Garden School Tattler

Today is Grandparents' Tea. It's been a furious week talking about families, genetics, look alikes, names, who's who, etc. Children love their families, and have a special place in their hearts for grandparents. We've done a few special things this time. Our staff is really quite wonderful and we have worked so hard to make this a nice occasion.

What some of you don't see is what goes on behind the scenes.

It's been a tough week for me because of extended family news.

Miss Molly was out a good deal of the week because of William's paw.

Miss Jana has furiously made a very personal and very spectacular effort to clean the school. She has an eye for order and she has tried to make sense out of nonsense and the place looks marvelous! I'm so impressed and so grateful. I don't think our little place has ever looked better and it was her idea and her work and talent.

Miss Kelly has made some wonderful surprises for grandparents today. It is one hundred percent her doing and her invention and her work. She is such a dedicated teacher. We are so grateful for her kind quiet style. She's a real asset to the school and our achievement because she seems to like us too. She has been with us nearly a year and it seems like that year has just flown by.

Mrs. St. Louis has been exhausted holding me up through menopause and with her left hand has been making wonderful breakthroughs in listening skills with her children. The first and primary goal of a good teacher is to teach the children begin to listen. It has only taken a few weeks, but what is 40+ years of teaching experience for?

Miss Annie has taken a real serious interest in her brief but necessary (for us) job. She is finishing a very difficult senior semester and working full time at Angelo's as well.

Edith and I shared some thoughts at the Blood Center yesterday. We donate platelets to Cancer patients and we talked about our absolutely wonderful little world and how much we will be able to do this year. With a staff like ours, the sky is the limit.

The older girls are growing up so fast, they will be running the place for us by Christmas, and that's OK. It's a community, and this is where they learn to manage, to lead, to make their mark. I find it remarkable how quickly these older girls come to the aid of the little littles. When teachers stand back and let children help one another, it's a whole school day of lessons. These first grade girls will have this great giving talent for the rest of their lives. Sure they quibble about one another, but they keep it among themselves, and that's family. I have never loved a group as much.

Next week we start Halloween. Report cards are ready. Field trips will be announced, and the beat goes on!