First Meeting of the Year Friday, 5 pm Sept 82

Moms and Dads on Campus will hold it's first general meeting this Friday, September 2 in CETES Conference Room A.

We will be discussing many different opportonities for volunteering and helping our group grow. We will discuss dues and other member responsibilities. We will make plans for a picnic on Friday the 9th out at the garden. We'll discuss short term and long term goals for Moms and Dads on Campus. And we'll talk about designs for t-shirts. Children will have water colors and paper to play with, and I will ask them to decorate a sign we made for freshman orientation.

And we will eat. Food will be provided via potluck. If you'd like to bring something or if you have any questions, contact advisor Teri McGrath at tmcgrath@cameron.edu or 581-2925

Be there, and spread the word. First Fridays of every month will be our regular meeting time this semester. It is our goal to have food at every meeting. Anyone interested in learning about this group and/or helping out is encouraged to attend.

Welcome Back!

We've been doing most of our communicating on Facebook over the summer, but the blog is still alive and kicking and a good place to post blurbs or articles that will be useful to our members. So if you've got a story to tell or some advice to offer or even something to complain about, send us a blog. We will post it. Click here for more information.

We set up a group page for the Plant a Row Campaign, and the people who have been working on the garden have used it to keep us all updated on its progress. We've only got a few people doing all the work right now, so we can use all the help we can get. Pretty soon we'll have a picnic so everyone can come out and meet our baby veggies. We've taken several loads of squash, cucumbers and okra to the food bank so far, and I think we'll be able to get a lot more before November when the garden comes down and we have our Hoe Down.

Moms and Dads also has a group page, and a fan page. I suppose we're going to have to pick one and stick with it eventually. But for now, it won't hurt you to join both.

We still have a forum, and I think it will be a useful place to exchange ideas for blogs, activities and events or just conversations. As the semester progresses, we'll discover which tools are the best for us to use as an organization. For now, follow us if you're on facebook, and wait for our messages if you're on our mailing list, and if you're not, send me you're address, and I'll put you right on it.

Hope to see you soon!

Teri McGrath
Advisor
tmcgrath@cameron.edu
580-581-2925

Join the Plant a Row Campaign, Green Thumb or No!

by Teri McGrath

As you may know, for the past two years participants in the Plant a Row Campaign, sponsored by Okie Magazine, have grown food in their gardens to donate to the Lawton Food Bank.

This year, students at Cameron University are participating by donating three 20 by 20 plots in Cameron's Community Garden. The student organization Moms and Dads on Campus, which is a group for Cameron students who are raising families, is leading the way on this project, which will create wonderful opportunities throughout the summer for Lawtonians, young and old, to learn and to contribute meaningfully to our community. Last month, folks representing Native American Club, Lawton Diversified, along with one reporter from the Cameron Collegian, participated in preparing the soil in two of the plots, under the guidance of Cozzie Burrus, president of Moms and Dads on Campus, and her father Devon Burrus, who kindly let me use his tiller twice, despite my incompetence. More school organizations and other members of the community will join the effort as the project progresses. We are also lucky to have the guidance of Susen Hunter, a local gardener who participated in the Plant a Row Campaign last year, and participation from other members of the Lawton community, including some Lawton Rollergirls (!!!) helped us plant rows of okra, radishes, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.

Children were especially encouraged to attend a "work day" on Saturday, April 23rd, when they planted a variety of seeds in a plot they will manage by themselves.

In addition to maintaining the garden, Cameron students will host a series of events--including workshops, potlucks and creative celebrations to help make this experience as useful to the community as it can be. If you are a gardener and want to participate in the Plant a Row Campaign, the absolute best thing to do would be to find the Plant a Row Campaign Lawton on Facebook and join the conversation. Moms and Dads will keep the group updated on their progress and their needs, so that's a good place to go if you want to be involved in the community garden project as well. If you don't like the facebook, send me an email, and I'll send you updates myself: theterimcgrath@gmail.com

For now, just start spreading the news by inviting people to our group.

[Note: This article appeared in the May 2011 issue of Okie Magazine]

Editorial: Politics blurring the line between faith and policy

Editorial: Politics blurring the line between faith and policy

Land plots

I would personally like t thank all that came out to make the garden opening a success. Over the summer, there will be many opportunities to work on these plots.

