Cole's First Day of First Grade

August brought another milestone for Cole: The first day of first grade! As you can tell by the picture, he was very excited. (I love the missing tooth gap in his smile!)

I know he likes school because of the daily "hour report," how long the 7-hour day actually felt. The best days feel like only half an hour, the longest day so far was four hours. He is quite serious about his evaulation and often spends half the ride home decided exactly how long the day felt.

He felt right at home in the first grade section because outer space murals cover the walls. In January, the class studied space and he brought in some of his vast collection. The model of the planets Aunt Robyn gave him has a quiz component and the teacher told the kids not to try it because it would be too hard. He was so proud that he knew all the answers!

Reading is by far his favorite subject and we are thrilled that he has become a book worm. When he had to write an essay about his favorite day of the week, he chose Friday because it is the day his class visits the library. He likes mysteries the best (I wonder who he gets that from?). He finished the A to Z Mysteries (a series like Sue Grafton's with The Absent Author, The Bald Bandit, etc.) and is now devouring the Encyclopedia Brown series. I discovered that Encyclopedia Brown is available on the Nook, so I may have some competition in using it!

He reads everywhere, even on the way home from school. I used to get impatient waiting for him to get out of the car, but now I just leave him out there. It's not uncommon for him to sit in th car for 20 or 30 minutes. I don't know if he even realizes we're home!

He also likes math and seems to intuitively know the best way to solve problems. He'll often throw out 3-digit addition problems and ask me if his answer is right. While I'm still trying to carry the 2 from the ones column to the tens, he tells me the answer and how he figured it out. I'm hoping I can learn better math skills from him!

While he loves school, homework is a different story. On Monday each week, he gets a few worksheets, spelling words, and sometimes a writing project, like a short essay or book report, that is all due on Friday. It is a struggle to get him to sit down and do it. Inevitably, he saves it until Thursday afternoon. Then after all the whining and pouting, what would have taken 15 minutes drags out to an hour and a half. The funny thing is that he will independently work on his math and phonics workbooks and really enjoy it. Most likely because he choses to do it instead of has to do it.

It's a struggle for me too because I feel the worksheets are just busy work (the spelling words and essays have real value). He does multiple worksheets at school and always does well on them, so I can't blame him for not wanting to do the same thing at home. I understand the goal of discipline, but he's in 1st grade. I don't recall homework until 3rd or 4th grade. I worry it's setting up a resistance to homework that will last.

Anyway, we are so happy that he is happy in school and doing well. I hope he maintains his enthusiasm for learning!

Canadian Vacation

This year we vacationed in Canada almost the entire month of July. It was wonderful to be there longer than usual, especially at the height of summer in the south. As the boys grow older, they are able to appreciate the lake more and more. It is wonderful to watch them enjoy the same things my sisters and I did when we were little.

 

Jay became a fish this trip! He was always the first one in the lake and the last one out. When he wasn't swimming, he was trying to convince us to go. Cole wasn't as comfortable in the water, but he enjoyed floating on the rafts. They played a game where they were drifting on "the high sea." It involved a lot of yelling and splashing. With the way sound carries across the lake, I was afraid a neighbor would think they were really lost at sea and come to rescue them.

 

 

Even the rainy days were fun with forts to build, books to read, games to play, and puzzles to do. Most of the games and books are ones from when I was little, so I always enjoy rediscovering them.  Our old story tapes were were hours of entertainment. (I don't think they had ever seen cassette tapes before.) And how could they be bored when there were drainspouts! With running water, mud, and puddles!!

 

Other highlights of the trip:

• Exploring under the house, on the path to the guest house, and in the garage.
• Jay only wanting to ride in the boats when they went fast.
• One-on-one breakfasts with Grandpa--Jay ate 2 servings of pancakes and Cole ate 2 servings of bacon. Together they make a great team!

After we returned home, Jay said that next summer we need to stay for 51 days!

 

Is your job complicated?

Editors note: Rob placed this post. Heather does not want to be associated with my substandard communication skills.

Rob: "So after elementary school, you'll go to middle school, then high school, then college. And if you really want to learn about more complicated things, then you'll go to graduate school."

Cole: "Did you go to graduate school?"

Rob: "Yes"

Cole: "I don't think that helping people sell boats is so complicated that you needed to go to graduate school"

And we wonder why our grass doesn't grow

Plastic shovel = $3.99.  Water = $3.43/1,000 gal.  
Making a mud pit in the front yard = Priceless.