Great Kids Book

We ordered this book last month through Scholastic. If was featured in one of the order forms the kids get from school each month. It is such an adorable story and it has great illustrations. It is about a hedge hog who gets an apple stuck to his back when it fell from an apple tree. He encounters several different animals who each offer advice on what to do to get the apple off his back. Each time he tries their suggestion he gets something else stuck to his back. One animal is finally able to help him out in the end. It's very cute.

Make It Stop!!

Camerons primary teacher at her Montessori school last year was not from the south so she did not talk with a southern accent. This is not the case with her kindergarten teacher and it is rubbing off on Cameron. Hubby and I were talking last night about some of the words she says now that have a very heavy accent. Her class sings the alphabet song to a different tune then the standard ABC's you hear to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star. When she gets to the letter M, it comes out sounding like the im- in the word image. When she counts, the numbers 5, 9 and 10 come out with an accent. Several of the words she is learning to read also have accents.

I'll be honest and say that several of these 'accented' words make me cringe when I hear them. They really sound bad to me and I wish there was something I could do to get her stop saying the words like she does. Its never been an issue until she went to kindergarten where the teacher is teaching sounds and words with a very heavy accent on a daily basis, so naturally that is how Cameron is repeating a lot of the words. And I am not talking about a little sweet southern accent, I am talking about a real heavy, very noticeable southern draw. The kind you hear out of 80 year old women who have never stepped foot off of the Alabama country side. I very seldom hear people my age around here talk like her teacher talks (who happens to be my age, maybe even a little younger).

Bah! She is singing a number song right now and it is like nails on a chalk board when she comes to those last couple of numbers. I am afraid I am going to have to enroll her in speech therapy after this year.

I Really Don't Like Chaos

Here are the some what short notes of the past 2 days.

-I was ahead of the traffic yesterday when picking her up.
-Was told I could not be in the building by the classroom to get her, I needed to go outside by the curb pick up.
-Heard an announcement that made me think she was going to come out the front doors.
-Discovered that was just bus children.
-Back to the breezeway with about 50 other parents, kids coming out in lines, teachers hollering for parents to move back so the kids could come through, no one really moving, kids trying to make their way through, just chaos and confusion.
-Finally get her and decide it would be best to stay in my car tomorrow and pick her up at the curb. There are 4 kindy classes and I am sure all those parents where kindy parents. Hopefully they will do the same to avoid the chaos from yesterday.

-Head out early this morning to avoid the rush, one of the first cars in the lot at 7:15.
-Walked her by the car loop to show her how the kids were getting out of cars and we went through the doors she came out yesterday as her class is right next to them. ** After Labor day parents are not allowed to take their kids into the school so she has to learn how to the drop off/pick up thing.**

-Walked into her class about 7:35 where the teacher told her that the school bell didn't ring yet. -I flat out told her that just like picking her up yesterday I had no idea where we needed to be or what we were suppose to do, where was she suppose to go when I drop her off at the curb (no teachers were in that area when we walked by). She said that kindy lines up at the front of the school.

Sigh

-Back out the doors, by the car loop, so I could explain to Cam that we did it wrong and show her the right way. She was going to have to go to the front of the school and stand in line outside until the school bell rang at 7:45. There was one teacher with a kindy sign, 2 rough line of kids and some parents.
-Bell rings, we follow in line and Cam shows ME how to get to her class and I make her put her stuff in her cubby by herself.
-She didn't want to go to school this morning and she was a little whiny when we got there, but no tears and no clinging to me this morning. We walked to her desk and she was excited to show me her supply box that was in her desk. They had a picture to color while the kids came in just like yesterday. I was able to leave her with no problems.

