Emergent Writer

I LOVE this phase of writing.  It's so exciting to see, and apparently Hans' teacher feels the same excitement because she emailed me about this particular piece.  She said he took advantage of one of the "recipe cards" while in the dress up center.  She asked him about it afterwards and he read the ingredients ("B W P" is banana, watermelon, pear) and then dictated the instructions.  He's been talking about smoothies all the time at home, and evidently he's talking about them at school too!  It's all going to happen very quickly now, and it is so much fun to watch it emerge.

Thanksgiving Feast

Pre kindergartners are so cute!

Hans was so excited about "the big feast."

They sang a little song and shared what they were thankful for, and even toasted with their water bottles.

Hans didn't eat his apple pie, believe it or not, but he did eat 6 corn muffins!

I especially loved that he told me his friend sitting across from him celebrates Diwali right after Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for such a diverse group of friends he has.

I also love that whenI asked if he knew what I was thankful for, he immediately smiled and said  "ME!"

Of course a video!  He's on the left...not sure why my video quality is so bad....

   

 And then each child says what they're thankful for...

   

 Hans is thankful for his fish.  Love this guy, and I am so thankful for these days with him.

Soccer Wrap Up

Charlie said, "Hans owned it today."  Charlie may be a bit biased, but he's not the only one to say that.

A parent I have never met and didn't recognize from the field stopped me one day on the street and asked if I was Hans' mom, and then gushed over what a great soccer player he is.  I didn't know what to say.  But, I have noticed as well, that he is indeed good and seems to have a passion for soccer.

He definitely is in charge on the field, and knows what's going on.  He's on a mission to get the ball and score.  And he's proud.  After a goal he charges back down the field celebrating.

And Freddie has improved quite a bit this season.  His coach (same coach as Hans) is pretty serious and definitely bumped up the expectation this season.  Freddie has learned a lot of technique, both offensive and defensive technique.

He works hard and has fun, but he's not aggressive or in it to win it.

I didn't stay much beyond his warm up today, because I was freezing!  Thankfully the soccer season is wrapping up.  I don't think I'd be able to lsat on the sidelines into December.

We're skipping the indoor season in favor of slow Sunday mornings and more time for ice skating, and hopefully some skiing!

11 Years

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences

I had two teachers to meet with on Conference Day this year!  I can hardly believe it. Both boys have very experienced, seasoned teachers and I love both of them.  They are strict, have high standards, and are pushing the boys to their maximum potential.

First up:  Hans

• The first thing Ms. L told me was that she really, really, really enjoys having him.  He has a "goodness about him that just attracts everyone" to him.  
• She says he has a sense of fairness and honesty which makes her seem to always take his word over another student.  Uh oh.  I hope he never violates that trust he's built.
• He tells her every so often that he's an "expert" in something.  The latest was he was "an expert hiker" and before that he let her know he was "an expert skier."
• His confidence is growing.  He no longer seems timid or nervous in class.  He participates actively.
• "You know he can be stubborn about certain things."  I feel validated!
• Academically he is making progress and shows interest in learning.  She used an example of how he got to choose the patter of the month that would be added to daily during morning meeting (blue, blue, blue, yellow green).  After he was selected to choose the pattern he requested to work with patterns for several days after that during his choice time and his pattern complexity expanded.  
• He can recognize about half of the letters and sounds.  He is on track, and she is not concerned.
• In Math he has got one to one correspondence down and can can count to 20.  He has basic conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction.
• She's working on his pencil grip (he holds his pencil like Uncle Christian) and strengthening his fine motor skills to assist in more efficient writing.
• When I asked if she had any concerns, she did mention his speech, which was something I was going to ask.  She didn't think it was time for an evaluation, but did comment that he can be difficult to understand. She recommended I speak to the speech therapist at school for some informal guidance, but she did not think anything more than that was needed at this time.  (He does have difficulty with articulating the R and W but those sounds often don't come until kids are around 6-8 years old)
• No report card in preK, a change for NYC public schools.  The curriculum in prek is swinging back in the direction of very play based, and although Ms. L agrees with this, she worries about the rather academic kindergarten curriculum and feels it necessary to also prepare kids for a demanding kindergarten curriculum.  I think she has balanced it very well so far.  Hans is definitely growing in many ways.
• PreKindergarten is great.  Everyone is happy.

