Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Last week, Jack and Tate’s first marking period of school ended. It’s been a busy nine weeks of homework, projects, tests, fun, and more tests. It came and went so fast. It’s hard to believe that Halloween is just around the corner.

The boys’ transition to a new school this year kept me a little on edge. I was concerned, not only with staying on track academically, but with making new friends and getting used to the new normal. They both persevered beautifully, and their teacher conferences went very well.

Jack’s homework load is about half of what he had in the past. At first, I thought he was forgetting to bring assignments home, because we used to do an hour of homework every night, at a minimum. I assume he is doing more work in class than last year. Now he does a few minutes of work on the computer, a worksheet here and there, and test reviews. He is ecstatic about doing less homework, as he should be.

There are more tests this year and Jack is a perfectionist. If he doesn’t get it right the first time, he gets very frustrated with himself. So, lots of testing put a little more stress on both of us. I’m a fan of less homework, but I wondered if he got enough review. It seemed there was a test or quiz several times a week, and as a worrisome mother, I hoped he retained everything.

According to Jack and Tate’s report cards, they were both successful in their first quarter marks. I am happy to see they’re right where they need to be, and all their hard work over the last nine weeks paid off. We had a few bumps in the road, but that is half the battle. I hope the next three marking periods go just as smoothly if not better.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Tate is in first grade this year. He is enjoying each day and learning new things. He gets off the bus and can’t wait to tell me what he did at school or explain what craft he made that is in his hand at the time. It usually takes up our entire walk home, and I can’t get a word in edgewise. I love every minute!

When Tate was in full day Kindergarten, there was a nap/rest time after lunch. Tate took full advantage of those thirty minutes last year. If he fell asleep or just took a break, lying down recharged him. I know he misses his rest period this year. He gets up early and goes strong all day. But if you add in soccer practice or an illness, it can really wipe him out.

Tate’s exhaustion leads to meltdowns, which he’s perfected over the last few months. It’s extremely frustrating for me to keep control and stay consistent when he falls apart while doing homework. I know the main trigger is exhaustion, and a part of me feels badly for him. I can see in his eyes and hear in his cry how tired he is.

As a single parent most days, it’s hard to get one child to soccer practice and home at a reasonable hour so both kids can get sufficient sleep. I want my kids to participate in sports, but also get enough rest. Finding that balance is tricky. I do my best to keep the bedtime routine moving along on busy nights. It isn’t always an easy task. By the time Tate crawls into bed he is out cold. Every school morning I drag him out of bed wishing the alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but he manages to wake up early every weekend. One day we’ll be all able to sleep in on the weekend.

I hope over the next couple weeks Tate can figure out how to gain control, even when he’s tired. It’s hard for me sometimes as an adult, so I know it won’t happen overnight, but just one day of sheer happiness in the evenings would be a great start.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
At the beginning of the school year, I was asked to help sell ice cream at the boys’ school during lunch. My friend is in charge of organizing helpers, and she begged me to help out. The funds go to the school, which is nice. Obviously, I don’t want my kids to eat ice cream every day at lunch, so I had hesitations, but I felt  obliged to sign up because it is an easy way I can help out my kids new school.

I have volunteered two times this year, and each time has been great fun. I get to meet a lot of the teachers and see my kids and my friend’s kids enjoying their time in the cafeteria. It brings back memories of my own education, and it feels great knowing they are having as much fun as I did. The best part is that I get to eat lunch with my kids while I am there.

The kids are almost universally polite and excited to get their ice cream treat. Their eyes get huge when they look into the ice chest and pick their treat. They hand me their coins and always say thank you. It’s especially adorable when the younger students get excited about putting their coins in the money bin. Jack and Tate love when I work the ice cream booth. I’ve promised them on the days I work they may have a treat. So once a month, they are my two happiest customers.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Jack’s teacher asked for parent volunteers to help out in his science class. My husband and I got to help Jack, and the rest of his class, dissect owl pellets. It sounded gross, but definitely interesting to our nine year old.

I wasn’t exactly sure what an owl pellet was, but I learned it’s basically a hairball filled with bones. The owl coughs up the hairball because it can’t be digested. Have I completely disgusted you yet?

