Back to school

a few ideas for your Sunday

Is back-to-school just a little more stressful than usual this year? Even though it seems like it should be easier (Harriet in kindergarten, Bea in fourth grade, both of them old enough to ride the bus), I’m feeling the stress of getting everything in place more acutely than I have in a while. In part, this is probably because I’m teaching a new class and working on a few different writing projects at once. But it’s also that the diminished resources teachers have been warning about for years are super evident in news reports—Wake County Schools without working air conditioning; bus driver shortages in Wake, Durham, and Cumberland counties; and Alamance Burlington Schools not even opening on time because of mold issues in multiple schools. In our own beloved public school, Bea’s class is at around 30 kids, and Harriet’s teacher is brand-new. I know the girls and their peers will be well taken care of, but obviously this is going to be a challenging year for teachers and principals and school staff.

So here are three four simple ideas for reducing stress and improving your sense of connectedness:

1. One thing parents/grandparents/community members can do, if you haven’t already, is sign up for one of Public School Strong’s next trainings—on writing an effective letter to the editor (Monday, 8/28) or making powerful public comments at school board meetings (Wednesday, 8/30). Or, if you haven’t been to their excellent initial training, those are every Saturday from 10-11:30. Public School Strong, a project of Down Home NC and HEAL Together, advocates for “honest, accurate, safe, equitable and fully-funded public schools in North Carolina,” and they conduct some of the best, most energizing and practical Zoom trainings I’ve ever attended. For parents wondering, “where do I start? How to I find like-minded parents in my community?” Public School Strong will hook you up—promise!

2. Propagate a plant! The girls and I love getting plant cuttings from friends, and we’ve started collecting glass bottles for propagating our own cuttings. All you need is a clear glass bottle with a narrow neck, and a healthy vining plant (like pothos or monstera).

First, wash out your glass jar or bottle and fill it with room temperature water (rain water is best if you have some).

Next, cut about a three-inch (or longer) cutting with a few leaves attached. If you’ve got a vining or trailing plant (like pothos), make your cut right below a leaf node, or the little bump that would produce a leaf. This will be where your roots will grow.

Plop that cutting in the water, and place your jar in a window that gets bright, indirect sunglight. Change the water once a week. Plants should start to root within the month, and when the roots are three or four inches long (or longer), you can plant your baby in potting mix.

I like this as a start-of-school activity because it’s a fun way to mark time, and maybe a good reminder that growth is always happening.

3. Read a book!

Here are a few we’re loving:

From Bea: Our friend Cat just gave us a cool illustrated book called Seeing Science—it’s very interesting, and gives you a lot of knowledge about things like biology, botany, and chemistry. The illustrations are great! And from the library, I got a novel in verse called Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt. It’s about a girl named Selah who’s always felt different from other people, including her mom, but also other kids. She feels that inside, she’s a dragon in a world of humans, which means she doesn’t always know how to act. But as Selah begins to find out about her identity—she’s actually autistic—she learns to navigate feeling like an outsider while learning about her strengths. As she explains to her mom, “it’s a good kind of different.”

From Belle: I loved Calling for a Blanked Dance by Oskar Hokeah, a novel in stories about five decades in the life of Ever Geimausaddle and his Mexican and Native American family—it’s a book I’m sure I’ll return to as a teacher and writer (and definitely recommend to Mamie and Cousin Anne). I’m also listening to Birnam Wood by Eleanor Cotton, an exciting eco-novel which is making my commutes more enjoyable.

Also, I’ll be talking with my friend Kelley Shinn about her incredible, inspiring new memoir, The Wounds That Bind Us, at Flyleaf Books on Thursday, 8/31 at 6:00—the talk is free, but you can pre-register and save your seat here. I met Kelley at Weymouth Center for the Arts a few years ago and am a huge fan—can’t wait for this event!

Harriet and I borrowed Mamie’s copy of the charming Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas by Fran Lebowitz and are reading a little every night. Harriet also loved The Big Bath House by Kyo Maclear, about a young girl going to the neighborhood bath house in Japan with her grandmother, aunties, and mom. She says “it’s so sweet, and very joyful.” We both like the page where everyone gets in and goes, “ahhhhhhhh!”

4. And there’s always heading to the water and putting your feet (or whole body) in.

How about you, Frog Troublers? Any favorite new books or good ideas for reducing stress? Good luck to everyone starting school!