We managed to get carrots, squash, n cucumbers into plots 14 and 15, before the luscious rains started. we have okra radishes n onions in plot 27, and we have tomatoes peppers n various mamacita growths in plot 28.

We will be donating parts if not all tothe food bank. come harvest time. If you know how to hoe, please bring out and do so.I look forward to seeing you all there.

Storytelling and Art Workshop

I apologize for the lateness but I just wanted to let everyone know that the Storytelling and Art Workshop that was held on February 18th which was a Friday from 5pm to 6pm (actually ended at 6:30pm) was a success! We heard Sam McMichael tell some crazy stories about bees,cows and rats with no tails. Afterwards Sam led a storytelling workshop while some of us painted pictures of what we'd heard with Sandra Dunn.

Thanks! to all who attended and we hope that those who could not, will be able to attend future events which will be held on the third Friday of each month. Please like your favorites, and comment away on our face book page...http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moms-and-Dads-on-Campus/#!/pages/Moms-and-Dads-on-Campus/113282258727094

A Special Thanks!to Sam and Sandra!

February 18th @ 5pm in the Sheplar Ballroom

Bring your family out Friday, February 18, for an evening of drawing, painting and storytelling!

Featuring workshops with storyteller, Sam McMichael, and artist, Sandra Dunn.

Sam McMichael is a long-time resident of the Apache community. He grew up in the rich storytelling tradition of Southwest Oklahoma, hearing tales of the early days of the state, tales of good times and bad times, tall tales, fish stories, hunting stories and brags. He has worked this wealth of material into the fabric of his own experiences and fashioned unique stories full of pathos, humor, and surprise.

Sam has traveled Oklahoma as a professional storyteller for the past twenty years spinning his yarns at schools, fairs, libraries, festivals and conventions.

Sam will tell a story and lead a workshop for kids and adults who want to learn to tell stories, too. And Sandra Dunn will lead kids and adults in a workshop illustrating stories using mixed media

(like colored pencils and watercolors).

Sandra Dunn graduated with a BA in Art from Cameron University. She has participated in many group exhibitions in Oklahoma. Her work was recently included in the 'Heart and Soul of the Great Plains' exhibit at the Museum of the Great Plains. Sandra was also a guest artist and teacher for the Great Plains "Metamorphosis" summer art program for children and teens. She is currently working on a series of encaustic (wax) panels for upcoming shows and fests.

Refreshments and materials for writing and painting will be provided. Just bring your imaginations!

This event is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and Moms and Dads on Campus. It is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Teri McGrath, advisor for Moms and Dads on Campus, at tmcgrath@cameron.edu or 581-2925.

Note: If you are interested in contributing food for this event, please

visit our message board by clicking this sentence, and sign up to bring a dish.

Thought this was too cute to pass up.

You know it really is true about what kids say. They say the darndest things! So it is lunch time and I ask my son Nathan, "What do you want to eat for lunch?" "A potpie or salisbury steak t.v. dinner?" He doesn't answer, so I say "What's it going to be?" He replies and says "I will have the strawberry steak." I thought that was so cute I had to tell my husband that and we both got a giggle out of it. Hope this brightens your day and I'm glad I could share. :)

Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

Box Tops.....

If there is anyone out there that is not using box top labels please do not throw them away! Please hold on to them and bring it to the meetings or contact one of the officers. We can put them to good use by giving them to the school age children that are taking them to their schools. I am collecting them for my son and right now I just need 7 of them. I'm thinking if we can get enough of them we can distribute them to those who are using them. Thanks! In advance your Sec. Cathleen

Money-Saving Tips (Courtesy of 2011 Desk Top Peanuts Calendar)

Tip # 1: IF you ever go out and buy a floor lamp or desktop lamp or already have one and just want to rearrange things.

Want to know more?... Cathy's Corner

January 21 @ 1pm 211 MCC: General Meeting

Moms and Dads on Campus

will hold our first general meeting of the year

Friday, January 21st @ 1pm in 211 MCC

Come meet other people who are raising children while pursuing their education. Form relationships with your fellows and learn about many opportunities to participate in events and programs that will benefit Cameron and the Lawton community.

What gives?

