Quote of the Day, Bolinas Edition

Boylee to family: Why do we always go to the same restaurant?!?

Family: Because there's only one restaurant in town!

Quote of the Day

This morning, when giving Mama instructions for playing a certain game Boylee had devised: "Be quiet! You can blink, and breathe. But quietly!"

Quote of the Day

First sentence out of Boylee's mouth upon awakening this morning, to Mama: "I love you so much. I love you more than the whole earth. More than a trash can."

Breaking News!

Last night Boylee was brushing his teeth and complaining at the same time: "It hurts!" I wanted him to quit complaining and just get the brushing done, so I wasn't too sympathetic. But after he was finished I took a look -- and discovered that he has a loose tooth! It's one of the bottom middle teeth, and it's only just barely loose, so it'll no doubt be a while before it falls out.

Boylee's reaction? Laughter and tears at the same time, which he himself acknowledged as an interesting combo.

Ten Minutes

Today something hilarious happened. Well, not hilarious to me, but hilarious to Boylee: I forgot his backpack at home. The idea that it would be forgotten was very, very funny. To him.

His absent backpack was full of the following: his completed homework, his lunchbox which held water and a snack, and his lunch ticket for eating in the cafeteria today. Obviously I had to go home and get it. I said, "Boylee, you go into the classroom and I'll be back with your backpack in ten minutes." He said, "Why does EVERYTHING take ten minutes?!?" The answer is...I do not know, but it just does.

Quote of the Day

Just before bedtime tonight.

Boylee (upset): I can't stop thinking about it!

Daddy: Thinking about what?

Boylee (sobbing): Mom in jail!

What?!??

Acting

That's My Boy!

We get a lot of harassment from family and friends regarding the decrepit state of our "media center." We have one tiny TV in the bedroom -- like maybe 8 inches? 10 inches? We have a nice-ish TV in our den. But we have no cable or satellite, and we live in a nook against a hill so we get terrible reception. Both TVs have actually antennae, that have to be arranged and rearranged whenever you change channels. Now we're going to be receiving a very nice, new, fancy TV (thanks Sid and Nancy!), so we were talking about rearranging -- we can get rid of the tiny old TV, and move the decent TV into the bedroom, and have the fancy TV in the den. But this was Boylee's reaction: He burst into tears! He only wants the tiny TV, he never wants any other TV, and he doesn't want to watch Sesame Street on a large TV. Oh, Boylee.

Winter Concert

It was unbearably sweet! It was also exactly like the concerts of my childhood -- the tiny auditorium looks the same as LAUSD schools did in the 70s, the music was the same, the whole aura was exactly the same.




The aforementioned tiny auditorium means they had to do three concerts. At the first, the audience was strictly parents, and because there's virtually no backstage space, the kids were simply brought from their classrooms to perform, class by class. So while the kids got to sing their song, they didn't get to see any of the other classes performing. So at the second concert, half the school watched. At the third, the other half of kids watched. This was great fun for everyone, but I have to say that by the end of the third concert the little kindergarteners were burned out. It was a very hectic day for them. But that was afterwards -- during their performance they had tons of energy, and you could feel the affection the big kids have for the littler ones -- the audience was totally quiet and respectful, and gave the littles a huge applause.

A Conundrum

Thursday morning is Boylee's winter concert. The kinders will be singing "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer," if I'm not mistaken. (It's supposed to be a surprise, but I keep hearing him sing it.) We have been asked to send the kids to school in "winter clothing," and then the teacher will provide a red scarf for each kid. Unfortunately the weather report calls for sunny skies, highs in the low 80s. So I'm not sure just how wintery we're going to get. A long sleeve shirt might be pushing it.

Hates to Color?

Boylee does seem to hate to color -- but on Friday afternoon his teacher sent home two xeroxed game boards, along with dice. He was so enthralled with the games that he did this all on his own:

More About Boylee's Conference

Mrs. Richards gave me an example of how Boylee works. He recently had a writing test. She gave him a piece of paper and asked him to draw a picture of something he could see at a zoo, and then write a sentence about it. He drew a polar bear (maybe because it's white and he wouldn't have to color it?!?) and then wrote: I see a polar bear at the zoo.

Mrs. Richards told me that some other kids might choose to write just "polar bear," or "I see a polar bear," but he wrote that nice, long sentence. That got him a grade of 4.

