This (12 Year-Old) Kid!

This kid, my twelve year-old Lewie, is AMAZING.  (A mom can brag, right?)  Where do I begin?

My 'tween' turned twelve during the pandemic.  Like most kids, he was stripped from having a traditional birthday party, and instead, we celebrated quietly with just our immediate family at home.  When it was time for school, we made the joint decision to keep Lewie as a 'distance learning' student even though most kids his age were heading back to the classroom.   Indeed, Lewie's twelfth year was looking rather grim...  no birthday party; no friends' birthday parties; no school days, activities, or functions; no sleepovers; and only a few sparse playdates with friends outside.  (We had to keep our family safe and that included my 77 year-old mom!!)

Still, life works in mysterious ways, and while it seemed like 2020/2021 would go down in history as the worst year ever, I, instead, watched my son grow into a responsible, compassionate, and thoughtful young man.  Here are just a few reasons why he's made me so proud!

He thinks of others.

I was prepared to have a difficult conversation with Lewie when it was time to talk to him about him NOT going back to school.  Similarly, I thought battles would ensue when I told him he couldn't go to birthday parties or sleepovers.  Instead, he surprised me by saying Grammy was more important.  

Sure he was sad about not going back to school, and he told me he was worried about his "socialization skills" because he wasn't seeing anyone in person anymore, but in many cases, he made some of these tough decisions on his own.  For example, in August I really wanted to see if we could have our annual fun day at Lake Quassy Amusement Park:  "We'll be outside," I explained, and "we'll wear masks.  I'm sure we'll be safe if we keep our distance and use hand sanitizer."

"That's okay, Mommy," Lewie replied.  "I can wait until it's safe again."

Lewie and my mom on his birthday.

His light shines through.

Lewie is a super friendly kid.  When we walk, he tells random strangers to "have a nice day," and he's quick to compliment his friends and family.  As a distance learning student in a new school (Lewie started middle school this year), I was afraid he would be easily passed over by his teachers and classmates.  (After all, do kids in the classroom really pay attention to who's on the computer screen from home?)

Well, Lewie made it his mission early on to say "good morning" or "hello" to everyone when he signed in to class, and when his classes ended, he'd tell everyone, "Have a great day!"  His cheery attitude didn't go unnoticed.  Lewie was the first kid in 6th grade during the 2020/2021 school year to be recognized as "Student of the Month."  The teachers awarded him for his "kindness" and then said he was also the very first "distance learning" student to receive the honor.   We were all so surprised!  A few days after the announcement was made in school, his certificate arrived in the mail.  We couldn't be more proud of this kid that was recognized just for being authentically, Lewie.

Lewie's first day of school.

He loves deeply.   

In October, our sweet, silly, loving aunt (Aunty Kiki) passed away from Cancer.  Her decline was rapid, and Little Lewie couldn't see her when she was in the hospital because of COVID restrictions.  Once she was admitted to hospice, COVID protocol was less strict, so Lewie would be able to see her (if he wanted to).  I forewarned him: "Lewie, Aunty Kiki is not herself anymore.  She's sleepy and confused and very, very sick."

He didn't care.  In his eyes, Aunty Kiki was like a best friend.  He needed to see her to say goodbye, and he helped roll her bed outside by the ocean while we visited with her.  (The hospice center is located right next to the shore.)  It was painful to watch her slip in and out of conciousness, and yet, this kid sat by her side and stayed so brave.  We cried like babies driving home, but he still had no regrets.  "I will always be thankful for having Aunty Kiki in my life," he said.

During her funeral, Lewie was offered a chance to say a few words about her during the wake.  He wrote a beautiful tribute by himself  and read it so eloquently to everyone in the audience.   His words were pure and straight from the heart.  Even now, he's very sentimental. Any chance he gets, he still likes to wear the shirt/s she's bought for him over the years. 

Our last picture of Aunty Kiki--two months before she left us.

He's responsible.

It's no secret that kids, high school students, college students, and even adults have a difficult time navigating the world of "distance learning."  To be effective at online learning, students need to pay attention to schedules and deadlines; they need to be willing to ask questions and advocate for themselves when they don't understand an assignment; and they need to be motivated to get their work done.  I know the challenges all too well since I teach online college students, and many lack the self-discipline to stay on track.