Seriously, what gives? Okay so about two weeks ago on a Tuesday morning at around 8:52 I get pulled over for speeding in a school zone. It really was so messed up! I started out driving on 11th street a...

Find out more at...Cathy's Corner

PTSD Awareness

If you know someone with PTSD, it is important to remind them you are supportive of them.

If you have PTSD, it is important to find a healthy release that works for you. Write, Run,  Sing, Talk. Most importantly, REMEMBER -- without YOU, we cannot be who we are supposed to be.

Be mindful of your interactions with others.
You never know who is fighting an invisible war within, and your kindness may be the one thing that helps them win a battle.

We have a terrific and caring family unit here at Cameron. I encourage each of you to reach out to that person you see every day, sitting alone. She or he may need to know they matter to you. As the semester progresses, it is common and very easy to allow school work puch our friends and family aside, so please make a conscious effort -- not only for yourself, but for your loved ones -- to remind them that there is kindness at Cameron University and we care.

Remember, TOGETHER we are the community.

It Sure Would be Nice If........

Hello! to All, Hope everyone had a good start to the new month. October is here! Here is my new blog for the month of October. I may have more to write about this month later, just depends what I come across and how I feel about it.

It Sure Would be Nice If........

So this is what I was thinking and really it isn't a bad thing at all, not impossible to do and it would help a lot of folks out there, especially in this day and time.

It Sure Would be Nice If........

Read more here at Cathy's Corner.....

Parenting in the age of fear by Nom de Gorilla

Oh gentle reader, let me warn you now while we are both still a mystery to one another. Let me warn you while we are both still ripe with surprise. Let me warn you while you have yet to be disappointed by with my pettiness and my mundane concerns and I have not yet heard your apathy like a yawning chasm in the ether. Fore warned being fore armed as they say it would probably be morally questionable on my part not to tell you I am by nature contrary. I am constitutionally incapable of not taking things apart.

And so it is with parenting as it has been with most other things in my life. I can’t help zigging while everyone else is zagging.

Sometimes I do this unintentionally. That was the case when I had the insanity, nay the temerity, to let my children walk to school. It didn’t seem like a radical act at the time. After all I walked to school as a child. In junior high my daily walk was close to a mile. Don’t we hear about how desperately under-exercised kids are these days? Doesn’t a nice walk seem like a pleasant way to start the day? Isn’t walking to school right up there with apple pie and sunshine in the wholesomeness sweepstakes?

It seems I was mistaken.

Read more from Nom de Gorilla ...

Welcome to the Blog

Have a look around!

Check out our submission guidelines on the About the Blog page.

Learn about our contributors and how to become one on the Our Contributors page.

And go to the About the Forum page to learn about registering for and/or posting on our discussion board.

Remember you can follow us on Facebook , or sign up for very occasional updates via email by sending an email to cumomsanddads@gmail.com . We will reply to the email and let you know you're on our list.

Firsties!

Moms and Dads on Campus will hold two informational meetings on Friday, August 27.

The meetings will take place in Nance Boyer 2064

One will be at 11 am and another will take place at 4 pm.

Come to either meeting for information about the organization and ways of becoming involved. We are holding two meetings in hopes that we can accommodate more schedules.

The first and most important purpose of this organization is to create a supportive community among Cameron students who are raising families while earning their degrees. We will host events for families and work to provide services for students. We will also work to create programs that reach out to the Lawton community, which means that being a part of this organization will benefit you as it serves you and as it offers you an opportunity to serve.

So if you are interested in being a member, or if you know people who would benefit from connecting with a network of fellow Cameron students who are parents, here are things you can do right now:

1) Send an email to cumomsanddads@gmail.com and request to be added to the mailing list (advise your interested friends to do the same). Soon we will send out an email with links to our blog and more information about how to become involved. If you are unable to attend one of our meetings, you will still be able to keep up with what is going on and offer support where you can.

2) Come to one of the meetings Friday. (If you can't come, that's okay. You probably have a baby or something. Just post a message on the fanpage or send us a note to let us know you want to do some work. We will give you something to do. But if it is at all possible, I do hope you'll come to this one.)

This is a really great opportunity to be a member of a fantastic organization, which was created just last semester by Sara L. Parks.

We hope to see you Friday!

In the mean time, if you have any questions, you may call me at 580-581-2925

Thanks,

Teri