The Tiny Brains Are Growing Bigger

When Adam was a baby, Robert and I would joke that he had "tiny brains" and no matter how fussy or difficult he was, we were smarter and bigger. We would compare his brain to our dog, Jack, watching for the day that Adam grew as smart as Jack. Then we watched as Adam became a little more smarter than Jack-dog. Then alot smarter than Jack-dog (which is about the point that Aunt Megan rescued Jack from our home and the little terrorizer who always cast Jack in the role of the dragon he was trying to slay. And yes, I have watched Marley and Me and felt a twinge of guilt at that part of the movie when they decided NOT to give away the dog!)

Well, in the last month, we've discovered that Adam's "tiny brains" are not so tiny anymore. We applied for him to enter the CLUE program in Memphis City Schools (the gifted education program) and he went through the IQ testing. He qualified and began the new CLUE preschool class yesterday at Downtown Elementary. His best friends, Walt and CJ, were already in the class and gave him a great welcome. He came home singing about continents. I said, "so you learned about continents today?" He gave me his puzzled look and asked, "How did you learn about continents before me?"

I know it won't be long before I'm wondering if his tiny brain has surpassed mine. I hope I treasure this time as much as you possibly can!

Adam, before Clue, standing at his growth chart. 43" tall today!

Adam with his buddies, CJ and Walt, after Clue.

Peabody Kindergarten 2010

We had a great dinner and discussion last night with about 6 families in Midtown who are considering sending their 4 year olds to Kindergarten at Peabody next fall. (2 more families couldn't attend, but have pretty much committed to Peabody.) Ms. Jones, the principal, and Ms. Malland, a Kindergarten teacher, both came to share information with parents and answer questions.

It was exciting for me to see these families and hear what their decision making process has been like. It is also interesting to hear the views of both newcomers to Memphis, and long-time Memphians or private educated versus public educated parents. Everyone comes to a discussion like this with such different backgrounds and different values. I love it and love the diversity of opinions it brings.

I think we will gather again in January after folks have had a chance to observe the Kindergarten classrooms and attend the Open House. Then we'll see what people are planning to do! There is definitely a lot of buzz about Peabody around Midtown now. I'm glad people are starting to consider it!

Memphis Matters: Peabody Elementary (Part 2)

An hour later, the improv show was over and people began to get up out of their seats. The couple who had shared their Peabody story came up to Robert and I and thanked me for sharing. They were excited to hear about the Parents Network and asked me about a few families in the neighborhood who they thought would be interested in it. I already knew these names and knew that one had actually said their child would be attending Kindergarten next fall with Adam.

Then another woman walked up and said, "You're living my life! Or what was my life 20 years ago." I said, "Well, please enlighten me about your life!" She said, "20 years ago, no one I knew was sending their child to our neighborhood school, Snowden. We decided it was the only option we were comfortable with and sent our first child to Kindergarten. More and more families in Evergreen began sending their kids to Snowden and we had a good principal who became a great principal because she really listened to the parents. My 3 children attended Snowden through 8th grade and then graduated from Central High. They are phenomenal, well-rounded adults and all had excellent college opportunities. Their friends who attended private schools were at most times doing the same homework projects my kids were doing, and most times using the same textbooks. But what my kids learned from being in school with diverse classmates, both culturally and socio-economically was part of an education you can't pay for." We continued talking about our experiences and soon enough said our goodbyes.

As Robert and I were walking out the doors, another woman ran up to us and said "You rock!" We kind of laughed and said, "What?" She said, "I have 5 kids. Ten years ago when my daughter was starting school, we lived in Cooper Young. We went to Peabody to meet with the principal and my daughter went to the bathroom. She came back crying, saying that someone had been mean to her in the bathroom. Then she asked us, 'why is no one else white?' We left Peabody that day, quietly packed up our house and cowardly moved to Bartlett. I'm proud of what you are doing today and wish that I had the courage to do that ten years ago. I hope people follow in this movement. Best of luck to you!"

To say that this evening had been a strange, surreal experience would be an understatement. But it affirmed to me that Peabody Matters. Memphis Matters. Here's praying...

Memphis Matters: Peabody Elementary (Part 1)

The other day I received a facebook invitation to an event in my neighborhood. A new improv group was going to be performing a show called Memphis Matters where they take situations from the audience, related to living in Memphis, then the actors interpret the scene. Robert and I happened to have a childless night while the boys were at Nana's, so we decided to go. After a nice dinner at Cafe Ole, we headed to First Congo to the little theater.

