At What Age Should a Child go to School?

I read an article recently (and no I can't find it again to save my life) that outlined a European study.  You see, in Europe, the age for starting compulsory education ranges from four to seven.  There is a movement to standardize this age across the nations, so a study was commissioned to determine what the best age would be.

And the study decided that compulsory education should start in all of Europe at age 8.  Based solely on academic and performance reasons. 

This assumes that the child would stay at home with their mother or father or other attentive caregiver who was already educated and could afford to spend time with their children every day, caring for them and educating them at home.  (So I understand that it's not for every situation, but it was what the study claimed was the ideal case.)

But the study found no reason that the parents could not effectively teach all the material learned in school up to that age at home, through a play-based environment.

Additionally, the later that children start a formal education up to age 8, the more joy they retain in their schooling.  The late beginners didn't fall behind the students that started earlier, and they actually liked school more.

I liked this article.  It articulated a lot of the things that I felt about homeschooling but never bothered to flesh out into real thoughts and words.

The main reason that we didn't send Connor to kindergarten when he was five was because he wasn't interested in going.  I was going to be at home with Lex, and he wanted to be with us.  I felt like he would learn more where he was happy and comfortable, and I knew that I was capable of providing him with a good kindergarten education.

Also, Connor has a late June birthday.  The year that he would have started school, he would have been just five years old, and one of the youngest in his class.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of holding his education back until he was six, either, because he was already mastering kindergarten skills.  I felt like homeschooling was a good way to balance his learning with the fact that he wasn't ready to be away from home every day at his  young age.  I figured that by the time that he was ready to go to school, he would be caught up with everyone socially and academically.  (Actually, I hoped that he would be a little ahead academically in case there was an adjustment period when he finally did go to school.)

We reassessed the idea of homeschooling for first grade, and he still wasn't interested in going to school.  So we decided to continue homeschooling.  We will continue to homeschool until he wants to go to school.  I don't know when that will be.

I do know that he is intending to go to high school when the time comes.  Middle school?  That's a fuzzy concept for him, so we'll see when we get there.

All about this one time when we moved to Texas

About a month and a half ago, Kevin started a new job in Texas.

As part of his relocation package, he was provided with a nice furnished apartment to stay in while he looked for a new house for us.  I stayed in Ohio with the boys in order to take care of our existing house, and all the moving stuff that needed to be done before we left Ohio.  (You know, like returning the 200+ items we had checked out from the local library.)

After a few weeks, the movers came to pack us up.

That's Connor in front of the REALLY BIG TRUCK

They brought a really big truck, and it took them two days to box everything up and load it onto that really big truck.

It was great.  I was discouraged from packing anything myself because the moving company would only insure the items packed by the movers themselves.  So I cleaned while they packed for a while, and then I ended up reading magazines.

Sidebar:  Okay, I did a little more than that.  While the movers were moving everything out, I installed four new window panes in various windows around our house.  We had double-paned windows, and some of them were getting cloudy because the seals between the panes had broken.  This isn't the first time I had done this, but this was the time that I learned that a rubber glazing hammer WILL break a window the same as a regular hammer if you hit the glass directly.  You see, I had attempted to replace a 5th window pane, but just before I was finished, I had a wide swing (maybe I had a seizure? I still don't know what happened) and smashed the new window that I had just installed.  It was awful!  So, I ordered another one and it arrived just in time for me to replace before leaving Ohio.  End Sidebar. 

I had always told Kevin that I never wanted to move again unless someone else did it for us, and I was right.  Movers are the way to go!

Sidebar:  I watched the moving truck pull away and my neighbor across the street came out to talk to me.  He said to me, "You must be so emotional right now.  You just watched the last 8 years of your life drive away in that truck."  And that wasn't true at all.  Kevin was already in Texas and the kids were with my parents.  What I thought, and what I said (and he was so shocked!) was, "No, that was just a bunch of junk we accumulated over the past 8 years."  Honestly, if we had moved or packed ourselves, some of that stuff in the truck would have ended up on the curb.  To be really honest, a lot of it probably would have.