When we signed up Lewie for "distance learning," I was worried.  Would he learn as much as the other kids?  Would he stay motivated?  Would he be old enough to handle the responsibility?  Finally, how could I help him stay on track when I had my own Zoom meetings and work to get done?  During the first two weeks, I spent time with Lewie to make sure he understood his schedule and helped advocate for him when he was having difficulty signing into his classes via Google Meet.  (It turned out that not every teacher remembered to send a valid Google Meet link to their distance learning students.)

However, once he became acclimated to the format, it was smooth sailing for Lewie.  Before long, he was signing into his first class at school and all his consecutive classes without any guidance from me.  He was keeping tabs on all of his assignments that were due for the day, making sure to submit them before their deadlines.  Even more, he was earning As in his classes with some classes earning a perfect score!  I was amazed at his motivation, his time management skills, his ability to participate and advocate for himself, and his eagerness to learn.  It was as if "distance learning" became a natural fit for him, and as a result, he made high honors with teachers praising him for his work ethic.

   

He's funny.

Lewie loves to laugh, and he'll often entertain us by showing funny videos (usually of Minecraft) made by his favorite YouTubers.  He likes to experiment with being the 'class clown' on his own, too.  One day he told me he had his entire English class (including his teacher) in stiches because he could make his voice sound funny in Google Meet using the microphone.  Not too long after, the 'funny microphone voice' started to come out while playing with his friends online, too.

The other day, Lewie was getting ready to record himself doing ten good pushups for his gym teacher (a requirement for school).  He said to me, "Okay, ready?  I''m going to do one good pushup for the camera.  Then, I'll just loop it nine more times."  He made this comment with a dead serious face, and we both crackdc up.

 Another day, he came downstairs quite perturbed that 'puberty' might have hit overnight.  "Why?" I asked, "your voice doesn't sound any different."  

"No, but I found a hair under my armpit."

"Oh, is that all?" I asked.

"Yea, I plucked it out."

He's creative.

This kid enjoys coding in Minecraft, graphic design, and video editing.  Once upon a time, he practiced these skills using free software on his computer, but this year, I agreed to pay for Adobe Creative Cloud after I saw that he really had a talent.  I don't know if it's normal to be self-taught in this area, but Lewie seems to have no problem using visual effects and editing on his own.  In fact, for his money class, Lewie had to develop a skit to show how to save money.  Rather than just writing the skit, he asked his dad to record it while he acted it out.  (Daddy had a few 'one liners' in the short film, too.)  A few hours  later, Lewie used his editing prowess to produce a masterpiece for his teacher.  We were all super-impressed!

                                                                   *     *     *

I guess I come across like a gloating mom in this post.  My intention was just to write about my twelve year-old kid, and yet, as I started to write this post, I realized that so much of this narrative is influenced by COVID.  Would Lewie have been a different kid at this time if he had a regular year of school?   Would he still have been named 'Student of the Month'?  Would he still have been so thoughtful about keeping his grandmother safe?  Would he still have excelled in his school work?  

A year ago to this date, no one could have predicted the unthinkable--a pandemic!  No one could have predicted that the lockdown or this strange "in-between" would have lasted for so long.  No one could have predicted how much the pandemic would impact our daily lives and our mental health.  At first, I was terrified--not just from the potential of getting my mom sick but from 'a lost year' in Lewie's schooling.  Surely, the pandemic was going to impact him intellectually, social-emotionally, and everything in between.

Instead, the opposite happened.  We grew closer as a family, and through the hardship, Lewie learned how to be a survivor.  In fact, we all learned how to be survivors.  We worked, we took breaks, we laughed, and sometimes we cried, and yet, we got through it.  It built character, and in Lewie's case, it taught him how to be flexible and resilient.   Did COVID make my twelve year-old grow up faster than he would have?  Maybe.  But, then again, maybe it just brought out the best parts of him that have been there all along.  Either way, I LOVE this 12 year-old kid!!

