The Start of School

This post is part of the project I have going on with U.S. Cellular…

First off, I can’t say enough good things about my Samsung Galaxy S5.

I can’t  believe what a difference having U.S. Cellular’s 4G LTE makes.  My old phone was a dinosaur and SO SLOW compared to this.  It’s allowed me to do so much more..much of my blog work is now done via my phone and I love it.  Kelli liked mine so much that she just got one too..but back to the topic of cell phones and back to school…

I have always welcomed the new school year.  It wasn’t that I didn’t love having the kids home over the summer, I just missed the routine and structure that school days brought.  Once school started things were just a little more predictable.   Even now when I don’t have kids in high school or elementary I am looking forward to the start of school and some more predictable days.
Now my college kids run home on any day of the week over the summer-Kayla our teacher daughter does too…they call at unpredictable times and want to take off for the day and do all sorts of things.  I love that I can spend time with them and want to do those things but I’ll be honest, I like a few longer stretches of uninterrupted time when I can accomplish bigger tasks.

When the kids are away is when I especially appreciate them having cell phones.  Time and time again Hubby and I argued over the right age for a cell phone.  I argued for a younger age…him -he said older.  Finally one day I said, “The reason I want them to have a cell phone isn’t for them…it’s for me!  It takes some of the worry away from me!”  Can I say…even though our kiddos are grown, I still feel the same way.  (If you’re having that same conversation, I highly encourage U.S. Cellular’s Parent Child Agreement that you can have your children sign so that they know how you feel about their cell phone use.)

Our college kids aren’t driving the best cars but I know if they break down, they have a cell phone to keep them safe.  Our daughter that’s a teacher has a 40 minute commute that sometimes leaves her a little sleepy.  I know she can call me and chat and that will keep her awake and safe on her commute.  Our son that works construction often calls on his commute home to tell me about his day….all of this is comforting to me…all are reasons why I love that they have a cell phone!

Kayla, our teacher daughter, has been working to include more and more technology into her classroom.  She says the kids love it.  With most of the kids owning smart phones she can have them use the internet during class to look up information.  She can have them watch a video that pertains to the topic.  She is constantly coming home and sharing ideas of how she is working to incorporate more technology in the classroom…

In a recent mailing that I received from U.S. Cellular they high lighted several phone apps that were particularly relevant for teachers and students.  Many teachers are using Skype to bring in guest speakers.  Teachers can use Teacher’s Assistant Pro to help keep their grade books up to date and for parent communication.  The one I am most excited about is Noteability.  Our daughter Kalissa often tapes her lectures for her nursing classes.  She then listens to them to and from college on her commute.  It’s a great way to study and not open a book.  She’s missed a few taped lectures as her battery on her recorder has been dead.  Apparently Notability will work allow users to tape lectures as well.  I am going to tell her about that for sure.

So no matter where you are in life…with small kids, big kids or grand kids, I wish you all a happy school year that’s filled with many notable experiences..many that will be recorded via text messages or through photos taken with a cell phone….that just the way kids do things now days.

For now, I am patiently waiting for Labor Day to come…after that the kids will all be on their schedule for the next few months and hopefully my days will be a little more predictable.