Some people have a knack for growing things. My husband’s granddaddy for example: he could take a cutting of anything, stick it in some potting medium, and plop it into his greenhouse. The next thing I knew, there was an azalea, a rhododendron, or a rose bush. I remember when I was pregnant and fretting with anxiety about keeping a human baby alive, he said, “Children are like plants; give them food, water, and sunshine and they’re sure to thrive.” If only it were that simp

Outside my open classroom windows, an early spring day unfolded, leaves poised to burst with verdant effort. Inside, my third-graders settle into the afternoon session, following recess. They’re still drowsy from their immersion in fresh air when I ask them to get out their reading books. When I discovered the novel unit for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in our whole language curriculum, I fell on it like rain in April. Instead of having them read with their groups as

How can it be spring of my son’s kindergarten year already? Since I teach in my children’s school, I’ve encouraged their teachers to ignore me and pretend I’m just another staff member. Despite that, Alex’s wonderful teacher, Mrs. McCloy, has come to me in the hallway suppressing laughter on multiple occasions. He’s a talker. Has been since he was just a baby, surprising his doctor with full sentences. Fortunately, he hasn’t told too many family secrets in class. The worst wa

It’s the final night of our cake decorating class. I’m so happy I convinced my teenage daughter to come with me—I’m storing up every minute of the precious time we have left, trying to find ways to connect before she flies. Here we are with our final exams ready to take home—two one-layer cakes, beautifully decorated and lightly covered with Saran wrap. I’m so proud of us. We graduated from practicing on sugar cookies, to cupcakes, and now each hold our magnum opus: one blue