5th Grade Graduation - 2020 COVID Style

Last week, Little Lewie, yes, the little tyke you see waiting for the bus, graduated from 5th Grade!

He had a joyous five years of elementary school, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, it all ended.  Boom.  Like that.  Over.  Done.  Finished.

We received news that his school would have a Drive Thru 5th Grade Promotion.  (In my day, it was called a graduation.)  One by one, a line of cars would drive through and stop at two tables.  At the first table, students would be able to say goodbye to the DARE Officer that taught them throughout the year.  At the second table, they could pick up their Certificate of Promotion and take a quick picture with their teacher (as long as they wore a mask and tried to social distance themselves).

At first, I thought the process would be so quick, I wouldn't have time to be emotional.  However, as we gathered in line (which went pretty fast), and we saw Principal Mur****, I lost it.  I mean, I really lost it.  My husband, who started out by making fun of me, soon started crying, too.  The only one in the car that didn't cry was Little Lewie.  He said he was too angry at COVID-19 to be sad, and of course, I promised him that one day, perhaps next year, we would return to his elementary school to "properly" say goodbye to his teachers--with hugs and everything.  (It's a nice thought.)

When we drove home and I wiped the tears from my eyes, Little Lewie and I looked at his yearbook together and some of the other "goodies" he received--his certificate, an Amazon gift card, and a treat bag that said "I wish we had s'more time together" (with just enough ingredients to make a s'more).  I was thrilled to see that his teacher put many of Lewie's pictures into the yearbook, like these...

I got choked up another time.  Elementary school was a place of many milestones...his first science fair, history fair, and geography fair; his first art show; his first winter concert; his first 5-K; his first school friends; his first Junior Achievement class (with his parents as teachers); his first real playground and gym class; his first game of dodge ball; his first school bus ride, etc. etc.  All the memories came charging full force.  I would miss his school principal, his teachers, his counselor, and especially his fifth grade teachers, who communicated with us on a weekly basis once we started learning from home.  Everyone had been so patient, kind, understanding, compassionate, and helpful.  I still feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude when I think of these special years.  The teachers made them magical.

We ended the day with a special dinner and Grammy's homemade chocolate cake!  Then, a week later, we had a "Celebrate Lewie Night."  Here we spent an hour watching a slideshow of all the 5th graders (set to music); a "congratulations speech" by his superintendent, principal, and teachers; and a recording of his concert music.  I know I'm going to sound a little boastful when I say that I thought Little Lewie's recording was the best.  (Honestly, I was so proud of him; his hours of trumpet practice really showed!)

Now, after all the hours of "homeschooling"-- reading, writing, math, science, history, trumpet practice and art--everything has all come crashing to an end, a deafening silence, a void.  Normally Lewie would be starting camp right now with new adventures awaiting him.  There would be preparation for our next National Park trip to Glacier National Park, too.  Instead, we're home--me with the equivalent of "Zoom Meetings," Lewie with x-box, and my husband with work and some unhappy family news.  It will be a "different" summer, but I hope to use this time to create new memories...ones that will be unique to this time but just as happy and fulfilling.  We'll celebrate again when hugs and real goodbyes are allowed.

A Normal School Day in Quarantine

Since mid-March, the State of Connecticut has been under "lock-down" orders with only essential workers being able to attend their jobs.

Since schools and colleges were the first to close, I was lucky to begin working from home right away (I work at a college). Lewie was dismissed from school (on Friday the 13th), and he (along with his teachers) had to quickly get acclimated to online learning.  At first it was difficult; his teachers were sending dozens of emails a day with requests for assignments.  I'm almost sure we missed a few of them as many of the assignments didn't have clear instructions on when and where we should submit them.

It was about week three of the quarantine when everything "clicked."  His teachers all met and decided to send "daily plans," and in these plans, Lewie and I could decide how to schedule his day.  If some days were "light" on work, he could work on his art and music projects that were also due for that week.  If a day had more work than usual, then we would save some for the following day or the weekend if necessary.  His teachers were flexible about late submissions, and later, we would learn that he wouldn't receive a final report card, so getting perfect grades weren't necessary.  Instead,  I offered a generous allowance if he would do the following everyday - Monday through Friday.

