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; by Stephanie Wiebe

- My five-year-old. “baby”? < starting kindergarten this

month. This should be a tearful -

~ sentimental moment in a

> mother’s life, but I’m not feel- . ing that way. She’s been in pre-_

_ school for the past two years, ' go it’s old stuff'now. But I’m “mentally thumbing through v kindergarten memories of my

own, When I started school (back _ inthe dark ages), my older . [ sister and brother had paved

"the way for me. They were.

~ grown up and sophisticated, ages seven and nine, and I knew Thad atough actto follow. I can remember think-

i ing how cool and experienced

' they seemed, and I wanted the

teacher to know I was equally © ‘as tough. So-I bared my teeth — _ like a grizzly and quietly hissed

. whenever she looked my way. -- Jt seemed like-a good idea at the time, but looking back, I’m

“sure this-poor woman thought I

‘had rabies. I'd love to see the school records. .

" Many years later, when my oldest child started kinder-

garten, I was introduced to our

; aradually building up to the

‘Mmersed in.a preschool system _ for two or more years, and are

_ kids’. hope this school ”

full 24% hours daily,, to make - their entrance into kindergarten ‘ta pleasant experience’’. I went. along with this, beirig-a. | - psychologically ‘‘hip”. person.. Never mind that most of the kids nowadays have been i im-

more prepared. for kindergarten than a college graduate. The.

five-year-olds I-hang out with _ are chomping at the bit.— they

are rarin’ to.go.

But the gradual i immersion . idea has continued, possibly to. protect the delicate psyche of the teacher. If I were in a room with 15 chattering five-year- — olds, I’d need some time to ad- just, too.

So off she goes, wide-eyed, - with lunchbox in hand, ready to join the ranks of the “big

- Tealizes what a special child they’ re getting. She’s the. baby, the last one to leave the nest, following in her older sibling’s path. She’s the one who’s soothers weren't sterilized twice a day, the one with a half- -

we SEES Irn, bean teeta

--Contributed by. . Carol Harrison Sueis 18, new in town and the

single.mother of five-month-old.

Kara. Jill-is 24, separated from

~~ her husband, and has two small’

children, Kevin, 5, and Michelle, 2. Both these women are lonely ‘and although they. love their

- children, are often frustrated by

the children’s behavior. Sue and Jill.also worry that they will not know what.to do if achild gets

. sick or hurt, ‘With no other adult

around . with - -whom ‘to. share

. ideas and ‘information, this i is a scary feeling.

Sue -and Jill have joined a

parents”. group which is helping

them ‘with these difficult: situa- tions, It. is called ‘‘Nobody’s Perfect’? and is sponsored by the B.C. Ministries. of Health and

_ Social Services:and Housing. In. . Terrace ‘“Nobody’s -Perfect’’ is - Offered through the Women’s Resource Centre and the Skeena . Health Unit. Sue’s social worker ‘told her about it; Jill heard . .. about it from a friend whose _ sister had attended.

.For five weeks a group of . about 10 women (some groups

September songs: ‘events in 1 history.

Complled by Tom Taggart

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ale ph aed saa persrrsin en ey

7 include couples or single fathers) .. meet’ once a week with two. . group leaders to talk about the

problems (and joys) of. parent-

-hood. Each person or couple

receives a package of easy-to-

- read books, free of charge, each

one dealing with a different topic: safety, body (health), mind, behavior and .- parents. These books are.used in the groups, and parents can look things up in them at home. The

sessions are flexible and infor-

mal, and include.a coffee break

‘with a nutritious snack, ‘Trans- - portation and child care are pro-

vided if needed. .

port which group members give each other. Sue made friends with another 18-year-old; Linda,

‘and now the two young mothers

babysit: for each other, go for

walks together with their babies,

and most important, each has someone who really understands

Nobody’s Perfect’ can n help _ parents gain. skills, support.

‘what it’s like to be a teen parent. mee oy -Jill has also. made-.some ~~

One of the main benefits of | “‘Nobody’s Perfect’? is the sup-

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friends in the group. She now

thas. people to phone-when she — ‘needs someone to talk to, and. has discovered that other peo- ©...

ple’s children have temper tan-

-trums too. She and her new ‘friends can actually laugh now

about some of the things their kids do. Jill is thinking about going back to school to complete _

Grades 10 to 12. She feels better

about herself since she found - . that people in the group. actually listened to what she said.

If you or someone you know |

would like to join a‘‘Nobody’s |

Perfect’ group, please call Can- dice, 635-2116,. or . Carol,

' 638-3310, to apply or for more:

information. ’ People i in the examples above

_are imaginary, but are based on -possible life situations of No-

body’s Perfect participants, and ©

on actual outcomes of group ses- |

sions.

