We Need to Wash the Remote

This conversation just happened:

Po: "Uh, Mommy, I think we need to wash the remote."

Me: "Why? What happened?"

Po: "I kinda got some chocolate on it."

For some reason, his chocolate cake was on the table and floor rather than his plate.

Po: "But don't worry. I already licked like half of it off."

Me: "Fantastic. Thanks."

Boob Man

Po just asked, "Mommy, do you use that breast thing?"

"Breast thing?"

"Yeah, that, um...you know, breast thing...I saw it on TV just now on the commercial. I forget what it's...oh, a BRA!" Do you use that kind of bra?

"What kind of bra is it?"

"I think it's Playrex or Playerex or something."

"Playtex?"

"YEAH, that's it. Do you use it?"

"Um, no, I don't think I have any Playtex bras. Why are you asking me about this?"

"Well, it's really comfortable. It said so on TV. So I thought you would want to use it, if you don't use it now."

"Well, thanks for the great, tip, buddy. I'll take it into consideration."

"Sure."

Mental Toolbox

At the end of each quarter, every class in the school invites parents to a "Summative," a presentation of what they have been working on in "Project Group" all quarter. In the third quarter, Po's kindergarten class learned about their "Mental Toolbox," skills they can use to solve various problems in school and in life. Throughout the quarter, the students did a different project or experiment focusing on each mental tool. The tools included: time management, planning, scientific method, discussions and decisions, common sense, focus on the process, play vs. messing around, and resources.

During summative, the class was broken into smaller groups, and each student presented one of the mental tools to the parents, complete with a PowerPoint slide show. The student described what the mental tool is, what the project or experiment they used to learn about it was, and how they used the mental tool to help solve the "problem." Pretty amazing stuff.

After the presentation, the students escorted their parents to another room where there were several different stations set up with problems and experiments that the students had never seen. They were to explain to us which mental tool they should use in order to complete each task. It was a really fun interactive experience for both students and their families.

Our family approached a station equipped with photos of paintings and art, as well as colored transparent paddles that, when overlapped, created different colors (yellow and blue make green, etc.). We read the "problem" together, which described a situation where you only had primary color paints (red, blue, and yellow) and wanted to create a painting that had many different colors. What would you do?

Presumably, primary mental tool we should use would be "resources" to combine colors to create new colors, but I used my restraint and didn't shout out the answer right away. I let Po take the lead.

He pondered for a bit and then said "that's easy. I'd use my 'common sense' and just ask for more paints!"

Getting Paid

You may or may not know that I own a pet sitting business. We have a very sweet dog that comes to our house for "day care," though sometimes at night. Her mom has a pretty hectic schedule, so it's kind-of always a last minute thing. If she's here for the late-night shift, I often enjoy walking her. I put the littles down and leave the teen thing to grab them out if there's a fire while I stroll around the neighborhood. Since hubby was home, I recruited him to go with me tonight.

He made the mistake of telling the nearly-slumbering children that we'd be departing. Po was super tired from his Spring Break swim-a-thon this morning, so he was perfectly happy to bid us farewell. Cam, on the other hand, needed some convincing that her big bro could handle the task.

Po was more than willing to help. "Cam, Mommy is a pet sitter, and she does this for her job, and if she doesn't walk the dog, she won't get paid. Do you like toys?"

"Yeah," Cam affirmed.

"Well, if you don't let Mommy go for the walk, and she'll kiss us when she gets back, she won't get paid, and then she won't be able to buy us toys," Po explained.

Seemed pretty logical to me, and Cam seemed satisfied.

Fast forward thirty minutes, and as I enter their room, I noticed Cam was actually still awake. I kissed her and whispered "go to sleep, baby girl, we're back from our walk."

She whispered back, "did you get paid?"

I said, "well, it doesn't really work like that, but...yes."

"Good. Did you buy some toys?" she inquired.

My Juvenile Delinquent

Let me preface this story by telling you that I'm anti-guns-as-play-things, as a principle. In the early days, I didn't even let Po have water guns. We used the friendlier nerdier alternatives. Enter the play date. Enter the Nerf gun. All bets were off.

Now I don't really fight it any more. I don't buy toy weapons, but I let Po do his thing with his buds, and as long as they don't actually say they are killing each other. Pretty much.