Each student pair got a dried (and sanitized) owl pellet, tweezers, picks and a magnifying glass. The students were nervous at first, but soon they all used their kit and fingers to pull apart the owl pellet and examined the contents. Each team had a bone-sorting chart with species-specific pictures of skulls, jaws, teeth, vertebrae, limbs, hips, ribs and other bones to help identify their findings.

Jack and his partner enjoyed finding all types of rodent, shrew, and mole bones. The pellet was about the size of a small egg. Inside there were three full skulls, a dozen ribs, numerous teeth and vertebrae. It was gross at first, but quickly became fascinating to the students. Each student glued their bones on a piece of paper and labeled their findings.

It was amusing to hear the students talk among themselves. Some students shouted, “Wow, look at this skull!” or  “Ewwwww look at those sharp teeth.” I think all of Jack’s classmates really enjoyed their lab. It was fun to be hands on and helping out in the classroom. I was a little hesitant about owl pellets, but it was neat to watch Jack and his friends learn in their science lab together.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
I was helping Haley with her homework (her first ever!) over the weekend. She had to trace over some words and color in their corresponding pictures. As she was coloring in the image of a little girl she mentioned that her teacher likes the people they color to have “normal colored hair”.

I was a little take aback by this, as we seem to live in the age of “You do you!” From an educational perspective, it seems like kids should be able to be unrestricted in their creativity. And as a practical point, people in real life have all different hair colors—and I think that’s great!

This is certainly not an issue I would raise with the teacher, even though it gave me pause. Her teacher is from a different generation, and heck, her statement sounds like something my own mother might say. But I do think it’s an interesting development in terms of the different values my kids will be exposed to and influenced by.

In the end, the situation became an opportunity when I expressed to Haley what I thought about alternative hair colors. It’s a good thing for her to understand that different people have different ideas, and we each have to make up our own mind. I have a feeling we have many, many more of these conversations coming as the school years go by.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Our boys are both young for their grades, especially Tate who was born in July. Many of their classmates are 6-9 months older, and many more are over a year older due to the “red-shirt” phenomena prevalent in their new school. We started our kids on time before we realized that many parents in our new town delay the start of their children’s formal education.

Regardless of their youth, our kids are doing well in school. However, we were not surprised when our youngest came home with a red note about his behavior. Our little talker, who talks a little too much, found himself going home with a red behavior sheet tonight for talking out of turn.

Part of Tate’s homework tonight was to write a sentence about how he can improve his behavior. We let him decide what to write. He chose, “I’ll be more focused the next time. I’m sorry.” It doesn’t sound like much, but it is important that he understands the issue and he does want to improve. There is a great kid inside and he is learning that HE has to make the right decisions… even when nobody is watching.

I know Tate is going to learn a lot this year, both academically and socially. I’m glad his teacher is invested in both. We saw her in town this evening at a school event and thanked her for the opportunity to help Tate improve his behavior. Let’s hope the red behavior sheet helps Tate make better choices at school and at home.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Haley starts Kindergarten this week, and she couldn’t be more excited. I’m excited for her, too, and also in complete disbelief that this day has come. But I know she’s ready. And after a long summer of no camp, she’s more than ready to play with kids her own age—no offense, Hudson.

She’s got everything she feels she needs for a great start— a new haircut, a new lunchbox and a new outfit. She’s totally confident she will have a ton of new friends by the end of the first day—what I wouldn’t give for her self-assuredness!

There’s so much talk about how “Kindergarten isn’t what it used to be.” I have to admit I’m a little nervous to find out what the new paradigm entails. But Haley will face it with gusto, and so shall I. I’ve heard good things about the teacher she’s been assigned to, and the Kindergarten classrooms I saw are colorful, organized and cheerful.

I’m looking forward to a great school year, and wish for the same for all of you!

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
For years, I dressed my children up in whatever I pleased.  When the boys were toddlers, I liked to dress them up for our outings in cute little button down shirts, plaid, belts, ties, and shoes of my choice. It made me feel accomplished during those long days by actually getting us ready for the day. No matter what they wore, it never phased them.