Talk of. the Town returns next week

atic Ie 4 : *. - Sept. 1: - © 1914: Death of “Martha’’, age 12, the last Passenger Pigeon, R.I.P. ecat one roeram. heme one ve anil, “OL ve bell - - WW2 begins-(1939), 54,800,000 deaths ensue, including 300,000 Yanks. - been a tough, grizzly kid my- . potty train herself if we wait 7 ' - Wall Street spy plane (KAL007) zapped over Sakhalin Island, USSR 983). self, I was surprised to learn long enough.’ A final excited . Sept, 3: Thomas More’s “‘Utopia” rushed to print in England (1516). that tossing a young child into. wave, and she’s gone. . End of the Trail for Ho Chi Minh (1969), Vietnamese patriot. --aclassroom can damage their - I’m not sentimental. My Sept. 4: Canada exchanges Trudeauism for Toryism (1984). ‘ _ delicate psyches, so the schools baby. When she bares her teeth = = LABOUR DAY, 1989 (U.S. and Canadian equivalent to May Day). _ _”. start slowly, with a few hours and growls at the teacher, I ~ Sept. 5: Lynette ‘Squeaky’. Fromm gets jail for not shooting President Ford (1975). ~. in the classroom each week, © wonder if they'll understand. -§ Sept, 7; | INDEPENDENCE DAY, BRAZIL (1822). SO Te Js ots, 4 §-year-old Margaret Gorman (30-25-32) wins first Miss America: contest. agai). oe a Be AG + Sept. 8: Nixon appointee, Gerald Ford, grants full pardon to Nixon (1974). ° . Long-time district _ .:.\ * WORLD LITERACY DAY. t ff t k ti m ent Sept. 9: Long. March of the Great Helmsman, Mao Zedong, comes to end. (0976). a) a er a es re ire Sept. 10 | ClA and ITT make-successful hit against Chilean democracy (1973). cen “There have been such eat Sept. 11: Birth of the author, D.H. Lawrence (1885). a ~ bal Disict #98 gave up 8. - changes in the office,” she oid. Ty Cobb retires (1928) and Pete Rose. gets base hit #4192 (1985). with the resignation of Alice “T have seen it develop from the |. -. Death of the poet (1958) Robert Service, Bard of the Klondike. -""Quantz, confidential secretary Old, non-correcting | typewriters Sept. 12: Emiliano Zapata elected to. town council of: Anenecuitco, Mexico (1909). ” _. to the secretary-treasurer, Barry to the’ present IBM ‘Word Jack Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier marry (1953), Camelot reincarnates. 2. Piersdorff. Perfect: system. With the old | Death of South African prisoner, Steve Biko, and poet Robert Lowell (1977). - machines, we had to use carbons Sept, 13: _. Plains of Abraham: Wolfe & Montcalin lose, England wins (1759). . by Nancy Orr for copying — a mistake in the . “USA: Star Wars (SDI) gratis of “Darth”’ Reagan and cast of millions (1985). 2 original had to be carefully cor- Sept, 14: — Aristacratic poet Dante Alighieri steps down (1321). - Mrs, Quantz has been with the rected on every copy in the type- : -1752: Implementation of Gregorian calendar wipes Sept. 3rd to 13th from history. District for 11 years and plans to writer. | Russians torch Moscow before Napoleon (1812) who exclaims: ‘What a people!’’. .» move to the Okanagan with her “And changes in the staff— _ 1968: Detroit Tiger pitcher Denny McLain goes prime time to win Game #30. husband, Reg, who retired from since I started there have been. cone a5: Soviet Premier Khrushchev denied admittance to Disneyland (1959). Transport Canada last June. seven secretary-treasurers.”’ She Speaking of her years with the added with a laugh, “‘I hope I~ FULL MOON, 1989. ce ” School Board office, Quantz haven’t been the cause!” “Sept. 16: - HMS Mayflower departs England seeking a ‘‘New World (14%). said she had enjoyed working The staff honored Mrs. Birth: of the librarian, Sir Antonio Panizzi (1797). with the staff and would miss Quantz on Thursday at lunch at Sept.17: Birth of Greta Gustafson (1905) aka: Garbo. them. , the Bavarian Inn, Sept. 18: Birth of Samuel Johnson (1709), lexicographer, essayist and critic. First issue of New York Times hits streets (1851) for one cent per copy. Pi fer — continued from page 4 Sept; 19:. . Mexico City earthquake, 8.1 on Richter scale (1985), followed by.7.3 next day - Sept,20:- Death of the Poet, Alexis Saint-Leger Leger aka: St.-John Perse (1975). _< riding experienced a stunning Parting Thought: It seems _ _- Pope John Paul II takes Fort Simpson, NWT by storm (1987). by-election rout of the Vander that atthe Socred causuc re- - Sent, 22: Rome: Fascist Police Chief, Pietro Caruso gets firing squad (1944). ) Zalm Socreds in June of 1988, treat in Radium Hot Springs AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, 1989. | and comparisons with the cur- | and Invermere last week, 7 Sept. 23: Death of the poet, Pablo Neruda (1973). tent contest are inevitable. changes to the party's Oe Sarah Jane Moore gets jail for not shooting President Gerald Ford (1975).

Z Barlee, who will be inthe _ Hon were Gis ee he ‘Chicago: Extra Strength Tylenol brings headache to America (1982).

. oe For the week aL . ae executive wanted the time Sept. 24: Chicago: Cubs clinch National League East Division (1984). bearer David Zirnhelt, predicts extended between the appoint-. Sept. 26: © Explorer Vasco deBalboa finds Pacific Ocean right where it had always been asi they'll win by 2,000 votes. © - ment of an interim leader and Meuse-Argonne: Final battle of The Great War commences (1918). pee

pee . . *-> the holding of a leadership con- Sept. 27: | Cartoonist Thomas Nast becomes animated (1840). ee vention, This was expanded to Death of the mystic, Pierre Bernard aka: ‘‘Oom the Omnipotent” (1955), Lee Messmer admits the by-- - - 10 months, from 60 days. I am Warren Report bombs by saying Oswald was a loner (1964), many unbelievers, a : “told hot to read too much into Los Angeles: Death of the actress, Clara Bow (1965), ada: the ‘It’ girl. on

_. ° and that it is a vital, pivotal’ “this, but it does make one Canadian politician Al Passarell ‘crosses the bar’? (1986). 7

wonder about why this change, Sept. 29: 1000: Leif Ericson’s Norsemen drop anchor in Vinland ((EVENT OF THE MONTH

event in the political life of Bill.

Vander Zalm. . just no now, doesn’t it? Sept. 30: 1978: Death of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, R.I.P.

I

| - election is going to be-close, I

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