Once the house was empty, the boys and I stayed with my parents at their house.  They have things like beds and sofas and dishes that we were now without.


I had bought the boys each a new backpack and suitcase, and they were allowed to pack their clothes in the suitcase and their favorite toys in their backpacks.  The only rule was that it had to fit inside and zip close.  This way they were able to keep some of their favorite things with us while we were in transition.


Anyways, after we had our stuff out of the house, we had the whole house repainted so that it would be more neutral. 

I actually painted one room myself, and tried to touch up another, but I am not a painter.  I mean, apparently.  Look what I did to my poor dining room!



It's okay now, I promise that I fixed it.

In the end, the whole house looked great, even if we had to pay someone else to paint it for us.

Before:


Actually, the decision to hire painters was easy.  It wasn't working out for me to leave the boys alone with Nana for multiple days on end because there was so much change going on.  They needed their mommy to be there with them.  Plus, the painters worked faster and better than I could have.

After:


When it was all done, we went back to check it out.  Lex wanted me to take a last photo of him in his bedroom:

Johnny Lemur got picked to be one of the 

toys that Lex kept with him during our move.

His room used to be yellow with an orange stripe, and now it is painted cream.  Although you can't tell because the lighting in this photo is all wrong.


All the painting and carpet cleaning and window installations were done just in time for a new family to move into our house.  Instead of selling the house, we decided to keep it and rent it out.  And when I say just in time, I really mean it.  The last of the work was done on Thursday evening, and the new family moved in on Friday.

After that, we still spent a few weeks more at Nana's house before we all moved down to Texas with Kevin.  You see, Kevin flew up for the 4th of July and that camping wedding in Ohio, and after that we all flew to Texas together.

Hanging around in the airport

The entire time between when the movers took all our stuff and when we left on the airplane, we had to be really careful about accumulating new stuff.  This was more difficult than expected, because Connor had a birthday during that time.  However, I still managed to get everything packed into our suitcases and carry on bags.  I am so thankful that I had thought ahead to pack an extra tote bag (empty) to use as a carry on in case we needed it.  Because we did.

In the end, we took 6 pieces of checked luggage and checked one car booster seat.  Then we carried on six bags and a golf umbrella.  (Six bags?  Well, there was my purse and the aforementioned extra tote bag, plus the kids each had their new backpacks full of toys.  The last two items were Connor's tiny suitcase full of Strickster's clothes, and Lex had a box from Build-a-Bear with all of his stuffed animals and their clothes.  Oh, Strickster is Connor's bear, and he was shoved in Connor's backpack.)



Even though it took two cars to get us and all this stuff to the airport in Columbus when we left, we were so pleased to be able to fit it all into Kevin's car once we got to Texas!  We had planned to get a taxi as a second car if it didn't all fit, but I'm glad that we didn't have to do that.

Now we are staying in the corporate apartment that Kevin has been in since he arrived in Texas.  We are planning to close on our new house later this month, and then after that we can call the moving company to schedule a time for them to move all our stuff out of their Texas warehouse and into our new home.  So our relocation is still something of a work in progress, but at least now our family is together in one place again.

And if you stuck with me through all that, I'm impressed.

Pickled Meat

Do you ever feel like your child's own personal translator for the rest of the world?

Didn't know that was part of a mom's job description, but there it is.

Today, Lex said he wanted "pickled meat."

But what he really wanted was to watch the movie otherwise known as "Despicable Me."

Breakfast in Bed

While I was putting Lex down for bed, he started talking about the time that he and Connor and Daddy made me breakfast in bed.  Then, he asked if he could have breakfast in bed when he woke up in the morning.  I, of course, am a huge sucker for such cuteness, so I said yes.

The next morning, when Lex woke up, he stayed in his room.  My first thought was about how atypical this behavior was, since he usually runs right out to find either me, Kevin or Connor.  So I went in to talk to him.  His first words were a request for his breakfast in bed.  He had not forgotten.

