Tooth Fairy, Parent/Teacher Conferences, and Healing Hearts a Huge Success!
The Going Rate for the Tooth Fairy is $10 per Tooth?
Are You Kidding Me!
This past week I was visiting with a seven year old first grader who had just lost her two front teeth.
I first asked her if that is what she is going to ask Santa to bring her for Christmas She just looked at me like I was from a foreign galaxy! Then the following conversation ensued:
Me: "Well - did the Tooth Fairy pay you a visit?"
Leah: "Yes - she brought me $20 since I lost two at once!"
Me: "Are you kidding me? $10 per tooth?"
Leah: "Well yes Mrs. Hankins - that is the going rate!"
Oh my - am I getting too old to do this job? It got me to thinking about what things cost when I was seven years old and what they cost when my daughters (Katie and Mary Beth) were about that age as compared to what things cost now. I wanted to see if the rate of inflation was the same for other things as it apparently is for a lost tooth. I did a bit of research on prices of things over the years.
Here are my findings (of course I do not promise that these figures are 100% accurate):
ITEM | 1963 (when I was seven) | 1991 (when my girls were 6 and 8) | 2017 (when Leah is seven years old - now!) |
Going Rate for a Lost Tooth | $.05 or .10 | $1.00 or 2.00 (if it was a molar) | $10.00! |
Soft Drink | $.05 | $.29 | $1.75 |
Loaf of Bread | $.22 | $.47 | $2.31 |
New House | $19,300 | $120,000 | Median: $300,200 Average: $368,100 (of course depending on where you live) |
Gallon of Milk | $.95 | $2.18 | $3.24 |
Dozen Eggs | $.55 | $.85 | $2.53 |
Postage Stamp | $.05 | $.29 | $.49 |
Cinema Ticket | $.85 | $4.21 | $8.84 |
What is interesting to me is that besides the tooth (which is 100 times more), the price of a house has risen to 19 times more now than in 1963.
Take heart, however, good old milk is only 3.5 times as much now as in 1963!
Parent Teacher Conferences - A "Success" and In The Books!
"First I want to start out by saying that your daughter is so kind and caring. She is such a good friend to all of her classmates," said Mrs. Starkey.
The mother with a slight tremble in her voice and an expression of relief responded,"Oh, I am so happy that you have noticed that about my girl."
As I was observing Mrs. Starkey in her conference with this parent I was impressed at how compassionate she was when opening up the meeting with this brand new kindergarten parent. Our new parents are often anxious about their first parent/teacher conference. Having recently entrusted their child to us, they are eager to hear things, but also afraid of what might be said by the teacher. Mrs. Starkey did a great job of putting this parent at ease. She knew that it is important to get the year started off with a good relationship between home and school.
This past week we held fall parent/teacher conferences at Mortensen. I have always held the belief that there is nothing more powerful in ensuring success for a child than having the parents, teacher, and child all on the same team. An analogy to this concept is the three legged stool. If you do not have one of the legs, the stool will not stand. Thus, the child will feel so much more steady and confident when the parent and school are standing with him/her.
Here are some very important reasons that parent-teacher conferences are important. Adapted from The International Preschools (New York City) Blog:
- Social/Emotional Skills: At the conference you will about your child’s ability to interact with his/her peers and teachers. This is a skill that spills over into all aspects of learning and growth. Children learn how to ask for (and obtain) what they need or want, initiate play, and navigate through daily routines. Self-confidence, taking on different roles in play, and regulating emotions when frustrated are also part of this skill area. You might learn whether your child has a friend that he/she gravitates towards. Teachers can give you suggestions as to who might be a good play date choice for your child as well. Play dates are a wonderful way for children to build friendships with their peers; it creates a “bridge” between school and home, and likely will lead to interactions within the classroom.
- Cognitive Skills: Your child’s teachers, particularly in the primary grades will speak about his/her emergent literacy, writing, and math skills (i.e. an interest in sorting items, ability to write his/her name, counting with correspondence). A child’s skills are measured in two ways: (1) against standard milestones and (2) in relation to his/her abilities from when he/she first entered the classroom. Teachers (and parents) want to see growth from point A to point B; if a child enters the classroom in September and does not recognize his/her name in print, but is able to in November, that is something to be proud of!
- Language Development: A child’s ability to follow directions, listen to and retell stories read aloud, remember past events, and make connections between school and home are all part of your child’s language development.
- Group Activity Interactions: You might hear about your child’s interest level with regard to small and large group activities. Does your child enjoy whole group story time, or does he/she prefer working one-on-one or in a small group at Table Time? Attention span and ability to work independently are also observed and relayed during conferences.
- Areas of Strength/Interest: Is your child a master at puzzles? Does he/she have an innate ability to cheer up their friends when they are upset? You will learn all about your child’s strengths and interests at this time as well. Teachers can suggest ways to build upon these interests and strengths outside of school (i.e. a child who shows an interest in science might enjoy attending an after school science program).
- Goals: This may be the most important point of all to be learned at your conference. Working together, parents and teachers create a set of goals for your child to strive to achieve throughout the year. It might be to increase his/her gross motor skills, or to offer information more frequently at circle time. Goals are individualized to the needs of each child; the attainment of those goals are assessed throughout the school year.
Parents: Don’t be afraid to take notes, ask questions, and if need be, follow-up for a future meeting or check-in via email or telephone call. Parents know their children best; your input, concerns, and interest in your child’s school experience is valued and appreciated by his/her teachers.
So, at Mortensen - we have had a very tiring week. It was a good thing that we had Friday off for a brief fall break! But even though we were exhausted, we have established the three legged stool that will serve our children well during the course of this year.
Healing Hearts for Harvey's Kids - Our Children Saw it Through to Completion!
Often when a school conducts a drive for a charity the students are not actively involved in the process from beginning to end. My teachers and I were committed to allowing our third grade students to have as much ownership in the activity as possible. Students set the boxes outside each classroom, they made the announcements on the speaker, they kept a record of which class collected the most school supplies and books, they sorted and helped box everything up, they loaded the boxes onto a Penske truck and then they all waved good-bye as Mr. Hankins drove away from the school on Wednesday October 4th. Seeing it through from start to finish helped them in developing those civic and global citizenship skills that we are trying to ensure that our students acquire as they become competent and resourceful members of our community, state, nation, and world. Several of them are already ready to take on another service project! I have told them that we need to wait a bit so as not to tax our neighborhood residents too much!
Here are two videos of the project: The first one is as we are collecting the supplies.
The second one is the loading of the truck, sending off Mitch, and the delivery to schools in southeast Texas. We are appreciative of everyone who helped us with this project:
I am thankful that we were able to participate in a small way with the recovery efforts of Hurricane Harvey!
I wish all of my elementary friends a beautiful autumn - Here is a photo of us at Mary Beth's a couple weeks ago!
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