Parent Conferences

Today was my first conference with Boylee's teacher. I'll post more about it tomorrow, but I do want to tell you that she said this: "If my class was full of Boylees, my job would be a lot easier."

Art

That one says "I am thankful for...my parents, getting presents, playing basketball, my cats."

One More From Thanksgiving

There was a wide array of headgear. One girl in the back is getting her pilgrim bonnet on.

Feast!

Tuesday was the kindergarten Thanksgiving feast. Here are some highlights.





And what was our family's contribution, you might ask? Mini chicken tacos. This is L.A. after all. They were a big hit.

Quote of the Day

An early morning conversation.

Mama: Why don't you go to the bathroom, and I'll get breakfast started.

Boylee: You read my mind.

Photo by Boylee

Reality 2

Boylee's teacher seems to think that teachers won't be laid off -- because they have contracts and must be paid. So that would carry us through June, but after that...

Reality Sets In

Have you heard this news?

L.A. UNIFIED CONSIDERS STARK MIDYEAR BUDGET CUTS
BY JASON SONG AND HOWARD BLUME FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

November 17, 2008 -- The Los Angeles Unified School District has developed stark new plans including larger class sizes, layoffs and early retirement incentives to deal with a worsening state budget situation.

District officials -- already in the process of identifying $400 million in cuts for next year -- almost certainly will have to reopen this year's budget and find about $200 million to $400 million to meet an anticipated shortfall.

According to our principal, this could have a big effect on our tiny school... One scenario: laying off 2 of 10 teachers (need less teachers if class sizes are bigger), then having laid-off teachers with more seniority from other schools replacing some of our other teachers. Worst case scenario: the school, among the smallest in LAUSD, could even be closed. And to enhance the pain, the budget cuts will take effect in the middle of the school year, meaning kids classrooms could change in February. Even now, all money is frozen. We got lucky with that field trip earlier this week, now everything going forward that hasn't already been paid for is cancelled. Doesn't matter if the money exists in the principal's budget -- his accounts are totally frozen. One more thing: We aren't discussing any of this with Boylee.

Field Trip!

On Monday we were all set to go on a walking field trip to a local theater to see Sleeping Beauty...but with the terrible fires causing horrible air quality, the district wanted all kids to stay inside all day. That meant the field trip would be cancelled! But our terrific principal coughed up $500 from his very limited budget to order a bus for the kids. Sleeping Beauty was great, but here's what Boylee thought of the bus:

Quote of the Day

Boylee to Daddy: "Daddy, you're old. You're going to die soon."

Untitled

Triumph!

In October the math coach at school launched a "problem of the month" project. Every month, a different math problem for each grade is left in the library. Kids can come in on their own if they care to try to solve it, and at the end of the month those who got it correct are honored with their names on the school's announcement board. Look who solved his first problem correctly:



The kindergarten problem involved a bunch of dots on the page. Question 1: How many dots are there? Question 2: How did you figure out how many dots there are? Boylee's answer was "I counted them," and I spelled it all out so he could write it himself.

We have already answered November's question so I will let you know how it goes.

Autumn in Studio City

Who says we don't have seasons in L.A.? Check out the scene in our backyard.



That's a Japanese maple, by the way.

The Brain

Boylee is really getting into reading. At the beginning of the school year, his teacher told us parents that the kids would recognize 80 sights words by the end of the year. (Her explanation of sight words is easy words that the kids immediately recognize, without needing to sound them out or even think about it -- just instant recognition.) Now I think that number is too low, because reading seems to be exploding through his brain.

He recently received a letter from Papa and a postcard from Nana, and he read them both himself. So if you care to send him a little note -- written very neatly, please, and with simple words -- he will no doubt enjoy receiving it.

Quote of the Day

Mama: Boylee, Aunt Rhona just had her baby! It's a boy!

Boylee: I don't want another cousin.

Oops

I have been a little remiss in posting this week with all the political excitement, so here's a pic to make up for it. The expression says, "This candy is SOUR."

An Important Day

Scott had to wait 50 minutes to vote this morning -- very out-of-the-norm, at least here in LA where we have lots of polling places. I didn't have that much time to spare, because I had to take Boylee to school. But the poor Boy was so disappointed -- I had told him we'd vote together before school. He cried at not getting the chance! What a great little citizen! But I promised him we'd vote together after school.

