Hi neighbors. It's a bit warm out isn't it? Every time I want to complain about the heat and drought I remember we are probably less than eight weeks away from cold weather, ice and snow. Then I don't have the heart to complain.

Maybe just visualizing shoveling six inches of snow off of your driveway will make the heat more tolerable.

School will soon be in full swing. It is difficult to admit the summer is almost over. Where did it go? Of course it isn't gone yet, but when the pool closes in a few weeks it will be official.

Wasn't the "no sales tax" break a relief? I heard several parents murmuring that it was about time they caught a break.

Getting a child ready for school at any grade level can be costly and traumatic.

The first year a child enters a classroom setting, whether preschool or kindergarten, is a big event. Many mothers and fathers leave the child with tears and loud wails. Coming from the parents not the child! My granddaughter is four and entering her second year of pre-school. This year she is among the big fish of the small puddle and looks forward to being in the "big girl" league.

As functional as having the schools divided by grades may be, I often feel nostalgic about the old system of K-8 neighborhood schools. There was some feeling of accomplishment in working one's way up out of the "baby" grades and into the ranks of those sophisticated eighth graders.

When my neighborhood school broke the last two grades of the elementary school into Junior High and gave them their own wing of the school, we soon-to-be sixth graders were elated.

Finally! We would be the big fish two years earlier than anticipated.

People who think schools with largely divided age groups might not be a good thing should remember that most kids only want to hang out with their own peers anyway.

Younger students of any grade lower than their own are tolerated, ignored or observed and declared "immature babies." Older students are not so much role models or bad influences as they are representatives of an unknown and unfathomable alien future.

Just having students of other ages around might offer a sense of protection, progression and expectation. You know what's coming next year because the older students tell you. You in turn inform those younger than yourself.

Even if you stretch the truth a bit and make the class work sound more difficult than it was or make any one teacher sound like a monster, the younger kids take all your hype with a large grain of salt.

One thing you learn early in a school of mixed grades is to take each year as it comes.

It's easier for boys figuring out that elusive "pecking order." One way or another they usually get that all figured out by the fourth grade. Without being "blended" with other kids in a new school environment every year, they don't waste time fighting in the school yard so much.

You can figure out who your friends are early on and usually they remain your friends until you graduate from high school.

Most children are used to a home environment with multiple ages of siblings. Facing the same situation at school isn't that difficult for them to handle.

One good thing about having the schools divided by grades though is older students don't have to wait so long to have lunch.

Another point in the divided schools' favor is being able to adjust the height of the bathroom stools and sinks according to the age of the students.

So I suppose like most arguments both sides have valid points not always readily visible.

I'm certain we would all agree that all classrooms should be air-conditioned no matter what age the children are who are in it.

While we are speaking of school supplies, it might be a nice thing to call the local school district and find out what supplies different teachers may need for their students.

We all know many teachers across the country buy supplies for their classrooms with their own money. With budget issues this year, some might be harder hit than some others.

Many of the youngest students may need crayons, glue, scissors, writing tablets, pencils etc. If your group wants to do a service project, call some of the elementary schools and see if they need your help.