Thursday: names

Today was the first day that I tried to remember my students' names.  This tends to be about a month long process since I see the backs of their heads twice a week, but I usually get most of them.  (One semester I had a "J" corner where all the guys' names started with J and I could never keep them straight.  There are usually one or two that don't put their name tags up or move seats that I miss too.)  Now, I won't remember their names come January, but it is helpful for the short term.

I find I remember names of students best if they are also names of friends or family.  However, today I also had an Everett and Chase and I'm afraid I'm going to remember the names because they're on Paw Patrol.

We got this picture from Isaac's teacher yesterday.

Wednesday: book and sleep over

Joshua had a sleep over with Cheryl last night.  He said he went to bed really late and that he had some fun and some not fun.  It was fun playing with Cheryl and not fun when he wasn't playing with her. :)  He also got a bunch of craft stuff that he was very excited about.

I also got my first blog book.  I've wanted to have the blog in print for a while and this was the first year that I tried (it was the fewest entries).  I was happy about how it turned out.  I'll probably continue to make them, but realistically it might be a while.

Tuesday: first day of school

It was raining this morning.  We got some pictures when the rain had paused.

Right after the pictures it started to downpour.  Ben just happened to be leaving at the same time and agreed to take Isaac so that Isaac could be dropped off much closer to the door.  It...was probably a bad plan.  Apparently it was barely raining by the time they got to the school and the parking lot was pure chaos.  Ben made it through though, and even managed to snap the picture I asked him to take. :D

Isaac said he had a good day.  I felt like I has having a hard time getting a reading on him, but I don't know if I was putting my feelings on him or if it was a good day but kind of boring because it is all the beginning of the year stuff.

Yesterday I couldn't believe I had a first grader, but today what really hit me is that my youngest is in the preschool room now.  I feel like once Isaac got into preschool he got a ton older.  I got a full report from him when the day was done...we 'played, cleaned up, watched an ice cream show, made a craft, washed our hands, had a snack, played, cleaned up, had lunch, took a nap, then Ms. Colleen was there, played, washed my hand, sat down, I got veggie straws, you picked me up!"  He also told me about some of the kids (there or not there) as we passed their pictures on the way out.

It was also my first day of school, and as first days always go, it was busy.  There was some extra stuff to do and things weren't quite as prepared as I would have liked.  (Prepared enough, just not super awesome prepared.)  I also did a ton of talking.  Besides that though, everything seemed to go ok.  ...including the super boring lesson that makes up the first day of the excel class.

Monday: last day

Today was the last day of summer vacation.  I haven't decided whether I'm excited for school or really sad that summer is done.

Excited: The routine will be nice.  Isaac will learn a lot.  Joshua will hopefully learn a lot.  Perhaps the boys will not get on each other's nerves quite so much.

Sad: packing lunches.  Getting up early.  Wearing socks.  Being Joshua's only playmate during the day.


We went on a walk and found all the colors of the rainbow...but mainly green.  I thought we all could use some green before going back to school.

Sunday: made it

Well, everyone survived today.  I'm not really sure what was in the water, but everyone was having a slightly off day.  I took a nap that I wasn't planning on taking and it made me feel a lot better.  Naps often do an excellent job of resetting my outlook on everything.

Saturday: birthday week

Continuing with my birthday week, I got some presents this morning.  Before I opened the presents I learned that, "It's not ice cream" (Isaac) and "Can I have a donut with lunch?" (Joshua)  I also got some lovely fabric.

We also went for a very nice boat ride and dinner this evening.

Thursday: mini golf

We went mini-golfing and had some ice cream today.  Isaac did a pretty good job, but he wasn't keeping score so several he just swept into the hole.  Joshua was hilarious, just like last time.  I completely gave up trying to get any sort of correct form.

Friday: quilt show

Today I went to the quilt show with Cheryl.  There were fewer art and crazy applique quilts this time, and I really liked that.

Here are some of my favorites:

Jazzy by Kathy Kittle:

Glacier 01 by Karen Marchetti

Sunshine by Katherine Jones

Winter Peace by Lynne Bogardus

2017 by Tracy Husch-Lissak

Wednesday: meet the teacher

Today was meet the teacher day for Isaac.  His friend was there and came right over to say hi, and that was nice to see.

The teacher presentation was mostly just the normal stuff, but it was nice to be able to look around the classroom and see what was there.  When Isaac went up to say hi to his teacher she said, "your teacher told me so many great things about you!" to which he responded, "I never moved my clip!"  (i.e., I never got in trouble.)

At the end I wondered where I should put some of the supplies that had Isaac's name on them.  She said to just put them out in the hallway because it is a communal pool.  Um...ok.  I asked again because I really was surprised and pulled out the pencil case, which had his name on it.  We slowly figured out what was going on.  Apparently no one ever reads the instructions on the list and just brings stuff in without putting the name on.  And they don't get all the supplies, because she had a pencil bag and water bottle for everyone.