Now I'm off to phone bank at the Valley for Obama headquarters. I guess it's a proud day to be a valley girl.

Hope you're all voting and enjoying the excitement of the day!

*****************

Here I am phonebanking with the girls! We had a great time calling voters in Virginia and Ohio.

Highlights!

(click any image to see it bigger)



(This one is Boylee's principal, at the school's Halloween Parade.)

Happy Halloween!

(click on the pic for a closer look)

Starting to Write

Mrs. Richards says spelling doesn't count. The kids just need to say the words aloud, think about the sounds they hear, and match those sounds to the letters they know. (You can click on the photos for a closer look.)

Growing Every Day

I've been told I haven't posted enough photos of Boylee lately, so here are a few to tide you over. He is really going through a growth spurt. His legs are getting loooong!

Last Week's Highlight

We flew to Oakland on our way to Bolinas, and as we were exiting the plane we got a great opportunity.



I have to confess I didn't think you could still do that, post-911. But the First Officer said it's fine once the plane's on the ground.

Not Strictly Boylee-Related

Except he does know we're voting for Obama.

New Skillz

Just in case any of you were wondering if all this homework is paying off -- Boylee's new favorite thing to do is draw. I think that comes directly from all the coloring, writing and drawing he has been doing at school and in his homework.  We got some drawing books from the school library -- How to Draw Spongebob, and How to Draw Pokemon are two big hits -- and he has been quite diligent about sitting down and following the steps.  

Also, one new family purchase: a battery-operated pencil sharpener.  There are a  lot of pencils in our lives now, with all that homework and drawing. Especially one Spiderman pencil that Boylee received from his teacher as a prize for getting 100% on his first school test:  reading sight words.  

Family

When will Boylee not want to be around his parents? I don't know, but it definitely hasn't happened yet. He is very attached to his Dad and Mama (yes, he still calls me Mama, which I love).  He loves to see me at school, and when I volunteered in the classroom a few weeks ago he was quite proud.  I could see that he felt lucky to have his mom in the classroom, and he preened a bit in front of his friends.  He got to do it again today, when I took part in the Family Readers Day.  That is when parents volunteer to read books to the kids, right at the start of the school day.  It happens in all the classrooms, so even the sixth graders get a story time to start their day.  Two other moms and I came to Boylee's room, and all of the kids whose moms were there were quite, quite proud.  Especially when the teacher took our photograph.

New Things Every Day

Here's something that's pretty new for Boylee:  peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. At his preschool one of his classmates had a serious peanut allergy, so PB&J was not allowed.  And while we've had them a few times at home, they haven't been the staple you'd think they would be.  Until this week. 

Monday I made him a sandwich for his lunchbox, and when he got home there was no sign of it inside. That's a bit strange -- usually no matter what I pack, there's evidence left behind: a crust, a few uneaten bites, etc.  I thought that maybe he'd thrown it away or given it to someone else.  But no, it turns out he liked it. A lot.  (Seriously, that kid never eats crusts unless it's really nice bread dipped in olive oil. But that's another story.) So I made him another on Tuesday. And he asked for it specifically on Wednesday.  Today?  No. Today is pepperoni pizza in the cafeteria. The love for PB&J only goes so far.

Homework

Draw one house.  Draw two flowers.  

The things on the left and right side of the house (past the tree on the right) are stumps, specifically gigantic stumps (for climbing), just like the ones that Isaac saw in the Sequoias.

Picture Day!

It's Picture Day today!  Seems like almost the exact same setup as when we were kids -- I saw the backdrop and lights set up in the school's tiny auditorium.  Except there are added bells & whistles, according to the order form.  I guess by the power of Photoshop, you can choose among a plethora of backdrops to be added in later. Some are reasonable -- a school library, a classroom setting.  Some are odd -- do you want your kid's school photo to look like it was taken at the beach? In a forest?  And they also offer retouching.  Retouching of Boylee's precious face?  I wouldn't do it, but hopefully they will take the photos before snack time, or else we'll get an un-retouched look at snack leftovers around his mouth.

It's Been a While

It's been quite a while since I've written, so here are two updates:

-- Boylee continues to improve in the area of coloring. He's enjoying it, he's getting into it, and he's going faster.  That makes homework less of an hour-long slog, and more of an enjoyable pastime.  (An old friend of mine, who used to teach kindergarten, convinced me that all that coloring has a purpose -- to strengthen fine motor skills that are needed for writing.)

