Archive for August, 2008

I wonder where preschoolers get some of their grammar. I'm no English teacher, but I try to use correct grammar most of the time (I have been known to use "ain't" on occasion, and some Southern dialect that may not be exactly proper English.) I certainly don't expect toddlers to remember all the rules of verb conjugation, but it amazes me what they come up with. Yesterday, Eliza was telling me, "Gavin and Grace brung the snack." Why not "bringed"? She has probably been corrected before, but didn't remember what the correct word was. So where did "brung" come from? Perhaps she has heard it from someone, but more likely, she tried to apply a rule from a similar verb, like "sing" or "ring". In this case, she used the wrong tense (it should have been 'brang" if she followed those verbs), but it's still pretty amazing. Young minds are so incredible!

James came home from school yesterday with three stickers on his shirt, and when I asked about them, he told me he got them for singing a song for someone. That sounded interesting, so I prompted him for more details. Apparently his class was watching a movie, and a lady (he said he didn't think she was a teacher, perhaps an aide?) got him out of class, wanting to hear the song he had made up and had sung for a teacher at recess the day before. So he sang the song in return for three stickers. When he finished, he told her, "I'm missing the movie!", so she let him go back to class. Just a day in the life of "James the Performer"!

Well, not really. But it is my birthday! As much as I tried to skip it this year, it still came. My birthday has been hovering in the shadow of James' ever since he was born. (His birthday is on Wednesday.) I guess that's what happens when you have a baby so close to your birthday. Not that I'm complaining, because actually, I get several cards every year, and Jay and my family always make a point to do something special for me. It's just that I don't get to enjoy it much because I'm always trying to get ready for James' birthday. So this year I just decided I wouldn't have a birthday. It just means I'm getting older, anyway. But the cards came, Granny called and sang to me (just like she always does), and my Dad is going to take me out to lunch today. And so, I guess I get to be 28, even though it is getting dangerously close to 30. I just don't feel that old! (At least most of the time.) But I do have a kindergartener now, and that makes me feel older. Especially when he announces every morning that he's "not going to school today!" Oh, well, maybe it will change soon. Or maybe I'm just meant to be old before my time. :)

Poor James. They have been learning all about colors at school, but today he told me, "I'm bored of learning about colors." (This is not the first time James has mentioned being bored with school.) It is kind of sad that they have to spend so much time on it. They are doing one color a day, which means he gets to learn about colors the rest of this week and all of next. He is teaching me some cute songs, though, set to familiar tunes ("Y-E-L-L-O-W spells yellow" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.") But other than the spelling, colors are old hat to James, and he doesn't understand why they are still working on them. Of course, they are working on other things, too, like practicing writing straight lines (which is something James could use some practice on) and making sure they know an object's place (over, under, in the middle, etc.), which James has no trouble with. Eliza can do that! But they have to start somewhere, I guess, and better not to leave someone behind. But I'm afraid that James is going to be bored for a little while. Maybe that's why he tells me every morning that he doesn't want to go!

School has been going well for James. He seems to like it, even if he does tell me every morning that he doesn't want to go. He always sings me a new song he learned (right now they are working on colors, so each song is about a different color), and he usually has at least one story about something they did. I always ask him if he was good, and if he had to move his car. The room has a huge traffic light on the wall, and everyone has a car with their name on it. They all start on green, and get moved to yellow if they have a behavior problem that continues after a warning. If they get moved to red, they have to go see the principal. James has not had to move his car at all yet, but he said that some kids have had to move their car.

After I asked James about his car today, I asked if he had gotten in trouble at all. He said yes, but then he said he didn't want to tell me about it. I finally convinced him that it would be alright to tell me…I wouldn't be mad, I just wanted to know. His offense? Talking in the hallway. Why was he talking? He was trying to get a couple of his friends to get back on the line where they were supposed to be standing. I reminded him that he wasn't the boss and to just make sure that he was doing the right thing. James still has a lot to learn!

I have been home for a little while now, after dropping James off at kindergarten and Eliza at preschool. The house is really quiet. I keep expecting someone to run in and need something! I stop and listen for the kids every now and then, then remember they're not here. It is kind of weird. But it's also nice. I can be lazy without any interruptions! Oh, wait, that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

This morning was kind of rough. Even though James had a good day yesterday, he did not want to go back today. He had a meltdown shortly after I woke him up, telling me that he wished his school could be like it used to be, where he didn't have to go every day and the days were not so long. Me too! But I didn't tell him that. I managed to keep him moving and once we got to school, he was fine. He went right in and started playing with the play-doh at his table. Eliza was ready for school this morning. She kind of hid behind me as we walked up to her class, then ran in as soon as she spotted her teacher. Hopefully she will keep that enthusiasm, and I am going to have to find something that will motivate James. Right now, though, I am just going to enjoy being home alone!

James' first day went great! I think he had a good time, and he even sang me the song he learned about the days of the week. He seemed a little tired, but in a good mood when I picked him up. For me, the day seemed to drag on and on. I thought 3:30 would never get here! But it did, and the rest of the day just flew by. It will take me a little while to get used to this schedule. I miss James!

