The school bus arriving at school on the first day. I drive to school to meet the bus at school on the first day of kindergarten for each child.
Back-to-School makes me think of different images from the different times in my life. MomCentral is offering a Gift Guide to help you with your back-to-school needs.
For me back-to-school means trying to figure out which school I was in at the time of my memory. You see I had a nomadic childhood. I was a student in 3 preschools, 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools in 2 different countries. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Can you imagine what it was like to move so often? I hope my children stay in the same schools for their entire career.
It’s a pity that all my back-to-school photos are at my parent’s house. All are old Kodak prints or Polaroids. I know I don’t have a photo from every year of school. I have scattered photos through the years.
Some stick out…the plaid dress from 2nd or 3rd grade. The starchy back-to-school clothes from Bamberger’s in New Jersey. Strangely enough I needed a set of dressy clothes for every day school wear and a uniform that was worn only once a week. Odd? I think I had a Dorothy Hamill hair-do…don’t laugh. At the time I attended the Wardlaw-Hartridge Country Day School in Plainfield. Sounds high-falutin’ doesn’t it? But back then the school was a sanctuary for some troubled kids. My bus ride to school was nightmarish. I found a steno pad notebook a few years ago. In it I had written a list of the girls who tormented me. It was a coed school, but it was the girls who were so cruel. I’d love to meet them today. Are the ____ twins still horrid people? What about ____ and ____ and even _____? I stayed at that school for about 2/3 of a year. I wasn’t sad to move back to England.
From my time in England I have many photos of my school years. Now I have no where near the number of photos that my children have of their childhood. I was explaining to my daughter how cameras only had 24 or maybe 36 films. I rarely used two rolls of films. I would plan out my vacation so that 24 films would last. Do you remember this?
The flash cube! I would snap this cube into my Girl Scout camera — I still have the camera, too.
My photos from my school in England are very blurry and washed out. You can make out the faces of the girls in my class, but I no longer remember many names. I had one formal photo taken in 8th grade with a class photo the same year. I have no other class photos from my middle school and high school years. In the photo I am about 13 or 14…a vision in loveliness. A side parting, short, page boy haircut with aviator style glasses and spots or pimples. How lovely that my only formal school photo is from my gawky teen years. Nice.
MomCentral is hosting a Back-to-School Gift Giveaway to help you with this rite of passage. Among the prizes available:
1. Lexmark Printer: Print out your student’s book reports, history essays, and science labs with this top of the line Lexmark printer. Turn in those assignments in top form. Mom and Dad might also appreciate this giveaway as well!
2. Gymboree Gift Card: Keep your little one looking stylish this school year with a gift card to Gymboree. Gymboree carries adorable clothing from newborn sizes all the way up to age 12. As for one of my favorite holidays, their Halloween shop does not disappoint with some of the cutest costumes around!
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central. Mom Central entered my name in a random drawing to win a gift to thank me for taking the time to participate
3. Shred Sled: A great way for your kids to enjoy the autumn weather, the Shred Sled combines the movements of skateboarding and snowboarding together for a unique, fun, and healthy activity for the young—and the young at heart! With four inline wheels and a concave foot deck, the rider also has much more control than a traditional skateboard.
Go to https://twurl.nl/3pr46x to check out the Giveaway from MomCentral.