Aside from being a little frustrated about not knowing where to go and what to do, I was a little concerned that I had to help another child find her classroom. While Cam was putting her stuff away a little tinny girl with a soft tiny voice came up to me in near tears and said she didn't know where her classroom was. When I asked her teachers name I could not understand what she was saying. So I figured I would walk with her to the other rooms and see if she recognized one of them. The first one we went to I asked the teacher if she belonged there. I got the feeling this little girl had already been to that room and the teacher knew she was lost and sent her down the hall (this was the first room in the hall, makes sense the girl would go there first). The teacher couldn't understand the name she was saying and said to me, "check the next room" and went back to talking to parents. O-K

She finally recognized her room and I made sure with the teacher that she belonged there. I understand that the teachers need to stay in the rooms once the kids come in if another adult isn't there, but I felt like the little girl was kind of brushed off TWICE by the same teacher. Anyone could clearly see the girl was a little scared. The teacher could have at least stood with her by the door to see if she recognized someone, or for another staff member to come by that could help her. There were kids all over the place in the hall, she shouldn't have been sent back in the hall to find the room herself. The girl came off a bus because she had a bus sticker on. I know an adult stands by the bus door to make sure the kids go to the area they line up in. But I don't understand why a new student, in kindergarten, alone on the second day of school didn't have more help from staff in the building. I kept thinking, what if this was Cameron that didn't know where to go and no adult helping her and she was scared? I just don't understand why in this first week there are not staff members in the kindy hall helping the child get to their class?? Maybe I am expecting too much from the school, I dunno. It's the 2nd day of school, ya know? The kindy kids are brand new to all this.

Hopefully the pick up today with me going through the car loop will work out and tomorrow will be a smoother beginning and end now that we know what do.

Aside from all that, Cameron was in a good mood yesterday when I picked her up and she seemed to really enjoy all the things they did. I am not sure why she didn't want to go back today??

1st Day Of School

Everyone was up and ready to go this morning. Unfortunately we didn't make it into the building on time. I hate being late for anything, but we had no idea there was going to be so many cars at the school and that it was going to take us 20 minutes to get into the parking lot. We actually have to follow in line with the cars dropping kids off at the curb. Once you drop off you follow a path that has you crossing the bus lane and going through the parking lot and out. So between waiting for kids to be dropped off, stopping for buses coming in, and the massive line of cars going through the parking lot trying to leave... it took 20 minutes. Ugh!

Then you have to go from the parking lot to the school using the cross walk AND crossing the line of cars going through the parking lot. And the cars take priority over the pedestrians or else the cars get backed up even more. The old bitty directing cars from the drop off to the parking lot was not in a friendly mood once Travis and I left the school. She was barking at the other staff people who were directing traffic in the parking lot saying they weren't moving the cars fast enough. The whole set up is a bit odd.

There were a lot of kids still coming in after we left so we weren't the only ones late. So lesson learned this morning, be at school by 7:20 tomorrow.

Travis and I took her to her room and the kids were at their desks coloring a 1st day of school picture so after putting her things in her cubby I took her to her desk. She didn't want me to leave. I was a little surprised at that. I figured if she was going to get upset it would be tomorrow after the excitement of today was over. A brand new box of crayons to color with and a ladybug necklace with her name on it wasn't even enough to side track her. The teacher gave us a moment and then she came over to talk to her so I could break free of her grip. We had walked a couple steps down the hall and Travis remembered that we needed to tell the teacher that she would be picked up, not riding the bus like we originally planned. When he went back in she had already settled down so I think she will be just fine.

When I went to school the first day was always a half day, but not here. The school day doesn't end until 3:00 (I'll be in the parking lot at 2:15), today is no exception. So I am little worried about how she will do for the whole day. I know she will adjust in time just like she did at preschool, but I just hate to leave her when she is teary eyed like she was.

The fact that she is going to be gone all day is probably going to hit me around lunch time because that was when she was home from preschool. Something tells me noon to 3:00 is going to feel like forever. I am so anxious to know how she did and what she thought, and just hear all about her day. I'll be cleaning house to pass the time.

