Highlights!

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(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.