kindergarten sucks

Meet the Teacher

Today is the day that the kids at Owen’s school get to meet their teacher for a few minutes and see their classroom.  Though Owen generally states that he does not want to go to Kindergarten, he said he was excited to meet his teacher.

Before we left, I asked Owen if he wanted to make a card for his teacher.  He did, and when I got a blank card out, expecting him to draw a picture and sign his name, he began dictating. 

“Dear Mrs. Perry,

I am so excited to meet you.  I hope I have a fun time in your class.

(Hm, I need two more sentences.  What else should I write, Mama?) (Mama: You could tell her something about yourself.)

My mom and dad say I am a good listener sometimes.  I know how to read a lot of sounds.  My favorite colors are green, blue, and brown.”

After his dictation he drew a picture of two people.  “This is me, and this is my teacher,”  he said, then hopped up and headed out the door.  OK.

Owen held my hand the whole time heading into the school, and then walking to his classroom.  But, once we got in, he seemed quite comfortable and enjoyed looking around the room and doing the “scavenger hunt.”

There was one section that told him to find the sink in the room, then it said, “While you’re over there, why don’t you take a drink.”  Owen’s head snapped around when I read this.  “Does it really say that on the paper!?”  He insisted on checking for himself.  He did like that the sink had a water fountain attached.

It was a good experience for Owen, and I think it will make a big difference in helping him feel calm and ready on the first day of school on Wednesday. 

Now if only I feel calm.  I have been jittery all day.  I feel like I can’t think clearly (and I obviously am not - I realized I got two different people to watch the boys tomorrow while Eric and I go to the parent orientation).  I am having a hard time breathing.

I have always had physical responses to emotional issues, so I know nothing serious is going on with me and I will be fine in a few days.  I can’t decide whether I want the next few days to just get over with, or if I would rather they slow down, so I can have a few more hours before the great school train departs… It will be a lot easier to breathe if it hurries up!  

Pillow Fight

I’m In Love

I was already in love with my feisty boy Jack, but today I was reminded that I will get to start a new phase with him– one that involves spending time with just him.  

Owen fell asleep in the car today, and I left him to nap in the garage.  This gave me more than two hours with little Jack, who played all around me, and helped me fold the 10 loads of laundry that was sitting on my bedroom floor.  He dutifully matched socks, folded washcloths and put folded clothes away.  “Sure I can do that!  I can definitely put those away,” were his responses to my requests.  He chattered away about random 3-year-old  things for awhile then,  “Man Mama, this is a LOT of work!  This makes me tired, are you tired too?  Wow Mama, you did a wonderful job folding that shirt! I am so proud of you!”  Seriously?!  Is there anything else that a mama needs to feel good about spending two hours folding and putting away laundry?  I think not!  I could definitely get used to having this fella around…

Jack is my little bright light in what I worry will be a sad time (with my Owen going off to Kindergarten).

Efficiency

Eric (to Jack and Owen): I have to go away again on a business trip tomorrow for two days.

Owen: Again?  Why didn’t you just do all of the meetings at the same time?! (Obviously not aware that the two trips are to different states.)

Owen: I guess if you would have done them before then you would have been gone for longer, right?   It is better this way – that you weren’t gone for so long.

Dedication

This morning Owen asked to read to me, and I listened to him read his book.  He went to mark off a square on his 100 chart.  He yelled, “Look Mama, I only have five more stories to read!  I think I am going to read all five today.  Can we read another one right now?!!”  First we had to go drop some paperwork off at Owen’s school and run a few errands.

This afternoon, Owen read the last two books that I had checked out from the library.  Each book takes him 15 – 20 minutes to read, so he had read over 45 minutes, but wanted more.   

We needed more books so we ran down to the library.  When I found some books, Owen sat down at the library table, with its tiny chairs, and started to read.  He was a little nervous about reading out-loud in the library, and kept looking up to check to see that a librarian wasn’t rushing over to shush him.  (With Jack in the corner pretending the stuffed animals were attacking each other, I think Owen’s noise would not be the first think that was noticed…)

 

Owen convinced me that Hop on Pop was “worth two squares because it is so long.”  60 pages is a lot for a little boy!

