Blogs

Statistics show that one in four students in elementary schools in CMS have been bullied, while one in five high school students have been victims as well. This week staff, students and families will recognize the need for change during Bullying Awareness Week. The Stand Up! (to Bullying) campaign will teach how to spot and stop bullying in schools. Recent research shows some bullies actually enjoy watching others suffer. Awareness, education and empowerment are all tools that can help combat the problem. Teachers and support staff will receive training. Students will work on lessons to stop and prevent bullying. Looking for tips? 

It isn't just students who need to know how to avoid bullies and becoming a victim. Parents can learn from these lessons as well. Take a few minutes to do some research and review anti-bullying strategies. Sit down with your kids and share these ideas and allow for some open and honest discussion. If your child has not been a bully or a victim, chances are he or she has witnessed bullying at school. Get involved in school initiatives and support the work done there.

Teaching our children tolerance is a challenging but crucial part of parenting. Kids who learn and experience compassion at home are more likely to exhibit it with their peers and friends.  Children who feel safe at school will be more successful. Monitoring exposure to hatred and violence on television and the media is equally important.

We need to work to create a safe, respectful, compassionate environment for ourselves and others. For more information about bullying, click here.

Charlotte is a wonderful city for kids. But those with asthma might disagree. A new study released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) ranks the Queen City as seventh in the nation in terms of challenging cities to live in with asthma. Contributing factors such as air pollution, pollen counts, public smoking bans as well as the number of asthma medications used are all considered in the evaluation. Experts do not recommend moving though. Working together with doctors and pediatricians to "develop better daily asthma management plans," is the best solution. There are several local specialists who can help.

There are many ways to combat exposure to allergens at home which will help keep asthma in check. Carpeting and dust mites are two enemies in the fight against allergies and asthma. Getting rid of carpeting in the bedroom and purchasing bed and pillow covers can help. Using an air filter can also aide in keeping a room clear of allergens.

Outside of the home, the fight against allergies and asthma is tougher. We have less control over our environment. But there are some more broad based steps we can take. Educating ourselves is first on the list. Supporting research is also critical in the fight against asthma. Being proactive and organizing with communities to combat air pollution are also steps we can take. Let's work together to help remove Charlotte from the top of this list.

I have blogged before about how difficult it was for Matt and me when we were trying to find a new home here in Charlotte because of the great houses we had known and loved when we lived in Ohio. I grew up in a lovely city called Cuyahoga Falls which was known for its waterfalls, small town feel and pretty houses. It was an amazing place to grow up and I dreamt of owning a classic colonial home on a pretty green piece of land. 

 Matt, on the other hand, was raised in Highland Square with its old and stately Victorians and truly incredible craftsman homes. I would give given my right arm for one of those homes. Sadly, because of the economy and age of the homes, many of them are sold at prices that would have any Dilworth lover picking up two or three homes!  

And yes, after being outbid on a house that we loved, we built a cookie cutter house in a cookie cutter hood. I would hate to be a high school student in our old neighborhood, trying to sneak in after curfew and ended up in the neighbor’s back yard! There is almost nothing to distinguish one house from another and I felt like I was living a cookie cutter life. 

 We had plans of moving out from the day we moved in. I was like a prisoner there. People would come over and say something nice and I would cringe. The house felt like a product. It had no soul, no life, no meaning to me. When we began to peek around for houses, Matt encouraged me to wait another year and assured me that we would be able to spend much more money if we were patient. I knew it wasn’t about the cost of the home; it was about finding something that spoke to me. I wanted something old, a house that had as much character as the characters that would live inside its walls.  

Our realtor found a house, sent it over to me. I took a look and decided against it. It was exactly what we wanted in many ways. It sits on almost an acre, most of which is wooded and connected to another five acres of forest. A large creek runs through the back of the property. No matter which way you turn in the backyard, you can’t see a neighbor. Compared to the old house where I could watch my neighbor eat their morning cereal in his boxers, it seemed so perfect. 

 The moment I saw the house in person, I mentally moved in. It isn’t grand. It isn’t big. It isn’t new or fun or cool. We don’t have a massive clubhouse or a fancy entrance. It isn’t a Charlotte house, which ended up being exactly what we were looking for. You could pick it up and drop it anywhere in NE Ohio and it would feel like home.  It seems as though, after eleven years, you can take the folks out of Ohio, but you can’t take the Ohio out of folks.  

