At taekwondo tonight, Alex received a "home task sheet" from the master, and wow, was that a motivator. It's a simple checksheet with things like, "Completed homework," "Took a bath," "Cleaned room," "Kept hands and nails clean and cut," etc. So this evening after getting Emma fed and ready for bed, I let her play on the floor
(sidenote: SHE'S CRAWLING! Sort of. It's the cutest thing - she digs her toes into the floor and pushes her butt up in the air, launches her face into the floor and wiggles forward. I laugh. Hard.)
and while she was playing Alex and I went through each. and. every. item. on the home task sheet. It took him at least 30 minutes, but all I had to do was say, "OK, Alex, the next thing is _________" and off he would go. He was so excited to check off that little box - I got him to hang his uniform, pick up his toys, MAKE HIS BED (holy crap, he's actually pretty good at it too), take out the garbage, clean his ears, wash his face, blah blah blah...all without a SINGLE ARGUMENT. And when we were done, since he doesn't get "homework" or have to do "studying" (what 4 year old does?) we did his BOB books and called it studying.
BOB books are simple 2-letter books that help to teach the alphabet. He has the first 5 memorized. Yes, that's 5 WHOLE BOOKS, and granted, each one is only ten pages with about 5 sentences total, but he has them all memorized. So I go through and point to each letter, say the name, the sound, and the word underneath it, he repeats it, and then he tells me the next 2 sentences, lather rinse repeat.
He has always LOVED his BOB books, but especially so since one day a couple of weeks ago when he did the most amazing thing. We got to the second letter in one of the books and he couldn't remember what it was, so (and those of you who work with me, you especially will appreciate this) he:
1. grabbed the book from my hand,
2. TURNED IT TO THE FRONT so he could see the title,
3. said, "The C-D Book,"
4. TURNED IT BACK TO THE PAGE HE WAS ON(!)
5. and said, "D! D, duh, dog!"
Now, really, it doesn't sound all that spectacular, but when you work in education (at least where I work) you begin to appreciate the little things. And when your 4 year old CHECKS HIS UNDERSTANDING, it's a BIG DEAL. I have 5th graders who don't do that!
For you non-education types, the reason this is such a big deal is because comprehension is based on being able to look back in the passage and clarify your understanding. Adults do that naturally - we've been doing it for years, we take it for granted. But the hard part is getting kids to do it, and it's a large part of what I work so hard for every. single. day. I can't tell you how many times throughout the day that I say, "Did you find your evidence in the selection?," or "Which part of the story told you that?" or "Knock it off." (That last one is just a regular occurrence unrelated to comprehension.)
Anyway, the fact that I work so hard for that at school and came home one night to find that my AMAZING WONDERFUL ALL KINDS OF SMUSHYNESS HAPPYFACE son is doing this ALL BY HIMSELF (wow, I've used a lot of caps in this post) was a HUGE FREAKING DEAL (there I go again) so I made a HUGE FREAKING DEAL out of it. I squealed, I shrieked, I yelled, "YOU CHECKED YOUR UNDERSTANDING!" I kissed him, I squeezed him, I sent him running out to tell Daddy, I yelled some more. (See, I tend to reinforce it when kids do things they're supposed to do. But only a little. Wouldn't want to overdo it.)
So, long story long (another bad habit of mine), we had a glorious 30 minutes together tonight, capped off by a round of BOB books that he was very excited to read. He earned 3 stickers at TKD tonight, did a lot of great stuff when he got home, and we read books together while Emma shoved her face into the floor.
It was a good day.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Mama Bear
So I'm watching the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice combo on Friday night (we DVR everything so we can watch it without commercials). At one point this woman comes in with her pink-bedecked baby looking all sorts of adorableness, and it becomes obvious that the mother is upset because she walked out of the bathroom to get the phone WHILE HER CHILD WAS IN THE BATHTUB. Which, well, duh, stupid idiot, IGNORE THE PHONE. But this woman was obviously exhausted and it became apparent throughout the episode that she was not only sleep deprived, but also suffering from not just post-partum depression, but post-partum PSYCHOSIS. 'Cause that sounds fun.
Anyway, the baby is fine, but the woman, despite needles from acupuncture sticking out of her face which are designed to keep her from losing her shit, becomes increasingly disturbed, and, well, in the midst of losing her shit, admits that she held her daughter under the water, "Just for a minute, so I could maybe get some sleep" and let me tell you, I experienced something I have never experienced before.