I Think We Got Everything

Tomorrow is the first day of school (already?? ) and I think I finally got everything she needs. Geez, I knew about the school supply lists before this year, but I had no idea how extensive and specific these lists are. My first thought was "boy, times have changed" because when I was in school we only needed your basic supplies in a pencil box and maybe a notebook and folder or two. Of course we always had to bring boxes of tissues in too. Then I was talking to my mom about what I had to buy for Cameron and she was shocked. She has been working in various elementary schools as a parapro for the last few years and she said their supply lists are very basic (like when I was in school). So I started doing some searching online comparing Montgomery schools and Plymouth-Canton schools. Wow. Here is a general kindergarten school supply list for Plymouth-Canton schools:

2 - #2 pencils
1 pencil box, plastic (Labeled with name-standard size – no handles)
Crayons (pack of 16)
2 dry erase markers
4 large glue sticks
Fiskar’s children scissors (cheap at Office Max) – Label with name


Now this is Cameron's kindergarten supply list:

Kindergarten
2 Pump bottles Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer (no refills, please)
1 Container baby wipes
2 Boxes of tissues
2 Rolls of paper towels (Bounty "select-a-size" are great)
2 Bottles of WHITE Elmer's glue - 4 oz.
5 Large WHITE Elmer's glue sticks
4 Boxes of Crayola crayons - 16 count boxes
2 Boxes of Crayola washable markers - 8 count, original colors
1 Pair of blunt tip metal scissors (Fiskar brand is great)
1 Pack of Expo markers (dry erase markers)
1 RED plastic folder (pockets and prongs)
1 BLUE plastic folder (pockets and prongs)
2 Pack of YELLOW #2 wooden pencils (sharpened)
1 Pack of white copy paper
1 Rest mat (red and blue plastic tri-fold)
1 Watercolor paint set (8 count)
1 Pack of assorted construction paper
1 Backpack (NO ROLLERS)
1 Box of sandwich Zip-Loc bags (GIRLS ONLY)
1 Box of gallon Zip-Loc bags (BOYS ONLY)
1 Box of Goldfish (GIRLS ONLY)
1 Box of Teddy Grahams (BOYS ONLY)

In addition to that, we went to meet the teacher night last Thursday where the teacher gave us a list of a few more things she has to bring with her on Monday

2 - 1" 3 ring white binders
1- Pencil pouch with clear front and zipper
1- small supply box
1- Mead composition book
1- Container of Clorox wipes

The first list said not to put names on anything except your backpack and rest mat because the supplies will be collected and given out as needed. I have to tell you, I am not real happy about sending in supplies that my child may or may not use for herself. We had to put all the supplies in her cubby when we went so I am hoping the teacher will keep each childs basic supplies desperate. I would be really upset if Cameron needed new crayons and was handed some cheap off brand ones that someone decided to bring in instead of the Crayola ones I bought. If you know crayons then you know how frustrating it can be to color with waxy, clumpy cheap ass crayons. Ya know? I would much rather buy the 4 boxes of crayons and send 1 to school. When she needs new ones then I will have them at home for her. Same with the markers and glue.

I am very interested to see how this is all going to work and if she brings home projects that are going to use up 5 jumbo glue sticks and 8 oz of white glue.

Her school (like many here) require uniforms as well. Thankfully you can find the specific clothing at most stores here so that wasn't too much of a problem. I just haven't been able to find any Khaki jumpers in her size that I wanted to buy. She can only wear white or navy blue shirts (no logos at all). Khaki, or navy shirts, shorts, jumpers and skirts. If their are belt loops a belt has to be worn (something I just realized I forgot to get). Solid color shoes (no open heel or toe) in white, navy, brown, gray or black. There is also a plaid color she can wear that needs to be bought from a uniform store. Same solid colors go for sweaters and jackets which I don't even want to think about right now with it being 105 outside.

I bought six tops and six bottoms (she needs an extra to keep at school just in case) plus shoes. After joining the PTA and purchasing a T shirt for her to wear on Friday spirit days, all the school supplies plus a lunch box - I figure I spent at least $200.00 and that's with shopping all the sales. Ouch. I wasn't expecting to have to spend that much. Next year I will know. Oh, and I forgot about the juice and snack she has to have everyday. They prefer you purchase this through the school - for $4.00 a week. No way am I doing that! I can provide her with snack and drink for $4.00 a month. Juice has to be 100% juice and no sugary snacks. She will already have a juice box at lunch so I would prefer her to have water, or crystal light so I will just send a small reusable bottle of something for her. Much cheaper!

