my kids have more time for PE then to sit at a desk learning cursive.
“Crazy although I have to say that I never wrote cursive outside of school and my signature may be based in cursive it has evolved into chicken scratch. My kids’ school does teach cursive and have heard that a lot are adding it back into their curriculums. Personally, I would rather have my kids have more time for PE then to sit at a desk learning cursive.”
Agreed on all counts!
Joseph is really growing so fast! And he’s so cute – especially in that rocking chair looking out the front window. Unfortunately the cursive thing is not regional – I think it’s probably one of the most stupid things ever that modern public schools have done – and believe me they’ve done some things that make absolutely no sense what-so-ever! Glad your friend is teaching her child at home – I’m afraid you’ll either have to teach Joseph and his brother at home – unless you are planning to send them to private school. I am looking forward to fall – it is one of my favorite seasons and I can’t wait for the “cooler” temps. I still haven’t attempted snap-chat….lol…..Have a good weekend!
Hi Michelle,
I actually have 2 cousins who didn’t know who gave them their birthday cards because they can’t READ cursive either. I was stunned to learn that it is not taught in school. This is ridiculous! Just another reason this country is making lazy, awful children! NO, the world DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND THESE KIDS!! My kids are in their 20s and things were not nearly as bad a few years ago. Oh, and they all write in cursive! Sorry for my rant, but society and school and ruining our children! So sad.
Morning Michelle! Your little guy is adorable! He is growing so beautifully! It’s so hard to believe my daughters are 15 and 13 already – it seems like they were just toddlers. It’s funny you mentioned about schools not teaching cursive writing. In our district, it’s been at least 5 years since cursive writing has been taught. Oh, and now, in my daughters’ former elementary school, if a student spells a word wrong while writing about a subject other than language arts/english, they do not have points taken off for the misspelling. For example, my friend’s daughter was being tested on the 50 states and their capitals. She spelled 24 of them wrong(!) BUT received a ’96’ on the test! She received the ’96’ because she mixed up some of the capitals and the states they belonged to. When my friend questioned both teacher and the principal about her concern over spelling? She was told, and I quote, “It wasn’t a spelling test, therefore it doesn’t matter if she spelled the words wrong, and these kids will have ‘Spellcheck’ in the years ahead anyway.” I kid you not! We are crippling these kids and making them so dependent on their devices and technology! Scary!
I already have my Hatch chilies (50 pounds) in the freezer so I hope you have some new recipes for us this year. As I was making room in my freezer for the new chilies I was using up the last of last years crop and made your Hatch mac and cheese several times -thanks for that great recipe. Hope the next 7 weeks are a piece of cake for you as we all wait to see Joseph’s brother.
Last week, with temps reaching 100 degrees and off the charts humidity, my grocery store already had big displays of Halloween candy in place. I love everything about autumn but I would rather wait until after Labor Day to see evidence that summer is over.
At least I’m not the only one on Pinterest liking at holiday decorations. It’s just my husband and I and we rarely have guests so i really have no reason to decorate for the seasons but I do really enjoy decorating!
It’s funny that you mention school not teaching cursive because my grandson’s isn’t either. When I express my outrage, yes, outrage, my daughter was like, “meh, they’re teaching him keyboarding. I rather him learn something useful”. Really? I could believe she said that. So, the ability to produce a signature isn’t useful.
I totally agree! My niece couldn’t read a recipe written by an older relative. This made me think in 100 years cursive will be a lost language like Latin. People won’t be able to read documents handed down in the family. I think at a minimum they should learn to read cursive and write their own names. They shouldn’t take too much time away from “keyboarding”!
And another thing – spell check doesn’t always work so kids should not rely on it. In my past post. I said that shouldn’t and it made it they! ?
One other thing, when I was in school we did math manually without a calculator (I am not that old! ??) . Anyway kids today are so reliant on technology that they can’t go into a grocery store and figure which item is a better deal without pulling out their phones to check the calculator!
I’m 36 and we didn’t use calculators until calculus, which was either senior year of high school or college! My grandma hated seeing us with a calculator (and this was before computers!) – she would always say “those machines are going to rot your brains!” She was a wise woman. We had an actual typing class in high school – like on typewriters, not computer keyboards. I can still hear the teacher now… “A-S.. D-F… J-K.. L-semi”!
Joseph is growing up very fast. He really wants to be a big brother. Take care.