“Can we go to Target right now!?”  Owen was thrilled when he finished his last book.  We went to go check out some more books on our way out, and I decided that Owen deserved his own library card.  His mouth hung open, “My very own?  Can I do that?”   “Yes,” I replied, “Now that you can read, you get your own card.”

We filled out a form, Owen picked his card, and the librarian explained the rules telling Owen not to let anyone check out books on his card.  Owen looked very nervous with this instruction.  “Can I tell people I have the card? (Yes) “Can I show people my card?’ (yes) “Can I let them touch it?” (Yes) “My Mom just said, ‘do you want a card?’ and I said ‘yes’ but I didn’t even know I could get one.  I was so surprised!”

Owen’s new Lego: (because of course he changed him mind about the set he wanted - after I found that one on sale and already bought it!) 

 

Owen’s thought on the books he read today: 

“Oh, Cowboys!  Do they have guns??!” (they didn’t – kind of bummed)

Very concerned that a boy at the end of the book finds the little  boat, and takes it home even though it didn’t seem to be his. “I don’t think that was his.  Was it his?  Why did he just take that?  That’s not nice!”

  “cute”

“Why does this person draw the dragon in here like dragons are real?!”

  “This book is funny.  Let’s check it out even after I read it.”

Reading Material

Owen has been learning to read.  He has been interested in letters and sounds since he was fairly little and has been motivated just by the “thrill” of reading all on his own. 

One day in July, Owen saw an advertisement for Build-a-Bear and wanted to know when I could take him.  On a whim I offered to go if he finished 100 reading “lessons.”  He had completed about 50 in a reading book that we have - at a rate of a two or three lessons a week.

Owen was instantly hooked onto the idea, and wanted to begin right away.  We made a chart with 100 little squares that he could color in for each lesson he read.  When I wrote “Build-a-Bear” on the paper, Owen asked if he could get Lego instead.  This is what he had in mind.  I agreed.

Owen began asking me to listen to him read several times a day.  It quickly became apparent that the book I had would be too advanced to read at a fast rate since the ending lessons were at a 2nd grade level.  

We started reading basic phonics readers – “the cat is on the mat” type of thing.  One that Owen got for his birthday and another series that Eric’s aunt had given Owen.  Owen’s favorite was about “a duck stuck on a truck with junk – so he stunk.”  Apparently five-year-olds can hardly breath from laughing so hard when they read sentences like that…

The other day, I went to the library because Owen has memorized all of the reading books that we have. (and Jack is beginning to memorize them too!  He loves to listen to Owen’s reading and will point to words and say “aaaaa-mmmmm-zzzzzzzzz that says Cracker!”)

While at the library, I came across some great books, and grabbed several in the series to take home.  I also saw another series with only one word on each page.  These are really too easy for Owen, but thought he might feel confident and have fun reading them to Jack. I grabbed a few from that series too.

While reading one of the books to Jack, Owen seemed stuck on a page.  Both he and Jack were staring at it with furrowed eyebrows.  I leaned over to see this page.

I thought they were pretty funny, though I have a hard time imagining an illustrator being told that these were the pictures to be drawn for a children’s reading series.

Owen and Jack didn’t quite know what to think about the book.  I noticed that it isn’t one that is being re-read a million times.

Try Camping With This Gang

Peps Camping: Four-Oh-Ten

4 moms, 4 dads, 4 five-year-olds, 4 three-year-olds

4th year of chaos and fun

(First year I forgot shoes for my children…So, if you get your kids up at 5-something in the morning to get an early start, you should remember to add “shoes” to the list of things to bring!)

  2006

(2007 – 4 two-year-olds and 4 infants < 6 months – no thanks!)