I love this house in a way that is probably slightly abnormal and that suits me just fine. It just feels like the place we were always meant to live. It fits our laid back life perfectly. I knew what kind of feeling I wanted our kids to have living here. Sure, it would be nice for them to have a 4,000 square foot home to play in, but I never wanted that much distance between us. It would have been grand to have a house that was grand, but would it ever have felt like a home? 

 My kids kick their shoes off in the foyer. Fine art is considered the massive gallery that I have in the kitchen where artwork made by little hands decorates the front of every cabinet. We don’t chase them around with a towel when they take a juice box out of the kitchen. I am blessed with hardwoods so that we can all still get along when they do spill. There is a couch in the playroom that was new before we moved and is now trashed by markers and tiny cheeto fingers.  

I am typing this blog as I rock back and forth in the corner of my dining room, humming softly.

That’s not at all true, but I think I will need a padded room soon. My destructive children have been on a mission this week to completely destroy everything around them.  

I am not naïve. As soon as their tiny boy parts showed up on the ultrasound monitor, I knew what I was in store for. I know that boys love to make a mess, but I didn’t expect them to so enjoy messing with my head! Each day, I have walked into another disaster of enormous proportion. 

 Think I am kidding?  

I love my sweet little artists. They will sit for hours and color in their playroom. Josh decided to make his art a bit more permanent this week by coloring with red in the hallway, yellow on the walls of the guest room and permanent (WHERE did he get this?) red marker on Ryan’s bedroom door. If it weren’t for magic erasers, I might have packed him up to art boarding school. Red pen was also found on the new couch in the living room. No witnesses have come forward, but a line up is in the works for when they do.

 Ryan wanted to break up a large rock and what better spot to do it than to break it apart on the cover of the hot tub? Two holes later, he was spending an hour in his room. Matt spent hours refilling and balancing the water in the hot tub just to come back out and find four little hands chucking handfuls of dirt from their “construction site” into the water.

 Neither the front nor back storm door latches anymore. This comes from little people forcing their way through them until they simply cannot latch any longer.

Ryan decided to put a toy out of Josh’s reach on the mantle. In doing so, he knocked down a framed 16x20 print of the boys, sending glass everywhere and sending mommy towards the brink of total insanity.

 Josh was so excited that Matt was pulling in the driveway that he yanked on the curtain and pulled the rod directly out of the wall.

So here I sit, making a list of just how many things need fixing or mending. Clothing and shoes are meeting their maker after hours of outdoor muddy fun. The list of things to fix is taking over. The sad part is, even Matt is getting in on the act. He decided to balance the steam mop on the dryer, not taking into account the vibrations would cause it to fall off and crack pretty much in half.

 Is it a male gene that drives them to break things or could it be that a lot of accidents just happened in one week? Either way, I have wrapped them all up in bubble wrap and tape for now- the boys, not the fragile stuff.

 Wanted to pass along this funny site that my friend, Ericka, found! I thought it was a scream! Hope you like it too!

 http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/11/baby-care-tips-of-day.html

Parenting is a tough job and sometimes we can't do it alone. Many children from one parent families need some help from the community and finding a mentor for a boy or girl is an important step in bridging that gap. Some very fortunate CMS students now have mentors from the FBI who will work with a group of young boys to teach them lessons about friendship, respect, honor and hard work. Positive role models are essential in raising well-adjusted kids.

Speaking of positive role models, the Charlotte Mommies are buzzing on the topic of "telling the truth" about Santa. Take our poll and tell us what you tell your children. I didn't have a choice in telling our daughter about Santa; my husband beat me to the punch. Last year when she started to clue in to sign offs from Santa presents that mysteriously looked just like mom's handwriting, our daughter cornered my husband and demanded the truth. He gave it to her straight; there was no Santa.

Unlike some kids, she took it with a grain of salt and without a lot of tears. I was devastated and would have liked to continue the myth. Why? Because it makes my heart warm. Now she has been a sport and will not spoil it for her younger brother, no matter how many times he steals her lego pieces. Yesterday at South Park Mall our son decided he was too old for a picture with Santa, but not too old to share his wish list and remind Santa of how good he has been this year. I fear the "truth" question will come again soon.

Tell us how you handle the "Is Santa Claus real?" question with your children.

Many parents with children in the CMS system might consider changing schools now that the school board has made its final decision on various magnet programs. Several magnet programs will be removed all together, while others will be modified and/or moved to other schools. Despite parents' vocal objections to these changes, the 2009/2010 year will be very different for many students. Some critics say inner city schools bear the brunt of these changes and that underprivileged students will be affected most.