1. Wake up early, take a shower, and get dressed.
2. Begin school work at 9 a.m.
3. Attend any and all virtual classroom meetings scheduled for the day.
4. Complete his work by 2 or 3 p.m. (with a lunch break and a few snack breaks in-between).
5. Take a walk with me three times per week.
6. Help me with chores when asked.

The rest of the afternoons and weekends were, more or less, free time, except for practicing his trumpet.  

As much as it was difficult to get used to homeschooling while working from home, I started enjoying it--a lot!  I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and here was my chance.  Granted, when day dreaming about homeschooling, I always pictured Little Lewie and I going on day trips to local history, science, and art museums.  Unfortunately, going to museums wouldn't be a reality, but still, we could go on hour-long walks, take frequent breaks, and enjoy each other's company.   I wouldn't have my usual work schedule--the one that keeps me in the office until 6, 7, or 8 p.m. each night--and I didn't have the one hour commute to work each day.  All of a sudden, I had TIME to spend with my family.  

I want to remember this moment, so here was a typical day:

First, we would begin with the pledge and the morning announcements.  (Our principal made sure to incorporate it as the first post in Schoology every morning.  She said it was important to maintain as much of the regular school routine at home for kids as possible, so they could have some semblance of normalcy.)  Here was a typical post. 

Please stand for the The Pledge of Allegiance.

And now let’s have a moment of silence.  

Now let’s say the School Pledge together:

At Laurel ***** School we treat each other with respect, take responsibility for our learning and strive for a safe and positive school for all. 

Please be seated.  And now for our Words of Wisdom. 

© Project Wisdom, Inc. 2018

Good morning, Laurel *****. This is Mrs. M***** with a few words of wisdom. 

During this time when we are all spending so much time at home and with our families, we thought we would share this. It was written by Kitty O’Meara and posted on Facebook by the Domestic Curator.

 “And the people stayed home. 

And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, 

and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. 

And listened more deeply. 

Some meditated, some prayed, and some danced ….

And the people began to think differently …. 

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, 

they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and imagined new dreams, 

and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, 

as they had been healed." 

Let’s use this time to heal, think differently, dream new dreams, and make new choices. With something to think about, this is Mrs. M***** . Make it a great (distance learning) day . . . or not. The choice is yours.

Each morning, Lewie and I would spend a few minutes discussing the Words of Wisdom for the day.  They were always so inspirational--reminding children to dream, imagine and create and to be kind, honest, and thoughtful about their everyday choices.  (I couldn't help but think we would all live in a nicer word if adults followed this philosophy, too!)

The next part of our morning routine would usually follow this order--Reading, Writing, Science, Math, and History.  Lewie and I would have to read a Newsela article and either annotate, answer Power Words questions, take a quiz, or write a summary.  In Science, we would have fun GenerationGenius videos to watch with questions to answer.  Some of our favorite lessons were on the water cycle, weathering and erosion, and the Earth's orbit and rotation.  Granted, I didn't have to watch these lessons with Lewie.  He still would have learned and earned good grades, but I WANTED to watch them because I was learning, too.  Interestingly enough, many of the topics that were discussed in Science went right along with our National Park trips.  For example, when they talked about the process of weathering and erosion, they used the Grand Canyon as an example.  We enjoyed reminiscing about our Grand Canyon trip and what it looked like in real life!

Math would usually come next.  In the beginning, I was able to help Lewie understand some of the lessons, but by Week 4, Lewie was using a system to multiply that was foreign to me, and I found myself incapable of helping him with the assignments.  By this time, his math teacher was now scheduling "virtual tutoring sessions" on Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m. each week, so I'd have Lewie join those if he was confused.  Since I have a love/hate relationship with math, I wasn't sad to drop the responsibility and leave it to Lewie's teacher.

History was saved for last. It wasn't one of Lewie's favorite subjects, but I tried to make it fun for him.  To be honest, I LOVED reading his history book lessons and helping him with his assignments because we were learning about my favorite time in history--early Colonial America.  We started with the Great Explorers and quickly moved to lessons about the first settlements made in Virginia and Massachusetts by the Puritans and the Pilgrims.  (I have a list of early settlements I want to visit in real life.)  Right now we're reading about the lifestyle and the economy during the 1700's.  It's hard for me to believe there were fewer than 100,000 Native Americans and Europeans living in the U.S. when today there's close to 328 million! 

