Author Archives: Jonathan Sircy

During the 2020 lockdowns, I got into the habit of walking with my daughter down our country roads and telling her stories. I was writing curriculum for first, second, and third grade, and as a result, I had tons of kids’ stories rattling around in my brain. When I couldn’t think of any Thornton BurgessContinue reading “Telling Stories”

For two years, we’ve had a Saturday television appointment that didn’t involve college football. We’ve made a noontime ritual of watching Cook’s Country, the homecooking-friendly PBS spin-off of America’s Test Kitchen. So devoted are we that when fund-raising pre-empts its regularly programmed showtime, we dial it up on youtube. My daughter really loves the show,Continue reading “Kid’s Country”

Today, my daughter read her new favorite book to her friend at school. The book is called Sumokitty. She’s had my wife read it to her every night since she got it. Where did she get it? the school library. So she read the book to her friend at school today during one of theirContinue reading ““You’re good!””

My daughter has come home with three different items this week that are not hers. A hairband A pair of mittens A belt The first two, she claims, were gifts from friends. “They just wanted me to have them.” My wife and were suspicious–not that she had friends, but that the gifts came from thoseContinue reading “Collecting Friends”

Today in class, I was walking my students through the process of scheduling. “Here’s today’s date: the 22nd. Here’s the date of your rough draft: October 8th. When are you going to settle on a thesis? When you are going to finish an outline? When are you going to sit down and write the draft?”Continue reading ““To Do” List Part II”

My daughter came home today and checked her “To Do” list. That’s right. She has a “to Do” list. On tap for this afternoon? Art. First, she made a drawing. Then wrote a poem about God on some notecards. Here are the results. She is a blessing from God.

Today was the South Greenville County Fair. My daughter was excited for three reasons. The first was that her grandfather (my wife’s dad) runs the fair and her cousins would be showing cows. The second was that she knew she would get to show a cow (with her eldest cousin’s help). The third was thatContinue reading “Moooving On Up!”

Two examples from just today of why my daughter’s memory might not be a sufficient guide to what’s going on at school. First, she went through a mini-meltdown cycle at dinner as she recalled that today was a special toy day where kids were allowed to bring a toy…and she hadn’t brought one. She accusedContinue reading “The Vagaries of Memory”

At dinner tonight, our daughter talked about her attempts at friendship. A classmate was crying because the teacher had taken his Chromebook away because of his behavior. “I went to him and said, ‘If you ever need me, I will be here for you,’” she explained. “Wasn’t that being a good friend?” We said itContinue reading “Being a Good Friend”