The Walk

For 9 years I have walked kids to school and tomorrow will be our last one. We’ve walked on beautiful days full of fragrant trees. We’ve walked on brisk days crunching the leaves. We’ve splashed through sudden downpours and we’ve enjoyed silent walks through freshly fallen snow.

I’ve traveled the route with 3 different dogs. I’ve made lifelong friends on the return trip home each morning. I’ve broken up fights. I’ve been peed on by a squirrel. I’ve fixed bike chains. I’ve comforted crying kids after bike accidents. I’ve greeted most kids by name as we pass by each morning. I’ve waved like I’m in a parade at the neighbors as they drive past. I’ve cursed my friend P~ as she sat in her car while I hobbled along after her particularly brutal Ball Workout. I’ve walked when it’s colder than I thought and so hot I needed a shower upon returning home.

The Walk was the perfect transition. Some mornings, everything goes smoothly and The Walk is nothing special. Some mornings are tough and The Walk is a reset button we all needed before starting our day.

Mostly, The Walk was time. Time with the kids. Time with friends. Time with nature. Time with the dog. Time to just be.

The thing I will miss most about the end of our elementary career is The Walk.

Puppy, Work, School, Track, Scouts, Mayo, Running, Soccer, Chess, Art…

Now you’re all caught up on the last month!

Puppy

Kenai is growing & growing & growing. He weighs in at 42lbs at not quite 4 months. He gets snipped in 11 days & I am excited he gets to stay at the vet’s overnight!

It’s actually not going too badly. Puppies are a lot of work, something I knew, but now I KNOW it. He’ll be worth it, someday 😉 Kenai loves to snuggle up on a lap, he is enthusiastic about everything, he loves a good nap, & he’s a lot less mouthy than he was a week ago. We are just about done with Puppy Preschool. Pretty sure he’s going to fail. He does ‘sit’ & ‘down’ just fine but he’s not great on a leash & is indifferent about coming when he’s called. We’ve been working hard this week on those two things & maybe he’ll surprise me. Some weeks he does great in class, other weeks, not so much. Probably the biggest hurdle with the dog is his constant diarrhea. We’re on our second round of antibiotics & things are firming up nicely. Hopefully it’ll stay that way…

Work

I started my seasonal job at J~’s office right after we got the dog. I’ve only been able to do a few hours at a time because of the dog & my other commitments but that’s worked okay. This year I’m not filling seed, I’m putting them away. I thought I would hate it, but I actually really enjoy it. Putting the planting packets away is like a humongous puzzle. It’s nice & mindless.

School

The weather is above 20 most mornings so we are now walking to school. It’s really nice to have a dog in tow again. He cries when the kids cross to the school & we turn around and head home. The kids are all doing well. G~ is in the middle of his huge State Fest project. He’s very excited because his state is Alaska. T~ is plugging along & E~ is doing fine too. Although Track just started so I fully expect his schoolwork to come crashing down on him at some point. Which brings us to

Track

I am not a fan. I love the events but the meets take FOREVER!! His very first meet was 3+ hours. 3!!! And he only ran 3 races, none of which I actually saw because I arrived late (Running Club) & had to leave early (Puppy Preschool). He has a meet tomorrow & I’m hoping to make all the races. My sister loaned me a book so I’ll have something to do.

Scouts

I have a love-hate relationship with this organization. E~ seemed ready to quit but then he finally made some friends in his troop & now he’s working his tail off to get his ranks done. G~ is a year away from joining E~’s troop & is ready to go. He went on a campout with E~ & J~ a few weekends ago & loved it. I enjoyed it too because not only were all 3 boys gone, T~ went to a friend’s house for an overnight too. I really enjoyed the peace & quiet of my own house.

Mayo

Which was sorely needed after sharing a hotel room with my sister who decided not to bring her CPAP & snored for 2 nights. Plus all the brain prodding that went on. But we’ll discuss Mayo in another post.

Running

I’m half way through this years Running Club, which is now called Stride Club (so we can incorporate walkers). I enjoy it. I do not enjoy having to plan for all weather conditions. Last week was gorgeous. Today it snowed. Such is April…

Soccer

Spring Soccer is the worst sport ever. Even worse than Track.

Chess

G~ is doing Chess Club at school & loving it. I think there are more kids in Chess Club than in Stride Club.

Art

G~ is also doing Art Club. He’s at school late 3 days a week now. And he’s just fine with that 😉 E~ is also taking Art this quarter. It’s his favorite Quarter Class. He’s thrilled because he gets all the make-up snow days in Art instead of in the class he initially missed because of the weather.

I think the two readers I have left are now mostly caught up. See you in May!

Or hopefully sooner 😉

K~

 

The First Day

It’s the first day of school!!!

This has been a weird summer & we are all ready for some structure & for someone else to be in charge.

I love our summers of sleeping in & swimming & biking & being overrun with neighbor kids, but my tolerance tank is full. Having the kids gone for a blessed few hours means I can entertain my own thoughts, the house might stay cleanish for more than 10 minutes (stop laughing J~), & no one will be asking me 5908 times a day if they can have a snack.