Milk and chocolate doughnuts

We chatted for a bit, and when he was all done eating, he said, "Thank you for breakfast in bed, Mommy.  It was very special."  He is always so formal with his thank-yous and apologies!

Even though I had to change his sheets for the chocolate crumbs, it was totally worth it to make him happy.

 

This really happened.

Connor said:  "Mommy, I need some help."

I said:  "What do you need, honey?"

Connor:  "About 94,000 men.  It's going to be really tough."

Me:  "How about one mommy instead?"

Connor:  "Yeah, that should just about do it."

I mean, right?!  For the record, he needed some help with some Legos. 

Being the Mother of Boys

I really like being the mother of boys. 

Most of the things that I don't know anything about, I can just hoist off onto their father.  How to stand and pee?  Go see Daddy.

But one thing that I have not yet figured out is how to describe what I want to a stylist in the way of a little boy haircut, and that seems to fall in my area of control.

It's almost time for the boys to get their hair cut again.  Connor's hair is getting shaggy around his ears and the back of his neck.  I've already cut the little tail that grows on the back of Lex's neck once since his last hair cut, and his hair is starting to get too long around his ears, too.

But I don't want to take them and have all their hair cut off.  Again.  I would like the parts that are too long to be cut, but I want to keep the length on the top.  And I don't know how to express that in stylist lingo, because when I ask for that, I get two little kids with short hair all over.  Long buzz cuts, which I don't particularly like.

Does anyone know what I want?  And how I should ask for it?

Otherwise, I'll just give it another go, and hope for the best.  I'm sorry, Connor and Lex.

Show Off. Thanks, Connor!

I took the boys with me to my dental appointment today. I used to go without them, but then the dentist and his assistants would give me a hard time about leaving them at home. So, after a few visits of hearing things like, "Oh, but we would love to see them," and "It's really beneficial for kids to see their parents having their teeth cleaned," I started bringing the boys with me.

They are usually good, and today was no exception. They sat on little chairs in the room next to me and colored and watched some Disney cartoons. Lex climbed up on my lap a few times and walked around the chair to get an up close look at what the dentist was doing to my teeth.

When I was all done, they both took a turn in the chair, riding it up and laying back, and then opening their mouths for the dentist to take a quick peek inside. It was awesome.

But the thing that made me proudest was Connor. He was sitting in his little chair, and the lady cleaning my teeth asked him if he went to school yet. He told her that he didn't, and she seemed shocked that I hadn't enrolled him in preschool yet. How was he ever going to learn anything without preschool?! He calmly informed her that he used to go to school, but that he was too old for it now. This is how he makes sense of the fact that he used to go to daycare when I worked, but that he doesn't anymore. And from his perspective, I suppose it makes perfect sense.

Then, he sat there, and for no reason I could tell, he proceeded to count from one to 125. Without mistake. I didn't realize he was doing it at first, but by the time he was done, he had everyone's attention. The preschool advocate admitted that her son, now in first grade, couldn't count that well. So take that! I am not a negligent mom for keeping my son home with me.

No, this picture doesn't really have anything to do with this post.
I just like it.
Building Lego robots is just the kind of thing that we do at
our preschool at home.

Bunnies & Duckies

It occurred to me the other day that Connor and Lex are the perfect ages.

I worked in two day care centers while in college, and my favorite class room in the first one was the Barnabas Bunnies Room, for 4 and 5 year olds not yet in kindergarten. My favorite class at the second center I worked at was the Darling Ducks Room, for toddlers aged 18 to 24 months.

If they were in those centers, Connor would be a bunny and Lex would be a ducky. My favorites!

Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered what was in my little diaper bag? I gave up carrying a separate purse when I became a SAHM of two little boys, and I just carry around one diaper bag now.


My beloved cousin Pam once told me that I had the heaviest diaper bag in the world. While I'm not entirely convinced that's true, I was surprised at how much stuff came out of my bag when I emptied it today. (I had big plans to run it through the wash to get all the mud off the bottom of it from the soccer field.)


