Grad School

I may not be blogging much for a while. I'm headed here for a Masters Degree. I'll pop in when I can.

Fall Pictures in the Backyard

Ready for School?

This week I had a short conversation with a barely 5 year old boy. He is entering kindergarten. My heart ached as I saw several behavioral and academic indications that he would struggle in school. He is delayed. Sadly, he may have been ready to enter school by now if his parents had worked with him on some academic and social skill development. He may not catch up without intervention. He is a bright child who hasn't had much training or adult interaction. I wanted to tell his mom to keep him home another year. I didn't. It really isn't my business. I probably couldn't have extinguished her determination to get "free day care" as soon as possible anyway.

I'm not writing this post as a parent. I'm writing it as a teacher. Being a parent is hard, and sometimes there are factors outside our control that impact our children's ability to be successful in school. There are, however; many factors within our control. Moms and dads can do much to prepare their young children to be successful in school. Seeing this young boy reminded me to re-double my efforts to teach Logan. I don't want him to struggle because I didn't help him prepare. Below are some skills we have been working on at home. While this teaching is very intentional, it is rarely formal. It just happens as opportunities arise throughout the day:

1. Coin recognition
2. Rhyming
3. Letter name and sound recognition (while shopping, reading books, driving in the car)
4. Sight word recognition
5. Tracing/writing names of family members
6. "Reading" books (Even if they are memorized, this is a great confidence builder. Logan has a pile of books in his room that he can "read" to me.)
7. Following directions the first time
8. Social problem solving skills
9. Taking turns
10. Simple math story problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
11. Following the rules in games
12. Measurement (How many blocks long is the couch?, play with a measuring tape, measurement while cooking)
13. Counting
14. Shapes and colors
15. Exposure to narrative and informational texts (I often ask Logan to predict words or events as we read, I also ask him to re-tell portions of the story as we go.)
16. Singing
17. Story telling (Logan tells the stories)
18. Working on a difficult task for an extended period
19. Address and phone number
20. Fine motor skill activities (stringing beads, coloring, playing with small toys)
21. Respect for adults other than me
22. Saying thank you
23. Cleaning up after himself
24. Geography (we look at maps and discuss where animals live and why)
25. Drawing pictures

I am amazed at how receptive Logan is. He is like a little sponge, and he longs to be involved and to be taught new things. Sometimes children lose that desire for interaction. I guess I'll take advantage of it while I can.

Pet

As you may have noticed in previous posts, our Grandma is cool. Sometimes, she catches pets for Logan. Her latest catch was a very small toad she found hopping through the grass in her yard.

My idea was to let Logan play with him for a few hours, and then let him "live in our ditch"... (let him go). After a mild chastisement from my mother for denying my child the joy of such a wonderful pet, I conceded.

And built him a terrarium.

Logan named him, Caterpillar Toad Boy (The toad eats caterpillars, and he is a boy... what brilliant logic.) He also eats ants, which we catch and feed to him daily.

He eats them like this... sort of.

Ribbit.

Irrigation Day

Sometimes I struggle to get a good smile out of Logan when it is time for a picture. Not on irrigation day.
It is the best day of the week.


What more could a boy want than to go fishing off a bridge in his own back yard? Who cares if there aren't even any fish!

We know our Uncle John would not approve of this rudimentary method of recreation...

but we do.

On irrigation day, we don't wash our faces.

Potato bugs are abundant. Today there was even a bonus (not pictured). Logan caught a "swim worm". It was a worm swimming in the water. It is now living in a jar in his bedroom.

Please notice the twisted overalls. Logan dresses himself in his best watering clothes on irrigation day, and heads for the ditch.

According to Logan, there really isn't a better way to cool off than sitting in the cold gutter...

and visiting with fellow irrigation day lovers as they ride past.

Phone Call

You might not laugh at this post, unless you know both Logan and his cousin George. If you don't know them, but you are familiar with the personalities of their parents who are siblings, you may still laugh.