Charlotte Mecklenburg schools have a history of initiating great changes. In the past, many students were bused to schools far from their homes in order to desegregate the school system. Today parents will bus or drive their children to learning centers miles away in order to attend a school of their choice; most often it is a magnet school. Parents will also go to great lengths to place their children in a good school. Many will and do consider moving to an entirely different district.

Having moved twice in the past two years, we are reluctant to even consider changing schools again. In a city full of transplants, like us, its is a subject touched by many. But we will entertain the idea of shuffling our kids to a different school if it means they will be more successful there. We had hoped to keep our kids in their specific magnet "stream" until high school. Now we must reconsider our plans.

What will you do with your children if their magnet program changes? If you are considering changing schools, there are helpful tips on choosing the best school for your child.

I know many of you will be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday. You will hopefully be enjoying quality time with family and friends, fantastic food and probably smoke-free air. You see, we have come to a point where North Carolina is one of few states that still allows smoking in restaurants and bars. Assuming you are leaving the state, it is likely that you will be visiting a place that has recognized just how dangerous secondhand smoke can be to your health and the health of your family, and have passed local or statewide legislation to protect their residents and visitors.

Did you know that Mecklenburg County and other cities and towns across North Carolina are not even allowed to go smoke free, even if they want to? We have a law (pushed through 15 years ago by the tobacco industry) that specifically takes away power from local elected officials to protect their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke. This is unfortunate on so many levels! Polls show clearly that the people of Mecklenburg County  want smoke-free air. A poll conducted in 2006 by an independent research firm found that 76% of Mecklenburg County citizens support laws that would make all restaurants and bars smoke-free.

As the Great American Smokeout, a national day of observance started by the American Cancer Society approaches on November 20^th, please take a minute to think about what you can do to help protect your family and friends from the dangers of tobacco use. Have a friend who needs to quit? Direct them to the free North Carolina Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Would you like to visit a local restaurant with your family without putting anyone's health at risk? Visit GoForAtmosphere.com for a list of local smoke-free restaurants.

Join local efforts to support smoke-free air by visiting SmokeFreeMecklenburg.org. Call your state house and senate representatives and tell them you want to see a smoke free Mecklenburg County in 2009. Tell them that Mecklenburg County citizens want to be thankful for the right to breathe clean air next Thanksgiving.

Statistics show that one in four students in elementary schools in CMS have been bullied, while one in five high school students have been victims as well. This week staff, students and families will recognize the need for change during Bullying Awareness Week. The Stand Up! (to Bullying) campaign will teach how to spot and stop bullying in schools. Recent research shows some bullies actually enjoy watching others suffer. Awareness, education and empowerment are all tools that can help combat the problem. Teachers and support staff will receive training. Students will work on lessons to stop and prevent bullying. Looking for tips? 

It isn't just students who need to know how to avoid bullies and becoming a victim. Parents can learn from these lessons as well. Take a few minutes to do some research and review anti-bullying strategies. Sit down with your kids and share these ideas and allow for some open and honest discussion. If your child has not been a bully or a victim, chances are he or she has witnessed bullying at school. Get involved in school initiatives and support the work done there.

Teaching our children tolerance is a challenging but crucial part of parenting. Kids who learn and experience compassion at home are more likely to exhibit it with their peers and friends.  Children who feel safe at school will be more successful. Monitoring exposure to hatred and violence on television and the media is equally important.

We need to work to create a safe, respectful, compassionate environment for ourselves and others. For more information about bullying, click here.

Charlotte is a wonderful city for kids. But those with asthma might disagree. A new study released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) ranks the Queen City as seventh in the nation in terms of challenging cities to live in with asthma. Contributing factors such as air pollution, pollen counts, public smoking bans as well as the number of asthma medications used are all considered in the evaluation. Experts do not recommend moving though. Working together with doctors and pediatricians to "develop better daily asthma management plans," is the best solution. There are several local specialists who can help.

There are many ways to combat exposure to allergens at home which will help keep asthma in check. Carpeting and dust mites are two enemies in the fight against allergies and asthma. Getting rid of carpeting in the bedroom and purchasing bed and pillow covers can help. Using an air filter can also aide in keeping a room clear of allergens.

Outside of the home, the fight against allergies and asthma is tougher. We have less control over our environment. But there are some more broad based steps we can take. Educating ourselves is first on the list. Supporting research is also critical in the fight against asthma. Being proactive and organizing with communities to combat air pollution are also steps we can take. Let's work together to help remove Charlotte from the top of this list.