I can't believe my baby it going to be in kindergarten.

I Still Can't Believe It

I didn't have time to mention this before leaving on vacation, but it is a big deal and needs a post. The night before we left for Michigan Cameron said she wanted to go to Libby Lu and have her ears pierced. We have asked her about it in the past and she was dead set against it. Then out of the blue she said she wanted to do it. I was expecting her to bail at any time and she didn't. She was a brave a girl and looks so pretty with her flower birthstone earrings.

Lots Of Reading, Lots Of Pictures

It's been a while since my last blog post. I didn't even get a chance to post Terrific Tutorials on Tuesday. I probably won't be able to post tutorials for the next two Tuesdays either (more about that in a minute) so if I have time Monday I will post enough to make up for the 3 Tuesdays I (am) will miss.

Last week was a little bit of a rough week. Lots of things going on, lots of things swarming in my head. To top off the crazy week, Friday I was prescribed 5 new medications. Not a big deal except that three of them have some icky side effects that I am not enjoying. Another one of them is an antibiotic to treat an apparent infection (indicated by a high WBC) which was discovered while being seen and treated for something completely unrelated. Infection where?? I am not really sure and won't know until my blood and urine cultures come back. Apparently it isn't anything serious since I have to wait it out over the weekend. (shrug) On a silly note, have you had Rx's filled at Target?? I haven't except for a liquid antibiotic for Cameron which was in a nifty little container in and of itself. Anyhow, with these new meds I decided to switch Pharmacy's and go with Target. How funky are these medicine bottles? If you don't already know, the green ring represents "Melissia's Rx's". Each of your family members can choose a color ring that gets put on all the Rx's. I suppose if you have several people in the house taking different meds, this color labeling would be very helpful. Cameron is purple BTW. It's sad when a bottle shape and color is exciting to ones self, isn't it?

So putting last week aside, what have Cameron and I been doing this summer you ask? Okay, you didn't ask but we can pretend you did. Well we have spent a good bit of it at our neighborhood pool (which is lovely by the way). One good thing about living in a neighborhood with scarce children is that no one is hardly ever at the pool. Camerons favorite thing to do in the pool right now is diving down and trying to touch the bottom of the pool. She was spending so much time under the water that I decided to get a one time use underwater camera. She is such a little fish. If it was up to her we would be at the pool everyday, all day.

We (all 3 of us) also took a trip to Birmingham to the McWane Center. It was our first time there and it was even better than I expected. This is a full hands on science museum that has 4 levels of some of the coolest stuff I have seen in a long time. If we did things in Science class like you can do at the McWane center, I would have been a much better science student. I wanted to share this picture that I thought was cool. They have a huge screen that has butterfly's zooming all over the place. When you stand in front of the screen it projects your shadow onto it. If you hold real still some of the butterfly's will land on you. This is Cam's shadow and a butterfly that 'landed' on her hand. They also had another screen with colored rocks that spilled down it. If you hold your hands out so that your shadow is under the falling rocks, the rocks start piling up in your hand like you are catching them. It was really cool and fun to play around with.

The whole place was great, but the big reason for going was to see the Bob The Builder exhibit. Cameron loves Bob The Builder and she was actually the one who saw a commercial for the exhibit and heard them say it was in Birmingham. She knows we are near Birmingham because that is where the airport is that we have been flying in and out of as well as picking my parents up from. So she has been excited for several weeks about going (it's there for the summer). It took about 15 minutes for us to get her into the exhibit area because a dressed up Bob was sitting near the entrance. She knew he was going to be there and up until the moment she saw him she was excited to see him. After she got a glimpse of him she started to panic and refused to go see all the other cool Bob The Builder stuff. We finally got her in and we went straight to the back as far away from Bob as we could get. When she realized he wasn't going to bother her she was all over the Bob exhibits. They had... statues?? Not the word I am looking for, but I am sure you know what I mean.... big statues of all the characters, Bob's workshop where you could play with tools, Wendys flower beds where you could 'plant/pick' flowers and Bob's garden for planting/picking veggies plus all the machines like Lofty, Scoop, Muck, Dizzy and so on. Fun fun stuff.