You know how mothers are said to be able to lift cars off of their children after an accident? It's supposedly called the "mother bear" effect, or something. Well, I didn't have to lift any cars, thank god, but I did immediately get off the couch (I was knitting. Can you believe that? I was in the midst of knitting a blanket for my baby.) and notwalkRUN to Emma's room. I promptly pulled the blanket off of her, lifted my (sleeping. She was SLEEPING and I woke her up.) baby girl from her crib, and sat down in the rocker and proceeded to rock her back and forth, practicing my deep-breathing exercises. It was like my body was so physically and morally opposed to that idea of THAT WOMAN holding her baby under the water that I couldn't even control my own limbs, my body had to go check on my baby to make sure that she wasn't being held under water. It took my brain five minutes to catch up and go, "Holy shit, Marci, calm the eff down."
After I had rocked Emma back to sleep and fought back some tears, I put her back to bed and checked on Alex, who of course was just as peacefully sleeping in his bed.
But at least now I know that if there is ever a threat to my kids, my body will react accordingly. Even if it takes my brain a few seconds to catch up. Which, all in all, is probably a good thing.
I'd probably spend an hour analyzing the best way to approach the situation, and then waffle on the decision I'd made until someone else made the decision for me. I'm just glad my body isn't that analytical.
Anyway, the baby is fine, but the woman, despite needles from acupuncture sticking out of her face which are designed to keep her from losing her shit, becomes increasingly disturbed, and, well, in the midst of losing her shit, admits that she held her daughter under the water, "Just for a minute, so I could maybe get some sleep" and let me tell you, I experienced something I have never experienced before.
You know how mothers are said to be able to lift cars off of their children after an accident? It's supposedly called the "mother bear" effect, or something. Well, I didn't have to lift any cars, thank god, but I did immediately get off the couch (I was knitting. Can you believe that? I was in the midst of knitting a blanket for my baby.) and notwalkRUN to Emma's room. I promptly pulled the blanket off of her, lifted my (sleeping. She was SLEEPING and I woke her up.) baby girl from her crib, and sat down in the rocker and proceeded to rock her back and forth, practicing my deep-breathing exercises. It was like my body was so physically and morally opposed to that idea of THAT WOMAN holding her baby under the water that I couldn't even control my own limbs, my body had to go check on my baby to make sure that she wasn't being held under water. It took my brain five minutes to catch up and go, "Holy shit, Marci, calm the eff down."
After I had rocked Emma back to sleep and fought back some tears, I put her back to bed and checked on Alex, who of course was just as peacefully sleeping in his bed.
But at least now I know that if there is ever a threat to my kids, my body will react accordingly. Even if it takes my brain a few seconds to catch up. Which, all in all, is probably a good thing.
I'd probably spend an hour analyzing the best way to approach the situation, and then waffle on the decision I'd made until someone else made the decision for me. I'm just glad my body isn't that analytical.
Love This!
"I don't hate Valentines Day, I would just rather someone got me a present because it was a Thursday or its rainy out. My perfect guy would often say things like "Hey I was at the store and I bought you Hot Pockets and a stuffed monkey. Wanna watch a horror movie?"."
Saturday, February 14, 2009
College loans
So I'm starting my masters this summer. I'll be working on the Organizational Leadership program, which is a somewhat generic program unrelated (directly, anyway) to education, and is a good stepping-stone for future administration opportunities in both education and otherwise. I found the program through a couple of teachers I work with, who both loved the one night a week classes, as well as the easy commute (it's just down the street from work). It's also somewhat inexpensive, compared to some masters programs I've heard of.
I read an article the other day about college debt, and how it's forcing college students to choose careers other than teaching because the $30k they make a year in teaching won't cover the college loan payments. And then they mentioned the amount of debt these students had - a girl who got a teaching degree (bachelors) and had $80k in debt; another who had her masters and $100k...
My thought is, why in the hell would you go to a college that costs that much when you KNOW you're going into a low-paying field?
Most teachers end up going to school to become teachers from the beginning. I didn't - I wanted to be a vet. I went to my school to do that. After my first year, I realized I didn't know what I wanted anymore, so I came back home, went to community college until I got my AA and had things figured out, then went back to the university.
I went to a community college and a state college for a reason - it costs less. I could have wasted 15 grand a year at the state college trying to figure out what I wanted to do, but it wasn't my money I was wasting, so I decided to go somewhere cheaper. (As long as you get your AA, that usually pays off. Don't even bother if you haven't gotten your AA though - that's a whole other post about non-transferred credits and extra work on your part. GET THE DAMNED AA.)
