"The Essentials" as Dictated by Kyra

Q: What would you have taken with you on the Mayflower if you had been a Pilgrim?

A: pizza, games, marbles, colors, rug. I would also like to bring my care bear.

First Day of School

I interrupt this series of vacation phots to bring you "first day of school" photos. Kyra started preschool on Monday. She can hardly contain her excitement about school. It's amazing that I got any pictures as she was all energy!


This is her "princess" backpack. She had been coveting this baby since she first laid eyes upon it at JC Penney's. I gave it to her on Sunday night and she carried it around until she went to bed.

There was definitely no separation anxiety for this girl. She marched right into school, found her cubby and got right to work.


Tuesday was Ian's turn! I can't believe I am a mom to a 5th grader! Even though I see him everyday, I can't believe how much he's grown from last year.
Obviously, you don't get as many pictures on the first day of school when your child starts growing up. Kyra had to get in on the action this morning but I think it turned out pretty cute.

One change this year is that I will be taking Ian to school since it is on the way to Kyra's preschool and they start close to the same time. Ian gets theadded benefit of a little more free time around the house, but then again, he had to put up with his paparazzi mom this morning.

We're hoping for a great year all around!

Mommy doesn't get new math!

I am glad Ian "gets" his math homework because I would be seriously perplexed and at a loss for words as to how they want him to solve problems. His district uses the Everyday Math program and I'm just wondering how on earth these people at the University of Chicago think this is easy!

Anyhow, Ian has now entered the unchartered territory of double and triple digit multiplication. He's not having any problem with it and dare I say, I think he might actually enjoy it (further proving that I was just the pod and he got none of my genes). Now, any of you who are around my age certainly can recall the way you were taught. This morning, Ian asked me which method of multiplication I preferred: the partial products method or the lattice method. ?HUH?!!! Neither really resemble how I learned to multiply. So, my answer for my preferred "method" is simple - the calculator!

Thank goodness for weather-watching kiddos!

I got off to a bit of a slow start this morning and when I got up, Ian informed me that something was wrong with our outdoor thermometer because it was reading "Lo" and not an actual temperature. Alas, it is too cold here for it to register (and that, my friends, is wrong on so many levels). In any event, the wise 10-year-old-to-be suggests that Maybe we turn on the news to see if there will be a two-hour delay. I told him I had my doubts but low and behold, not only is there no dealy, but there is no school! This is certainly a record for our school district. It's our third no-school day this school year. I just had to laugh though because I told Rich it was a good thing Ian was alert because otherwise I would have been sending him out to wait for the bus! Now, what are we goint to do today . . .

SNOW DAY!!!!

There is nothing quite like the excitement of waking up and finding out school has been cancelled due to snow. Ian and Kyra were beside themselves (Iam because he didn't have to go to school and Kyra because Ian was going to stay home with her). We had a brief stint at the sledding hill down the street before we returned home. Ian his friend C had the "best snowball fight EVER!" and Kyra and I made some M&M cookies. It's just been a day that has brought a smile to my face and makes me glad to be a mom who gets to share little moments like this every day!

It will drive you MAD!

Last night, Ian wanted to play Mad Math. He got this game as a gift either for Christmas or his birthday but only played it a couple of times. Now, I guess it is a favorite in his new classroom at school, thus, the inspiration to play it at home.

It's a very simple game really but I can see how it's a great game for elementary math because there's LOTS of repetition. Anyhow, in a game that lasted a little longer than we had anticipated, there was a lot of laughter and quite a bit of silliness.

If you're looking for a fun, educational game, our family recommends this one!

Annoying parents for thousands of years and still going strong!

An excerpt from a rather disturbing note in Ian's take-home folder:

"Hello Parents of 4th Grade Students,

As you already may be aware, in 4th grade, the students in msic class learn to play the recorder. It is a wind instrument, similar to a flute. It was first played thousands of years ago in the Renaissance period."

[I think I will invest in a good supply of ear plugs now.]

How Did This Happen?

Yesterday was the first day of school. For the first time since he started preschool, Ian didn't want me to take him to school for the first day. He preferred to take the bus with his friends. At first I thought I was going to be ok with it, but as he stepped out the door, I was really kind of sad as it's a reminder of how quickly he is growing up. Seriously, how did I get old enough to have a fourth grader?

So, I spent most of my day yesterday wondering how it was going and could barely contain myself as the hour approached for him to come home on the bus. I couldn't wait to hear all about his first day. Kyra and I waited at the bus stop at whcih point, he came off again with his friends and promptly wanted to go play with them. Another crushing blow to the mommy heart!