So here they are:

E~ is in 7th, G~ is in 4th, & T~ is in 1st.

K~

 

School Supplies

I’m going to rant here so when I go to school tonight to hear all about 1st grade, I don’t rant there & make a bad impression.

Why, for the love of Crayola, does my kid need 3 boxes of crayons & 3 boxes of markers?!?!?! I’m pretty sure she came home with most of the 4 boxes I sent her with for Kindergarten. Sure they weren’t in the greatest shape, but did she need 4 to begin with?

And why do all the folders need to be a certain color? And the notebooks. Do you know how hard it is to find an orange, wide ruled notebook? One that doesn’t cost $3? Chances are good that the kid will use about 5 pages in the notebook anyway. And don’t tell me not to label the stuff. My kids picked out their own scissors & they would like to use them!

School supplies is a racket. I’m just not sure whose racket. Does Crayola have a lobby with the school districts? Elmer’s maybe has the ear of the Art dept? I understand that the schools would rather spend their money on books & big ticket items. I get that & I’m okay with that. But I really resent being asked to buy crayons for the entire class knowing everyone else is buying for the class too. If there are 22 kids in the class & each are bringing 3 boxes of markers, that’s 66 boxes of markers. Will 22 kids really go through 66 BOXES of markers? I’ll buy my kid a box of crayons & if he needs another one, let me know & I’ll take care of it. Same with the markers & the pens & the pencils & the notebook paper. And if there’s a kid that needs stuff that can’t afford it, by all means, let me know & I’ll be happy to help. Asking for 3 boxes & knowing they’re going to the community crayon bucket just seems greedy.

I’m much happier buying supplies for my 7th grader (eep! 7th grade!!). He’ll use his own pens & pencils. His folders will stay with him, as will his notebooks. He’ll use his own calculator & compass (too much hiking this year. I was about to head to Gander Mountain to buy one when I remembered the other kind of compass). The only thing communal is the tissues & I’m happy to supply them.

Maybe my elementary teacher readers would care to share their wisdom on this? Is there a good reason & I’m not seeing it?

K~

I Love School!

E’s school is amazing.

You may remember how I struggled with the decision on where to send E~ last year. We totally made the right choice in sending him to Treetop. I haven’t spent huge amounts of time there but every time I’m there, I get a really good vibe.

Today is was there for 2 hours; one hour was spent listening to Shark Tank-type presentations. The other hour was discussing books. Could there be a better way to spend a cold, windy, dreary day?

After I was done I had a conversation with Treetop’s principal. I had a few questions about 7th grade & needed to wrap up some Lego League business. We had a very pleasant conversation where I learned all about the plans for Math for next year, staffing changes, & scheduling challenges. I also learned that staff who were previously at our local elementary (who I thought were fabulous) are now valuable fixtures at Treetop. It was refreshing to hear that teachers I thought were great are viewed the same way by the person who hires & fires.

I was able to request a particular teacher for E~ for next year. How else should I spend my volunteering cache?

K~

Library

I’ve spent the better part of the last 3 years shelving books in the library at school.

I love the library. If I were ever to get a job in the school I’d love to work in the library. Being surrounded by books & kids all day would be delightful.

The library encourages the kids to use rulers (found in coffee cans. This will be important later) in helping them select their books. You stick the ruler next to the book you want to look at & if you don’t want it, the ruler has marked the space so you know exactly where to re-shelve the book. I find many, many, many rulers when I’m shelving books. I’m not sure if the kids forget the ruler after they’ve made their selection or if they shove the book in whatever spot they find. Both are possible.

Anyway, last week I was home mucking out the kitchen. As I tried to find the counter top I noticed a ruler. I grabbed it & then proceeded to wander through the house looking for a coffee can to put the ruler in.

Eventually I remembered I was at my house & we put our rulers in the desk drawer.

My favorite books to shelve are the Non-fiction. I avoided them my first year but then, so did everyone else. Now, they are my favorite books to shelve. It gives me insight into what the kids like to read. Horses, WWII, Firetrucks, Seals, & Space are the most popular this year. Last year it was Race cars, Dogs, Pandas, & Castles. Would you like to know the Dewey Decimals for them? I could tell you.

Which brings me to the unexpected bonus of shelving Non-fiction. My kids think I am super smart. They know if they would like a book on Origami, all they have to do is ask ME & I can tell them exactly where to look. No hopping on the computer necessary. None of the other moms can do that.

I am awesome.

