Schools

Would you like to see your school mentioned here? Email us at: editor@druidcitymedia.com

PreK Pals Ponderings: A Friendly Reminder About Handling Disagreements

BY ALICIA JENNE’

In the land of PreK, we use lots of Conscious Discipline strategies. Although it sounds rigid and a little off putting, it is a great set of tools that I wish I would have learned earlier in my career. Conscious Discipline is a “social emotional learning program that aims to modify teacher and child behavior in order to create classrooms based on safety, connection, and problem solving, instead of external rewards and punishments.” That’s a whole lot of big words. What does it all really mean?

Teachers trained in Conscious Discipline are empowered to consciously respond to daily conflict, transforming it into an opportunity to teach critical life and problem-solving skills to children. In other words, we don’t say, “Use your words” without helping the child learn to verbalize the specific words they need to get their point across. For instance, instead of an empty, “I don’t like that” when there is a problem, we model gently touching the other child on the shoulder, waiting for eye contact, and then stating the specific request. “Sam, I don’t like it when you knock over my blocks. Don’t do that again. It upsets me.” Wouldn’t things in the grown-up world work a lot better if we all just did that?

With all that is going on in the world, the teacher in me wants to have a few serious conversations and modeling sessions with some high-profile adults.

I just know things would be a better if communication were handled in the “outside world” the way we take care of disagreements and modeling of good friendships in PreK.

This month, I asked some of the PreK Pals to tell me what makes someone a good friend – and what they would do if they had a disagreement with their friend. I hope reading their replies boosts your faith in humanity just a little. Maybe the next time you find yourself not seeing eye to eye with someone in the grown-up world, you’ll be brave like the PreK Pals, and you’ll use your words with confidence.

Abby Grace B.S. Claire

• Claire (4)

Good friends play together. If my friend wants to play something else, we can take turns, or I can play by myself.

• Abby Grace (5)

Friends share. But I don’t like it when they take away my toys, and I just tell them that. If we just have one of the toy, then I will give it to my friend when I am finished, or we can share.

Charlie Levie Wells

• B.S. (4)

We can play nice together when we are friends. I will play what they want to play, and then we will play what I want to play. Friends take turns.

• Levie (5)

When I want to be a friend to others, I use my kind words. I say, “Can I please play with you?” If we have a disagreement, we just talk it out.

• Charlie (4)

Friends are supposed to be nice together. When my friends play with me, it makes me happy. If you don’t like something, you have to say, “Can you please stop knocking down my tower?”

• Wells (4)

I love to play with my friends! They are my heart! I love people that are happy and that take turns. If something bothers you – you just have to tell that person ‘zactly what’s wrong.

OPINION

The Mommy Chronicles: A Planner for Your Thoughts

BY MARLENA RICE

I remember seeing my mother pull out her personal mini calendar to record everything from grocery lists to important dates in her sprawling, cursive handwriting. My mother was organized, never forgot to do anything, and made every school event. Early. As a teacher helper. Kicking butt. All the things.

While I must admit I’m a pretty kick butt mom too, there seems to be a bit more of a struggle involved in my success.

Have you ever found yourself planning to plan – without actually completing the plan?

Guilty. My fix? The mom planner. Here are a few ways to help you decide your planner style to help add more structure, productivity, and sanity to your daily life.

1.Choose according to your personality. Are you all about the business with no frills? A traditional calendar option may be your best fit. If you’re more creative-minded, you may want a nontraditional planner with space for journaling and sticker addons.

2.Think about your lifestyle. How busy are you? What do you need to be more efficient and productive? If you’re a goal setter who likes to cross tasks off as they’re done, focus on planners that center around goal-setting and step-by-step tasking to accomplish said goals. 3.Keep your budget in mind. Only you know what you can afford. A less pricey planner doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be useful – and expensive may not mean better.

4.Plan to follow through. This is the hardest part for many of us. But once you’ve invested your time and money in your planner, you may be less likely to let it go to waste.

Marlena Rice is a busy mom and writer who lives in Tuscaloosa with her husband, Rod, and their son, Beaux William.

Photo: Marlena Rice

COMMUNITY

Alabama Armchair Critic: Great Movies for Valentine’s Day

BY JERRY ROBERTS

It’s February – so it only seems fitting to revisit some classic romantic films. Here are some top picks.

Moonstruck (1988) is still a wonderful confection, a sweet love story, and a piece of Italian culture bound up in the pure act of romantic abandon. Cher won an Oscar as Loretta Castorini, a Brooklyn bookkeeper who finds herself in a bind when she agrees to marry the brother of the man who proposed to her. Available on

Netflix DVD and Sling.

Rocky (1976) is certainly a boxing movie. But take a second look, and you’ll find one of the most touching love stories ever made between a bruised-up boxer and his bashful courtship of a painfully shy girl from the neighborhood. Available on DVD/Blu

Ray and Amazon Prime.

It Happened One Night (1934) became ground zero for the modern romantic comedy, following a rich runaway bride (Claudette Colbert) who goes on the road with a worldly-wise reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Available on The Criterion

Channel and Amazon Prime.

Say Anything . . . (1989) is one of those great forgotten gems, starring John Cusack as a well-meaning under achiever who falls in love with Ione Skye, a valedictorian who is on her way to college. It’s a very funny movie about a couple that you grow to love as much as they love each other. Available on DVD/Blu Ray

and Amazon Prime.

The Philadelphia Story (1940) This comedy of upper-class romance and misunderstanding stars Katherine Hepburn as a rich bride whose upcoming wedding is rocked by the appearance of her ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a nosy reporter looking for a scoop (Jimmy Stewart). Available on HBOMax.

