Around this time of year, it seems from my end of things, kindergarten really picks up. The phonetic spelling kicks into high gear, and these little learn to read books show up in their book bags. The books are simple, repetitive, and short. It’s straightforward enough — sight words are repetition. They’ve got all the
Christmas was exactly two weeks ago. Doesn’t it seem so much longer? New Years Eve comes at the exact right time because it marks the psychological distance between December 25 and January 1. It’s like six days but MAN oh MAN does it feel like a year. A lot of our decorations are still up,
Thomas started kindergarten, and can we just let that sink in for a second? No one believes me when I tell them that Thomas, the same kid who spent his early years scaling tall objects, flooding the bathroom, and otherwise giving his mother a heart attack, is joining the ranks of the educated. They especially
Thomas and his bed head started kindergarten camp this week. During this photo he spotted a lightning bug, caught it, and then handed it to me, “You can take care of it while I’m at school, Mom.” Its like he’s TRYING to make me cry! Mary went to this camp a few years ago, and
Here’s a thing you may or may not know about our family. When it comes to our kids’ bedtime, we do not mess around. We are lenient about almost everything, but not bedtime. Our kids go to bed at 7:30 p.m. every night. Even the almost-10-year-old. It’s a hard line that we hold because, if
On the morning of Thomas’s sixth birthday, he came downstairs and found four lightsabers on the mantle. Bursting with excitement, he handed one to each of his siblings. He didn’t for one second think all four lightsabers were his, or care that his siblings were getting presents on HIS birthday. He wasn’t thinking about equity
I can’t tell if it’s happening more, or if I’m just noticing it more, but recently Thomas has been crawling into my lap a lot. He turns six tomorrow. More than I do with my other kids, I spend the week before Thomas’s birthday remembering the final days of my pregnancy. I remember each day
Thomas is almost six, which means he’s at the apex of the picky-eater curve that all of my kids have traveled. They start out as adventurous eaters that’ll try literally everything and then consume almost everything they try. Then they realize, around 18 months, that they have a choice in the matter, and why would
This morning I registered Thomas for kindergarten. Through my mask I told the school administrator that we registered last year, then decided to wait a year. You know, because surely by September 2021 this pandemic would be a terrible, distant memory. We both had a hearty perfunctory laugh. Hardy har har…Har. Har. Har. I wrote
At a recent doctor’s appointment, our pediatrician was rolling through some general healthy habits for five-year old kids. She was talking through recommendations about stuff like exercise, screen time, eating vegetables, drinking a glass of water with every meal and snack, and, hmmm, hey doctor? Any thoughts on the benefits of wearing a pair of