Tomorrow will be the first time that both James and Eliza will be at school. Eliza only goes from 8:30 to 11:30, but I will be childless during that time. I'm not sure what to think. I'd like to think I'll get lots done, working without the many interruptions that children bring. Or I may just kick back, take a nap, and try to recuperate from a hectic week. Yeah, that sounds good. We'll see…

I just finished dropping James off at school for his first day of kindergarten. Whew! I'm glad that's over. It wasn't too hard, but it was a little stressful. I just wanted to take a few pictures before we left the house, but the kids did not really want to cooperate. I managed to snap a few before we had to rush off. And we got there in plenty of time. James acted a little nervous when we went into the classroom (he wasn't his usual boisterous self), but I know he'll be fine. He didn't want to play with the play-doh the teacher had put at his table, so he just sat there. I gave him a hug and a kiss, and reminded him of some things: "Your snack is in the front pocket of your backpack. Be good! I love you!" I went to hand some things to the teacher, and then waved to him one more time. As we turned to go, Eliza ran back to give him one last hug goodbye. We walked back to the car, with Eliza swinging the lunchbox that Mammy had found for her after Eliza cried when she saw James' new lunchbox. (It used to be Adrienne's, and it has Popples on the front. They don't even make Popples anymore!) She insisted on carrying the empty lunchbox into the school, so I just let her. Eliza didn't seem upset at having to leave James, but she had to get used to that last year, and besides, she goes to her own school now (although only on Wednesday and Friday mornings).

It does feel different knowing that he'll be gone everyday, something that Eliza doesn't really understand yet but will soon find out. When we got back to the house I might have felt a little emotional, but Eliza, in her young wisdom (or just because she's needy), kept me busy wanting to water plants, feed the cat, and get something to drink. She's watching TV now, so I have a minute to goof off. Hence the long blog entry. Well, I'd better do some housework, which I've been putting off in the name of "getting ready for school." And James is at kindergarten!

We made it through Eliza's first day of preschool. She marched right in, said, "There she is!" about her teacher, and promptly started playing. While I signed her in, James snuck across the hall to visit his teacher from last year, Mrs. Wyndelyn. He was peeking through the door at her when I found him, waving enthusiastically. He gave her a big hug and told her all about getting ready to start kindergarten tomorrow. After I dragged him away from Mrs. Wyndelyn's classroom, I sent him in to give Eliza a hug goodbye, just to make sure she knew we were leaving. She barely paid him any attention, so we left. In the car leaving the school, James looked over at Eliza's empty seat and said, "I miss Eliza." Now he knows how Eliza felt all last year when we were dropping him off! In fact, she cried most of the way home almost every time we left him at school. Ahhh, memories! I have posted some pictures from this morning, as well as one from James' open house this afternoon.

We got to meet James' teacher today! Her name is Mrs. Doan, and James really seems to like her. She must have met James at his evaluation yesterday, and she has already labeled him "a mess." Well, I guess she's right. (She's not the same teacher we spoke to yesterday, though.) James already has a friend in the class, a boy named Wyatt whose grandmother is in our community group (and he lives just down the street from us). He also made a new friend while we were waiting in line to set up an account with the cafeteria for lunches. They were both pretending to be super heroes and also showing each other their karate moves…right up James' alley!

I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with James' first day of kindergarten. I probably won't cry, and I'm not too nervous, although I have had this strange twitch in my eyebrow today. It could be my nerves. It didn't help that I got a call last week saying that I had an overdue library book. I really thought I had turned them all in, and after a careful search of the house with no luck, I decided to try the library. So today I went into the library and went straight to the shelf where the book is supposed to be. I found a book that was just like the one they said was overdue, took it to them, and explained the situation: "I got a call about an overdue book. I just found this one on the shelf that is the same title; could you see if it's the missing book?" She scanned it, and said, "Is your name 'Lauren'?" "Yes," I told her. "I'll remove the fine," she said. I thanked her and breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently they had shelved it without checking it back in. At least it didn't cost me anything, just a week of agonizing over where it could be. So you can understand if my nerves are a little shot, right? Now if I can just get James to school on time tomorrow…

James had his kindergarten evaluation today, and it went really well. Of course, there were a few things he couldn't do, but overall, they were impressed with his skills. The teacher I talked to was surprised to hear he was only four. She said he is definitely ready for kindergarten! Something funny happened while we were there. The room we were in was a counselor's room, and it had a picture on the wall of different faces showing different emotions, with the name of the emotion under each face. Eliza pointed to one, saying, "This one looks mad." I had told the teacher that James was already able to read, but she was still very surprised when James looked up at the poster and said, "Jealous," which was written under the face Eliza was pointing to. I just smiled and shook my head. That boy!

Eliza is also ready for school! We met her teacher, Ms. Lana, the other day, and she is very nice. Eliza is so excited, and she tells everyone we meet that she is going to preschool. She told me, "I'm going to have so much fun there!"

Just a cute Eliza story: We were talking about something in the car the other day, when Eliza tried to remind us of something that happened several weeks ago. She said "Do you remember yesterday, far, far away?"

We had a great time at Disneyworld! We are worn out, though. Jay has posted lots of pictures on his Flickr page, so check them out! I would love to fill you in on the boring details of our trip, but I should really start some laundry. We get to meet Eliza's preschool teacher tomorrow, and James has his kindergarten evaluation on Tuesday. Then Eliza starts school on Wednesday, and James starts on Thursday. Craziness!