-- The cafeteria continues to be a big lure. Given the choice, Boylee would eat breakfast and lunch there every day.  With the way the economy is going, and considering that the total cost of those two meals is $1.60, I may have to reflect on that.

   

Under the Weather

Last week I was sick, so I didn't get a chance to write about Boylee's week. Here are a few things that happened:

We had breakfast at the cafeteria. Boylee has really  been wanting to do this, so I decided we could be flexible about our "one lunch per week at the cafeteria" plan and substitute a breakfast. He had cereal and some sort of graham cracker thing, plus milk and juice.  The cafeteria's main lady -- who seems so sweetly concerned with all the kids getting enough to eat -- was desperately pushing nectarines on the kids.  Almost no one wanted them -- I was drooling over them, especially when I saw that they were organic.  Even Boylee rejected one, though he loves nectarines.  This is obviously the biggest challenge for the school lunch program: they can present healthy food but they can't make the kids eat it.

Then I got sick, and I was feeling so miserable the next morning that I could hardly roll out of bed.  The solution? Another breakfast at the cafeteria.  I slumped at the table, barely conscious.  Boylee was ecstatic.  In all, I spent a total of  $1.20 on two school breakfasts, and I can say that was definitely money well spent.   

On Friday when I was feeling better I finally got to volunteer in the classroom. During my hour and a half there, while I did some filing and hole punching, the teacher called on Boylee 3 times -- this must have been her little gift to me in return for my work -- and I got to see him read a sentence written on the board, and read a sentence from a book, and get up and go to the board to circle a word that he had to pick out of a sentence. I was so proud of him!

Boylee is very proud of himself because he got a "4" grade on one of his worksheets.  That is the highest grade available, and basically means "above grade level." Everything else he's done has been graded 3, which means at grade level.  Boylee reports that some kids have gotten 2s. 

I actually don't love that there's a grading system at all, but I do remember something similar from my days in elementary school.  The choices then were: a-, a, a+, and a+ excellent. I know I was always very proud of myself whenever I got a a+ excellent.

Another First

Today:  a substitute teacher!

It turns out that with very little fanfare Boylee's teacher got married over the weekend. She's on a mini-honeymoon, so today they have a sub.  I wonder how that's going to turn out?

School is closed tomorrow, then on Wednesday Ms. Hoeschen will be back with a new name: Mrs. Richards.

And The Green Treat Was...

Grapes. Not cabbage.  Poor Boylee.  But he was happy anyway.

Yet Another Reason Why I Love My Boy

Each week Boylee's class has a "color of the week" that culminates in Fun Friday where the kids wear the appropriate color and the teacher brings an edible treat that also ties in to the color. For the red week it was strawberries.  Last week was blue  and they had blueberries.  

This week it's green, and this morning in the car Boylee was speculating about what treat Ms. Hoeschen might bring to class. Then his eyes lit up with excitement as he thought of a treat so thrilling it filled him with joy:  "CABBAGE!"

I'll find out when I pick him up.  Somehow I don't think it's going to be cabbage. But if it is, he may be the only kid in class who's excited.

Dialogue of the Day

Boylee:  Mama, school is too short.

Mama:  Really? I thought you said school is too long.

Boylee:  Oh, I meant school is too long.

Mama:  Oh.

Boylee:  No, I meant school is too close.

Mama:  Too close?

Boylee:  Too close.

Mama:  Too close? 

Boylee:  Too close for me to play with my toys in the car.

Mama:  Well how about if I drive slowly?

Boylee:  Good. 

He's Got the Music in Him

Boylee's always been into music, and he's always gotten into all sorts of music, not just actual "music for kids."  Right now, this is his favorite song:

Quote of the Day

(While on the Santa Monica bike path this weekend.)

Boylee:  Do you think you can ever change my style?

Daddy:  Uh, no.

Boylee:  Good, because you can never change my style.

We have no idea where that came from, but we know he's right.

Busted!

From the start of kindergarten, Boylee figured out that if it's lunchtime and you say you don't have any food left in your lunchbox, the kind ladies at the cafeteria will give you stuff to eat for free.  