Still, I am glad he is excited to be back at school and with his friends. I know he was anxious to get back. We did get a lot out of him at dinner and he has told me that I will like his new teacher, Mrs. D, as her two favorite things are crafts and reading. What's not to like about that? Still, I pray for this to be a great year for my "baby boy."

The Excitement is Building

Today, in the midst of running errands, we popped over to Ian's school to see if class lists had been posted yet. Granted Ian didn't know much about any of the fourth grade teachers, but there was one he had been mentioning all summer. It turns out that he is in her class and several of his good friends and scouts are in there as well. I know how much effort our principal places in grouping the classes together, so I am looking forward to a great year for Ian!

Back to school

Today is Ian's first day back to school. He was so excited to be going back. It was quite different taking him for the first day this year. I was amazed how few parents actually came to see their children off on the first day. Of course, Ian was excited because he has moved over to the "big kids" side being that he is now a THIRD GRADER!

(ETA: someone just pointed out to me that the school name is actually spelled wrong on the sign! Oops! LOL!)

An "I Feel Old" Moment

Every night at dinner, we talk about our days and we focus a lot on what Ian did in school (since Kyra's day consists mainly of being cute and emptying her toy box). Yesterday apparently was "Law Day" in Wisconsin (which is funny because I work in a law firm and had not a clue that this day even existed). As a result, all the second grade classes in the entire city went to the courthouse (not at the same time, thankfully) to see a "trial" of the Big Bad Wolf vs. the Three Little Pigs. Apparently, the Big Bad Wolf was up against some trespassing and criminal mischief charges and the jury acquitted him.

Anyhow, Ian brought home some paperwork about "how to act" in court, so we were paging through it. One of the rules was "You can't listen to a Walkman in court." I really didn't think anything of it until Ian looked at me kind of funny and said, "Mommy, what's a Walkman?" It was one of those surreal moments where I realized that this was one of those things that he would have never experienced and all of a sudden, Rich and I felt really old. So, I told him that it was what we used to listen to music on before iPods. Ian just thought that was too funny, but now I feel really old!

There's wisdom in his youth

Yesterday Ian came home from school with a note saying that he was pushing in line. When I asked him why this happened, he told me it was because two kids "budged" (in my day, we called it "cutting" but apparently "budging" is now the new word). So we started discussing how he might approach the situation differently the next time - that really being the first one out the door to recess wasn't going to change the course of his life. I told him that maybe the next time, he might just let the other kids go in front of him to show kindness. In response, he said, "or I could just go to the back of the line because that's what Jesus would do. He always puts others first." It took everything I had not to break down crying right then and there. Sometimes we can experience God through the littlest of messengers.

I am glad I am not the only one!

In a scene reminiscent of one of my worst childhood memories, Ian came home with the dreaded "story problem" math homework last night. What was worse about this homework was that he had the "numbers" but he had to create the story problem to go with it.

I have never liked math. In fact, even though I preferred science when I was in high school, I didn't pursue it in college because I knew it would require taking at least 2 semesters of calculus and I thought, "Why subject myself to that misery when I can major in French and travel to Europe?" Alas, I have hit another tangent . . . back to the story.

Ian is very gifted when it comes to math but this exercise through him for a loop. What's worse is that I don't "get" how they are teaching math in schools these days. Words that I remember being taught are no longer part of the vocabulary and there are so many diagrams and charts to fill in, it does get confusing. Shouldn't the creators of this curriculum remember who is going to be helping their children at home with it?

So, after a very painful 60 minutes, Ian did manage to "complete" his story problem homework. Hopefully (though I know I am probably wrong), there won't be any more for a while. My poor brain is beat!

Ian is a math magician

After Ian got home from school today, we went through our normal routine of going over his homework for the day. They are getting ready to start a new math unit and so the teacher sends home a "Family Letter" to explain what they will be learning (actually, I think it is to secretly remind parents that we need to "brush up" on our own skills so that we can help with homework). The next unit is going to be multiplication and division.

Now, Ian is extremely talented in math. He just "gets" it (and he certainly doesn't get that talent from me). So, at dinner I said, "so you are going to be doing multiplication and division - sounds like it's going to be tough." In his best exasperated voice he tells me, "Mommy, I already KNOW how to multiply and divide. I'm a math magician!" I honestly think he was trying to say "mathmatician", but it came out so cute!

And now if you will excuse me, I am going to go practice how to multiply and divide (without a calculator).