Lewie's art, music, and gym assignments were completed at various times throughout the week.  Here are the last four art projects Lewie had to do:

Finally, our favorite activity of the week came from Lewie's gym teacher.  In his first video sessions, he taught us how to exercise with lunges, push-ups, mountain climbers, and burpees.  However, by week 3, he was incorporating all these exercises into movie themes like Star Wars, The Lion King, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, etc.  My personal favorite was the "Gym Wars" on May 4th (May the 4th be With You!)  Here Lewie was training (using proper fitness exercises and form) to defeat Darth Mur***.

Here is sample of the humor:

Episode X

THE RISE OF THE LEDGE

The Galactic Empire is back and stronger than ever.

Chancellor Corona has released a deadly plague amongst the Resistance.

All storm troopers and members of the First Order are immune to the virus.

The force seems to be weakening and Darth Mur*** is on the attack.

Aboard his spaceship, COVID-19, he seeks to put an end to the Resistance once and for all.

Little does he know, a new generation of Jedi hopefuls are waiting in the wings.

The intro of the video is definitely worth a view, or at least a peak,.  Lewie and I couldn't stop laughing as Darth Vader was named after Principal Mur***.  His teacher provides Jedi training in his bathrobe, and his lightsaber is nothing more than a vacuum attachment (crevice tool).  

In his other videos, like The Lion King or Toy Story, we are watching certain video clips and testing our memory and sensory skills.  Doing exercises is linked to how many images (like a candle) we see in a clip or whether we answer questions correctly about a scene.  By far, his videos were a hit with the kids and especially our family.  (Now if I can only motivate myself to do a few more crunches in real life.  The frequent "work breaks" at home have been more like "treat breaks" or "chocolate breaks.")

Schooling at home has had its struggles and rewards, its tears and its smiles, and its disengagement and its excitement.  These days, Lewie's main goal is to get through these last few weeks of school, so he can officially call himself a fifth grade graduate.  There are lots of distractions with the warm weather, a new puppy, and friends wanting to "game" with him online, but we'll get to the finish line.  We'll get to the finish line and remember this year as the year of "family," "dreams," and "home."

History Fair 2018

Every year, Lewie's elementary school runs a completely voluntary academic fair.  In first grade, it was a geography fair; in second grade, it was a science fair; and this year, it was a history fair.  At first, he joked with me and said he wanted to do his project on the history of Minecraft; however, when he knew I was not even considering the topic, he immediately selected Abraham Lincoln. 

I knew why he selected our 16th President.  First, we had read some interesting facts about him in the the book, Abe Lincoln at Last!  It was one of Lewie's favorite books from The Magic Tree House Series, so we set out to read it again.  However, we soon learned that Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce wrote a nonfiction companion book to Abe Lincoln at Last called the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Abraham Lincoln. We discussed the differences between fiction and nonfiction and then read the Fact Tracker book to learn more about his childhood, life, and presidency.  The book was a real page-turner.  In less than four days, we read it cover to cover wishing there was more.  As we know, President Lincoln's life abruptly ends after he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.  When Lewie typed out all his facts, he refused to use the assassin's name:  "I don't want to use his name, Mommy," he said to me rather surprisingly.  "He shouldn't become famous for what he did." 

I was amazed that my nine year-old was so perceptive.  "Okay, we don't have to mention his name," I replied.  "You're right.  He's not the one that's important."

We reread the Fact Tracker book once more to decide what details we wanted to mention, and then Lewie set out to type them.  Since Lewie has been learning to type with the Keyboarding Without Tears Program, he was pretty quick.  I helped him with spelling, and before long, we started formatting the text to make it large enough for his tri-fold display board.  I was so proud to say that he truly typed everything by himself--this was a long way from his handwritten facts last year!