About half way through the show, a woman two rows in front of us raised her hand to share her Memphis experience. She said, "My husband and I moved here a few years ago from Montana. We bought a house across the street from Peabody Elementary and friends bought us a nice porch swing for our front porch. My husband and I drink our coffee and sit on that porch swing every morning. I watch those wonderful teachers out of the front steps and the wonderful principal greeting all of the students, but I have to wonder 'Where are all of the white children?' As I watch hundreds of children walk into the building, I just wonder 'where is the diversity?' and it just breaks my heart. I'm not from Memphis. Where I am from, everyone lives in peace with each other. This separation of races is something I am not familiar with and it just doesn't seem right."

The director summarized what the woman shared then let the actors interpret it. The first actor (and the only one I can remember, unfortunately) pretended to have a paint brush as he stroked the air saying, "color! color! Where is all the color?"

For those who know me and know the journey I have been on for the last few years, you would know that this experience stirred up some wild emotion in me! I could hardly sit still on my seat (which is probably why I can't remember much of the actors' interpretation!) and my heart was about the beat out of my chest! When the actors finished and the director was looking for another Memphis experience to interpret, my hand shot up. And she called on me.

With emotion in my voice, I shared, "My husband and I moved to Memphis 4 years ago with our 6 month old. When we decided to live in the city, many people shared their opinions that we probably wouldn't last in the city once our children started school. We should consider moving out to the suburbs or start saving to pay for private school. As a mom and a public educator, I thought this was wrong and wondered why.... Today, I find myself on the Leadership Team at Peabody Elementary working with Ms. Jones and the teachers to partner with the community more closely. I helped start the Cooper Young Parents Network a year ago so that young families choosing to live in the city know they are not alone and can easily find community with others in the same life stage. And now, a byproduct of starting the parents network is that several Cooper Young families are choosing to send our kids to Kindergarten at Peabody next fall. And the 50 families, and nearly 100 kids, mostly who are not school age yet, in the parents network can begin to make plans to attend Peabody, making it a more diverse community."

The director, who happens to have two young children and live in the neighborhood (but has not yet joined the CYPN) summarized my statements this way, "So, wait a minute, you have started a movement to get neighborhood kids - who are mostly caucasian - to attend Peabody?" I said, "Well, the Parents Network is fueling a movement I guess. Hopefully as several families commit to attend to Peabody next fall, the other families in the network will follow and it will become easier for each class afterwards." The actors then interpreted it like this:

Actor 1: pointing in every different direction "This goes here. And this one goes here. And this one goes with this one..."

Actor 2: like a train conductor, "GET ON BOARD! Come on - it's a MOVEMENT! GET ON BOARD!"

Actor 3: bending down, turning to the left and yelling with hands cupped over his mouth "KEEP GOING! KEEP GOING! Don't stop! KEEP GOING!"

Whew! That was amazing and a little surreal. Little did I know what that "discussion" would spark in the conversations after the show! To be continued...

Preschool

My 4 year old, Adam, has started Pre-K this week. It has been a pretty major transition for him (and me). He's been attending a Parents Day Out program twice a week since he was one. But this Pre-K program is 5 days a week from 7:15-2:15. Pretty intense for preschool if you ask me. But, it's a free program through our school district and it's at our neighborhood daycare center just a few blocks from our house. I've known the director for a few years and want to give the program a fair chance.

Adam has had some bad mornings, but when I pick him up from school, he's very happy. I've realized that he's more of a Mama's Boy than I realized. The evening of Day 1, we were getting ready for bed and he said, "Mom. You're kinda like my best friend." Then he gave me a big hug. Well, I thought that was about the sweetest thing he's ever said to me.

On Day 2, we all overslept and Robert was already gone for an early meeting. So, we were rushed to get ready for school. Adam cried the entire time. It was tough to be nursing the baby, while at the same time talk him down from his fit, get him dressed for school and make him eat breakfast. All in about 15 minutes! If there were ever a time I looked like supermom, it was then. I think being rushed set him into a very emotional mood. When I picked him up after school, another mom told me that during story time, Adam just blurted out "I just really love my mom!"

Day 3, he cried again when it was time for school. This time Robert took him. Adam came running back to the door to say goodbye to me again. Later on, he told me that I had forgotten to sing "O Happy Day" which is a song I sang to him the morning before to get him to calm down. I forgot that I had told him "O Happy Day" was our morning song, while "God is so good" is our bedtime song. When I picked him up, he was happy and knew a few names of new friends. Later in the day while we were playing, he said, "Mom, I love you more than Jack-dog." I replied, "Adam, I love you more than Jack-dog."