I have blogged before about how difficult it was for Matt and me when we were trying to find a new home here in Charlotte because of the great houses we had known and loved when we lived in Ohio. I grew up in a lovely city called Cuyahoga Falls which was known for its waterfalls, small town feel and pretty houses. It was an amazing place to grow up and I dreamt of owning a classic colonial home on a pretty green piece of land. 

 Matt, on the other hand, was raised in Highland Square with its old and stately Victorians and truly incredible craftsman homes. I would give given my right arm for one of those homes. Sadly, because of the economy and age of the homes, many of them are sold at prices that would have any Dilworth lover picking up two or three homes!  

And yes, after being outbid on a house that we loved, we built a cookie cutter house in a cookie cutter hood. I would hate to be a high school student in our old neighborhood, trying to sneak in after curfew and ended up in the neighbor’s back yard! There is almost nothing to distinguish one house from another and I felt like I was living a cookie cutter life. 

 We had plans of moving out from the day we moved in. I was like a prisoner there. People would come over and say something nice and I would cringe. The house felt like a product. It had no soul, no life, no meaning to me. When we began to peek around for houses, Matt encouraged me to wait another year and assured me that we would be able to spend much more money if we were patient. I knew it wasn’t about the cost of the home; it was about finding something that spoke to me. I wanted something old, a house that had as much character as the characters that would live inside its walls.  

Our realtor found a house, sent it over to me. I took a look and decided against it. It was exactly what we wanted in many ways. It sits on almost an acre, most of which is wooded and connected to another five acres of forest. A large creek runs through the back of the property. No matter which way you turn in the backyard, you can’t see a neighbor. Compared to the old house where I could watch my neighbor eat their morning cereal in his boxers, it seemed so perfect. 

 The moment I saw the house in person, I mentally moved in. It isn’t grand. It isn’t big. It isn’t new or fun or cool. We don’t have a massive clubhouse or a fancy entrance. It isn’t a Charlotte house, which ended up being exactly what we were looking for. You could pick it up and drop it anywhere in NE Ohio and it would feel like home.  It seems as though, after eleven years, you can take the folks out of Ohio, but you can’t take the Ohio out of folks.  

I love this house in a way that is probably slightly abnormal and that suits me just fine. It just feels like the place we were always meant to live. It fits our laid back life perfectly. I knew what kind of feeling I wanted our kids to have living here. Sure, it would be nice for them to have a 4,000 square foot home to play in, but I never wanted that much distance between us. It would have been grand to have a house that was grand, but would it ever have felt like a home? 

 My kids kick their shoes off in the foyer. Fine art is considered the massive gallery that I have in the kitchen where artwork made by little hands decorates the front of every cabinet. We don’t chase them around with a towel when they take a juice box out of the kitchen. I am blessed with hardwoods so that we can all still get along when they do spill. There is a couch in the playroom that was new before we moved and is now trashed by markers and tiny cheeto fingers.  

I am typing this blog as I rock back and forth in the corner of my dining room, humming softly.

That’s not at all true, but I think I will need a padded room soon. My destructive children have been on a mission this week to completely destroy everything around them.  

I am not naïve. As soon as their tiny boy parts showed up on the ultrasound monitor, I knew what I was in store for. I know that boys love to make a mess, but I didn’t expect them to so enjoy messing with my head! Each day, I have walked into another disaster of enormous proportion. 

 Think I am kidding?  

I love my sweet little artists. They will sit for hours and color in their playroom. Josh decided to make his art a bit more permanent this week by coloring with red in the hallway, yellow on the walls of the guest room and permanent (WHERE did he get this?) red marker on Ryan’s bedroom door. If it weren’t for magic erasers, I might have packed him up to art boarding school. Red pen was also found on the new couch in the living room. No witnesses have come forward, but a line up is in the works for when they do.

 Ryan wanted to break up a large rock and what better spot to do it than to break it apart on the cover of the hot tub? Two holes later, he was spending an hour in his room. Matt spent hours refilling and balancing the water in the hot tub just to come back out and find four little hands chucking handfuls of dirt from their “construction site” into the water.

 Neither the front nor back storm door latches anymore. This comes from little people forcing their way through them until they simply cannot latch any longer.

Ryan decided to put a toy out of Josh’s reach on the mantle. In doing so, he knocked down a framed 16x20 print of the boys, sending glass everywhere and sending mommy towards the brink of total insanity.

 Josh was so excited that Matt was pulling in the driveway that he yanked on the curtain and pulled the rod directly out of the wall.