First of all, there are extra clothes for two boys, which amounts to the following:

2 shirts
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair socks
1 pair underpants

Next, we have some essentials:

Baby lotion
diaper cream
teething gel
Neo to Go spray
Neosporin packets
(conspicuously absent: band aids)
Hand sanitizer
tissues
large ziplock bag for containing messy clothes



My wallet and small camera (along with USB card reader) are basically the only things that were in the bag for me.

Here are some of the more interesting finds:

Two grab-and-g0 play packs (with coloring books, markers/crayons and stickers)
18 crayons
one mini maglight flashlight
two action figures
Nesquick chocolate milk mix



Finally, we have the typical stuff you would expect to find in a diaper bag:

two different kinds of sunscreen
two disposable toothbrushes
two disposable bibs
diapers and wipes

Not pictured, but often shoved in my bag (well, at least since I got it on Mother's Day): my Nook.

Have You Seen My Kids?

I mean, they must be in there somewhere!
Who else would have made that mess?!

Self-Portrait with Baby in Sling Wearing Earmuffs

This was Lex's idea.

Okay, fine. The self-portrait was my idea. But after nap, he really wanted to be in the sling. And he really wanted to wear ear muffs. For like 45 minutes I carried him around thus.

Our Rocket Ship

I built Connor a rocket ship out of a cardboard box back in October. He's been playing with it off and on ever since then. When I get tired of it taking up real estate in my living room, it gets shuffled into the basement for a few days or weeks until someone notices it down there and asks to bring it back up.

This rocket has been through a lot now. It's been re-taped and re-taped, and yesterday Connor and I rehabilitated it with a healthy dose of duct tape after it crash landed in the desert. Lex spent hours yesterday playing in the rocket with a kitchen spatula.

Today, the boys are hammering pencils into the sides of the rocket. It now looks like it has sustained heavy fire from an angry martian or something.

I imagine that we will keep playing with this rocket until it is in a state of total disrepair. Then, I imagine that we will have to find some new boxes to construct another rocket.

Here is an exclusive interview with the astronauts as they conduct repairs to the space craft.

Sometimes when I listen to the things that come out of my mouth, I laugh

Such as...


...put your clothes back on...we do not live in a nudist colony!

My New Motto

There is little than cannot be solved with a cell phone, credit card and wet wipes.

Wordless Wednesday

Tidbits

I just ran a load of laundry through the wash containing a pair of Connor's pajama pants with a pull-up hidden inside them. Most interesting mess of 2011 thus far.

I can't keep socks on Lex's feet, unless he is wearing shoes. Hats, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter. Once a hat has been placed upon his head, he insists on wearing it for hours.


Also, before Christmas, Lex starting doing this thing where he walks around with one hand behind his back. As if he can do anything, anything at all, with one hand behind his back.

Happy Morning with Lex

When Lex saw the camera this morning, he decided to pose and say "Cheese!"

Cocoa Puffs for Breakfast!

Snuggly Saturday Morning

Perfect Recipe for a Snuggly Saturday Morning:

Ingredients:

One baby in footie jammies
One mama's fuzzy bathrobe

Directions:

Wrap the baby in the bathrobe, as seen in the photo below.



P.S. This was Lex's idea. He found my bathrobe after I had left it on the couch this morning, and he brought it to me and tried to put it on. He needed a little bit of help with that part.

What do you get when you give a 3 year old a make-up kit?

We have some extra face paint left over after Halloween this year. In fact, we have an entire Hollywood Special FX Makeup Kit left.

So Connor asked if he could do my makeup, and I couldn't come up with a good reason not to let him do it.

Here is his creation. Don't I look fabulous?

The Artist and His Mother

What do you suppose his inspiration was? I thought that it looked a bit like Native American war paint.

He said that I was painted like an astronaut. NASA here I come!

Time for Plan B

Plan A:

Bake 4 cakes and 75 cupcakes while the baby is napping.

Reality:

Lex took a six minute nap. SIX MINUTES.

Time for Plan B.

(Anyone got a Plan B for me?)