Village Gardens

School will be starting soon, and that means two things: back to the books for students and back to work for teachers.  But while most teachers think teaching is a fun job, many find themselves stressed out at least once during the school year.  But why?

There are many different reasons teachers get stressed.  First of all, there’s the workload.  While it may seem like teaching isn’t as much work as, say, computer programming, it’s really more than it seems.  There’s the prep time—preparing for the next day’s lessons and putting together tests and homework.  Then there’s the time spent out of class grading all that homework and the tests.  For some, this means reading pages and pages of essays and making comments on each one.

Another reason teachers get stressed out is when they have to deal with problems between students or between students and themselves.  Some students cause trouble in class, and it is the teachers’ responsibility to deal with this trouble in a way that leaves the student wanting to learn.  This can be very difficult, especially for those who teach younger students.

Then there’s the parent aspect.  Some parents simply do not want to believe that their child could cause problems.  Others don’t know why their children aren’t doing well in class and believe it’s the teacher’s fault.  Handling these parents in a calm, collected manner can be very difficult, especially if the parents get angry.

So teachers, despite that they all love their jobs, do often have stress in their lives.  If you’re a parent headed to a parent-teacher conference, remember this and be kind to them.  Teachers deserve a break.

Wondering what to do this Fourth of July in Kansas City?  Well, the people of KC certainly know how to celebrate our nation’s day of independence.  They have a number of different events you can attend and, of course, many of them feature fireworks.

More than 20,000 people attend the annual Parkville Fourth of July Fireworks and Festival every year.  Things start on Tuesday morning with a parade followed by an all-day carnival at English Landing Park.  At 9:30 p.m., fireworks are shot off over the Missouri River.

Berkley Riverfront Park is host to the KC Riverfest, one of the most popular fireworks shows in the KC Metro.  There are a number of things to do before the fireworks show, but you don’t want to miss the grand finale.  This fireworks display is actually choreographed to live music!

Worlds of Fun, one of Kansas City’s popular theme parks, will be hosting its own Fourth of July celebration.  This event is one of the longest running annual fireworks show in Kansas City, and it all starts around 10 p.m.

For those wanting to spend a little time with nature before watching fireworks, the Booms and Blooms Fest at Powell Gardens is exactly what you want.  Stroll through the beautiful gardens, maybe even take a picnic dinner, before settling near the lake to watch the fireworks.  This event is actually held on the third, not the fourth, so you can attend it and then plan to see another fireworks display on Independence Day.

Finally, Corporate Woods Star Spangled Spectacular is another amazing Fourth of July event full of funnel cakes, a free concert, and a huge fireworks display that is one of the biggest in the area.  It all starts at 4:00 p.m. and lasts until 11.  Note that parking is a concern with this event, so be ready to walk.

Summer is the perfect time for outdoor entertaining.  Whether you’re just having a few friends over or hosting an outdoor party for your entire family, getting out of the house and enjoying an evening outside can be a great change of pace.  Of course, you do have to do a little planning before hosting an evening outdoors, and that includes decorating.

Since you’re going to be outdoors, why not take advantage of the décor already there?  Setting up your table near your beautiful flower beds or garden can be a great way to bring in the greens and other bright colors.  For your table, cut a few fresh blooms from these flowers and place them in a vase.  Alternatively, you can order a nice arrangement that compliments the colors of your garden and flowers.

You can also bring the summer flower décor indoors.  If your guests will need to go through your home to get to your event, place a few vases of summer flowers around your home.  If they’re coming in through a gate, you can put a small table near the entrance with summer flowers on it.  If you need to put a sign up directing guests to the back yard, you could attach a few flowers to it or put several pots of flowers around it.

By letting your summer flowers spread out from the table, you’ll be creating an overall motif that will really impress your guests and show off both your gardening and your decorating skills.

There are several different flowers and traditions associated with the Easter holiday.  Here are just a few of them.

Flowers:

The Easter lily is, of course, the traditional flower of Easter.  Easter lilies are generally white and represent goodness and purity.  For Christians, the Easter lily represents the purity and perfection of Jesus.

Another flower that is often given or used during Easter is the passion flower.  It generally lasts for about three days, which correspond to the three days that Jesus spent in his tomb.  The three stamens of the passion flower also represent the three crosses on the hill or the three nail wounds of Christ.

Other flowers that are used during Easter time for decoration are azaleas, tulips, and daisies.

Traditions:

One of the most traditional events of Easter is, of course, the Easter egg hunt.  According to traditions, the first egg hunts may have been held back in 3000 B.C. by the Persians or the Egyptians.  They also colored and decorated eggs as a way of celebrating the first of spring. 

The Easter bunny originated with the pagan festival of Eastre, a goddess.  Her symbol was a rabbit.  Easter baskets are used to collect eggs during egg hunts, but traditionally, Easter baskets represented the area where the Easter bunny laid its eggs.

Two other animals are generally associated with Easter: the lamb and the chick.  The lamb is another symbol of Jesus, while the chick breaking out of its shell is a representation of his resurrection.

It’s no secret that people get depressed during the bland winter months.  There’s actually a name for it—Seasonal Affective Disorder.  This is a diagnosed type of depression that affects many people, and the cause is unknown, although some speculation has to do with various hormones and the change in the amount of sunlight.  Even if you don’t have this issue, a lot of people get the winter blues.  However, there’s one great way of adding a bit of cheer to the dull winter months and giving you a bit of a pick me up: get a nice arrangement of colorful spring flowers!

With spring right around the corner, there’s no better time than to bring some gorgeous flowers into your home.  Sunflowers, lilies, daisies, irises, carnations, mums, chrysanthemums…the list goes on and on.  All of these brightly colored flowers will have you in a better mood in just a few minutes.  You can place them in the center of your table to bring a touch of spring to your dining room or put them on an end table in your living room so you can enjoy them while you relax. 

You might not think that flowers would make that much difference in your mood, but studies have actually shown that they do.  A study done by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, showed that flowers actually can trigger positive emotions.  It wasn’t just a short-term effect, either; participants in the study found themselves feeling less anxious and depressed days after receiving flowers.  This effect was felt by people of all ages, and those who received flowers were more likely to want to have contact with others.  Next time you start to feel the need to withdraw from the cold, wintry world, order yourself an arrangement of spring flowers.  They will brighten up your home and your mood in no time.