So here I sit, making a list of just how many things need fixing or mending. Clothing and shoes are meeting their maker after hours of outdoor muddy fun. The list of things to fix is taking over. The sad part is, even Matt is getting in on the act. He decided to balance the steam mop on the dryer, not taking into account the vibrations would cause it to fall off and crack pretty much in half.

 Is it a male gene that drives them to break things or could it be that a lot of accidents just happened in one week? Either way, I have wrapped them all up in bubble wrap and tape for now- the boys, not the fragile stuff.

 Wanted to pass along this funny site that my friend, Ericka, found! I thought it was a scream! Hope you like it too!

 http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/11/baby-care-tips-of-day.html

Parenting is a tough job and sometimes we can't do it alone. Many children from one parent families need some help from the community and finding a mentor for a boy or girl is an important step in bridging that gap. Some very fortunate CMS students now have mentors from the FBI who will work with a group of young boys to teach them lessons about friendship, respect, honor and hard work. Positive role models are essential in raising well-adjusted kids.

Speaking of positive role models, the Charlotte Mommies are buzzing on the topic of "telling the truth" about Santa. Take our poll and tell us what you tell your children. I didn't have a choice in telling our daughter about Santa; my husband beat me to the punch. Last year when she started to clue in to sign offs from Santa presents that mysteriously looked just like mom's handwriting, our daughter cornered my husband and demanded the truth. He gave it to her straight; there was no Santa.

Unlike some kids, she took it with a grain of salt and without a lot of tears. I was devastated and would have liked to continue the myth. Why? Because it makes my heart warm. Now she has been a sport and will not spoil it for her younger brother, no matter how many times he steals her lego pieces. Yesterday at South Park Mall our son decided he was too old for a picture with Santa, but not too old to share his wish list and remind Santa of how good he has been this year. I fear the "truth" question will come again soon.

Tell us how you handle the "Is Santa Claus real?" question with your children.

Many parents with children in the CMS system might consider changing schools now that the school board has made its final decision on various magnet programs. Several magnet programs will be removed all together, while others will be modified and/or moved to other schools. Despite parents' vocal objections to these changes, the 2009/2010 year will be very different for many students. Some critics say inner city schools bear the brunt of these changes and that underprivileged students will be affected most.

Charlotte Mecklenburg schools have a history of initiating great changes. In the past, many students were bused to schools far from their homes in order to desegregate the school system. Today parents will bus or drive their children to learning centers miles away in order to attend a school of their choice; most often it is a magnet school. Parents will also go to great lengths to place their children in a good school. Many will and do consider moving to an entirely different district.

Having moved twice in the past two years, we are reluctant to even consider changing schools again. In a city full of transplants, like us, its is a subject touched by many. But we will entertain the idea of shuffling our kids to a different school if it means they will be more successful there. We had hoped to keep our kids in their specific magnet "stream" until high school. Now we must reconsider our plans.

What will you do with your children if their magnet program changes? If you are considering changing schools, there are helpful tips on choosing the best school for your child.

I know many of you will be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday. You will hopefully be enjoying quality time with family and friends, fantastic food and probably smoke-free air. You see, we have come to a point where North Carolina is one of few states that still allows smoking in restaurants and bars. Assuming you are leaving the state, it is likely that you will be visiting a place that has recognized just how dangerous secondhand smoke can be to your health and the health of your family, and have passed local or statewide legislation to protect their residents and visitors.

Did you know that Mecklenburg County and other cities and towns across North Carolina are not even allowed to go smoke free, even if they want to? We have a law (pushed through 15 years ago by the tobacco industry) that specifically takes away power from local elected officials to protect their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke. This is unfortunate on so many levels! Polls show clearly that the people of Mecklenburg County  want smoke-free air. A poll conducted in 2006 by an independent research firm found that 76% of Mecklenburg County citizens support laws that would make all restaurants and bars smoke-free.

As the Great American Smokeout, a national day of observance started by the American Cancer Society approaches on November 20^th, please take a minute to think about what you can do to help protect your family and friends from the dangers of tobacco use. Have a friend who needs to quit? Direct them to the free North Carolina Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Would you like to visit a local restaurant with your family without putting anyone's health at risk? Visit GoForAtmosphere.com for a list of local smoke-free restaurants.

Join local efforts to support smoke-free air by visiting SmokeFreeMecklenburg.org. Call your state house and senate representatives and tell them you want to see a smoke free Mecklenburg County in 2009. Tell them that Mecklenburg County citizens want to be thankful for the right to breathe clean air next Thanksgiving.