Swim Time!

Okay, so a day or two back, I sympathized with the plight of the younger of my two boys, following a diminished level of enthusiasm, on my part, for the loss of his first baby tooth. And fair enough.

But today we'll look at one of the advantages to being the youngest.

On Wednesday, I accompanied Sontoo's Kindergarten class to the indoor swimming pool here in town. I had a blast and I'm pretty sure Sontoo was glad to have me along. It was my first time being a parent helper at one of these events.

You see, when Sonwun was in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2, I never got to go along on these outings as I was not allowed to bring Sontoo. But now I can. And I am really sorry I missed the chance to do this with Sonwun.

It's one thing to hear his stories after school, and watch him for a bit at the playground, but it's another thing to see him interact with his fellow students and his teachers for a whole hour in a swimming pool.

I thought it was pretty cool that he didn't cling to me the whole time. In fact, most of the time I'm sure he forgot I was even there. Little Mr. Independence ditched me the second the water slide opened. I remained on rope duty, ensuring none of the little ones made it to the deep end. 

It was fun, relaxing and I got a chance to get to meet some of Sontoo's classmates and some of their parents. My Time-Talking-To-Adults quota hasn't been even close to full over the last several years. So, very welcome.

Really wish there was more to this story. You know, some hilarious or brilliant way to close. Something that will make you think, ponder and perhaps find blah, blah blah.

Have a good Thursday.

Gazintas and ICT

Before Sonwun started school, or even preschool, I used to joke about him "entering the system."

To me, that meant I was giving up control of my child's mind to the government, to the school board, the corporations, the special interest groups . . . "The System!" It meant that he would be fed the gospel of the day, outside of my presence. Okay, maybe I wasn't joking. It made me nervous.

But hey, he made it through preschool without being severely damaged. How bad could Kindergarten be? I mean, I remember Kindergarten a little. Seems to me we fingerpainted, spatterpainted, played in the sandbox, took a little nap on our mats. And that Michelle girl would chase me around at recess and try to kiss me. YUCK!

I don't remember report cards. They may have existed in Kindergarten way back then, but I don't think they did. Regardless, they exist now. And we just received Sonwun's first report from The System.

Most of it was as expected. He knows his numbers, colours and shapes. He's a little shy when it comes to classroom discussions, which is no surprise considering we moved here after the school year had begun. He can count to 10 just fine, but needs a little work on counting to 30. Fair enough.

But . . . and you knew there'd be a but, there was one entry on the Kindergarten report card that blew my mind. It was in the ICT section. That section, my friends, did not exist when I was 5. It's the Information Communication Technology section. Seriously. Sounds like something one takes at Devry Institute as part of post secondary education. But it's not.

It's a Kindergarten reality and, I'm sorry, but it is a clear example of "The System" at work in the schools. It makes me a little nervous.

There are three competencies my five-year-old is required to master by the end of the year:

1. Demonstrates critical thinking with ICT to plan and gather information— research, sorting, organizing and analyzing information.
2. Demonstrates creative thinking with ICT to produce and communicate information— making presentations considering audience appeal, using graphics, revising and editing products.

And finally, my favourite . . .

3. Demonstrates responsibility and ethics with ICT— showing respect, following copyright rules and division policy, considering effect on others.

Copyright rules?? Are you freakin' serious? This lesson plan brought to you by the Warner Music Group.

Call me old (fashion), but I'm turning my boy over to the system for a few hours a day so that he can learn the three Rs. NOT copyright law. He's 5 and I'm not looking for him to create an ad campaign for Sony by the end of the year, while respecting all copyright laws. I want him to read, to write and learn his gazintas (yeah, I'm that old, look up Beverly Hillbillies if you want to know what that means).

But apparently there is a whole lot more expected of five-year-olds these days. And my boy has entered the system.

On the positive side, I can have him proof-read my posts, and let me know if I need to add any TM notices for, say, using the word gazinta. He's in Kindergarten. He needs to know this. And he needs to teach me.

Have a great Tuesday.

Change . . .

Kindergarten has apparently changed quite a bit in the last 30 to 40 years. Yeah, I know, big surprise.

But I didn't think it had changed quite this much.

Got the list of school supplies Sonwun will need when he begins his academic career this fall. And yeah, some of it I expected. Some was a bit of a shock.

For example:
4 large glue sticks - Okay, makes sense. Of course when I went, we used that white glue, in jars, with brushes. I seem to recall it smelled like peppermint. And that one kid in every class, the "glue eater," said it tasted like peppermint too.

1 Large bottle of mucilage glue - is this the peppermint stuff? Never heard of mucilage glue. Must look that up on line . . . oh, cool. That's that translucent brown stuff with the rubber top. I remember that stuff. Some things never change I guess.