Before I go on, let me just say that it's one nice thing about LAUSD -- they seem very concerned about whether or not students are eating enough, because so many come from low income families.  They make a big show out of giving every parent an application for the reduced-cost meal program, whether you want it or not -- so no one has to feel ashamed by asking for it -- and they make sure that the tickets the kids use to buy food are all the same, so no one can tell by looking at a kid's ticket whether or not they're receiving a free lunch.  And even if you're paying the full fare, it's ridiculously cheap: 40c for breakfast and $1 for lunch. 

I'm not defending the cafeteria food, but it's obviously improved since I was in school. I would never actually eat any of that shit, but that's another story. The kids seem to love it, especially the chocolate milk.  And I have noticed that many kids eat breakfast at the cafeteria, and it seems as if most kids also have cafe food for lunch.  

Boylee has been very interested in the cafeteria food, and we decided he could have it once a week, so we've been discussing the menu each week so he can pick the day that appeals most. So far it seems as if pepperoni pizza and spaghetti & meatballs are the favorites. (I shudder to think about the content of that pepperoni and meatballs -- non-organic doesn't even begin to describe it, I bet.)

Anyway, all of the kids eat together in the cafeteria, even when they're just dining from their own lunch boxes, and that is how the innocent little Boylee stumbled upon his scheme. And apparently he's been working his scam several days a week without my knowledge.  

Well, today I received the bill.  Seems that those sympathetic lunch ladies are only sympathetic so far, and they've counted up his meals and dunned me for the total.  Boylee's teacher is the one who let me know -- and she sort of gently inquired about whether or not I've been sending enough food for him.  I know that I have -- it's been one of my most obsessed-over issues -- and he's always come home with leftovers.  He's just eaten the cookie, and whatever else appealed, then turned his big blue eyes on the lunch ladies to get the chocolate milk and the other treats.  

So tomorrow morning I have to settle up with the ladies.  And maybe I should pin a note on the boy's shirt: Please do not feed the Boylee.

Should I Be Scared?

Today Boylee and his classmates started their weekly arts class -- this ten-week cycle is theater -- and the first thing they did was...mime.  

Success!

It's a day to remember here at Chez Boylee because...breakfast only took 20 minutes!  So we got to play before school!  That is big, big news, and made the boy very happy.  So happy that he forgot to whine about not being able to watch Curious George on PBS Kids this morning. (That was part of our old preschool routine.)  

I had offered, at one point, to videotape the PBS morning block so Isaac could watch some of it after school, but that was before I realized that I couldn't get the VCR to record the proper channel.   I think it has something to do with the fact that PBS is on channel 79 here and I can't get the VCR to set itself to record anything above channel 70.  The VCR is a little old, so maybe that's it. 

No cable, no satellite, no Tivo, no digital tuner on our TV -- yes, we are the people all those commercials are aimed at -- you know, the ones that remind us that after February our TVs just won't work anymore unless we buy decoder boxes.  I'm pissed about it, but that's another story.

Aunt Laura

...went to an Alaska Women Against Palin rally today and took some great pictures: http://laurainak.blogspot.com   

Curriculum

Boylee's teacher has sent home her first newsletter, and here are some of the highlights:

Mondays -- P.E. (currently karate) and library time

Wednesdays -- Arts Prototype classes -- right now, theater

Thursdays -- Music and P.E. again

The P.E. sessions are run by an outside company and paid for by the PTA's fundraising.

And  here are the topics they're focusing on in the classroom:  rhyming words and activities; reading friends' names; learning about school; number patterns; sorting; and the beginning stages of proper letter formation. 

They've also been focusing on the color red this week, culminating in "Fun Friday" where all the kids were asked to wear red.  This is the outfit Boylee started with:

However he ended up changing his clothes before going to school, so the only red thing left was a red sweatshirt.

Updates

Two quick things.

1:  Boylee has discovered tetherball, and it's a big hit.

2.  We got up early today...and breakfast took 40 minutes. I did talk to him about needing to eat faster if he wanted playtime before school.  He said, "I like to eat slow." I guess that's that. 

The Reason, Discovered

One thing that I've been a bit baffled by during these first few days of kindergarten is that we always seem to be rushing in the mornings. I know that is probably a typical feeling for families getting ready for school, but I thought I'd got it covered.  I mean, I'm only trying to get one kid out the door.  I make his lunch the night before.  His backpack and homework are always ready to go, waiting at the front door.  Getting him dressed is no hassle at all because unlike so many of his pals (boys and girls), Boylee has almost no interest in what he's wearing, which means he will accept any clothing combo at all. (To those who noted his tie dye/camo combo on Day 1? My idea, not his.) Getting myself dressed is no hassle, since I'm not heading off to work or anything.  Breakfast doesn't require a lot of cooking, and then all we have to do is wash face and brush teeth.  It seems that we should easily be able to get up, get moving and get out the door within 50 minutes. Right?

