Weekend

So - the weird thing is that my kids didn't suddenly and miraculously transform on Mother's Day.  They acted like it was Sunday.  They fought.  They whined.  Crazy - I know!!

But, we had a nice brunch at the Kangaroost - a restaurant that Brian and I like that the kids will happily return to.

We went to the library and then took Jacob over to practice with the pitching machine that we borrowed from the coach for the weekend (I have neither the aim nor the speed to stand in for the pitching machine).  Saturday would have been better - but the wind was nuts on Saturday.  We got to the very last bucket and I said if he could hit a "home run" (ball landing in the grass without bouncing first in the dirt) then we could get ice cream.  Well - last ball and he whacked it out to the grass.

So, off to Cold Stone we went.  In a rare moment of sibling consideration, Jacob thought we should get some for Allison too (we would have - but it was nice that it was his idea and not mine).  So, he got two kids sizes of Oreo + gummy bears.  The woman behind the counter was like .... "uh, is one of these for you?"  I said no (blech), which then she said mom's got free ice cream on Mother's Day - so I got a big scoop of coffee ice cream.  Yum.

Alternatives

I've made blog posts recently on two main topics - sports and education.  These are the two things primarily on my mind, I guess.

BTW - Soccer game #1 - Jacob scored two goals!

We've been exploring educational alternatives for the kids.  Clearly, I'm not wow'ed by their current school.  But I don't think it's the school, or the teachers, that have been bothering me.  One, it's the fact that curriculum is centralized.  I know what Jacob will study in 3rd grade because that's what Allison studied in third grade.  All third graders in the whole district will be learning about Japan and Russia next year.  What if a teacher used to live and work in Peru?  So what?  They get to teach about Japan and Russia.  And I believe I've already ranted about multiple choice math tests!

The other big thing that bugs me is the class sizes are huge!  Jacob's class (I think) is 27.  Allison's is 32.  The classes seem to only get bigger as the kids get older.  I'd say neither of my kids flourishes is big groups - but then again - it's the rare kid who does.  With Allison, particularly, the lack of attention is a problem as she's really NOT a kid who can sit at her desk and pay rapt attention during the 45 minutes of "math instruction" time, which is differentiated from the following 30 minutes of "math work time."  Seriously - I don't even make my college students pay rapt attention for 45 minutes without breaking it up with problems or group work!

But what I've found - that I think is interesting - is that most other people seeking out alternatives to traditional public schools are educators themselves.  I ran into the mom of a boy from Jacob's kindergarten class who put her kids in Montessori.  I was asking if they were moving to the new site.  She said they couldn't work it out, so the boys are going to school with her husband who works in Hilbert where the class size is 14 rather than back to Appleton.  The parents - math and English teachers.  Actually, all the families at Montessori that I know have parents who are teachers (5 families total - which yes, is a small, but not insignificant sample).

I've met two new people the past week who are exploring non-public schools and both have parents who work for the school district.

There was a weird culture when Brian worked at Proctor and Gamble where everyone used Proctor and Gamble products.  In fact, I still buy P&G stuff even though it's been over a decade since he worked there.  But when you have employees who don't want to buy your product or don't buy in to your philosophy - then maybe you need to rethink your plan.  Allison's current teacher says she's been in education long enough to see the winds shift back and forth several times.  Hopefully soon, the winds will be blowing from a better direction.

Sports Begin!

Baseball season began yesterday with a 11-10 win for Jacob's team.  It was a LONG evening of baseball, since the coach wanted to practice for 45 minutes before the game and then there was the nearly 2-hour long actual game.

 Jacob started off with a triple in the second inning, followed by an RBI and another base hit.

Their team surged to an early 9-1 lead, but fell apart near the end (45 minute practice before the game? that's my theory).  

Today begins soccer - with the first sponsored practice and their first game on Thursday.

Perspective

I'm always signing the kids up for things without their permission.  This is because I (as their mom) is clearly more aware of their likes and dislikes than they are.  As if.  Actually, it stems from a general parental laziness of not really wanting to have to answer questions constantly about it in the interim between the signup (6-100 weeks in advance) and the event.  A related axiom to this is that I'll also NOT sign them up for things because I (as their mom) is clearly aware of the things that they would like but I would not like.  (Pop Warner Football - I'm talking to you).

So, I signed Allison up for a new social group for kids with high-functioning autism.  I totally lucked out that the outing was a birthday party theme and Allison LOVES birthday parties.  It was one hour long, there were a total of four girls there, aged 7-10 (plus a slew of boys).  She had fun - she decorated a cookie and a cupcake; played games, made a mug, and got a goodie bag.

Meanwhile, I plopped myself down at a table with other mom's and tried to generally be more outgoing than I actually am.  We talked schools (everyone had complaints); we talked sleeping (apparently none of the kids do); we talked activities (challenging); and we talked general parenting stuff.  I felt lucky for getting therapy services through private insurance - the wait is 18 months through county services.  I felt lucky for not being met each day at pickup by a teacher with a tally sheet of the day's problems.  It was nice to hear other kids didn't stay dry at night until age 8 or 9 either.  And it was nice to hear that the other kids had their own idiosyncratic behaviors (read: compulsions) too.

People are often able to listen and laugh while I tell tales of dogs colored pink, sharpie on the cabinets, self-inflicted mullets, or another misadventures in parenthood.  People are also often able to politely listen to stories of bad therapists or problems with social skills or another meeting with the teacher to talk about a problem.  But only a subset of parents really understand that your child loves birthday parties but never gets invited to them.

The week in review

Odd moments from this week, in no particular order; or potential future blog post titles.

It was hot!  Then cold!

Two practice baseball games.

One trip to the pediatrician to parse the differences between idiosyncrasies, compulsions, and habits.

A unsuccessful interview with someone 15 years younger than me.

Goodbye piano, hello guitar.

The kids suggest restaurants we'd actually like to eat at.

New book club!

Gave a really boring lecture.

Boy who hates writing likes his diary.

Landscaping plans.

Wildflowers sprouting.

Several mysterious tupperware contents removed from fridge.... oddly the fridge is still full.

Restocked supply of tupperware!

The alphabet goes...

This was a sentence from Jacob's writing the other day:

"The alphabet goes abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz."


The teacher's comments: "Was this from a book, Jacob?  Make sure you are writing about a book."

So our plan to just put words on paper seems to have been found out.  LOL.

May Day

Of course - today parts of Wisconsin are getting 8+ inches of snow.  But, it's finally spring!!