Jerry Roberts is an Alabama movie critic and historian for armchaircinema.com, armchairoscars.com. He has a blog at overthinkingoscar.wordpress.com.

Photo: Jerry Roberts

COMMUNITY

Tales of Tuscaloosa: Unidentified Flying Objects (February 1, 1954)

BY JIM EZELL

An artist’s concept of UFOs seen by Naval Research personnel near a high-altitude balloon southwest of Tuscaloosa. At such high altitudes, the sky appears black – even in daytime.

The balloon looked like a gigantic limp laundry bag upon release. Drifting east from a launch site in Texas, it soon climbed to the edge of space—an altitude of nearly 19 miles, or about 100,000 feet. Due to the low atmospheric pressure, the balloon swelled to a near spherical shape while instruments tethered below measured cosmic rays. What began as a routine scientific mission became a mysterious incident that remains unexplained since that Monday, February 1, 1954, in the sky southwest of Tuscaloosa.

A Naval Research aircraft carrying observers followed the mission from below. Suddenly, they saw six bright white objects flying around and above the balloon. After about five minutes, the objects ascended vertically until they disappeared. This account was noted in the files of Project Blue Book, a United States Air Force study of unidentified flying objects or UFOs.

For as long as humans have watched the sky, they have seen things beyond their experience or prevailing knowledge. The lore of many ancient cultures includes unexplainable aerial phenomena. One of the earliest was detailed in the sixth century BC by the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel. Although it was said to be part of a vision, some interpret Ezekiel’s description of creatures and wheels being lifted up from the earth as a UFO sighting. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the term “unidentified flying object” and its acronym “UFO” came into use in the early 1950s as a more general term about what had earlier been called “flying saucers.” During World War II, massive numbers of pilots and airmen served on both sides. Many reported seeing mysterious aerial phenomena both in Europe and the Pacific. The general term “foo fighters” came into use to describe UFOs seen during that period. Fearing enemy secret weapons, the military investigated these sightings, but they remained unexplained

After the war, UFO sightings became almost commonplace. In May and December of 1958, the files of Project Blue Book listed sightings of bright objects in the Tuscaloosa area. The Air Force dismissed both as meteors. Later, local reports included nocturnal lights in 1974, a flying disc in 1977 and, in 1978, a glowing metallic object with rotating, colored lights was observed, along with a burst of static radio interference.

Since the 1950s, scores of science fiction movies and television shows involving UFOs have been released. They range from major Hollywood productions such as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind to low-budget cult classics such as Devil Girl from Mars and Plan 9 from Outer Space.

In 1968, the Air Force concluded that after reviewing over 12,000 reports, there was no evidence that UFOs were a threat to national security or that they were of extraterrestrial origin. Furthermore, virtually all UFO sightings could be explained as natural phenomena such as particularly bright meteors, the planet Venus, clouds, refracted light, or flocks of birds. Some of the reports were deemed to be sightings of previously undisclosed secret aircraft such as the U-2 or SR-71. But a few sightings, including the glowing lights surrounding the research balloon near Tuscaloosa in 1954, could not be explained.

Jim Ezell is a retired engineer, historian an author. His novel, Debris Cloud, is an adventure/crime novel set in Tuscaloosa. It is available on Amazon. Photos Courtesy of the Author

Taste of Tuscaloosa: The Valentine’s Day Edition

BY SHEENA GREGG

This year, I’m embracing every holiday to give 2021 some semblance of normalcy. The COVID era is still going strong though, which means many couples are having to adjust their normal Valentine’s Day routines. This month, I talked with three T-Town ladies to see how they’re celebrating the holiday.

FOOD

Paige Acker (with boyfriend Matt Price)

Photo: Paige Acker

Photo: Rebekah Gaydosh Sheena Gregg is a registered dietitian and local “Filipino Foodie“. Follow her adventures at www.afilipinofoodie.com

Last year was our first Valentine’s Day, and we set the bar high. We had a great dinner and went to see one of our favorite bands in concert. COVID will definitely alter our plans and expectations for Valentine’s Day this year. Instead of trying to go and do a big thing where we might be around a lot of people, we’re going to grab brunch and go hiking at one of our favorite spots. Over the past year, we’ve realized how much we love to get outside together, and whether it’s hiking in Birmingham or walking at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk, it’s been such a great COVID-safe activity for us as a couple.

Rebekah Gaydosh (with fiancé Will Varnell)

We’ve spent the past few years celebrating Valentine’s Day different ways. One year, we ordered the Valentine’s meal from Fresh Market and cooked at one of our apartments together. It included an appetizer, a main meal, and a dessert, which was great. Last year we went to the Arlington House for their Valentine’s Day dinner celebration, which was a wonderful experience. We had a beautiful dinner with live music and enjoyed the grounds. We have gone out to dinner during the pandemic, so eating out isn’t off the table, but we’ll have to plan ahead or be more flexible/patient if we decide to go out to dinner. We’ve realized during the pandemic that cooking at home can be as much an adventure as going out to restaurants.

Litsa Rivers (with husband Josh Rivers and their toddler Larkin Lee)

We celebrate Valentine’s Day each year. For some reason, it was always a special holiday when I was growing up. My parents made a big deal of it, and that just kind of stuck. We’ve celebrated all kinds of ways--- experiences, meals, or fun gifts. Our favorite year was when we bought rollerblades and went rollerblading for the first (and last) time together. I think COVID times and toddler times will alter how we celebrate Valentine’s Day. But we can’t wait to make it special for our girl, Larkin Lee. We’ll probably do a game night in and order junk food. Restaurants we love include Central Mesa, Chucks, Avenue Pub, River, Southern Ale House… and a shout out Local Roots for a solid takeout option. The Wine Market has become a new favorite spot we sneak away to any time we get the chance.