Except each morning we've been rushing at the last minute. I hate rushing, personally. And I especially hate being a Rushed Mom who has to keep saying things like, "Hurry, hurry!" and, "Let's go!"  

This morning I figured out the culprit:  breakfast.  It's not that it's a complicated affair -- this morning Boylee had a tortilla, watermelon and yogurt.  It's that it takes soooo long -- 30 minutes -- for him to eat!  He's not doing anything else at the time -- we're not watching TV or anything like that. It's just that he takes a bite...tells me something about school yesterday... takes a bite... tells me about what he wants to do after school... takes a bite... sings a little song to himself. It takes forever!!  This morning I watched it unfold, one eye on the clock, one eye on him. I literally couldn't believe that we sat down to eat at 7:15 and he wasn't done until 7:45.  And when school starts at 8:06 (8:06? 8:06!), and we still have to do the personal hygiene part, get in the car, drive to school, and deal with the crazy parking, that's just not going to work.  

But I actually don't want to lose any of it -- all that talking he does is precious and is probably the very most important part of the morning --  so we will just have to wake up a bit earlier.  Luckily I am getting the hang of the alarm clock. 

Idiot Moms

They're everywhere.  Even at our new school. 

Today I got into a little fender bender in the parking lot. More specifically, my car was hit by a woman driving a GIANT white SUV -- it had a George W. bumper sticker on it so I should have known then and there what kind of person she is.  Basically, while I was getting Boylee out of the car, she backed into the front of my car. I watched it slowly happen, and tried yelling to get her attention, but she didn't hear me.  Luckily she was 

only going 2 miles an hour so there was no damage.  Boylee was a little surprised about the whole thing, and I had to take a moment to show that my car has a bumper, the other car has a bumper, and they're designed to bump together if necessary.

If that was the end of the story, then it would just be a normal experience and nothing worth talking about. But here's what happened afterwards:  The woman didn't get out of her car, and in fact kept her car in reverse as if she expected me to move my parked car so that she could navigate out of her parking spot.  (Maybe this is all a little difficult to picture, but just understand that our tiny school is located in an old Hollywood Hills neighborhood, and thus there is no street parking, and parents have to park on the schoolyard in order to drop off their kids. Even at a small school like ours, this leads to a lot of cars in a small space. The school has devised a parking & drop off system, and the system works. All you have to do is follow directions, watch out for orange cones, and act NORMAL.)

So the lady didn't get out of her car to check the damage or see if we were okay.  She's just kept sitting there in reverse as if I'm going to move, which I'm not going to do, seeing as I am parked according to the school's rules.  And I'm dropping off my kid. And I'm walking him to the classroom. So not only am I not going to move my car now, I'm not going to be moving it for about ten minutes.

The woman finally gets out of her car and says, in a I'm-dumb-so-I'll-just-smile-and-that-makes-everything-okay way, "I didn't realize that you were parked behind me."  I just smiled back and showed her that she could easily exit her parking spot by pulling forward into the big, empty area right in front of where she had parked, instead of backing into my car.  She acted like this was a revelation.

It took me about five minutes to realize the true idiocy of this situation. She backed her car into mine because she didn't realize anyone was parked behind her.  Which means she didn't look in her rear-view mirror at all -- in a crowded parking area full of kids.  

Idiot moms are everywhere.

Another Thing Boylee Does Not Like To Do

When I was pregnant and I pictured my life as a mom, one thing I thought I'd be doing a lot of was pushing my child on a swing.  In actuality that has hardly ever happened. He did not liked to be pushed on a swing when he was little. Now that he's big enough to swing himself, he'll give it a go every now and then, but not like some of his other friends who seem that they could swing for hours.

The Evidence

(read the post below for an explanation)

Homework!

Today was the big day for homework, and as the kids exited the classroom the teacher could be heard reminding them to both do the homework and bring it back tomorrow.  

The good -- it was quite easy, in terms of Boylee's intellectual level.  Mostly it involved tracing some lines on paper -- quite clearly a pre-writing exercise, and Boylee can write all the capital letters already.

