Out of the Archives - Bad Word

I found this old post and this photo from 2006.

BAD WORD

My son, Dane, came home from kindergarten and told me his classmate Nadia got in trouble at school. She’d said the "S-H-" word.

Nadia's from Romania and she’s a little older than her classmates. She’s also a bit rough-and-tumble, but harmless enough. I asked him what kind of trouble she got in and he said she had to run a lap.

Aubrey, my younger child, yelled from the other room, "What's the S-H- word?"

I sighed and leaned forward on my chair, trying to come up with some quick teaching points as Aubrey made her way to the room.

I knew full well they’d heard me say it before, but when Aubrey showed up, I started out carefully: "Well… it's a word people say that shows their frustration -- only it's just adults who use it, and they try not to use it very often. And,” I said, looking at each of them deliberately, “kids aren’t supposed to use it at all."

Pause. Calm response. "It's SHIT."

"Shit?" Dane asked. "She said SHUT UP. . ."

GOODBYE TO KINDERGARTEN & MISS PEREZ

This photo was taken the last day of school. I'd been mingling with the other parents when I found Aubrey and Ms. Perez "having a moment," as Ms. Perez said.

Aubrey LOVES Ms. Perez. And I can't count the times Ms. Perez told me or Aubrey she'd love to clone Aubrey.

They're going to be email pals.

OFFICIAL KINDERGARTEN STUDENT OF THE WEEK
click on the image if you want to see it better

FIRST GRADE MOUTH OF THE WEEK

Okay, not really, but this is Dane's mouth with a major wiggler backed by the new kid on the block trying to make his way in. A week after this photo was taken, this 7-1/2 year old finally lost his first tooth! We were in Sacramento (more on that event later) but, fyi, the tooth fairy found us there and left a gold $1 coin under Dane's pillow.

AUBREY'S SECOND DAY OF KINDERGARTEN (8/24/07)

Aubrey stood next to the teacher's aid all of recess. When Miss Lisa told Aubrey she should run out and play with the other kids, Aubrey said, "No thanks. I want to be first in line when you blow the whistle."

Update: Aubrey plays with the other kids at recess now (especially Giovanna), but she still manages to be in line right after the whistle blows.

The other day, she lost sight of Miss Lisa and got scared and started sobbing, even though there were plenty of other kids on the playground, including Giovanna. We're talking through that.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

LAST DAY OF SUMMER

It may not be the official last day of summer according to the solstice calendar, but since school starts tomorrow at Willow Creek Academy, it may as well be.

Dane returns, entering 1st grade with Ms. Lurie, whose specialty is reading (could she be any nearer and dearer to my heart then?), and AUBREY STARTS KINDERGARTEN!

Come 7:45 AM we'll ride our bikes in, drop Dane off at Ms. Lurie's, and then drop Aubrey off at Ms. Perez's. I'm incredibly excited for each kid -- and, yes, for myself (the time! the freedom!) -- but I have to admit my stomach is really upset today. Could this be psychosomatic? I like to think I'm tougher than that, but I'm probably not.

Aubrey has been such a great little partner over the past year, at my side for a lot of long, sweet days. And riding my bike with the trail-a-bike still attached after I've dropped her off (she's still not very interested in learning to ride her own two wheels) will probably feel weird.

As for the two of them, it's also been a great summer spent watching them grow and pal around. Things like that change a little during the school year, although hopefully not too much.

After dropping them off tomorrow, my friend Sharon is letting me sit in on her Bikram Yoga class. We'll see if 90 minutes of 105 degree heat and 40% humidity helps me keep things in perspective.

My plan for the school year will include a nice balance of part-time work at the rec center, lots of writing, volunteering in the classrooms, riding my bike for transportation, and maybe taking a fitness class a couple times a week.

Mick's plan is to keep charging through school, drumming up the kinds of patients and cases he needs to graduate (a lot of his class is frustrated and challenged by this these days).

I'll post FIRST DAY pix when I see Mick again and can download them onto his computer. He has clinic until 9 Thursday night; I leave for Tahoe the next morning for a couple days to attend my cousin Dani's wedding.

JUNE 13 - LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

You say goodbye...

And I say hello...

Quote of the Week

Mom, today I transformed myself from someone good
into someone funny.

-Dane, age 6

BEACH BABES

The goal is to get out with our fellow Willow Creek family friends on Friday nights a couple times a month -- now that the weather's sunnier. This is at our nearby Schoonmaker beach in Sausalito, great for impromptu bbq's or pizza delivery.

above: Dane and buddies, Marcus and Nick
above: Renee, Lu and Amy (and Marcus and Nick)
above: Mick and his dad w/ Mark, Chris and Pat
above: Mark and Luke
above: Mia, Aubrey and Makayla
above: Mia and Aubrey
above: Garrett

We've done several dinner/group activities with these terrific families: the Trotters (Lu, Mark, Marcus and Luke), the Lees (Pat, Renee, Makayla and Garrett), and the Kreuger/Pertschuks (Chris, Amy, Mia and Nick). The kids and parents always seem to have a blast. Last weekend we met at Corte Madera for a bbq; when the weather in Sausalito was windy and cold, the 10 minute drive north put us back in sun and warmth.