As the years passed, Jack and Tate got more aware of their attire. They liked certain fabrics, and disliked many others. They had aversions to buttons, collars, and “handsome shoes.” It was a little heart breaking for me since I loved to dress my guys up from time to time.

School pictures over the last several years were easy. Jack and Tate’s former school had a uniform policy. All school pictures had to include their uniform shirt. No big deal, it was like every other day of the year.

This year, they don’t wear uniforms. So, I got to pick the outfits for school pictures. I was reliving my dress-up days with my kids for picture day. I ironed two shirts and two pairs of shorts. I let them know this was what they were wearing for picture day. In the back of my mind, I knew there was potential for concern. I was ready to see some eye rolls at the thought of wearing buttons to school.

The boys were not thrilled to dress up for picture day. It’s hot here, and a long sleeved shirt wasn’t ideal. However, I wanted them to make an exception on picture day. After some negotiating, we settled on wearing the nicer outfits and taking a change of shirt for after the pictures were taken. I thought that was a fair trade.

On the morning of school pictures, I dropped my parents off at the airport. I hugged my parents goodbye while my husband got the boys ready and took them to school. I tried to make sure my husband knew to tame the bed head and dress them appropriately. I know he is capable of making himself look nice so surely he can help his kids look picture perfect.

I can’t wait to see how the boys pictures turn out this year. Will their hair be a mess?  Will their shirts be buttoned? Whatever the case, I just hope sweet smiles are on their faces.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Jack and Tate made it through their first full week at their new school. They were nervous the first morning, but by the time they stepped off the bus, they were more relaxed and excited for the year ahead. I love seeing their smiles each afternoon and hearing about what new activity they did each day. Getting past the initial unknowns is a big relief for all of us.

As a child, I never moved to a new school. I have friends today that I went to elementary school with (including my husband.) Although I was nervous for Jack and Tate, I’m happy we had the opportunity to move them while they were still young, rather than uprooting them as teenagers. They already have friends knocking on our door to play after school. I’m proud they stepped up to the plate and showed me they’re perfectly able to stand their ground in a new and unfamiliar place.

Their take-home folders are already full of projects and homework. I’m sure we are all in for a busy, fun and fulfilling year for both Jack and Tate. This will be a year they’ll never forget, and I hope they make life-long friendships and memories just like I did.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Jack and Tate’s school hosted a “Meet and Greet” where the boys met their teachers, toured the school one more time, met the bus driver, and listened to a new student orientation. My husband was out of town, so all the responsibility fell on me. It was A LOT to take in. There were several hundred people roaming the halls, and by the time I exited through the doors, I was very overwhelmed. I knew it would be a chaotic evening, but with a new school come new policies, rules, bus schedules, tons of questions, new technology for parents and students to learn, trying to find answers to the 85 questions we had, and a lot of unknowns.

As the boys and I were leaving the school that night, it was thundering, lightning, and raining heavily. We held tight for a bit hoping it would pass, but no luck. It was beyond dinnertime, and all three of us were starving. I promised my kids dinner out and we’d get to the restaurant lickety-split. Finally, we gave up and made a run for the van. We were drenched beyond belief.

Then…. My van battery died…. completely dead. I told myself, “NO, this can’t be happening!” My husband is out of town, it’s pouring down rain, I have two starving kids in the back seat, I have a monstrous headache from all the information overload, and this is the absolute worst timing. I took a deep breath, and scrambled to find a familiar face to help. I knew things could be worse, and this was just a little glitch. Eventually, I got the van up and running, had a new battery installed the next day and life went on.

The most positive part about those stressful minutes was a little voice in the backseat who was so concerned about my stress level. Tate repeated over and over and over… “Mommy, please don’t worry. We will fix it. Some days are terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.” His sweet little heart, and his memory of one of his favorite books, immediately calmed my nerves. I’ve been telling Tate something similar to his words for the last several years when he has a meltdown. This time he was helping me get through a meltdown. I’m beyond thrilled Tate showed some empathy and took it upon himself to lift me up from my otherwise frantic evening. Perhaps all our meltdown pep talks are finally paying off.