Saturday, January 14, 2012
The Glenwood Home and School Association is hosting a sock drive through Jan. 31.
The holiday season might be over, but the generosity of a local school organization has not been tucked away for the next 11 months. The Glenwood Home and School Association is sponsoring a sock drive for the homeless. Children, parents, guardians, teachers and even people with no ties to Glenwood Elementary School, are encouraged to donate new, unused socks in a collection bin located outside of the school office through Jan. 31. The drive allows Glenwood families and others help the community’s homeless keep warm this winter in an easy and affordable manner. Melanie O’Brien, a frequent Greenfield Patch contributor and the secretary of the Glenwood Home and School Association, wanted to do a service project in conjunction with Martin …
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Glenwood Elementary School
3550 S 51st St, Greenfield, WI
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Thursday, June 9, 2011
The recent string of events in Greenfield has Greenfield Patch columnist Melanie O'Brien thinking about some tough conversations.
When I write this column, I tend to focus on what happens to be on my mind at the time in relation to my kids and family. There's no way around it, right now the recent reports of violent acts in Greenfield are on my mind. With the latest incident taking place only a few blocks from my children's school, it is especially worrisome to me. Not necessarily because I'm afraid for their safety, but more so the likelihood that they may have friends and classmates affected by these incidents. I generally take a passive role when it comes to media reports of disasters and violence. We do not watch the TV news or get newspapers. I don't want my children stressed out about things beyond their control. However, I have come to realize that just …
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Should children have set bedtimes in summer?
Naturally, those of us with kids have to change our schedules when summer comes along. No more school means a different routine. But how much do we change it? I spoke in a previous column about how I plan to add a bit more structure to our schedule this summer. I felt last year there was a lot of fighting and boredom. Can you believe kids don't like "just sitting around." Do you change bedtimes when the summer months arrive? I usually back it up by an hour. Meaning, each child gets to go to bed one hour later than her usual time. (That is, for those old enough to notice, which is now all three of my girls). I do this for two reasons. One is that, to this day, I feel one of the greatest injustices of my childhood (said tongue-in-cheek, of …
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Columnist Melanie O'Brien needs advice on how to reduce the amount of stuff her kids have.
My kids have a lot of stuff. Admittedly, so do I, but I have three kids and they all share one room in our tiny little house. What would be the third bedroom is used as an office/storage room. It stores toys (theirs) and sewing supplies (mine). Plus, my husband needs a room to work in, so that's it. As for the kids, the smaller they are, the bigger their stuff. Bouncy seats, swings, strollers, car seats, pack-n-plays, play mats, big plastic toys. You and relatives buy all the latest and greatest, and invariably what they love the most is your magazine and the tag on their blankets. When they reach toddler age through preschool, the toys multiply. Instead of one or two puzzles, you suddenly have 20. More than 50 board books. Farm sets, …
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Melanie O'Brien is happy that summertime is nearly here, but what is she going to do with her kids?
What to do with the kids all summer? This is the time of year that thought starts running through my mind. I love summer vacation and the lack of schedules and places to be. But I also dread the "I'm bored" and inevitable bickering between the kids. I have found that the kids expect to go somewhere every day. I prefer to spend some days not going anywhere, days of running through the sprinkler, reading books and riding bikes. It's a constant battle. We do like to go to the park, the library and the wading pool, and occasional trips to the beach or Cool Waters. We take at least two week-long vacations to visit family in northern and western Wisconsin, and day trips to see family in the Chicago area. But, yet, they seem to yearn for a …
Friday, April 29, 2011
Greenfield Patch columnist Melanie O'Brien chaperoned one of the grade's school's recent adventures.
Last week, I tagged along with the annual fourth-grade field trip to Madison. I do like to volunteer for field trips for both of my school-aged children as much as possible. It's a great way to get to know the other students, teachers, aides and parents. They are almost always fun, though sometimes a bit stressful (I'll tell you about kindergartners and the zoo another time). The fourth-grade class took a yellow school bus to Madison to visit the Capitol building and the UW Geology Museum. I am happy to report that though there were a few cases of motion sickness, they were quite mild. The kids were thrilled with the museum. In addition to some of the coolest rocks you'll ever see, there were fossils and dinosaur bones. It's a small …
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Do you let white lies slip, or do you put the hammer down on bending the truth no matter what the age?
Dave: I admit, white lies from my 3-year-old are cute to me. When I walk into a room and catch her doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing - messing with her brother, bothering the dog, picking her nose - and I ask her what she's doing, I chuckle (mostly on the inside) when she looks at me with her guilty eyes and says, "Nothing." Or the other day when I asked her to eat three more bites of dinner. I left the kitchen for a few moments and upon my return, Hannah, a notoriously slow eater, said she had eaten those three bites. "You finished all three bites?" I asked. "Yes, daddy," she said, probably fibbing right to my face. Viviana: On Monday my three year old niece, Brianna, calls me (she lives in Chicago with her parents) and …
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A lot of fun, and educational, too.
Last Sunday, the Wehr Nature Center held an Earth Day celebration. Located in Whitnall Park, it's an easy drive down Forest Home Avenue to the park. Even when there aren't special activities, it's a nice place to go with the kids to do a little hiking and wildlife viewing. Admission to the Earth Day activities was an economical $3 for parking plus $1 per person. A few of the activities (face painting and button making) and refreshments had additional costs of $0.50 or $1, but some of the best activities - like paper making, seed planting and guided hikes - were free. We each planted some seeds (tomato, basil and sweet peas) in individual pots, plus we planted a family salad garden. The family salad garden was planted in a five-gallon …
Thursday, April 14, 2011
How one Greenfield family avoids going out for fast food.
In yesterday's Mom's Talk Q & A, we're talking about how much fast food you allow yourself and your family to eat. I answered the question there, but I'd like to elaborate on some mealtime tips and ideas on how we avoid fast food when we're feeling rushed and/or tired. My family rarely eats fast food. There are several reasons, probably the biggest of which is we are vegetarians. Our choices are limited and the kids really only like Taco Bell when choosing between that and garden burgers or subs. For us, fast food is an occasional treat. I have a few examples of easy, quick, child-friendly meals that cook up quickly. A few items I have on hand: noodles/pasta (egg noodles have protein, so no need for meat or other protein accompaniment), …
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Greenfield and Greendale Patches want to know what guidelines you have when it comes to quick eats.
Sometimes, you just don't have time to make dinner. Something - like bad traffic or an after-school activity - throws your family's evening routine out of whack. And other times, you just don't have the energy to put together dinner. It's often far more convenient to drive to the nearest McDonald's or Burger King and grab a few value meals and be done with it. But how often are you comfortable sacrificing healthy food options for convenience, and sometimes cost? More specifically, how often will you allow your child to have fast food in a week? In a month? Don't worry, no one will judge. We're all in the same boat trying to balance our time and budget, but maybe your tips or suggestions will help someone who struggles with the same …
Robert Shirah
2:40 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The mother of my child has taken my son & refuses to let me me see him. If she has the right to be with him then so do I pursuant to the 14th amendment, if she does not have that right then why is my son with her? I have all the documents proving I am his father. This is a DIRECT VIOLATION of the 14th amendment. ALL PERSONS born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction… more ›