It's that time of year again. Time for school to start. It hardly seems like the summer should be ending when we just hit 100+ temperatures. I spent yesterday afternoon helping Julie put together her classroom and this afternoon I belong to Jamie. I feel like an indentured servant but I secretly like helping them I just have to complain or I wouldn't be a mother. The difference between the two girls is still just as amazing to me as when they were kids. Julie is the eternal pack rat. She doesn't throw anything away for fear she may need it. Jamie on the other hand doesn't want clutter and condenses everything. Two very different peas in a pod. It takes so much STUFF to teach pre-k and kindergarten it is mind boggling. It is so different from when I was a kid. We just sat at desks and did worksheets. Not much fun but boy did we know to behave. If you acted like a toot you got a paddling and then you got another one at home for good measure. If you talked too much you had to sit behind the blackboard. I hate to admit it but I spent the first 3 years of school behind the blackboard. It's not easy to learn how to tell time when you can't see the clock. At the end of each blackboard is where they hung the pencil sharpeners. Every time a classmate came up to sharpen a pencil I'd take that opportunity to TALK of course! The teacher would nail me again. I'd also use those opportunities to get a classmate to tie my shoes. Another visual demonstration I wasn't privileged to see! You can't imagine how happy I was when digital clocks and velcro came about. It was just too late to save me from exile!