Oh, and Scott? He paid for college by himself, working 3 jobs. He took out one small loan toward the end, that's it. And he was really hard to convince when I told him I wanted to help pay for college for our kids - he still grumbles about that. He only agreed when I told him that the accounts we were setting up were in our name only and if our kids didn't hold up their ends of the bargain (gpa above 3.2 and working a job to cover other expenses - we've already discussed this at LENGTH) that we could take that money and blow it on a trip to Hawaii. Or something.
Anyway, I'm just shaking my head at this one. People who want to be teachers actually go to colleges that cost 20+ grand a year? Seriously? Why? And this isn't a snarky question, it's an actual, explain it to me so I can understand, type question. We don't get into teaching for the MONEY, people - did you not know that when you decided on colleges?
Any insights?
I read an article the other day about college debt, and how it's forcing college students to choose careers other than teaching because the $30k they make a year in teaching won't cover the college loan payments. And then they mentioned the amount of debt these students had - a girl who got a teaching degree (bachelors) and had $80k in debt; another who had her masters and $100k...
My thought is, why in the hell would you go to a college that costs that much when you KNOW you're going into a low-paying field?
Most teachers end up going to school to become teachers from the beginning. I didn't - I wanted to be a vet. I went to my school to do that. After my first year, I realized I didn't know what I wanted anymore, so I came back home, went to community college until I got my AA and had things figured out, then went back to the university.
I went to a community college and a state college for a reason - it costs less. I could have wasted 15 grand a year at the state college trying to figure out what I wanted to do, but it wasn't my money I was wasting, so I decided to go somewhere cheaper. (As long as you get your AA, that usually pays off. Don't even bother if you haven't gotten your AA though - that's a whole other post about non-transferred credits and extra work on your part. GET THE DAMNED AA.)
Oh, and Scott? He paid for college by himself, working 3 jobs. He took out one small loan toward the end, that's it. And he was really hard to convince when I told him I wanted to help pay for college for our kids - he still grumbles about that. He only agreed when I told him that the accounts we were setting up were in our name only and if our kids didn't hold up their ends of the bargain (gpa above 3.2 and working a job to cover other expenses - we've already discussed this at LENGTH) that we could take that money and blow it on a trip to Hawaii. Or something.
Anyway, I'm just shaking my head at this one. People who want to be teachers actually go to colleges that cost 20+ grand a year? Seriously? Why? And this isn't a snarky question, it's an actual, explain it to me so I can understand, type question. We don't get into teaching for the MONEY, people - did you not know that when you decided on colleges?
Any insights?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I seriously think too much.
So I go to the dentist today because I've been having this pain in my tooth. Turns out, there's NOTHING WRONG. No cracks, no missing fillings, I don't even have much dental work that could have problems (which is surprising considering my weakened enamel due to some hardcore antibiotics I was on when I was a newborn and my teeth were just forming). Want to know what they think the problem is? Stress. They think I'm grinding my teeth.
Pshaw. No, that couldn't be happening. I haven't just spent the last week obsessing over a stupid baby shower, trying to make everyone happy. I haven't been worrying about my pregnant friend AT ALL. I haven't been in pain lately because the stupid SI joint inflammation is BAAAAAAAAACK (I see the chiropractor and massage therapist next week THANK THE ALMIGHTY INVISIBLE PINK UNICORN). I haven't been worried about my husband's health or my son's behavior or my daughter's breastfeeding or my master's application (did I tell you I'm starting my masters? I must be effing NUTS) or the fact that I'm just about done with the whole boobage thing altogether...no, I don't have any stress in my life.
So I'm going to bed now (late, because, you know, god forbid I actually am able to fall asleep before 11, when I have to be up at 5). Wish me luck - I'm hoping I still have teeth in the morning, instead of just really sensitive teeny-tiny nubbins.
Hehehe...I like the word nubbins.
Pshaw. No, that couldn't be happening. I haven't just spent the last week obsessing over a stupid baby shower, trying to make everyone happy. I haven't been worrying about my pregnant friend AT ALL. I haven't been in pain lately because the stupid SI joint inflammation is BAAAAAAAAACK (I see the chiropractor and massage therapist next week THANK THE ALMIGHTY INVISIBLE PINK UNICORN). I haven't been worried about my husband's health or my son's behavior or my daughter's breastfeeding or my master's application (did I tell you I'm starting my masters? I must be effing NUTS) or the fact that I'm just about done with the whole boobage thing altogether...no, I don't have any stress in my life.
