Author: Deborah R. Coffing-Hall

      Well, this past week was one of polar opposites. Grades 3-8 students were immersed in taking the ISTEP, which is Indiana’s standardized test. The children in K-2 classrooms were celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday, which was March 2nd, and is always part of the ‘Read Across America’ initiative complete with Seuss activities galore.…

        Every now and then it happens. Song lyrics float across our auditory neurons and pretty soon we are singing, swaying and smiling. As they used to say on American Bandstand, “I give it a 95 because it has a good beat and is easy to dance to.” And that is a…

I am a dreamer. Oh, not in that romantic, weepy, swooning, Coke commercial kind of dreamer way. Well…now that I put it in print and re-read it, yeah, I am. But what I am trying to tell you is that I dream every night when I sleep. And I remember the dreams. All bazillion of…

Well,  my four Santa-Children purchased their mother–me– an I-Pod Touch. I am thrilled for two reasons. One, this is what I said I wanted, which means that one of them finally listened to what I said. (Mothers out there will take this as a miracle!) Secondly, I am now able to listen to the music…

My Dear Grandchild,       Well, let me begin by saying that you are grandchild number ten who has/will stolen my heart. I only know you in dark and white ultrasound photos, but no matter, you are ours and you are loved already. I get the report of doctor visits, ever thankful, that your…

First steps. We never forget them. Our children’s first steps were heralded with huge smiles, cheers, claps and the clicks of a camera. We recorded the event, knowing this was the beginning of a new world for our offspring. There would be falls and scraped knees, and bumps on the head; the price of independence,…

So, Harper Lee has taken the world by storm, once again. Way to go! On July 11th, 1960, she set the literary world on its ear by creating a story rich in character, theme, and social overtones which resulted in the book being banned in many libraries. That is fame in itself, if you ask…

      I am a hopeless romantic. I have known this by the movies I watch, books I read, times I’ve fallen in love and married. When it comes to ‘meet the guy, lose the guy, get guy back’ I am such a sap. I’ve loved weddings, bridal gowns, and everything nuptial since I…

Okay! So my best friend and I are having Sunday dinner with her mom. And since we have been best friends since we were fifteen years old, my mom was her mom and her mom is my mom. Get it? We still can recall one another’s phone numbers by heart: mine was 359-4451, and her…

         I have this wooden block above my sink. It has each season on the four sides. I truly smiled and clapped my hands when I turned the block over from spring to summer. I am that kid who lived for school to be over. I am also that teacher who shares the same sentiment. I…