Category Archives: Family

Thank you, Del Oro… and Goodbye for now

I met Morgan (now my wife of almost 18 years) at Cal Poly.  She had just graduated high school and as we were getting to know each other, she would often tell these fond stories of what seemed to me like a mythical place.  She claimed to have gone to a high school where studentsContinue reading “Thank you, Del Oro… and Goodbye for now”

Understanding vs. Appreciating

I read a case study this week that ended up leading to some great discussion with a few colleagues. The study told the story of a 13 year old Vietnamese boy named Khoi who had lived with his mother in Seattle for the last 8 months. Khoi was suspended from school for 5 days forContinue reading “Understanding vs. Appreciating”

The Engagement Continuum

The focus this week has been on engaging parents and families.  Part of the conversation that has been sticking with me is the distinction between parent participation, parent involvement and parent engagement.  When you think about the words participation, involvement, and engagement as they relate to relationships, they have a very different connotation.  I don’tContinue reading “The Engagement Continuum”

Ice Cream Before School

It started when I was 4 years old.  My parents would take my sister and me out for ice cream the day before school started.  We’d go to an ice cream shop called Swanson’s.  I’d look over all of the flavors pretending to have a difficult time making a decision (Everyone in my family knewContinue reading “Ice Cream Before School”

Swimmers, you’re being watched

My two oldest kids swim for the Loomis Basin Dolphins.  Since I wasn’t a swimmer growing up it has taken me a while to learn the ins and outs of how this whole swim team thing works.  It’s a whole different culture with its own unique language and norms.  This year though. I’m fully in. Continue reading “Swimmers, you’re being watched”

I can only hold 5 acorns

Bracken and Carson were practicing soccer, Cormick was climbing around on the playground, and Anders was contemplating life, limitations and priorities under the oak trees. I stood and watched our 18 month old gathering acorns for about 30 minutes.  His process was simple at first.  He crouched down and used both of his little handsContinue reading “I can only hold 5 acorns”

Those creepy little pictures

I got my school pictures a few weeks ago.  I’m never sure what to do with these.  You’ve got the massive 8×10 that your grandma used to hang on her wall – this was cute when I was 10 but probably a little weird now that I’m 37.  You’ve got the two 5x7s that mayContinue reading “Those creepy little pictures”

A story about a fridge

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to share a story about a refrigerator magnet conversation I recently had with my kids.  The room was beautifully chaotic as families and friends (some as young as 2 weeks and others as young as 80+ years) enjoyed breakfast together.  Check out the story and the pics ofContinue reading “A story about a fridge”

We’ve got HOMEWORK!!!

My oldest two kids came into my classroom yesterday after school with giant smiles.  “Daddy, we’ve got HOMEWORK!!!”  They were ecstatic.  They couldn’t wait to sit down and get started on it.  They set themselves up at a small desk in the back of the room, carefully got out their homework and went right toContinue reading “We’ve got HOMEWORK!!!”