Scooby 2

I am a shameful mother - we have yet to do your February homework. It's a good thing your teacher doesn't really take it seriously. I bet we won't get away with this next year.

A Mother Knows

You asked me to make you a drawing that you could color, so there you are. I won't deny that it was EASIER, but it felt like I was cheating.

You got your first report card today, and you know, not to toot my own horn or anything, but apparently you don't need to have a degree in early childhood education to understand your child's strengths. I don't know how many times I've mentioned that you are doing well in reading and writing, but even better (as in, ADVANCED) in math concepts. Today, my educated guesses were validated. Not that I needed it, but it was still nice to see that truly am tuned into your education:

Why yes, those 3's mean you are excelling, my dear. They mean that you are probably a little bit bored with what you are learning in class (as evidenced by the lack of new information you are bringing home) because you already know it. I'm trying not to be one of those parents who brags about your accomplishments, but I am so flipping proud of you kid that I simply can't help it.

(And don't worry, I don't think brain surgeons really need to be concerned about excelling at geometry.)

P.S.S. Geometry sucks.

Kidapillar

Last week, you were disappointed that you weren't nominated as a "kidapillar" for the Character Counts program your school has going on. You had to listen over the loudspeaker as your friend, Nathan, was announced as the winner of a Halloween costume. You were incredibly hurt that your teachers didn't nominate you for that award and you don't normally let stuff like that bug you.

But that really bugged you. Your little voice got crackly and your eyes welled up. And that is when my heart broke and I wanted to demand an explanation from the school, even though I knew that would be completely unreasonable.

Then Friday happened and your principal, Dr. R called YOUR name at the Character Counts assembly and you got to go on stage, in front of the entire school, and receive a certificate for displaying the character trait of "Citizenship".

When you walked on stage, some lady enthusiastically shook your arm. I say arm, because in an effort to recreate the moment, you took my hand and tried to yank my arm off. Now you have a pretty certificate, a coupon for a free kids meal at Red Robin, and the confidence that you are doing well to show for it.

You are a good little citizen. You are helpful and kind and try not to do anything naughty. Sometimes I have to tell you to lighten up and be a kid and sometimes I might just go about that the wrong way. I'm saying that because I know I probably shouldn't have pretended we were leaving the Halloween block party on Saturday just because you wouldn't throw darts at balloons. That was might have been a little extreme and I promise to be a little bit kinder the next time I try to get you to do something you don't think you should be doing.

Also, thank you for never trying to stick keys in the electrical outlets and thank you for being such a phenomenal child. I am proud of you kiddo, and you should be too.

Love,

Your beaming mom

Lopsided Apples up on Top

Your two and a half week break encompassed a lot of things, including a trip to your dad's for more days than you've ever been away from me before. You gave your dad a lot of flak about his sleeping habits, but you enjoyed yourself nonetheless; so I tried to hide my hurt feelings when you said you wish you could visit him for five days, EVERY week. Was I successful? I know I wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time.

Speaking of sleeping, I want to tell you how proud I am of you for choosing to sleep with the covers off the last two nights. That's a major stand you're taking against things that go bump in the night. I KNOW how hard it is. I'm 34 years old and I still turn off the lights and jump into bed just as fast as I can so I can cover my head with blankets.

I know, most of the time I pull off the adult thing pretty well, huh? You would have never guessed that I do that? Right?

RIGHT?

You have created three countdown calendars: One for the video game you want to buy with your allowance, one for our move, and one for the day we give our tiny pet tortoise away to a home that will allow him to finally grow big. This is how you are handling things now. You are planning. I've got to remember to tell your Nana that, she will love it. She's a planner, too. It's because of this planning that you've emotionally accepted a lot of the changes I'm throwing your way right now.

I got to take you to school this morning AND pick you up. What a rare treat that was! Of course, the reasoning was because I am sick; but I still got a lot of enjoyment out of seeing you off and welcoming you back, regardless of the physical blah's that have taken over my body. I like that my job and our move will allow me the opportunity to pick you up every day. I think you'll like it, too.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Today marked the start of your first Intersession Break...what am I going to do for the next two and a half weeks if I'm not making you notes? Maybe I should build up a supply of them for you, since we are probably going to be pretty busy for a while after you go back. I personally find two and a half weeks off a little ridiculous at this point in the school year, but it's actually working out well for us. You get to spend a week with your daddy for the first time, ever, and I'm trying hard to think of it as just an extended weekend. It's easier to swallow that way, you know.

I keep going back to something your teachers told me at the conference on Tuesday: they said that you are extremely well-adjusted, and that just made me want to sing. Because you? You are amazing. You take whatever is thrown at you and you just deal with it. Your six years have been filled with more upheaval than you should have to deal with; and even though there are always periods of adjustment where we both want to pull our hair out, you adjust so much faster than most kids could.

Love,

Your extremely proud Mom

I sat there with Sally, we sat there, we two

I know I'm full of surprises. Who knew I would pick The Cat in the Hat, of all things, to draw for you? I'm running out of aliens and heroes, so I'm getting desperate. I know this means that I really need to get creative, I've been saying it since I started these, but it's always easier to say than do. I'm sure there is an important life lesson in there somewhere. With the holiday season approaching, I may actually make good on those words.

Scooby Dooby Doooooo

So, I went to my very first parent/teacher conference today and I wasn't sure if you were supposed to go or not, but I ultimately decided that I wanted to let the teachers gush on and on about you without you there, because that might embarrass you.


And yes, I knew they would gush.


Your teachers absolutely adore you, that much is clear. They didn't have even one *issue* to discuss with me; unless you count the Great Rectangle Dilemma of '09. Apparently, none of the boys in your class are grasping the concept of a rectangle, but all anyone is doing about it is laughing it off as "it must be a boy thing". You won't go to college not knowing what a rectangle is, so it's all good.


In other news, you are excelling at everything else, you are well-behaved and very attentive. You are great at sounding out letters, can write the name of the letter by sound and can do things that they only expect you to be able to do at the end of this year. You are also doing extremely well in math concepts, so hopefully your experiences will be better than mine. Mrs. S and Mrs. H told me I should be extremely proud of you and I told them I am, but it's nice to hear it from them too.


Then they brought up our impending move with long faces and I confirmed, that yes, you will be leaving. They understand, but they will miss you, and Mrs. S even told me that she's known the librarian at your new school for a very long time.


All in all, it was a very impressive meeting. I do like your teachers very much, and not just because they like you so much. There is a difference between teachers who teach because they love kids and teachers who just do it as a job, and with those two, I'm pretty certain they love kids. Especially you.