Po said to me this evening, "Mommy, there is a rule at school that you can't bring weapons."

Alarm. Alarm. Alarm. Calm. "Yes, I know. Why are you thinking about that?"

"Well, I learned today that you can't bring them and you can't make them."

Um. Alarm. Breathe. "That makes sense. Did someone bring a weapon or make a weapon today?"

"Yup."

If there was a light and siren on my head, it would have been in overdrive. "WHO?"

"Me."

"What?!!?! WHAT?! What are you talking about?"

He calmly stated. "I tried to make a nunchuk out of my strawberry bar wrapper."

Seriously. I guess that's what we get when we allow him to play Wii Music with his older brother. There is nothing that can't be made into a weapon. All boy, I tell you. No matter how hard I try.

Keeping Mommy at Bay

My iPhone screen has been cracked for a long time, but I finally got it fixed today! And...I haven't touched it since. The littles have taken over the revamped box of wonder.

Po was just playing a game and I heard my text "BING." He looked at me to see if I heard and said, "It's probably just from someone you don't know, and it disappeared, anyway, so it's probably not that important."

"Uh, Po, you know the rules with my phone. If I get a text or call, you have to hand it over."

Huge eye rolls. Shoulders slumped. I was handed the phone. Something fun from Big. I responded and placed the phone back in Po's hands. He settled back into the couch with his game.

"BING!"

Po predicted, "oh, really! I'm sure it's exactly the same text you just got."

I started to giggle.

"No, REALLY. It definitely is. Exactly the same. EXACTLY."

I can't wait to play with my revamped phone when the kids go to bed. Sigh.

A Moment of Silence

Every once in a while, what you don't say says more than what you do say.

I've heard that around.

Po's school is a true community. It services pre-K through 12th grade, and we're so happy to have gotten in for Kindergarten. There are weekly overarching themes for the whole school and quarterly individual goals for each student. The parents, teachers, and students sign a contract to the note of all-in participation in helping the child reach the goal. And the goal and progress is reviewed daily.

Sometimes the goals seem small, and sometimes you think your kid has a better shot at being the next astronaut.

Po's goals (he has two, 'cause one just isn't enough) this quarter are to be able to count to 100 unassisted (his suggestion) and to be patient when learning new skills (my suggestion). He'll achieve his goal for patience for the day when he completes the task at hand (wow...who even knows where he got those crazy genes).

The half-day kindergarten moms have formed a sort-of bond, and our boys (yes, they are all boys) have quickly followed suit. High-fiving each other and showing off this or that. But there has been one boy who has been a harder nut to crack. The painfully shy type. He is in Po's class, and Po didn't notice him at first. I suggested that Po talk to him. So he did. And Po is good at talking. And he's good at cracking nuts.

So we all got together yesterday after school. We did a picnic in the park down the street from the school, complete with splash pad, which is not a luxury, but a requirement for end-of-summer/early-fall outings in AZ. Po invited shy-guy, K, to come along, and his effervescent mother was game, so K went along.

They had a great time, and K seemed to be happy. I saw him smile. He tagged along with Po, who was more than happy to accommodate. At the end of the outing, the moms told the boys that they could choose one last thing to do for five minutes before it was time to go. I asked Po what he wanted to do, and he said he'd like to wait to see what K chose so he could be with him and help him.

So the boys went together and had fun. Then we said our hard good-byes after a lovely afternoon...

This afternoon, K's mom and I were chatting while we were waiting for the boys to be released from the Kindergarten play yard. We agreed that it would be wonderful to get together again. Po and K came out together, and the teacher told us moms that the boys had "reflected" on their goals today. Po was still in progress, but K had achieved his goal, and had written it down for all to see.

Ms. B encouraged K to get out his goal sheet, and he did. On it we saw that his quarter one goal had been met "make a new friend." Next to the check box was a picture K had drawn of two boys holding hands. Beside that, he wrote "Porter."

I fought back the tears and gave K's mom a smile. I gave K a BIG high-five, and he was beaming.

K's mom and I confirmed our play-date for next week, and as I walked toward the car with Po, I told him how proud I was of him for helping someone else achieve his goal. Po just stared at me and smiled and didn't say a thing. This little, rare, perfect moment of silence.

So Po didn't meet his goal for the quarter, yet. I'm okay with that. He had bigger fish to fry.