20082009 2010

My Polite Boy

At 2 AM I woke up to the sound of poor Owen throwing up.  He was just outside Eric and my bedroom door (a part of the floor that is hardwood – how lucky can a parent get when her little one is sick?!)  Anyway, I helped him get cleaned up.   “That feels better, doesn’t it?” I said as I finished.  He said yes, but looked pale and sleepy and so sick. I sent him off to Eric who had made a little bed on our floor for Owen, but after a few steps, Owen came back.  “Thanks, Mama.” he said with a weak smile before walking away again.   I heard him walk into the bedroom and find the bed that his daddy made, he managed to say thanks again.

My sweet polite boy.

Obsessed

Owen loves Lego and he loves Star Wars.  He is thrilled with the idea of a combination of the two.  There has not been one day in the last few weeks that he has not played with his Star Wars Lego. 

Eric introduced  Owen to the Xbox Star Wars Lego game. Owen LOVES it.  It is a game they can play together, and Owen is getting quite good.  Jack likes to play too, but he mostly runs around randomly pressing buttons.  He is still at the stage where you don’t actually have to put the quarter in the arcade game and he still thinks he is playing (or doesn’t care either way.)

I was quite delighted to discover that the game is something that truly motivates the monkeys.  In the evenings, the promise of a chance to play the game with get teeth brushed and pajamas on in record time!  Tonight I announced that bedrooms had to be cleaned – an that too was done in record time with very little help.

It is fun to watch the boys play for a little while, but I get bored and sneak off to read or scrapbook or something else.  I figure playing video games is male-bonding thing. 

The other day however, I played the game for a little bit, and may have caught the bug.  It is slightly possible that I am obsessed.  Three reasons lead me to believe this.  #1 For the past few nights Eric and I have been playing the game after they monkeys have gone to bed.  #2 When the monkeys were playing tonight, I was telling them what to do and could feel myself getting frustrated when they were doing something different.  I was “backseat driving” my kids’ video game!  I felt kind of silly, so left them to their game while I ran to the store.  But when I got home at 9:30 Eric was playing, and I joined him.  #3  we just stopped playing – over two hours later...

Home Cookin’

When Eric walked in the door from work today, the monkeys ran and gave him a hug. 

Owen: What food did you bring home?

Eric: I didn’t bring home any food.

Owen: No, but what food did you bring home for dinner?

Eric: I brought home whatever chicken thing Mama is making over there in the kitchen.

Owen: Daddddddd-dddddyyyy! (he laughs) What did you really bring home for dinner?

Eric and Mama laugh heartily.

Then Mama throws the not-nearly defrosted chicken in the fridge and we order Thai.

Mama goes to pick it up so that Owen doesn’t get any ideas that only Daddy knows how to bring home dinner!

Pinky

While getting off of one of the inter-tubes  at Great Wolf Lodge, I bent one of my pinkies back.  I was pushing myself off of the tube with my hand, and all of my fingers slipped off except my pinky.  Unfortunately, I do not have enough strength in my right pinky to hold the weight of my body, so it bent back.

It hurt quite a bit, but I really didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so I carried on playing with the boys (and trying to cross the lily pads without holding onto the rope! – never did accomplish that…)

After about ten or fifteen minutes I was in too much pain.  I dreaded bringing attention to myself and I dreaded the humiliation of declaring a pinky injury.  But, I needed some ice;  so I went over to the lifeguard station.  I explained I had bent my finger back, and would love to get an icepack.  Could they get something for me?  They said they could.

Of course, it is never that simple with American companies.  They like to make things official and are worried about being sued.  The lifeguard asked me to sit down, and I could feel the paperwork coming on.  I started wishing I had gone to the Pizza Hut upstairs and got some ice there.  As I walked over, I eyed the chair in which  he had asked me to sit.   I noticed it was red and quite high, and I was going to have to climb two steps up onto it and would therefore be on display.  This was exactly the type of thing I was trying to avoid!

