Category: kindergarten

children, happiness, humor, kids, kindergarten, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Here’s Hoping…

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The IHOP logo
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I’m feeling nervous.  I have been cracking down on the boys and their behavior and frankly, the only thing that is close to cracking is me.  But that’s not why I’m nervous.

I told Full Speed and T.Puzzle that they need excellent reports from school so we can go to IHOP for dinner.  No exceptions.  I need a ‘blue’ day from Full Speed, blue being the absolute best mark you can get in kindergarten, and I need an excellent report from T.Puzzle’s teacher.   If not, no pancakes no how.

So you see I’m nervous because I don’t want to have to follow through with my threat.  It’s not that I’m jonesing for pancakes for dinner.  It’s that I’m jonesing for my kitchen to remain mess-free.

However, I guess the real punishment if I get negative school reports won’t be so much that the boys won’t go to IHOP and my kitchen will be messy, but that I would have to cook for them.

Poor dears.

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children, happiness, humor, kindergarten, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Motor Out, Baby!

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Full Speed loves kindergarten.  He is reading, enjoying math and attempting to write.  His writing is more like hieroglyphics than the actual written English language.  I’d like to say what he lacks in style he makes up in enthusiasm (not so!).  Sitting at a table and practicing handwriting is pretty excruciating when all you’d rather do is get up and run.

I know he can do it.  He knows he can do it.  He just doesn’t WANT to do it.

I’m trying all sorts of activities to keep him interested in strengthening his fine motor skills.  Lacing objects is great because it uses all the same muscles as writing and hones visual perception  (or something like that).

I even have T.Puzzle in on the action.  His fine motor skills will be off the chain when he hits kindergarten, or will they?

Check out how it all went down as my boys attempted to lace a wooden slice of pizza:

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I found it highly entertaining.  At that moment I could care less about proper letter formation.  All I could do was laugh.

So I did.

children, humor, kids, kindergarten, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Kindergarten: Take Two

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Full Speed is embracing his change of class.  I hope it continues to go smoothly for him.

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I’m trying to let this transition unfold naturally even though my Mommy instinct is screaming for me to micromanage the heck out of it.  As soon as I caught wind of his move I wanted to personally escort him to his new class, meet his new teacher (interviewing her at great length of course), set up a detailed and daily email dialogue with her and the principal of the school and actually attend kindergarten with Full Speed at least for the first week (or two)in his new classroom.

Instead, I am taking deep breaths, pretending I am a rational human being and letting the staff of the school handle this change as they see fit.

All I can do is ask Full Speed where his new classroom is (okay, so I asked him like twenty times!) and since he repeatedly gave the same answer and seems to know where he is going, drop the kid off like every other kindergarten morning before us, wave goodbye and say, “Have a great day, Full Speed!”

Now, if only I could somehow manage to jury rig a video surveillance apparatus to his backpack…

children, kids, kindergarten, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Changes

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I understand there are laws that govern classroom size.

I understand that moving kids three weeks after school starts to a new teacher and classroom is ultimately in the best interest of the school.

But, really, did it have to be my kid?

Does this look like a kid who is happy to be moving to a new room?

I believe that eventually many wonderful things will happen with this transition.  Full Speed will learn valuable skills about handling change, he will meet new friends and he will love his new class as much as his old.  Maybe even more if we are lucky.

However, when life is teaching us lessons, it would be helpful if there was a nanny on stand-by to intervene at the inevitable angry outbursts of a five-year-old when change is upon us.

Any volunteers?

children, gratitude, kids, kindergarten, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Happy Face

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I am getting better at the kindergarten drop-off.  Full Speed  is still doing awesome with it.  He even does silly things to try to make me laugh (like putting his backpack on his head or doing a funny dance) as he walks towards the doors of school.

Even though it is going swimmingly, my heart still aches as I have to leave him there.  Without realizing this morning, I inhaled sharply and let out a long, slow breath as I watched Full Speed get out of the truck.

T.Puzzle, who seems to have inherited some of my highly empathic genes, immediatlely asks, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

It shocked me back into the present moment.  I was stunned that my three year old picked up on this and a reminder that little eyes and ears are always watching.

“Oh, T.Puzzle, sometimes Mommy gets sad when I have to drop Full Speed at kindergarten.  I miss him and I miss you while you are at school.”

“It’s okay, Mommy.  Put on your happy face, okay?”

So, I did.  Thanks, T.Puzzle.

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