K~

Fall Means:

• Leaves – lots & lots of leaves. The kids love Fall. And what’s not to love? We have a large tree that drops copious amounts of leaves which they then rake into piles & ride their wagons through. Last year our yard was raked on a daily basis by my 3 kids & any number of neighbor kids. This year has been no different. Well maybe a little different. The kids raked an elderly neighbor’s yard & there are plans to rake a house across the street today after school. G~ wanted to charge for their services but I think he’s having too much fun.
• Conferences – I usually enjoy these. Who doesn’t love to go listen to the teacher talk about how awesome their kids are? At least that’s how I felt until last year when we had our first rough conference. Out of the blue, one of our children became the worst student the teacher had ever seen & while this child can be somewhat ornery, what the teacher was describing was really out of character. I was really upset & worried & then found out many of the parents in the class had similar conferences. Problem solved – it’s not my kid, it’s the teacher. And it was, to a certain extent. This year, the same child is struggling. He doesn’t follow directions, he’s out of his seat; he’s the ADD Poster Child. I was hoping he had just cultivated some bad habits last year & then I watched him in class. He’s off to the dr. next week. The nice thing though, is he has a wonderful teacher. She gets him. She helps him as much as possible to stay on task & is very good with gentle reminders. She doesn’t penalize him for things that seem out of his control. G~ (yes, in case you hadn’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about G~) became rather demoralized last year with constantly being in trouble, which led to him not caring which led to some disrespectful behaviors (that didn’t last, we don’t do disrespect around here).  This year’s teacher, Ms. Fedora-Pasture, really wants G~ to feel good about himself & school & I really appreciate what she’s trying to do. It’s very refreshing after last year. T~’s conference went fine. School was designed for T~. She loves everything about it. Her reading is coming along nicely, she’s made some nice friends, & is enthusiastic every moment she’s in the building. E~’s conferences are next week. I have no idea what to expect. Some of his teachers left me feeling rather cold after the Meet The Teacher Night, but E~ doesn’t complain or really say much about any of them. He has a clear favorite; it just happens to be a teacher that gets very mixed reviews from parents. I’m trying to reserve judgement.
• Birthdays – All the kids have Fall birthdays which means I need to figure out what they want. E~ wants money for some Really Expensive Lego. I want to set fire to the Lego mess, although I bet that would smell terribly. G~ wants another Wii game for the Wii that we hardly ever use & still occasionally gives us the Black Screen of Death. T~ wants a CuddleUppet but what she’s probably going to get is a ream of printer paper so she will stop taking all of mine. I would love to get the kids each a ticket to our Alma Mater’s Homecoming game & call that their birthday gifts. Maybe it’s because they are gone all the time, but I’m feeling like gifts of time & togetherness should be higher on the list than toys & video games. There is one other birthday of note in the fall. Charlie turns 14 next week. We’re not usually into celebrating pet birthday’s, but 14 seems like a big one, so I think I’ll try to do something for her – maybe a ride to school at the end of the day so she can bask in the glow of hundreds of kids fawning over her. And a party hat. Every dog needs a party hat!
• Camping – I love fall camping. We went last weekend with G~’s Cub Scout troop. It was a nice family event & we all had a great time. J~ & G~ were busy doing scout things, E~ & T~ were busy playing with friends & I was busy sitting on a lawn chair chatting with the other parents along for the ride. The weather was perfect. Not having to cook or plan for anything was even better.
• Politics – Just kidding! I have many opinions on this subject but I’m trying to gain back readers, not drive them away!

K~

The Start of Another Year

School started last week.

E~ is in 6th grade at Treetop Jr High. G~ is in 3rd & T~ started Kindergarten at Neighborhood Elementary.

All 3 were excited about the coming year. I say were, because today, on day 4, the alarms are going off a little early for their tastes.

E~ seems to like Treetop. The first few days were boring, but now that they are actually doing stuff, he’s been pretty happy.

G~ is thrilled because he got the teacher he wanted. The whole 3rd grade team is pretty solid, so I didn’t really have a preference. I expect great things from G~ this year. He’s starting TAG (the talented & gifted program) & he’s really excited about everything about school.

T~ has Mrs. Farmer, G~’s former Kindergarten teacher, & Kindergarten teachers don’t get any better than her. I thought I’d be devastated that my baby was starting Kindergarten, but I couldn’t be happier. She is so ready for school. Plus she’s surrounded by friends, both hers & mine. It makes it a little easier for both of us.

Soon I’ll answer the oft-asked question: What are you going to do now that all the kids are in school?

K~

1001

Maybe I should just number posts from now on. It’s hard to come up with titles sometimes.

I just got back from dropping E~ off at Treetop for Jr High Orientation. I was sure I would spend the morning mourning my son’s youth. He’s growing up so fast, blah, blah, blah.

Then E~ comes downstairs wearing his shirt on backwards, has a stomping fit when I ask him to gather his school supplies, & is generally acting like a toddler because the orientation is severely cutting into his Lego time.

A little maturity would be a good thing…

K~

An Easy Decision

I thought that’s what I’d have, once the Talented & Gifted letter came.

If you remember, J~ & I have been weighing where to send E~ next year for Jr. High – the local public school , Treetop, or the Lutheran school, 3in1. J~ & I had come to the decision that if E~ made the TAG program at Treetop, that’s where we’d send him. If he didn’t make the program, we were leaning heavily towards 3in1.

Yesterday the letters came & E~ made the TAG program. We were all thrilled. It’s a very competitive program so I wasn’t optimistic he’d get in. He did, so that was that – he would be attending Treetop Jr High in the fall.

Except E~ isn’t so sure. He is leaning towards 3in1.

I was surprised. I’d thought he’d be thrilled to stay with his friends. I guess we have a lot more talking to do…

K~