Now, I understand that sometimes people can't bring in supplies due to financial hardship and that's a separate topic.  But no one else reads the instructions???  I was really surprised that there wasn't at least some expectation that the parents would do as the instructions asked, even if it wasn't done by most.  When I was talking with her it wasn't, "oh, yeah, I know what you're talking about and you should put those supplies here."  It was some back and forth before we understood each other.  (Also, it isn't as though the supply list is out-of-date because the list changed between the one they sent home after kindergarten and the one we recently received in the mail.)  I would be happy to not label his pencils.  But then don't tell me to do so.

Besides that she seems nice and hopefully Isaac will have a great year.

Tuesday: meh

Today was only ok.

To cap it off, it was Isaac's last ice skating lesson.  Now, I know that he hadn't improved all that much this session.  (He even seemed to go backwards a bit in the middle.)  But when I got his 'score card' it said that he mastered all the level 2 skills, and none of the level 3 skills.  This is exactly the same as at the end of the last session.  Exactly!  What were the teachers doing?  Even I could see that he needed to bend his knees more...march more...take more steps before gliding.  Going back and forth on the ice isn't helpful after a point if you're just doing the same wrong form over and over again.  I tried to give him some pointers to work on, but saying them in the car is not as helpful as saying them on the ice.  There weren't that many students that he couldn't have been given a few more pointers.

So I came home from that a bit grumpy.  Now, Isaac said that he had a good time and has no idea about his progress.  We're not doing the next session due to scheduling conflicts, but I think that is a good plan anyway.  If he wants to try again at the end of the school year the break will be good...or he could try something else. 

Monday: Sandy Pines

Today we went to visit my aunt and uncle at Sandy Pines.  It was a fun day of exploring a new area and catching up with them.

We explored several of the playgrounds.  The structures were somewhat the same, but there were several differences between them also.

We went to the splash pad/pool too.  The splash pad's water was cold!  I had brought the water shoes along, and I think that helped their feet...but not my feet.  I didn't stay in for very long.  We also went down the water slide.  Isaac loved it, but Joshua preferred the shallow pool better.

It was the boys' first trip in a golf cart.  While they quickly got used to it, at the beginning there were many "this is going so fast!"

The boys really wanted to play mini-golf.  Really really a lot.  And it was hilarious.  Joshua would let you get his grip correct, but did not want help hitting the ball.  There were a few times where everyone was hitting their balls, trying to get it in the hole, and instead creating chaos.

We often had Joshua pick up his ball and just put it in the hole...and for one green he decided this was the hole.

The day included cookies and ice cream and in Isaac's words, the day was "super!"  They both fell asleep on the way home, which I always take for having had an excellent day.

Sunday: Happy Birthday

Today's my birthday.  It was an excellent birthday.  The kids (and Ben) let me sleep in.  Really, what more could I want? 

Church was good.  I played Warcraft and quilted.  We had dinner with Dad and Pat.  (I had a hard cider.  I have found that I like hard ciders.  However, it made my toes SO HOT.)

We set up our small tent in the basement and the boys are having a sleepover.  Joshua always wants to have sleepovers with anyone, but Isaac had been saying no for too many times so we paused them.  This seemed like a good compromise.

(This is seriously my favorite tent ever.  It goes up in a minute.)

Saturday: guests

We cleaned the basement up today because we were having guests, and I really don't know why we don't do it more often.  (Well, I do know.  But I still wish we did it a bit more.)  I let the rumba go and the boys played keep-away-from-the-rumba for about thirty minutes.  It's nice having the space back, at least for a bit.

It was lovely to have friends over too.  The kids played well in the water and then after dinner too.  This allowed the adults to talk and it was nice to get to know everyone a bit better.  Joshua tried teaching two of the girls Sleeping Queens.  This is especially hard since Joshua barely knows all the rules.  Isaac ended up joining in, and that worked better...or at least I think it did; I didn't actually see any of the game.

Friday: GR Children's musuem

Today we went to the Children's Museum with Dad, Pat, Landon and Greyson.

Oh, but first I got this from Joshua today it is, "To help you remember that you love Dad."  I'm not sure why I need the help, but the sentiment is cute.

Ok, back the the Museum.  Isaac loved the silver mirrors outside as we were waiting for it to open.  He does obsess about his colors a bit.  If it is silver, he loves it.

This museum was a lot of fun, but there was more free play in it than Impression 5.  (That one is more play to learn.)  It was right up Joshua's alley though, and he played rocket and fire truck for quite a while.

Isaac's favorite part was the spinning wheel.  I could have spent longer there too, but was called to a fire.

I got a short puppet show.

Isaac did some bouldering; Joshua tried and was getting the hang of it but then gave up.

We played with bubbles.

And built stuff.  We built several domino runs too, but those didn't get any pictures.

The boys found the diner/construction zones and played at those for quite a while.  I was happy to have missed the diner; I get fed so much pretend food that I'm often pretend stuffed.  We finished out the trip with making some bridges.  Joshua was in charge of hammering all the bolts.