It was at this point I slipped on the wet floor, and fell – arms flailing as I went down, grabbing onto a post and pulling my body and face against it – barely keeping from hitting the floor.  I was pleased that I had caught myself, but as I straightened up and saw that I had the attention of four gob-smacked lifeguards, I realized that hitting the floor would probably have been far more graceful. (though “graceful” probably wouldn’t be the adjective of choice for either of those scenarios…)

Me: (Laughing) As if the pinky injury isn’t enough, now I have really embarrassed myself.  I am not usually this uncoordinated.

Lifeguard: Did you injure yourself further with that fall?

Me: No, it’s still just the pinky.

The lifeguard found his clipboard and injury paper.  Then he remembered and got me some ice packs.  They are a really cool type I have never seen before; they are stored in a cardboard box, and are shaken to initiate the cold – just like hand warmers when you are snowboarding!

The lifeguard examined my hand and pinky for several minutes as if he was Dougie Houser, MD had great experience with these types of injuries in his long 17 year of life .  He takes my name, address, phone, etc, and asks me to explain my injury and where it took place.

Lifeguard: Was it on the Canyon Run or the Howlin’ Tornado? 

Me: I’m not sure which one- I don’t know the names. ( I point in the direction of the bigger waterslides.)  The one with the green slide.

The lifeguard’s eyebrows furrow, and he looks over in the direction  in which I pointed - eyeing the two large slides at the top, neither of which are green.  Then he looks back at me quizzically, and back at the slides, moving his eyes slowly down the far wall. 

Lifeguard: Oh, you mean the little green one!

Me: You are really not  making me feel better here!

He laughs, and finishes filling out most of the paperwork.  The final questions: Your age? Your height? I answer these two, but have had enough.

Me: Don’t even ask for my weight!

I move to climb down from my chair and the lifeguard hands me another four ice-packs.  This seems a little excessive and I wonder how long I will need to keep my finger cold.  Then I realize that the ice pack I have no longer feels cold. While it seems as though I have been on the display chair forever, I guess that it hasn’t been longer than ten minutes. 

Me: How long do the ice packs last?

Lifeguard: For about five minutes.

Me: No thanks, I’ll be fine.

I hop down and return to the family.

The blended margarita Eric gets me with lunch lasts an awful lot longer than five minutes!

Great Wolf Lodge

Hi Ho from the Great Wolf Lodge!  We’re here hangin’ with Grandma and Uncle Marc.

The monkeys are having a great time – putting their heads underwater over and over again (thanks Lisa, you rock!)

Both boys love the wave pool and getting knocked over by the waves and pushed under.  They come up laughing every time, but it also gives me a rush of “save your child” adrenalin as well…

This video is from yesterday, before they discovered the joys of the bigger waves that push them under water, but it gives a sense of the park, so I included it.  We didn’t take the camera today, but will in the morning.

 

Uncle Marc and the monkeys (with the life jackets that I finally let them wear after they begged me all day.)

Jack built himself a little den in the corner of the hotel room to play with his little “nai-nai” guys (his kitty Peanut Butter and his puppy Hendricks).  After lunch, he lay his little head down, and fell right asleep!  These photos make it look fairly big, but it is this tiny little corner – he can’t even straighten his legs.

Grown-up fun

I spent the day with my nieces, Lauren and Sarah.  Lauren got up at a shockingly early hour of 9, but we had to wake Sarah up at noon so we could have some time in the day to actually spend together!  The monkeys spent a day with their Grandma, so it was a day with just us girls!

We headed over to Sky High, a big trampoline place, and it was lots of fun.  Lauren was putting us to shame with her pikes and back flips and the like, so Sarah and I teamed up and made a “routine.”  I think we are pretty awesome. (Um, please bear in mind that I am 35 thirty-something) when you are watching this video…)

Good With the Bad

Tonight I have  this little monkey next to me (and his two cats – Jill and Peanut Butter.)

When Jack was little (since he is so big now, right?) he could never fall asleep in our bed.  On the winter nights when the power was out and we would try to stay warm by sleeping in one bed, or in summer, on the occasional sweltering night when we would cool one room with our window air-conditioner, Jack would be wide awake jumping on the bed.  When we could get him to lie down, he would open his eyes and look at Eric and say “My Daddy!” then turn to look at me and say, “My Mama!”  over and over again.  We needn’t worry about not sleeping because of the temperature, we were not sleeping because of that little monkey!

