JEI {2}: Back to School

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Welcome to the weekly link up, Just Enough Info (JEI).  The internets can be a great source of community, and I’d love to get to know you better!  Feel free to share your answers in the comments or link up if you have a blog.  You can see our first link up here.

 

Zelie-Group-Link

This week’s topic is…

Back to School!

My co-hosts for the week are Jessica, Kirby, and Kerry.  Be sure to check them out for more great reads.  🙂

On to the questions of the week!

-1- What is your best school memory from your childhood?

In third grade, I had the kindest, prettiest, funniest teacher ever.  Even as a kid I could tell that she loved being a teacher and cared about us.  I wanted to be her when I grew up, so I actually dressed up as her for Halloween.  (I think the school costume theme was “future career,” so it wasn’t quite as creepy as it sounds.)

Anyway, I went through my clothes trying to find something she might wear.  I decided on a knee-length black skirt, black tights, and a black and white sweater.  I even asked my mom to style my hair like hers and went to school with my bangs fluffed up and hairsprayed into cooperation.

It was my time in third grade that really kick-started my life as a reader, a gift for which I’m constantly grateful.  Miss Lantz– if you’re out there, thanks for the awesome memories in third grade!  My classroom is around my kitchen table these days, but I want to be the fun, inspiring teacher to my students that you were to us.

-2- Do you have any back-to-school family traditions?

 

We just started a new one this year, and I hope it sticks.  (It probably will.  For better or worse, now that the kids are older they remember everything.  That means even if I forget, they will “gently” remind me.)

Before the school year started, we had a “Yes Day.” The gist is that David and I had to say “Yes” to any requests made by the kids.  It felt odd to flex my yes muscles, but the quality of time we spent together hasn’t been matched by much else we’ve done.  It was so…intentional…this yessing.

This would also be a good way to celebrate the first week or even couple weeks of school.  You can read all about our lovely Yes Day here.

 

-3- Markers or colored pencils?

If I’m doing some coloring myself I’d choose crayons.  It’s easier to mix and blend.  But- – I just heard of someone using markers and then going over with colored pencils for more depth.  Maybe I’ll have to try that when I’m able to steal a quick moment with more Mother Teresa quote coloring pages.

Chewing Moe

My kids like markers better, but there are three Big Problems with markers in our house:

  •  When little brothers leave the lids off completely, resulting in sketchy, half dried-out markers.
  •  When little brothers actually remember to cap the markers, but use the wrong colored lid.

This, my friends, is tragedy when you’ve drawn a family of giraffes and grab a yellow-lidded marker that turns out to be purple.  I’m not trying to say that purple giraffes aren’t special in their own way, but when you were hoping and planning for a nice golden giraffe, purple is hard to accept.

It may seem silly to have a conversation about purple giraffes tie in to suffering and offering up the injustices we face, but that’s how we roll.

  • Bea can pull the lids off of markers.  They accidentally roll to the floor, and Bea yanks the lids off with glee, excited for her next dye fix.

 

Blue Tongue
Glee. Delicious, delicious, dye glee.

In general I have a love/hate relationship with all writing utensils, marker, colored pencil, or otherwise.  Apparently my kids just cannot contain the spirit of art and creativity inside them.  The constraints of coloring only on paper are only for poor saps with more alert parents.  Walls– that’s where true art is made.

The Wall
I wish the photo did justice to the depth, layering, and emotion of this mixed-media mural.

Because I love my kids I haven’t acted on my perpetual urge to take away all writing utensils FOREVER!!!!

We also have an old baby-wipes container of naked crayon nubbins.  In fact, for the years that my blog was just a wisp of a thought in my mind, the title of the blog was always Naked Crayons and Other Facts of Life.

When I finally took the plunge, “Naked Crayons” was already claimed.  Maybe it’s for the best.  At least I’m relatively sure that “Sweeping Up Joy” won’t be blocked by filters.

 

 

What about you?  Markers or colored pencils?   Back to school traditions?  Best school memory?  Just answer the questions on your blog (making sure to link back here!) and submit.  Or you can answer in the comments.   🙂



 

Thanks for stopping by!  You can catch new posts via facebookbloglovin, or email subscription (above).  🙂

Our topic next week is prayer.
1.What are your favorite devotions?
2.Have any of your prayers been answered? Do you have any prayers that you are glad weren’t answered the way you’d hoped?
3. How do you pray with your kids?

16 Comments


  1. // Reply

    LOVE THIS! You truly captured the essence of the great marker debate! I think all mommy’s can agree how crazy our kids get with markers! hahaha I also realy like what you have done with your page! The logo is beautiful! and the colors are great!


    1. // Reply

      Thanks, Jessica! I still can’t figure out how to center the picture at the top. But maybe that’s a metaphor for my life– just a little off-center. 🙂


  2. // Reply

    Yes Day sounds like a lot of fun! Oh, markers are just not worth the trouble in my opinion! Your poor baby! Your poor wall!
    Thanks for letting me know about the link-up! 🙂


    1. // Reply

      The problem with markers is that they can “buy” me at least 10 good minutes of uninterrupted time. I’m still on the fence if that 10 minutes is worth the hour of marker detox the tattooed kids and walls need…


  3. // Reply

    A “yes” day sounds a little scary to me. Our daughter would take full advantage!

    We only ruined one box of markers by leaving the caps off and then we learned. However, our daughter would cover her whole body in marker. You know, some colors wash off better than others…


    1. // Reply

      Haha! You never know what June might say. You could try laying down some ground rules ahead of time…it might be an adventure! 🙂



  4. // Reply

    Sooo, I blog so little I messed up my link. It put a generic image with my link. So sorry! If you delete it I will repost.


    1. // Reply

      Hmmm…I’m not sure how to work that magic. Fortunately the link is good, even if the image isn’t what you would have preferred. Thanks for linking up!


  5. // Reply

    And I hear you about kids not liking paper as their medium of choice. My two year old feels our hard wood floors are too boring. So wants them to be colorful….



    1. // Reply

      Thanks for joining us! I’m excited to read your post. 🙂


  6. // Reply

    Oh, I had to laugh at that picture of your little Bea’s tongue. I think I have that same picture of one of my boys who is now 9. Except his tongue was almost always orange. Or green. And he usually had drawn a mustache on himself, too. And he would also bite the tips off the markers.

    My current 3 yo likes to draw on the walls. In fact, I think he is going to be a muralist when he grows up. We painted an entire wall with chalkboard paint in an attempt to stop him from drawing elsewhere, but I’m not sure if that will really work or not.


    1. // Reply

      Someone suggested using that special whiteboard paint in their bedroom…but that seems like it will just encourage them.

      I’m glad we’re not the only ones with bitten off marker tips. I’m curious about how they taste, but not curious enough to try them myself. 🙂

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