Geography, Mississippi History, and This Year's First School Blunder

We’re entering our fourth full week of school here and it’s like summer never happened. Luckily our first holiday of the year (Labor Day) is around the corner. Can we talk for a minute about how hard it is for mamas to get back in the swing of school?

I’m doing the same work I’ve done all summer long, but now I need to remember to check for homework and study for tests in addition to making lunch and packing a snack. Trivial, I know, but remembering to ask “do you have homework?” before bedtime is a chore.

At some point in the first couple of weeks of school, my 8th grader said he had a geography test, but couldn’t remember when. Being a good mother (which I am, some days), I insisted he study every night until the test to be ready. He groaned and complained but we reviewed the vocabulary words.

The next day he says, “I was wrong. The geography test was today.”

I’m patting myself on the back already because he was prepared.

Then he said it wasn’t on the vocabulary words it was on the continents and oceans, which we did not study.

Pat on the back canceled.

The next day, another 4th-grade parent mentioned studying continents and oceans with their kiddo for a test. I totally missed that on the newsletter. If you’re keeping count, yes, both my kids in different grades had tests on the same subject matter in the same week and we did not study for either of them. We’re off to a rip-roaring start this year!

In addition to Geography, it looks like both my kids will study Mississippi history this year. If you have a 4th or 8th grader in Mississippi, they will probably study it too.

That brings me to a new book I read recently. I became acquainted with Patricia Neely-Dorsey through Facebook some years ago. She recently started a new television series on a local cable channel, The Hill Country Network. The series titled “Meet My Mississippi Authors and Artists” features authors and artists from Mississippi in interviews each Friday. You can view all the shows on their website. The episode featuring me airs August 30, 2019.

Patricia authored Meet My Mississippi, an illustrated poem about our beloved state. It discusses many of the authors, musicians, artists who have made our state famous. For all our state’s problems, we have a rich history in the arts of which we should be proud.

This book would be a great addition to any 4th-grade classroom as they study what’s so great about our state. It’s also a beautiful coffee table book you could display in your home or office to remind people why Mississippi is an amazing place to call home. If you’re looking for your copy, you can purchase it on Amazon. Also, make sure to follow Patricia’s Facebook page for more interviews with Mississippi’s talented folks!

*Patricia and I exchanged books prior to the interview on her channel.