We selected pictures to accompany the text, and the rest, shall we say, is history. (HA!)  Actually, after we made the board, we decided to make a short video, too.  I dressed Lewie in his soon-to-be First Communion outfit, and we put on an Abraham Lincoln beard and hat that we bought from Amazon.  Then, he read the Gettysburg Address.  Although this famous speech is relatively short (only ten sentences), the words are difficult.  Even after practicing it all weekend long, Lewie still struggled with some of the word pronunciation.  However, his mistakes were charming; they were representative of his nine year-old self--a snapshot in time that I will forever savor.

 

The final piece to the project was to teach Lewie how to cite References.  I showed him how to plug in information using the KnightCite Citation Service, and he soon learned how to format both the Fact Tracker book and the movie, Lincoln.  (The movie did show some Civil War violence, but on the whole, it gave Lewie some perspective on this period in history--their dress, their way of speaking, the White House, etc. etc.)

In all, we really enjoyed working on our project this year.  Lewie did a very good job "getting into character," and he learned how history can be fun!  I'm a little sad it's over; I think I'm going to continue seeking out books about Lincoln--what a fascinating life story!

Wonder - #ChooseKind

Last December, a favorite blogger of mine, Lisa from Two Bears Farm, wrote about the book and movie, Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I wanted to see the movie when it first came out, but until I read her blog post about Wonder, it never occurred to me that Lewie would be old enough to read the book.

Since I was hooked on the message of kindness and compassion that the story promotes, I made it our mission to read the book.  Shortly after Valentine's Day, I told Lewie we would begin reading Wonder for his twenty minute reading homework every night.  When I made the request, his face lit up:  "Mommy, my teacher is reading the book to us in class."

"She is?" I replied.

"Yes she is, but we're still at the beginning."

Once I found out the book was being read in class, we made a mad dash to read it first.  It didn't take long before we surpassed the class and then read the full 300+ pages.  Admittedly, we didn't read the book every night.   Sometimes we were sidetracked by Lewie's swim lessons, Cub Scouts events, and his history fair project, but we did manage to read 60+ pages each week.

As we took turns reading the book aloud to each other, we stopped many times to process the thoughts, actions, and emotions of each character.  Lewie immediately identified with the main character of the book, August or Auggie.  The ten-year old boy loves Star Wars, his Xbox, and his sweet dog, Daisy.  (Plus, Lewie is born in "August," so he found yet another reason to like the character.)  We learn about August's "facial difference" early on and worry (right along with him and his parents) about how he will fend going to school for his very first time.

Without telling too much of the story, we learn that fifth-graders (along with their parents) can be mean and insecure, but they also can be kind, loyal, protective, nurturing, and thoughtful.  The book tells the story from August's perspective, but in-between, it also tells August's story from the perspectives of his sister Via; his good friends, Jack and Summer; his sister's boyfriend, Justin; and his sister's best friend, Miranda.  It's during these character shifts that we learn about the inside feelings of these other characters, too, and why they act or react in certain ways.

Lewie didn't want the book to end.  As we finished reading the last page, he told me tearfully that Wonder was the best book he ever read in his whole entire life  He reminded me that The Polar Express was a close second.  (Of course, in between these two books have been many other favorites, such as the entire Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne and all the Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems.)

Now, this week, our treat will be to watch Wonder the movie.  I told him that rarely are movies just as good as the books themselves, but I would be lying if I pretended not to be excited about seeing the movie.  Consequently, we also learned that R.J. Palacio has written a companion book to Wonder called, Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories.  It's already on Lewie's wish list.

Science Fair 2017 - Minecraft Potions

Last week, Lewie's school held a Science Fair.  It was optional for second graders, but we still participated.  (I told Lewie that coming from a family of educators, there's no way we were going to let a science fair pass us by, even if my college major was English.)

The directions told us to choose something fun--a theme we would enjoy.  I asked Lewie one Saturday afternoon, and he replied, "Minecraft Potions."  Hmmmm.  I immediately googled Minecraft Potions, which didn't turn up good results.  However, when I googled science fair potions, we were in luck!

Lewie had to use the scientific method.  He had to ask a question, follow it up with a hypothesis, explain the experiment (materials, procedure, and observation), and then write his conclusion. Thanks to some wonderful ideas of other "science fair moms" before me, we decided to make two "potions."

