Category Archives: Children

Sharpen those crayons & colored pencils

Posted on September 19, 2015 by bakrawiec

All the credit for inspiring this post goes to my “Outer Circle” friend Pat, who piqued my interest in learning about the Adult Coloring Book genre. (Who knew it existed? Not I. Now I do.) A quick check of Amazon … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Coloring Books, Anti-Coloring Books, Anti-Stress, Childhood, Children, Relaxation, Retirement, Transitions | 2 Comments

Happy Grandparents Day–Part 2

Posted on September 13, 2015 by bakrawiec

An only child and one of the original “latchkey kids,” I came home from primary school to an empty apartment, save for my sidekick dog and Kate Smith, whom I considered my surrogate grandmother. True, Kate Smith was present to … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Grandparents, Latchkey Kids, Retirement | Leave a comment

Happy Grandparents Day–Part 1

Posted on September 12, 2015 by bakrawiec

Tomorrow is Grandparents Day– for some, a day to gratefully celebrate others (biological elders or not) who have “grandparented” them; for grateful others, to be the ones being celebrated as “grandparents.” Whichever category you are in, it is good to … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Death, Dying, Family, Retirement, Transitions, Writing | Leave a comment

“first day of no school” –one heart revels; another heart breaks

Posted on September 10, 2015 by bakrawiec

“first day of no school” How those words made me smile when I read them yesterday, mid-morning. They were messaged to me, thanks to Twitter, from a new Outer Circle friend, reflecting on her retirement. As was true for me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Parents, Retirement, School | 2 Comments

A little birdie told me

Posted on August 24, 2015 by bakrawiec

Some folks consider themselves connoisseurs of the finer things in life, like fancy wines or jewels. Allergic to wines and really rather simple of taste, if I am a connoisseur of anything—it is of words. Not that I am a … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Expressions, Language, Parents, Words | Leave a comment

game called on account of darkness

Posted on August 19, 2015 by bakrawiec

When our son started playing Little League baseball and International youth soccer many years ago, the neighborhood parks didn’t have artificial lights. And so it happened now and then that the games were called on account of darkness. I thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Employment, Playfulness, Retirement | 2 Comments

cleaning up my own messes

Posted on August 18, 2015 by bakrawiec

Having been privileged these last ten years to interact with a thousand or more children transitioning into their school years, I‘ve seen up-close what R. Fulghum observed. From social behavior (playing fairly, keeping one’s hands to oneself, etc.), to personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Kindergarten, Lessons, Lifelong Learning, Retirement, Transitions | 2 Comments

50 unused sick days: why I left them

Posted on August 14, 2015 by bakrawiec

Piggybacking on the last post: Yes! Despite my financial advisor’s advice to the contrary, I left fifty unused sick days on the table, in part, for all the reasons explained previously. However, if I’m honest with myself, there was yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Employment, Lesson plans, Retirement, Students, Substitutes, Teachers, Teaching | Leave a comment

Biographically speaking…

Posted on August 12, 2015 by bakrawiec

As mentioned in the prior post, every librarian has a unique vision for developing the collection under his or her stewardship. In my case, when I started in the library from which I am retiring, I appraised the collection, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Education, LIbrarians, Library, Library Media Specialist, Reading, Retirement | Leave a comment

morning after: lame duck librarian

Posted on August 11, 2015 by bakrawiec

Assuming that the Board appointed my replacement last night, I’m even more officially a lame duck librarian this morning. Meanwhile, until my work account ends on August 31st, I continue receiving email notifications concerning boxes upon boxes of new books … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Education, Employment, Librarian, LIbrarians, Library, Library Media Specialist, Retirement, School, Seniors, Teachers, Teaching, Transitions | Leave a comment