2 Boxes of Kleenex - Didn't have to bring that when I was a kid. But I guess the school boards don't pay for everything these days. Fair enough.

2 Boxes of Crayola Crayons (8 colours) - Um, okay. Again, that stuff was supplied when I went, but, whatever.

1 pkg washable markers - See above. And while we're at it, I'll include the "1 Pair of Strong Scissors" in the same category.

Okay, so that's a lot of the stuff I kind of expected to be buying. But . . .

4 Regular Duotangs
1 3-ring Binder
1 Notebook - half lines, half blank
2 two-pocket Duotangs for reading logs
1 Scrapbook, 30 sheets with coil binding
1 Copy Plato's Republic

Okay, I made up the last one. But seriously, how much research and report-writing are these kids going to be doing that they need Duotangs and Binders?? Or are these supplies for the teacher? I almost hope so.

I can't imagine a room full of 5-year-olds playing with three-ring binders. Unless they've changed the design over the last couple of decades, I seem to recall these things can be real finger pinchers . . . even in high school.

And Duotangs? Really? I hated those things. How long is it going to take a 5-year-old to undo one, load paper and re-close?

Seriously, I have no idea why they need these things, but I'm trying to keep an open mind; wait and see.

And ya know, having read the news daily over the last few decades, I was surprised at some of the items that are missing from the list. I mean, I was kind of expecting to see "Anatomically Correct Dolls, Male and Female" for the sex ed class.
1 Copy of "Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to be Girls" for the Social Engineering Class.
1 Copy of "NO ONE NEEDS A PENIS!" for the discussion following the field trip to the radical wing of the Women's Directorate headquarters.
1 Copy of "Your Sunday School Teacher's a Liar" for the religious studies class.

Okay, so maybe the news reports were a little more alarming than necessary. Or maybe they're saving this for Grade 1. Who knows?

All I know is that things have changed. Gonna be a challenge to keep up and only one more month to prepare myself.

Wish me luck and have a great Thursday!

Kindergarten Prep

Well, Saturday was a busy day.

And it's setting us up for a busy summer. First stop was the sports store in town, to buy Sonwun the mandatory equipment for his journey through his first season with the Thompson Junior Soccer Association. Cleats, shin pads and soccer socks are all apparently necessary for a four-year-old. All righty then.

Next stop was the pool. Signed the boy up for more swimming lessons. He's still a Salamander but we are confident that he will be, at the very least, a Sunfish by the end of the season. Who knows, maybe he's even Crocodile material. Only time will tell.

Final stop was the school, where I picked up registration forms for Kindergarten. A few surprises here.

First off, at this school, Kindergarten is an all-day thing. When I attended, it was a half-day thing and, apparently, it's a half-day thing at most schools here in Thompson. But the school in our neighbourhood, is part of a "pilot project" that I assume is designed to see if teachers can squeeze another half-day's pay out of the system.

For Sonwun, I don't foresee any problems with this. He loves preschool and I'm sure he's gonna love the big K as well.

Now, the application form. Interesting piece of paper. Clearly, it's been designed to attempt to cover all of the parental/guardianship colours in the ever-growing rainbow of child rearing fun.

I'm not going to get into all of the questions, but I'm, I don't know, perplexed, saddened I guess, that this reality is so clearly reflected in a Kindergarten registration form. Not saying it shouldn't be. Just saying that things like:
"In care of Child and Family Services— Yes No" is sad to see. Sad because apparently it is sufficiently prevalent to warrant inclusion on the Kindergarten entry form.

Anyhoo, in addition to the paperwork for Neomom and me to fill out, there is The School District of Mystery Lake Readiness Package for Kindergarten. That's for Sonwun to fill out.

It includes counting exercises, colour recognition, letter recognition, social development suggestions and exercises designed to teach him to write letters and put them together while writing his name.

And while I think that's great and all, I kinda thought that was what Kindergarten was for. I mean, you're getting him every day, all day, for a school year. And it's Kindergarten. If I teach him all of these things, what are YOU going to teach him? Calculus?

I know, I know. Wait and see. Don't jump to conclusions. But I guess I worry about him being bored with school. I was and it was reflected in my grades and general attitude I suppose.

As he begins his educational career, I want him to have fun, I want him to be challenged and rise to that challenge. I want him to learn and enjoy learning. I want him to play sports, to win, to lose— all that good stuff.

Okay, getting ahead of myself. For now, we're gonna crack The School District of Mystery Lake Readiness Package for Kindergarten and we're gonna count teddy bears, help the bunny find the carrot and match the two gorillas.

Have a great day.