It’s Wedding Day for my life-long friend Emily today and the grand finale (I think) of my bridesmaid career!!! Today’s list of links and likes is going to be quick because I’ve got to go lost 15 pounds before I get my hair and make-up done at 10AM ;), but, there’s still some good stuff for ya. Have a great Saturday!!
As always, remember that this post does contain affiliate links. That shouldn’t affect you at all, but it does mean that by buying through my links, you’re giving me a tiny little bit of commission. You can read more under Disclosure in the sidebar. Thank you!!!
Links:
“This Is What Work-Life Balance Looks Like at a Company with 100% Retention of Moms”
“A Public Letter to the Guys I Overheard Talking about Their ‘Teacher Friend'”
“10 Reasons a Hot Mess Mom is the Best Friend Every Woman Needs”
“Thoughts on Election Frenzy” – well put, Rachel
#TrumpBookReport Tweets – politics aside, this is amazing
“Since When Should 4-Year Olds Spend Six Hours a Day in School?” – this is a topic I feel pretty strongly about (I’ve even got a post for Monday on a related subject), but I imagine many would disagree with me. I’d love to hear your – kind – thoughts.
And a cute, free printable calendar just for fun from Abby at Just a Girl and Her Blog.
Likes:
This week, the author of Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity was interviewed on The Simple Show podcast. I LOVED everything she said and resonated with so much of her story – especially the parts about marrying young and doing the hard work of “growing up” together. Definitely worth a listen – and I added the book to my “to be read” list as well.
I’ve long been a fan of May Designs’ notebooks, but their new Patterns with Purpose Collection takes the cake. In honor of National Down Syndrome Month, CEO Mica May worked with her son’s school – Rise School – to have kids with special needs actually design all of these beautiful covers. Even better, 100% of proceeds go back to that school and other initiatives to raise awareness provide better education for these children. I mean, I can’t think of a better way to shop. (I’m going to get Sam a mini notebook book (only $12) – the one with the paper planes – for his stocking and use it as an opportunity to talk to him about kids that are different from him. And… I might have to get myself a classic prayer and gratitude ($18) in Sweet + Sassy.)
I really like this BP. Wrap Front Pullover from Nordstrom. #waitingforasale
And this Bean Sweater Fleece Pullover looks classic and heavenly.
I love this top from Anthro – and this one that’s a little less expensive (+ 40% off) from Loft.
I wore this 3/4 sleeve ruffle hem dress to the rehearsal dinner last night (it was only $19.99 folks) from SheIn with these earrings (a gift from my mom) and got tons of compliments on my outfit!
Speaking of my mom, she bought Nora this adorable little pumpkin shirt and these leggings from Gymboree. The outfit is super cute, on major sale ($9 and $7 plus an extra 50% off), and I think there’s still time to order it before Halloween!
And finally, if you missed my post yesterday where my sister styled and modeled the Remi Swing Dress from Cents of Style be sure to check it out. *Apparently the internet broke yesterday, but it’s back up and running now and – this weekend only – you can get the dress for just $21.95 shipped with the code DRESS2016.
Ok! That ought to do it!!
E
P.S. If you aren’t following me on Instagram, I’d love for you to join me over there too! In addition to posting random pictures of life – like photos from the wedding this weekend – I’ve also started a hashtag called #samandscoutclassroom with little updates and ideas of what I’m currently doing with my students. There’s some great stuff there – if I do say so myself – for those of you that wish I was better about sharing teaching resources here.
As a secondary teacher I think that academics are sooo important. And I know very little about early childhood education. BUT what I do know leads me to believe that we are heading in a scary direction as a society. I would much rather my son knew how to be kind, communicate with others, be creative, and solve problems- all of which can be accomplished through play, than be reading and doing algebra in first grade. Where I live, academics are a huge focus to the point where I worry about finding a preschool program and early elementary program that values play over academics. I know home school/private is always an option, but I truly think that play-based learning would probably be better for most kids.
I make no secret about my contempt for Pre-K. There has been no study that has shown long lasting educational value to these programs, and it’s been my experience that many parents use the free programs as a daycare catch-all for children who aren’t always benefiting from the service and are sometimes a disruption to the students who might.
And yet…
My mom watches my kids three days a week, and we’ve wondered: what happens if there’s a third? Do we saddle her with a 4 year old, 3 year old and an infant knowing that our oldest would thrive in a pre-K environment? At 3, he loves interaction. He loves to play. He loves to sing songs. He knows the alphabet. He can count to 20 on his own. He’s potty trained. It’s highly unlikely that what they will do is SO academic or tedious that he wouldn’t enjoy the time with friends or new-to-him toys or access to a playground on the regular.
Clearly, it’s possible we are borrowing trouble that may never come to be. But I’ve found myself rethinking my stance–not because I value pre-K, but because I value the help and sanity of those who have offered it to me. And even though I don’t believe the program is super helpful, I’ve seen enough to believe I don’t think it’s detrimental. (Obviously, this is in regard to our local pre-K program. I have no idea how academic other pre-K programs may or may not be.)