The bad -- it involved one of Boylee's least-favorite pastimes:  coloring.  I don't know what it is about that kid, but he has never, ever liked coloring.  Even when we've had superhero coloring books, he's just not interested. And while he likes to draw and paint and do all sorts of other art, the act of coloring in a black & white drawing has never held much appeal for him. So he got a worksheet today that asked him to look at some pictures and use a red crayon to color in anything that is red in real life.  The fire engine...the heart...etc.  It took him about a quarter of a second to determine what should be colored.  Then it took him ten miserable minutes to execute the coloring.  

The ugly -- and then there was another  item to be colored -- a picture of a train with animals on it.  He just made that one all red, too, because apparently coloring is such a pain in the ass that changing crayons just makes it that much worse.

Crisis in Progress!

Scott and Boylee went to the L.A. County Fair today. I didn't go, for the following reasons: it's 1,000 degrees out; they didn't think of going till 12:30-ish, meaning it was only going to get hotter; and it's the opening weekend and I don't want to be in that stinky hot crowd.  

But that meant that I was home to receive a phone call from a stranger. A stranger who has found Scott's lost cell phone...at the fair.  She's only going to be there for 2 more hours.  If he calls me before then, I can get the two of them to find each other at the fair. If not, he'll have to drive to her house tomorrow to pick it up. And of course the fair draws people from all over. She lives in FONTANA.  Scott will be making that drive alone, because it will be 10,000 degrees in Fontana tomorrow.

Crisis Averted!

I forgot to set my alarm clock last night -- this doesn't surprise me, since I have basically never used my alarm since I left the working world when the boy was born.  But that meant I overslept this morning. Thankfully I woke with a start at 7am and got everything in gear. I would have been mightily embarrassed to have been late for the 2nd day of school.  Guess this whole school thing is going to take a lot of getting used to -- but not for Scott. This morning he had a 5am call, so he was up at 4 o'clock.

The Best Part...

...today they did karate!

And visited the library, and a resource room. And then at lunchtime my darling boy convinced them that he didn't want what was in his lunchbox and so they gave him a cafeteria lunch, including chocolate milk AND orange juice.  First day of school and he's already pulling a con.

No homework today, but lots of forms to fill out. 

(He didn't confess this part 'till bedtime: they gave him pizza, too.)

First Day of School (really)

There were a lot of firsts this morning.  

For one thing, I actually had to wake Boylee up. That has hardly ever happened in our lives so far -- mostly because he wakes up pretty early, but also because we did two years of preschool that started at 1pm, and another year that started at 9am.  We just rarely needed to get up and moving quickly.  That has definitely changed with

 the start of kindergarten.  Today he was still snoozing at 7:10, and when school starts at 8:06 (8:06? Yes, 8:06.) that's not going to work.

Then I had to make sure that he actually ate a full breakfast.  That's never been a very big deal, because we've either just been hanging out having fun and he 

could have a snack later, or he's been at preschool, which only ran from 9am to 12pm and featured not just "lunch time," but "snack time," too.  He had a lot to say about his eating preferences this morning, and  he ended up with a scrambled egg, a handful of tamari almonds, a plum and a tortilla.  Not a bad way to start the day, I guess.

Then we...went...to...school.  Real school. All day school. With a backpack and everything. With a lunch box. And a sweatshirt, just in case. (That's probably just in case of mommy psychosis, because it's going to be in the 90s I just realized.)

Believe it or not, no one cried. Not even me.

Tonight another first:  first homework!

First Day of School (sorta)

Today was technically the first day of school. But it wasn't a "real" day -- we showed up at the proper time (8:06.  8:06? Why not 8:05? I'm not exactly sure.) and we met Isaac's teacher, Ms. Hoeschen.  We hung out in her classroom for about an hour, while she filled us parents in on the relevant details -- where to drop off our children in the morning, where to pick up in the afternoon, etc. -- and then we left.  So in all it was only about 1 hour. 

And I forgot my camera.  But here's a pic from a few days ago:   

Today's highlight was Isaac's devising a way to remember how to pronounce Ms. Hoeschen's name:  "It rhymes with potion."

Tomorrow is the big challenge.  That's when I actually wave goodbye and walk away as he strolls confidently into the classroom...or sobs uncontrollably.  Or he strides confidently and then I sob uncontrollably.  

I Was A Giant