Ring ring ring.

"Hi Grandma. Can I talk to George?" (Logan's darling cousin pictured with frogs below who was playing at Grandma's house.)

(George picks up and says hello)

"(Excitedly) George! Hi, do you want some curry for dinner? It is very good and spicy, but not too spicy."

(No response from George)

"(Exasperated) George, George, GEORGE! Do you want some curry? George, are you there? GEORGE!"

(Still no response. Logan hangs up, frustrated.)

"Hmmmph. I just can't handle him. He only said one thing! I'm calling him back. He is my BEST friend. I want to give him some curry."

(Logan begins redialing... probably 911 or something... and puts the phone to his ear. When it doesn't ring, he asks me to call him back. Logan is only 3. He doesn't know how to dial phone numbers.)

"Hi George!"

(George answers, but doesn't have much to say about curry or anything else. He was obviously busy playing.)

(Logan hangs up mumbling under his breath) "I just can't handle him."

Frogs

Family Pics

Since it has been quite a while since we have taken any of these, I figured they were worth posting.  

Logan Would Like To Wish Y'All a Happy Spring

Monday morning we went outside to work in the yard. Sometime between Saturday and Monday morning, our nectarine, plum, pear, and peach trees blossomed. Logan was thrilled. He ran next door and got our sweet neighbor (and gardening mentor) yelling, "LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!!" It was a true springtime miracle in the eyes of this 3 year old.

We are also happy to announce that we have begun planting in the garden again. This season we are going to try a few new things. Our experimental vegetables this year are potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. We are also starting an asparagus patch and a blackberry patch. We don't know much (except for a bit of pre-planting research) about these crops. If anyone has any expertise, it would be appreciated.

It Rained Last Night

We are sealing part of the foundation on our house. We spent Saturday digging a big hole so we could expose the crack. Dang. We should have checked the weather forecast before we exposed the hole!

4:30 am - Wake up to a shallow lake in the basement and spend the next several hours quietly mopping up water that was still coming into the house as quickly as I could clean it up.

8:00 - No progress made on the lake. Water still pouring in.

8:20 - Father-in-law shows up to drop off a wet/dry vac. Thank you! Spend the next several hours running between Logan, work, and the lake, trying to get things dried out.

12:30 - Inside lake empty, but water still coming in through crack. Go outside to see 50+ gallons of water trapped in the hole, still funneling into my basement. Wanted to swear but didn't. Maybe I should have. I might have felt better.

12:45 - Breaker goes out from running vac and fan. Switch outlets.

1:00 - Logan is helping me dry. He threw his sippie cup on the ground (for no apparent reason) and it bounces and hits me in the face. I lose patience and send Logan upstairs.

1:15 - Black eye forms from sippie cup incident.

1:30 - Smack head hard on board above crack where water is coming in. Goose egg forms.

1:40 - Smack head again in the same spot. Goose egg grows.

1:45 - 3 year old who is still not down for a nap is quiet upstairs for a surprising amount of time. Go upstairs to find him "watering the plants (seedlings for the garden)". Mud and water all over bathroom.

2:00 - After cleaning bathroom (with help from Logan), attempt to put him down for a nap. He cries because he is hungy. Of course he is hungry. He had to find himself food all morning while I mopped and vacuumed water. All he ate was potato chips, popcorn, and chocolate milk all day.

2:10 - Bad Mommy feeds Logan chicken, rice, and apples.

2:20 - Logan goes back to bed for 5 minutes and then cries because his feet are cold. Of course his feet are cold. He waded through a soggy basement all morning helping me.

2:25 - Cuddle Logan. Tell him a story about a little bat (his request). Bundle up his feet and warm him up a rice bag for his chilly toes. Kisses and hugs. Good night, Logan.

2:30 - Reflect on what a dreadful mother I was today. Catch up on work. Check water in hole. Almost gone. Water coming into house down to a trickle.

3:00 - Check weather forecast. Rain tonight.