Back to school is around the corner! It’s always exciting to shop for new backpacks and supplies. What’s even more fun for kids is choosing their outfit for the first day of school. I still remember the outfit I wore on my first day of second grade. It was a white t-shirt and a pair of bell-bottom denim pants with passport card images printed all over. What can I say, it was the 70’s :). The outfit was memorable, but what I remember most about my look was my glasses. The over-sized pink and brown hexagonal frames were my first pair of many to follow. I was young and no fashionista, but I did have an inkling that my glasses hampered whatever semblance of style I was attempting to have. There weren’t many kids in my second grade class with glasses. They were somewhat of a novelty item. My mom, dad, older brother and sister all had glasses. I knew it was just a matter of time before I’d be called …“four eyes”. There was some solace in being in a family of glasses wearers. Most importantly, my glasses made my headaches go away as well as my need to sit in the front row all of the time. With time and maturity I’ve come to relish wearing glasses. Geek chic has earned a permanent spot in the world of fashion. Decades later in my teen years and twenties, I was astonished to realize that people who didn’t need glasses actually wore them. “Their cool and make me look smart,” a boyfriend once told me as he put on his lens-less frames. Fast forward to when my daughter was a third grader. Just when she was beginning to explore her own sense of style her genes expressed themselves. With prescription in hand we headed to the optical to choose from an array of lenses in a rainbow of colors and styles. “Times have really changed,” her third grade teacher said. “I’ve never had so many kids get glasses in a school year.” We shook our heads and discussed our theory of how electronics were ruining the hearts, minds, souls and now the eyes of our kids. My daughter embraced wearing glasses quickly. She too is surrounded by lots of family and friends with glasses. And maybe it’s no biggie for kids these days. But just in case it is for a child you know, check out these great books to help them adjust: This is a funny and cleverly written book by Ged Adamson. Douglas, the dog, needs glasses and his vision problems get him in to some hilarious situations. His loving owner, Nancy, finally takes him to get his eyes checked and helps him pick out his first pair of glasses. This book written by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton celebrates the fashion sense of little Mary as she becomes a stylist to her friends and some of the most beloved childhood characters. Carol Higgins-Lawrence wrote her first story at the age of five. Her father paid her a quarter for it and she's been writing ever since. She's taken a variety of courses in writing for children. Multicultural perspectives are of particular interest to her. Carol is of Jamaican descent and was born and raised in Canada. She has a BA in Communications and Sociology and she has completed coursework towards a MA in TESOL. She has worked as a literacy educator for the past 15 years. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two young children. You can visit her website at carolhl.weebly.com
2 Comments
8/24/2016 03:27:54 pm
I can remember the end of my 5th grade year not being able to see the overhead projector and not saying anything about it. I don't recall if it had been that way all year but it's possible. That same week I went to a baseball game with friends, including one who happened to wear glasses. At the game I couldn't see the jumbotron and after some back and forth with my glasses-wearing friend, borrowed his glasses and it was like the world was changed forever. I was so excited to see clearly I didn't even think about my looks... until the next year. 😜
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Carol
8/25/2016 05:43:24 am
Lol...Glad you can relate. Thanks for sharing! :)
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