P.S. The spot on her shirt is a wet spot from playing with various boats in the water to see how the go (sailboat, paddle boat, speed boat).

Cameron starts school in 3 weeks and we will be celebrating the end of summer with a 2 week trip to Michigan to visit my family!!!! I had been trying to plan this summer trip for 2.5 months and things just weren't falling into place. A week ago I gave up trying to make it work because we were getting too close to the end of summer to be able to go. Apparently the powers that be (who or what ever that may be) must have decided that I had finally had enough..... punishment?? suffering?? I don't know what to call it, but I know that whatever is was it has broke me down and now Cameron and I will be on our way to Michigan on Tuesday for two whole weeks!! Best of all, I will be there to celebrate an amazing moment for my dad when he (and my brother) crosses the finish line after completing a 300 mile bike ride for the Make A Wish Foundation. Praise.....something!! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.

Note to self - reinstall my smilies to put in posts.

Book Fair

If you're in or near Montgomery, St. Bede church is having a Scholastic book fair today through Thursday (9-5). They have a great selection of books for all ages and everything is 50% off. Cameron and I went this morning and bought a bag full. Most of the paperback books we bought cost me 2.00 a piece. I love Scholastic books! The stories are cute and the pictures are great. You can't beat 50% off of books that already sell for great prices. So go stock up for summer reading!!

Kiddo Stuff

Today was parent/teacher conferences at Cam's school. I can not believe school will be out in a week! The teacher had nothing but great things to say about Cameron.

Apparently the pushing phase was just that, a phase. She just needed some guidance in understanding that her friends were independent people just like herself and that words are much more effective than using our hands. She is ending the year knowing how to read and write simple words (cat, rat, stop, frog, book, ran etc). She knows all her sounds and how to sound out a word in order to read the word. Over the summer we are going to work with sounds like th, sh, ous, es etc.. She has also been doing addition math problems. Mrs D says math is a lesson she has to guide Cameron to because she prefers to do language lessons over math (remember it is Montessori, kids choose what they work on). So we will spend some time on basic math problems over the summer as well.

I had the chance to talk to Mrs. D about Cameron entering public school Kindergarten in the fall. This is a choice that was made so that I can go back to school myself in the fall. We can not afford to pay for both of us to be in school so public school it will be. I am very nervous about this decision. If she ends up with a teacher that goes strictly by the book then she is going to be bored out of her mind. If the teacher is a little more of a free spirit then she might be okay. Because we will be moving before the school year starts we are not sure what school she will be at yet. There are only 4 elementary schools I am comfortable with so it will be one of the 4. Hopefully by the end of the month we will know where we will be moving and then I can start looking at the schools program.

Cameron loves school, so if she at least gets a teacher she likes and finds a close friend in her class and we keep her mind stimulated at home then it should be fine. I am just worried about her not being challenged enough. It is just kindergarten, so if she doesn't thrive during the school year then we will put her back in Montessori for first grade because I will be done with school next spring. Hopefully it all works out.

It's A Child, Not A Dog

I was reading a thread on 2 peas about a mom who wanted to know if her 2.5 y/o had typical behavior or if she was a crappy mother - don't even get me started on that "typical behavior" crap that you only hear from mother's whose toddlers are in control of them.

Anyhoo, one mother actually replied with this:

I have a 3 yr old and while he is pretty good in the store, we always use a
basket or he is on his leash. (he LOVES his leash, but there is still the
grabbing issue sometimes) .

Now seriously, if you walked by someone and heard just that sentence, would you assume they are talking about a child or a DOG?!?! A leash on a child??? I think that is sick! Years ago when people used the wristbands with the curly cord attached, I thought that was weird. The harnesses with the dog leash attached to the back is just wrong. IT'S WRONG PEOPLE! You treat your kid like an animal and you wonder why they act like an animal?? And don't fool yourself..... the harnesses that look like fuzzy animals are the same thing. Just because it is cute and fuzzy doesn't mean you're a better parent. It just means you think it's less demeaning to your child. FYI- IT ISN'T. Stop treating your kids like animals and start parenting them and maybe they won't act like animals out in public.

