My Kids and Me

So let me tell you a little about my kids and me. I'll call them Sonny and Sweetie. I think they both have great potential - but of course, I'm their mother. I see my role as helping them to develop that potential so that they can be whatever they choose and attend whatever college they choose.

Sonny is 11 years old and just started middle school. We enrolled him at a college prep charter school nearby that is consistently rated among the top 5 public high schools in our state, most years coming in a number one or two. Sonny has an excellent memory and gets top grades in school, but struggles with math. Fortunately, I've got an engineering degree so I can give him extra tutoring at home. He is an avid reader, and won the gold medal for reading the most books in his grade in elementary school twice and the silver once. He plays soccer in spring and fall, baseball in summer, does karate year round and plays piano and the viola.

Sweetie is 8 years old and just started third grade. In first and second grades she got top grades - but from what I've seen in third grade the material gets much more challenging, so I'll be keeping a close watch on her progress. Sweetie loves science and is constantly asking questions about how the world works and coming up with science experiments. It's not uncommon to stumble on a soda bottle filled with seeds and dirt that she's placed in a dark corner of the garage to see if it would grow there, or to find her in the bath trying to discover how to make the biggest soap bubbles. She's very creative - loves coloring and sometimes writes stories just for fun. Sweetie plays soccer in spring and fall and takes ballet during the school year. She takes piano lessons all year.

As for me, I earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, so I've got experience getting into a challenging program at a selective college. These days I prefer to work as a freelance writer, which allows me the flexibility to take an active part in my children's education and activities.

My husband earned a bachelor's degree in English literature, then went on to medical school after taking extra clasees in math and science. He is a family physician.