We used to have to trick Jack by putting him to bed in his own room (freezing – with lots of blankets or sweltering -with a fan) and move him back to our room when he was asleep.  Eric and I would hope-hope-hope he didn’t wake up since there would be no getting him back to sleep again.  It is hard to snuggle with a baby that you are terrified is going to wake up!  On the occasional times that Jack would fall asleep in Eric’s or my arms, we always felt it was something special.

Tonight I “tricked” Jack again.  We spent the day with my nieces Sarah and Lauren and they are spending the night too.  Lauren in the spare room, and Sarah in Jack’s room.  So I put Jack to bed in his bed, and moved him when Sarah was ready to go to bed too. 

The sad news is, the reason there is some spare room next to me is that Eric is out of town for the week.  It seems like AGES since I have seen Eric!  I really miss him, and wish the days would fly by so that I could see him again – on Friday.  I would gladly change out this monkey for my husband.  But that is not an option for me, so I will enjoy Jack being close-by and put up with the fact that Eric is too far away.

Weapons

Several years ago my grandma told me that there was no stopping boys from playing guns.   I figured that might eventually be true with my boys, but  I was honestly hoping to avoid much of the gun phase.  My monkeys haven’t really been in to weapons.  Until…

…Owen saw Star Wars, and then saw this Star Wars gun at a garage sale for 50 cents.   He begged me to get it, and I agreed, figuring that the gun would most likely end up being an accessory to one of the costumes that Owen had.  Neither Owen nor I knew  gun shot foam darts.

 

When we got home, I pulled the orange lever on the back of the gun, then Owen pulled the trigger.  To our surprise, a foam dart flew right out!

The monkeys played with the gun for hours that day.  The foam dart had a little suction cup at the end, and would stick to certain things when shot.  The boys figured out which things it would stick to and deemed those things the “bad guys”  running, and shooting at them throughout the day.  Owen even let Jack have a few turns with his precious new gun!

The next day I saw a similar gun, but a much smaller version,  in the clearance section at Target, and bought it for Jack.  Again, the boys were entertained for quite some time, playing that they were on a team fighting off the “bad guys.” 

Unfortunately, being on the same team did not last.

Jack’s gun rights soon were revoked (until age 4) when he shot Owen barely to the left of his eye at point blank range.  This was approximately 14 seconds after having the gun returned to him after a 3-day confiscation for shooting Owen in the arm at point blank range…

Jack later pretended that several different toys were guns.  I wasn’t too worried about that, as my biggest issue with the guns was Jack needing to have a little more time to develop self control so he can control when and where he shoots the bullets.

I assumed that the obsession with guns would fade when the guns became less interesting with no bullets.  But I was sure mistaken!  Anything and everything can make a gun.  Plastic bananas, tinker toys, K’nex, Legos, and paper, all seem to end up as guns.  I just decided not to make a big deal out of these other guns.

I had hoped to pass over the gun-phase, or at least pass it quickly.  Today,  I realized that that was probably not going to be the case.  We are already too far in – so far, in fact, that I don’t even realize it myself. 

Today I took the boys to get ice cream at Baskin Robin with Lisa, Sarah, and Katie.  I wanted Jack to leave his toys in the car while we went in the store and used my typical ‘Love and Logic- style’  positive-statement.

Lisa heard me, and busted up laughing – doubling over in the parking lot.  It took me a second to figure out why she was laughing at me. 

I had said to Jack, “All kids who are not carrying weapons will get ice cream in the store.”

Considering Truancy

Kindergarten is killing me.  It hasn’t even started and it is killing me.  I have cried every day for the past few days thinking about Owen starting school in just three weeks.  I can’t remember the last time I cried (apart from yesterday and the day before…)  I am not normally someone who cries over things.