He works and works and works for these spelling tests

And then:  Freddie

• Ms. Z gave me his 1st semester report card.  Working above grade level in most subjects.
• His reading level end of 3rd grade/beginning of 4th grade.  She says he needs full chapter books beyond what he has been reading.  She gave me some suggestions.
• He writes well, creating narratives that are sequential and make sense.  He has punctuation down but needs to work on appropriate capitalization and spelling.  She is not at all concerned about his reversals and said in her experience it can take up until 3rd grade to work itself out.
• In math he is doing well with his strategies and has an appropriate level of development in number sense.  She thought he needed more automaticity in addition and subtraction facts.
• She assured me he would start doing better on spelling tests, he just has to learn how to study.  At home we are trying to go with the motto of "hard work no matter what."  Sometimes it works and well, sometimes it doesn't.  That's life but you always do your best.  
• She did say he needs to do better when working independently and in groups.  He has a tendency to be distracted by the first sign of silliness with his peers as well as be really chatty.  Not surprised by this.  She added that he is more than capable of everything he is asked to do, and although his silliness isn't out of the realm of normal for a 6 year old boy, she does want more on task behavior.  
• 1st grade is great.  Everyone is happy.

I'm thankful school life is so easy for for the boys.  I am thankful they have good teachers.  I am thankful they are learning.  I am thankful they are happy.  I know some families struggle with this, and I know things may one day change for us, but for now I am thankful for this all around positive start to their school years.  

Lovin'

Hans requested a "racoon"  Really??  What kid requests a raccoon?

• 4 year old buddies
• Face paint
• Taco night
• Road trip planning
• Lazy weekends
• Holiday cards all ready to mail
• Spanx!
• Open windows
• Requests to be homeschooled (because he wants MORE school)

Meanwhile...

These guys were having a date of their own...

Charlie and Hans took the tram over to Central Park to slowly make their way to the Natural History Museum.

Lots of leaves to stomp through all the way there

 Although the museum is one of our regular hang outs, this trip was special because they had tickets to a special presentation about bats.

The "live bat encounter" gave lots of information on bats and there were several species of bats there to look at and learn about, with he most impressive being the largest bat, the giant golden crowned flying fox.

And my shy guy even raised his hand in a packed auditorium to ask a question.  Thankfully he didn't challenge the presenter this time, but simply asked "Why are bats nocturnal?"  A pretty good question for a 4 year old I thought.  So proud of him for speaking up in a crowded room.

A good day for these guys.  Some one on one time with each boy is really a treat and thankfully can easily reset your feeling frustrated with their constant whining and obnoxious behavior.  Why are they a nightmare together so often??

Now to get some Mama + Hans and Dada + Freddie time on the calendar.

Every trip to the museum must include a stop to see the dinosaur bones!

Saturday Date

Saturday I got a little bit of time with my older son.  We talked a lot about how it was "just the two of us" for nearly 2.5 years.  He liked hearing about the things we did together.

He chose Shake Shack in Midtown for lunch because it was right around the corner from the theater.  My little New Yorker worked the crowd and managed to eye someone out of their table.  Folks like to linger even when the place is packed but Freddie managed to score a table just in time for us to eat.

The kid loves Shake Shack.  He put down a hot dog and a cheeseburger.

Mine!

After that we were off to see a show!

I have seen The Lion King before, and enjoyed it, but have really been waiting to take the boys.  I wasn't 100% sure Freddie was ready, but wanted to try it.

It was a huge hit with him, and I actually think Hans is ready as well.

Letting him load up on snacks certainly enhanced the experience.

Our seats were perfect in the 2nd row of the mezzanine along the side the stage.  He was able to sit on his knees and rest his head on the railing.  He was able to see into a little balcony area where there was a percussionist.  The show opened with an actor standing right in front of us singing, and then again after intermission.

He was in awe for the entire performance.  He followed the story and "got" all of the jokes.  I loved being with him.

Since we got home he's been humming the tunes.  Perhaps he needs the soundtrack because he's been singing the opening Zulu chant in the Circle of Life, but his lyrics consist of "Hallll-aaaahhhhh -peeeeen-yo"(Jalepeno!)

I am so thankful for some one on one time with this guy.  I am also so thankful we get to experience a little bit of Broadway together.  There are lots of magical things about growing up in NYC.