His first potion mixed vinegar with baking soda.  (He guessed it would turn brown and smell bad.) In reality, when the two ingredients were mixed together, bubbles came to the surface and made a hissing sound.   (We later learned that the reaction occurred because both ingredients create the gas carbon dioxide.  These were the bubbles wanting to escape the surface.)  It didn't turn brown, but it did smell bad--like vinegar.

The next potion used water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer tablets.  Lewie predicted the potion would explode.  (It probably would have if we used more than the recommended amount of Alka-Seltzer.)  We took a one liter bottle and filled it with a cup of water.  The rest of the bottle was filled with vegetable oil.  Then we placed ten drops of orange food coloring.  The water and the food coloring sunk to the bottom while the oil rested on top.  (Turns out--water is denser than oil.)  When we put 1/2 an Alka-Seltzer tablet in the bottle, water bubbles with the orange food coloring rose to the surface of the oil creating a "lava lamp" effect.  Lewie and I both loved the result.  In fact, Lewie was so proud of his creation, he thought we could become rich by making more of them and selling them on Amazon!

In all, I was proud of my little scientist.  On Monday, during the day, he shared his potions with his class--he was particularly excited to show his "bubble lamp," which can be used over and over again. During the science fair at night, he proudly demonstrated his "bubble lamp" to parents and onlookers. It was exciting to watch my little scientist in action.

At the end of the fair, he was called up to the stage to receive his participation medal and certificate. He was only one of six second-graders that participated in the science fair.  (There's about 60 students in Lewie's second-grade class.)  My darling walked up the stairs, waved to the audience, received his award, and then smiled and waved at us.  It was one of those proud moments I'll keep sealed forever in my heart.

Second Grade Homework

Weekdays are tough.  Depending on my work schedule, I can come home as early as 5 p.m. or as late as 9:30 p.m.  On early days, I make something for us to eat, and then homework begins somewhere around 6:30 p.m.

We usually start with 20 minutes of math, followed by 20 minutes of spelling (Fundations), and 20 minutes of reading.  My favorite part is the reading!  Math and Fundations are foreign to me.  The math, which follows the common core, uses number lines, number bonds, arrows, and bar graphs.  If I learned math this way in the 80's, I suppose it would make sense to me; however, since common core math follows completely different strategies, I'm lost.  I find myself checking my son's addition and subtraction problems for the right answers, but I usually don't know if he chose "the right" way to get there or if there even is a "right way."

Here is an example of some of the strategies he may use; there are at least three more ways he's been taught to add and subtract too.  Most of the time, I'm confused as to which strategy he should be using...

Spelling fundations confuses me as well.  When I was eight years old (now I'm starting to sound like my parents), I was given spelling tests each week.  We were required to "memorize" the spelling of our words.  Now second graders need to know how to dissect the words as well.  Does the word have a closed syllable, an open syllable, or a v-e syllable?  A month ago, my son brought home a spelling assessment that was completely correct.  However, he lost a significant amount of points because he didn't "dissect" the words properly...  In my opinion, Fundations turns spelling into this weird form of word algebra.  As a college English professor that loves to write and spell, I'm not a fan.

Little Lewie and I save our reading for the end of the day.  We both love stories, so reading ends the homework on a good note.  In the past year, he's grown so much as a reader, and I'm happy to say that he no longer needs intervention at school.  (The continuous reading during the summer and the flashcards worked!)  Lewie has taken interest in the Magic Tree House series, so each week, we find ourselves on a new adventure; we travel to far off lands like China, or we visit local places like New York City during the Great Depression.  This week we're learning about Leonardo da Vinci as the two characters, Jack and Annie, travel to Florence, Italy in the early 1500s.  I, personally, like to follow the Magic Tree House series in order--the books are numbered, but Lewie likes to take them out randomly--his decision is usually based on whether he likes the cover of the book.  Since school started, we've probably read about 20 Magic Tree House books in all.  We've learned lots of fun facts, and The Magic Tree House Fact Trackers (companion books to the stories) help us learn even more about history and geography.