/rant

First Day Of School

Cameron woke me up at 7am asking if she can go to school now. I got up and told her she needed to eat breakfast first and she said, "but mom I don't want to be late for school." LOL Travis and I both went to take her for the first day. We hung around until about 8:15 to make sure she was comfortable. She was drawing on the chalk board and I told her we were going. She said, "okay bye Mom." So I felt okay about leaving her because she was happy.

It wasn't the case when I picked her up though. She was with the teacher and was crying. :o( She knew that I was coming back after lunch and I never said anything about nap time. Well they had lunch a little early because some of the kids were getting sleepy and nap time follows lunch. She wasn't happy that lunch was over and I wasn't there. The teacher said she did really well and it wasn't until the cots came out that she got upset. She asked if she could come back before we even got to the car so I know she is fine. She just wasn't prepared for the whole nap time thing. Hopefully tomorrow morning she is still excited and wanting to go back. Here are some pictures.

Pre- School News

Cameron and I went to the school today that I am putting her in and registered for the summer session. The summer is scheduled by weeks so you sign up for the weeks you want to attend and only pay for those weeks. I haven't been real sure about her going everyday so I decided to sign her up for every other week. I was concerned that doing that might mess her up in the program, but the teacher assured me that it wouldn't. They design their summer curriculum to go week by week because a lot of kids miss weeks for vacation during the summer. So we are going to try this for the summer and if she enjoys it then we will enroll for the fall where she will follow the public school schedule and go every week.

We got a list of some things she will need so we went ahead and picked stuff up at the store. Every since she started talking about going to school she has said she needs a lunch box so she can eat lunch there (she gets all this school info from a blues clues episode). So she will eat lunch there and I will pick her up right after. We need to find a lunch box though. Target and Wal-Mart did not have any kids lunch boxes. I wonder if Toys R Us carries them?? Anyhow, she starts March 30th. I will be making her a calendar so she can count down the days so she knows when she starts. I hope this excitement stays with her when she actually starts school.

Day Out With Thomas (Picture Warning)

I took Cameron to a Day Out With Thomas last Friday. It was held at a train museum in Calera Alabama. She knew we were going, but didn't know when. I kept it a surprise the whole time. The first thing we saw was Thomas himself. Her face lit up and she kept saying, "It's Thomas, It's Thomas!" She was so excited. If you have never been to this and are thinking about it you should be warned that it is not adult friendly. If you grow bored or impatient just sitting and watching your child play then this is not the place for you. I had no problem with it. I enjoy sitting and watching Cameron play, especially when she is so excited about it. DH on the other hand would have literally dies of boredom. LOL So here are some pictures of she did while she was there.

This is Thomas the train. He was attached to several coach cars and it is what we rode as part of the admission price.

There was a tent that had tables set up with Thomas coloring packs and crayons along with loads of Thomas and friends stamps.

This is a Thomas built out of legos that was really cool. The kids could sit inside and climb on him. Behind it was a whole lego land of Thomas.

There was a really nice petting farm there as well. And this was an actual hands on one, not like some that just have a couple animals and you can only pet a few of them. There were lambs, baby ducks, horses, chickens, rabbits and bunnies and lots more. You could touch each and every one of them. Really cool. This is Cameron with the baby cow.
There was a huge tent bursting with Thomas toys. I took a picture of just part of it. I let Cameron pick what she wanted as long as it wasn't something I have locally seen in the stores.

One of the things she picked was a Thomas that had a whistle on the end. It sounds just like a train horn. This was a popular item in the crowd. She also got a Percy train, another train whistle and a t-shirt.

In the art tent they were giving everyone tattoos. Cameron wanted Percy and I got a Thomas.

She also had a great time playing in a huge sandbox they had, listening and dancing to the live music (which was a guy playing a guitar and singing children's songs), playing with the Thomas and Lego tables, of course the train ride as well has being able to get up on other trains and see them close up. We had a great time.