Eric’s mom, Mary, told me she was surprised that I am upset about Owen going off to Kindergarten.  Mary thought I would be happy thinking about all of the exciting  new experiences Owen will have.  It is certainly not surprising that she thought this – it  is exactly how I thought I would feel too! 

As a teacher I am excited for Owen to go to school.  I am excited for the new experiences and learning opportunities he will have.  He is definitely ready for Kindergarten.  But, I guess if I am honest, it is not Owen that I am worried about, it’s me.  I always focused on the Owen part up until now – and tried to make sure he was prepared.  I just didn’t realize that the “me” part would be so strong – and need some preparation too.

As I was taking (crying) on the phone with my mom today, she reminisced a little about the struggles she had sending my brother, sister, and I to school.   It is a difficult step to take for most parents.

Later today I was thinking about that conversation with my mom, I remembered what she has told me about my first year of school.  I was four and reading and excited to go to school like my brother and sister.  My mom enrolled me in school,  but decided quickly that  the full-day schedule was too long  for me.   She decided I should go half-day and actually came to school every day around lunchtime and picked me up and took me home .  The school must not have known quite what to do with that; there was no such thing as half-day kindergarten in Scotland.  But my mom just thought I was too young to be in school that long,  so she made new plans.

Somehow my mother changing the system to fit my needs (when I was 4) was very comforting to me (now).  I liked to be reminded that I am still Owen’s biggest advocate.  It has not cured the sick and sad feeling I get when I think of Owen in Kindergarten, but it does make me fill a little better – so I will take it…

and maybe push truancy off for another year!

Chapter Books

I have been wanting to read a chapter book to the monkeys for some time now, but have hesitated because I don’t want to introduce ideas that are way beyond their age-experience.  I also worried that Jack wouldn’t be able to sit for a very long period of time without the pictures to go along with the book.

Today we stopped at half-price books on the way home from dropping off Eric at the airport for his business trip this week :(

I got Henry Huggins, the Mouse and the Motorcycle and Stuart Little. 

The monkeys wanted to start reading right away and so I obliged and read the first chapter right in the parking lot while they got into their car seats.   I guess I shouldn’t have worried about them paying attention since they were so excited and interested in the book, they forgot to actually get their seatbelts on! 

All day they have asked for the book.  We read together on the couch right when we got home, then during lunch, and again at bedtime.  Jack surprised me by being totally enthralled with the book – motionless during the readings.  As soon as I finish a chapter, he immediately asks me to read another.  And just to prove me completely and utterly wrong about him, the only thing that distracts Jack from the reading is when he sees one of the small pictures that are scattered throughout the book. (then he wants to get a closer look and to talk about the picture.)

We read 3/4 of the book today and will no-doubt finish tomorrow.

Owen is already concerned about the cat that is interested in eating Stuart (a mouse).  Owen wants to know if that was “real life.”  He is having a little bit of a hard time understanding that cats do want to eat mice, but that this book isn’t real, so this mouse won’t be eaten…  hopefully Owen’s tender heart won’t be too traumatized by these chapter books…

Camping

On Monday the monkeys and I met our friends Gail, Logan, and Madigan at Lake Kachess to camp for two night. There was lots of fun to be had!

We conquered raging rivers.  Hiked through the forest and up and over the forest! Played in the lake… …while the mamas talked and looked at this view.Got very dirty.    

  Welcomed more friends into our midst. Made S’Mores with GIANT marshmallows. (I got the fire going all by myself!)  And slept in a tent (with a slowly leaking air mattress).

We can’t wait to go back and do it again!  Only an hour away from our house makes spur of the moment trips doable.

Jack Words

Jack has recently dropped a few of his cute words and is sounding way too grown-up now!  I don’t want to forget his  most recent pronunciations…

see-creepie-oh (C3PO)

snoot-snack (fruit snack)

frown fankie (brown blankie)

elbow (shoulder – why he can’t seem to remember the word is beyond me, but it makes me laugh every time he says it)

 

grrr – I had a several more of these in my head as I when to write this blog, and they have all flown away.