Homework is certainly different from the 1980's.  I'm not sure I always see the reason for the change or the benefit, but like most parents, I have to have some "blind faith" that my child is learning good techniques to help him through grade school, college, and life...  For now, in my spare time, I'll continue to "re-teach" myself new math and spelling strategies, so I can be a tutor and mentor to my second grader...

Do you like these new strategies?

First Day of School - Second Grade

Little Lewie's first day of school was Monday, August 29.  The night before, he went to bed in panic. There were many reasons, according to Lewie, not to like school this year--"all my friends are in another class, the teacher will rush me, the work will be hard, the school bus driver yells."

I knew we were not off to a great start; after all, half of our perceived experiences in life are real and half are mental.  If we started the school year thinking it was going to be a disaster, we could already guess the outcome.

I had to give him a pep talk and then do what I do best...offer an incentive:  "Lewie, we have to change our attitude.  It might be a great year.  You might love your new teacher, and you might love your new classmates.  In fact, let's make a deal.  If you have a good attitude about school this week, I will let you take Friday off, so we can go to Lake Quassy Amusement Park.  But, the rules are that I cannot hear any complaining about school."

I'm not sure if my bribe worked or if Lewie really did have a great first week, but so far, this year is starting with lots of positives.  1)  Lewie has a new school bus driver that he likes, 2) Lewie likes his new teacher because she doesn't rush him, 3) He already had a chance to be the "helper" in his class, 4) He was able to play tag with all of his old classmates at recess, and 5) His teacher doesn't believe in giving homework during the first or last week of school.  (Again, these are all pluses to an eight year-old boy.)  

All I know is last week has been a dream.  The energy in the house is so different when you have a child that enjoys school (or, at the very least, tolerates it).  I can officially announce today, we are ready to embrace second grade.  Let's make it a great year!

Homework!

Everyone told me there'd be homework in first grade.  I laughed.  What?  A few fill-in-the-blank sentences, a ditto of simple addition problems, maybe a seek-and-find word search. 

In the beginning, Lewie's homework was exactly how I described it above--simple.  However, as the expectations grew, and I was informed my son's reading and math skills were not up to par, homework became challenging.  Now, along with the ten-minute dittos, there were books to read, flashcards to drill, and math facts to memorize.  Then, of course, the projects came too--make your own boat, make a gingerbread man, create a Leprechaun trap.  (If there's one thing I learned from Pinterest, it's that I have not been blessed with a creative gene, and my son takes right after me in this department too.) 

The creative projects, it seems, take the most  time for us, and my son and I both lose patience when a piece of tape doesn't want to stay in place, too much glue spurts out all at once, or an idea for a trap door seems to work perfectly in our heads but not so well in real life.   Convincing my son these projects are fun and useful is another challenge. In today's age of technology, my son would rather learn how to design a boat using Photoshop on a computer than glue a bunch of popsicle sticks in real life.

I'm not complaining.  Homework is designed to teach important skills, lessons, and facts.  Still, this new "homework chapter" has changed our carefree days of play into days of discipline and structure.  This weekend, for example, was reserved for completing our geography fair project and Leprechaun trap.  "The weekend went by too fast," my son complained when Monday came around.  I agreed. 

It's necessary, and yet, I'm not a big fan either.  After coming home from an eight hour day of work, I open Lewie's book bag; sift through a sea of papers about upcoming activities, permission forms, fundraisers, and theme days; mark my calendar accordingly before the information eludes me; and then plot out our time to do work.  What activities do we have tonight?  Is there time for dinner?  Can we manage to read a book or two before we go out the door?  Oh darn, it's bath night. 

The plain reality is that I/we have at least another eleven more years of this routine.  I'm hoping my son will become more independent with his school work as he gets older, but for now, we've entered the age of "homework."  Boy do I miss those carefree toddler days when we could spend hours just running around acting silly at the playground.

Lewie's Leprechaun trap. 

The idea, of course, is that the Leprechaun will be so mesmerized by the gold and the rainbow that he won't recognize that he'll be falling right into a carefully covered-over "pit of doom."

Lewie's older cousin showing off her geography fair project.

Our final project about Beacon Falls.