Funny Things

The other day my eldest son informed me that I “hog chocolate.”  I neither confirm nor deny that observation.

T3 brought this home from Sunday School. I laughed for a good five mins. I wonder what the teacher thought?

While we were all eating breakfast one morning T3 must have asked someone to refill his water bottle:

Hubby – “We should install a giant hamster water bottle on the wall for you boys so whenever you want a drink you can just go and drink right out of it….  But I suppose people would think we are strange.”

Me – “People already think we are strange.”

T1 - “Why? Is it because you won’t let me have  a pet cobra? (What??? Where did that come from?  Later I found out that hubby had told T1 that when he was an adult he could have a pet cobra but his mom probably wouldn’t visit him very much.  Sighh……)

T3 – “Yeah, he would need his driver’s license to get one. Right, mom?”

This morning T3 handed me his play-away stories from the library to adjust the headphones. 

T3 – “If I listen to earphones too loud my ears will get plugged up and only the Lord could heal me, right?”

And after asking Thing 2 for the zillionth time not to goof off in the parking lot (he looked like he was doing some spastic dance, when in explanation he was trying to only step on the shiny things…oh, okay).

T2 – “Yeah cause if I got hit by a car I would die and you would be sad.”

Me- “Yes, I would be very sad to live the rest of my life without you.  But I would be happy for you to be in heaven with Jesus.  Heaven is way better than earth. But I do hope that I die before you, son.”

T2 – “Yeah, me too.  (long pause) Whoops, I blew it again. I’m not supposed to say I hope you die first.”

How to Know if your Child is Ready for Kindergarten

The question of the hour here is: Is Thing 3 (who will turn 5 this spring) going to be ready for K come August?  I returned this morning from registering him in our school district which requires a: file full of papers, 20 mins online, 3 hours searching for a birth certificate you later come to realize you never ordered (did I mention this is the third child?), and an amazingly only 30 min. process talking to two different people at the school district office (last time it took over an hour. I lucked out and the nurse hadn’t arrived yet at 7:30am so I got to skip her).

All this while I internally wonder, Is he ready?  Our other two boys did PreK at 5 and K at 6. Am I pushing him out of the nest too soon? Should I homeschool him longer?

I scanned an article the other day about readiness signs and talked to a couple experts on Skype (2 of my SILs are teachers).  They reassured me that the youngest child is often more ready early on bc they have learned so much from watching older siblings.  I think this is very true – but I’m still not totally convinced. I know he is ready academically, but what about socially and emotionally? 

 I made a checklist here that might help you decide as well:

Social Skills: Check – randomly uses potty words and giggles. Just the other day he chanted off “Poop! Pee! Poop! Poop! Pee!” happily as he helped set the table. He will fit right in at the lunchroom table.

Fine Motor Skills: Check –  He can definitely hold a pen and is apparently a creative genius thinking outside the confines of plain old paper for his latest art endeavor. Hubby wisely had me check his back to make sure no other Things were involved.  This was all him!

 

Verbal Skills: Check – Just yesterday morning over breakfast T2 called him a "Screaming Banshee."  T3 quickly responded, “You’re a Screaming Banshee of Doom!”  Adding “of doom” to any sentence means your son is verbally developing right on track and will be able to hold his own among his peers.

Awareness of Others: - Check – T3 is well aware of what his brothers are doing, and he is NOT doing, right around his bedtime.  The unfairness of the world weighs heavy on his little shoulders as he goes to bed a full 30 – 60 mins before them most evenings.

Self Care: Check (and the angels sing “halleluiah”) – he takes care of #2 start to finish now.  I can totally deal with a plugged toilet from exuberant TP usage – much better than none at all. 

Self Assertive: Check – he learned at an early age to scream the loudest and longest if he ever wants to be heard above the din of two older brothers.

While registering him this morning they asked if he has an IEP (I don’t know what it stands for but basically they are asking if he needs any extra help or services).  I said, “No.  But he does have two older brothers and that should qualify anyone for counseling.”  And in his case, it made have also given him just what he needs to attend school outside our home come fall.  We will see if this mama can let her last little duckling fly yet…sigh.