So I'm going to bed now (late, because, you know, god forbid I actually am able to fall asleep before 11, when I have to be up at 5). Wish me luck - I'm hoping I still have teeth in the morning, instead of just really sensitive teeny-tiny nubbins.
Hehehe...I like the word nubbins.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Updates
Emma got her first fever this weekend. No other symptoms, just a fever, 100.3 at the most. She seems perfectly happy as usual, maybe her poops are a little less solid than usual, but both the fever and poops could be from teething. She's an amazingly easy sickie. She actually fell asleep on my shoulder twice this weekend - that should have been the first clue that she was sick. She loves being held, talked to and kissed, but cuddling, not so much. She has always wanted to fall asleep on her own and not be rocked or anything, so this was a little surprising. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
Alex informed us this weekend that he doesn't have a girlfriend right now because, "I haven't asked anyone yet." When I asked him who his last girlfriend was, he said, "Alexandra. But she broke up." He's apparently not interested in another girlfriend just yet, although we'll see what happens when he gets home from preschool today. :-) He and Scott are finally developing a very close relationship. Part of that stems from me nursing Emma - I'm with her so often that I don't have as much time for Alex anymore, and Scott has been more than willing to pick up the slack. And I'm so glad he has - he is such an amazing dad. I was running around doing chores and such last night and I walked into Alex's room to find Scott sitting on the bed with Emma on his lap and Alex beside him, attempting to read one of those Pokemon chapter-style comic books (you know, the ones you read from back to front, right to left, Japanese style). Alex and Daddy are becoming quite a team, which I'm so glad of, because it makes me feel better about being so close to Emma.
I took my girls, Sydney and Shauna, to the mall on Saturday. It was an amazing trip. I learned so much about them and come to find out, the roles that I had envisioned them taking ended up being completely switched. The one I always thought of as the levelheaded one ended up being the emo, goth, scream-metal rocker chick, and the one that I saw as being the kind-of-ditzy, quiet one was the more level-headed, street-smart, friends-till-we-die type. She's the one who surprised me by buying me a ladybug while I was talking to emo girl, using all the money she had, and she handed it to me saying, "This is for being such a great teacher." I love those girls from the bottom of my heart, and I hope that my influence in their lives helps them find the right paths. One of the nice things about not being their teacher anymore is that I could be a little more candid with them, discussing their lives and talking to them on their level. It was a really great day, and I'm so glad I could share it with them both.
That's all for now. I'm off today, staying home with the sickie, and taking Emma to the doc this morning. More soon.
Alex informed us this weekend that he doesn't have a girlfriend right now because, "I haven't asked anyone yet." When I asked him who his last girlfriend was, he said, "Alexandra. But she broke up." He's apparently not interested in another girlfriend just yet, although we'll see what happens when he gets home from preschool today. :-) He and Scott are finally developing a very close relationship. Part of that stems from me nursing Emma - I'm with her so often that I don't have as much time for Alex anymore, and Scott has been more than willing to pick up the slack. And I'm so glad he has - he is such an amazing dad. I was running around doing chores and such last night and I walked into Alex's room to find Scott sitting on the bed with Emma on his lap and Alex beside him, attempting to read one of those Pokemon chapter-style comic books (you know, the ones you read from back to front, right to left, Japanese style). Alex and Daddy are becoming quite a team, which I'm so glad of, because it makes me feel better about being so close to Emma.
I took my girls, Sydney and Shauna, to the mall on Saturday. It was an amazing trip. I learned so much about them and come to find out, the roles that I had envisioned them taking ended up being completely switched. The one I always thought of as the levelheaded one ended up being the emo, goth, scream-metal rocker chick, and the one that I saw as being the kind-of-ditzy, quiet one was the more level-headed, street-smart, friends-till-we-die type. She's the one who surprised me by buying me a ladybug while I was talking to emo girl, using all the money she had, and she handed it to me saying, "This is for being such a great teacher." I love those girls from the bottom of my heart, and I hope that my influence in their lives helps them find the right paths. One of the nice things about not being their teacher anymore is that I could be a little more candid with them, discussing their lives and talking to them on their level. It was a really great day, and I'm so glad I could share it with them both.
That's all for now. I'm off today, staying home with the sickie, and taking Emma to the doc this morning. More soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
