Janet's Blog

Years ago, when I first started teaching kindergarten at Trinity Lutheran School in Traverse City, Michigan, I taught my students this song:       Blue, blue sky, oh, I can see the sky.      God gave me eyes so I can see the sky. Blue, blue sky, in the fall, near the North Platte River. It was a great song, with a verse for each of the five senses. But this verse, at least, was dead wrong, because the sky in not always blue. In fact, in many locations, including northern Michigan, the sky is rarely blue. I wonder how many early childhood educators expect their students to color the sky blue, with a yellow sunshine in the corner, and maybe a few puffy, white clouds. And if you ask a class full of normal five-year-olds, will any be observant enough, and brave enough, to say that the sky is sometimes gray or black or orange, or any color except the expected blue? I don't remember when my thinking shifted, but by the time I was teaching preschoo...

Bill and I went to a concert last week. This shouldn't be big news. Throughout our married life we have attended dozens of concerts--sort of "together." This may have been the first time, though, that we attended a concert of my choosing. Last week's concert. When we lived in Traverse City, Michigan, Bill was the assistant manager of an ice hockey arena that also hosted several big-name concerts each year. During the summer, when most concerts were held, I helped out in the front office occasionally, organizing files and selling tickets. Bill was sometimes elected to introduce the performer of the evening, but no matter what, he was required to work at every concert, making sure that the entertainers and their entourage had everything they needed. It wasn't always easy, because some of the people were extremely demanding and downright rude. As a perk of Bill's job, we always received free tickets to every concert. I was lucky if Bill got to sit with m...