Mobile Bay Parents Mobile’s Foremost Parenting Source
Mobile Bay Parents Magazine is founded on the principle that parenting is an exciting, diverse, challenging, and significant, role in our community. Mobile Bay Parents Magazine is a community advocate for families and the parenting process.
Publisher Lynn Knighton lynn@mobilebayparents.com
Editor DeAnne Watson deanne@mobilebayparents.com
Associate Editor Kelly Watson
Research Editor Lucy Green
Advertising Sales Lynn Knighton Leslie Hall Danielle Nicholas ads@mobilebayparents.com or (251) 304-1200
Contributing Writers Marla Cilley Kate Duthu Malia Jacobson Mike Little, D.O. Dave Ramsey John Rosemond Paige Gardner Smith
Cover Photography
Victoria Webb www.victoriawebbphotography.com
President Jason Watson jason@mobilebayparents.com
Visit us online at www.mobilebayparents.com Mobile Bay Parents magazine is published monthly by KeepSharing, LLC. Mailing address: P.O. Box 81105, Mobile, Alabama, 36689. The phone number for voice and fax is (251) 304-1200. Mobile Bay Parents is copyrighted 2011 by KeepSharing LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in Mobile Bay Parents magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the owners, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products and services herein.
Mobile Bay Parents I January 2013
From Mobile Bay’s Mom of the Month... My family recently visited my husband’s nephew and his wife for the first time since their one-year-old daughter learned to walk, or should I say run. Watching that bundle of energy climb on chairs and pull ornaments off of the Christmas tree reminded me of when my two girls were toddlers and why I was so tired during those early years. I thought parenting would get much easier when I got them off to kindergarten. I didn’t know then how stressful it could be to choose a school for kindergarten and beyond. Growing up in Virginia, my sister and I walked less than one hundred yards from our house to the neighborhood public elementary school. Later we walked a little further to catch a big yellow bus to the public middle and high schools a few miles away. There were few private schools in the area and I didn’t know many people who attended them. On the other hand, my husband Mike attended 13 years of Catholic school in New Orleans and carpooled almost an hour each way to and from his high school. He helped me navigate the open houses, campus tours, and application process to select a private school in New Orleans for our older daughter, Renee. We thought our younger daughter, Rachel, would join her sister there and our work was done until high school. Then Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, less than two weeks after Renee started kindergarten. I never expected my child to attend my elementary school in Virginia but that’s what happened while we temporarily stayed with my parents. The playground was fancier and the hallways seemed smaller, but the warm memories were still there. It was bittersweet to leave more than two months later to return to New Orleans. In early 2006, we unexpectedly had only a few weeks to find a house and school in Mobile when my husband’s company transferred him to a new position. Unfortunately, we didn’t know anyone here or much about the area. As an attorney, I threw myself into researching the public and private schools. Touring private schools while classes were in session gave us a much better feel than you can get on a website. We decided to enroll our daughters in one of the private schools for August 2006 then moved to Mobile in June. When choosing a school, you should consider the unique personality, needs, and interests of your child. We later learned that a school that is the best fit for one of your children may not be the same for his or her sibling. Your child’s needs and interests can change or may not become evident until later. Today our fourth grader and seventh grader happily attend different private schools. We manage driving back and forth across town and keeping up with their different school schedules and activities. I have volunteered with fundraising projects to support both schools and been a room mom and Girl Scout leader. If you are considering private school, this issue includes a helpful directory of area private schools and a great article, Evaluating and Choosing a Private School, to guide families. Parenting still isn’t easy as my daughters enter the tween and teen years, but it has been amazing to watch them grow. Like most moms, I sometimes struggle to decide what’s best for my kids and appreciate resources like Mobile Bay Parents that can help. I am grateful for the dedicated educators at all of the public and private schools who help every child reach his or her own potential.
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Kate Duthu
Mom of Renee, 7th grade at St. Luke’s Episcopal School, and Rachel, 4th grade at St. Ignatius Catholic School
Advertising: 251-304-1200
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