A Conversation With Sophie

Background: Sophie's class has a Behavior Chart that is in use every day.  Basically, if you behave like a robot and don't utter a word all day, you "clip up" and get a sticker on your clip.  If you remain on green all day, that means you're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. A yellow means you've received a warning or two during the day. A red means.....I don't know really but I know it's bad. I am nothing less than outspoken about how much I dislike this system.  You'll have to trust me when I say that this chart is THE FOCUS of the classroom. Sophie can come home each day and tell me how every single one of her classmates "clipped" that day. At the same time, she struggles to tell me what they learned.  My child receives green almost every single day yet feels disappointed because she didn't "clip up". Obviously this is a flawed system. To me it's just another way to label children and focus more attention on those children who are more spirited and struggle to keep it together ALL DAY LONG. Keep in mind that some of these children only turned five a few months ago.  It also detracts from the actual learning. I do feel for a single teacher in charge of 24 kindergartners ~ it's not easy. Still, I can't help but feel that there has to be a better way!

Last night when I was putting Sophie to bed, she was telling me all the usual nonsense about how her friends clipped that day. One of Sophie's close friends "clips up" every single day.  I am always asking Sophie how this friend manages to clip up every day....I mean really!  Sophie says to me, "Autumn (name has been changed) is quiet all the time and I am not."  So I reply, "Yes Soph, that's true and I happen to like that about you. I want to hear your opinions and stories and thoughts. As long as you know when it's appropriate to speak and when it isn't. You have to always be respectful to your teacher."  Then she looks at me with a curious look and she says to me, "That is non friction."  (I am literally pinching myself to keep from giggling.) Non friction?  "Yes Mommy, like not friction." So I probe by saying, "I'm not sure I know what that means."  She then explains to me that something "non-friction" means it's something that is fact, truth or that really happened and that "friction" is something made up.  

 

I know that her class has been learning the difference between non-fiction and fiction and that she's trying to work out how to use these terms.  But friction?  That is so adorable.  I tell her how proud I am that she knows these words and what they mean but gently tell her how it's really spelled and pronounced. Still, it made my heart swell and I smiled all of the way out of her room.  She just makes me so happy! 

(Photos were all taken at the Musical Petting Zoo that preceeded the Children's Symphony)

Soaking Up The Last Bits of Fall

Hmmm, it makes me sad just to write that.  It seems like Fall just arrived.  Yet the colors are already more muted and some trees are almost bare.  Clara and I went for a quick walk in the forest yesterday while Sophie and Daddy were at the fields playing soccer.  Our favorite woodsy game is to try and catch the falling leaves before they hit the ground.  Here are a few quick shots:

I will never tire of the mighty, mighty oaks.

I'll also never tire of this delicious little baby face.

The leaves on the ground are now all brown.  I already miss the vibrant shades of red & yellow under my feet.

The leaves still clinging are often spotty, like this sycamore maple leaf.

Bye bye, Fall.  We will miss you!

Identifying Trees With Grammy

I was so happy to enjoy a visit from my grandmother this past weekend. My Mom came down to visit and to babysit the girls so that we could have a nice dinner with friends on Saturday night. Thank you, Mom!  I was thrilled to hear that Grammy would be tagging along.  She doesn't get to visit often but it's such a pleasure to have her here.  Always.  She used to live in Charlotte and loves this city as much as I do.

On this visit, we made a visit downtown. Sophie had tickets to the Youth Symphony so Alain, Grammy, Clara and I watched the Veteran's Day parade while Soph and my Mom were in the theater.  Afterwards we had a nice lunch and then took a little scenic walk back to the parking garage.  On the way, we stopped at a small garden/fountain area at the street level of the building where I used to work.  As Alain and Soph ran around the fountain and played, my grandmother and I admired the trees planted there.  She was curious what type of trees they were.

As it happens, I'd just found one of my favorite books the day before as I was cleaning.

So we took a twig from both the male and female tree, I took a photo of the bark and we headed home. 

Tonight I had some time to go through the book and, as it turns out, these particular trees are either Siberian Elms or Chinese Elms.  Both seem to look a lot alike.  Here are the photos of the leaves and the bark.

Siberian and Chinese Elms were both imported from Asia and they can be invasive in certain areas of the country.  They are fast growing and seem to be resistant to diseases that afflict other elm varieties. As in this particular case, they are also hardy in urban settings.

On several websites, I was amazed to find that the inner bark of this tree was often dried, ground into powder and used as a thickening agent in soups and breads.  I was not surprised to read how the flowers and stem bark are used to treat all sorts of conditions and ailments.

I found all of this quite fascinating and it made me so thankful to have a grandmother who shares such interests as my own.  Who knows, maybe she was the influence.  For that, Grammy, I have so much to thank you for!  Here she is enjoying a coffee and the parade....

.

Later on she remarked how this was the nicest day she'd enjoyed in a long time.  To that, I simply say, you and me both.  Oh, and.....

PLEASE COME BACK SOON!

Iggy Pop

Yesterday would have been the 3rd Wedding Anniversary of Ygal and Bianca.

These are the best pictures we have from the wedding.

I love how happy Ygal & Bianca look in these pictures and I'm so happy we were there to share such a joyous, beautiful, momentous moment in both of their lives.

Life In A (Tiny) Fall Garden

The first peapods are growing.

I recently discovered a tiny lizard living in my lettuce bed. He's hard to get a photo of but can you see him under one of the leaves in the above photo?

To say that this hot pepper plant is prolific would be a gross understatement.

What to do with all of them?  We give most away.  Our neighbor gave us an awesome idea. Dry them.  So we did. Put peppers on a tray and bake them in the oven on the lowest setting for 12-14 hours. When done, let them cool, remove stems and then crush them.  We now have a spice jar full of dried pepper flakes/powder.  Alain added some to a slice of pizza last night.  Woohoo, they're hot!  As a side benefit, drying them in the oven leaves the most wonderful smell in the house.

The onions are growing nicely.

I planted a cabbage plant a few weeks ago. I went out to check on it after a week and found a potato plant sprouting up in the exact same spot!  Guess we didn't get all the potatoes out of the dirt last Spring!

Soph's zinnia plant is still as lovely as ever!

My lettuce bed.  It's a mess.  I originally planted 9 lettuce plants but something or someone came and ate most of them. So I bought some seeds and just threw a bunch down. After about two weeks, all of those seeds are growing very nicely......except I haven't had time to go out and do a proper thinning.

Another of my cabbage plants. It's so pretty.

A close-up.  I know I haven't said it in a while but cabbage leaves are one of my favorite things about gardening. I love the details and the colors.  They're just so pretty.

And that is why I am such a complete dork.  A cabbage leaf can make my day.

no, No, NO!

Not the compost pile!!!!

Didn't I do my job?

Wasn't I cute enough?

Criky.

Some Quick Things....

Clara is napping so I probably don't have much time but there are some cute things I want to share:

~ I saw this quote on Pinterest and LOVED IT.  Hope you  like it too!  I tried hard to find the original source but keep getting led to a bunch of Tumblr pages.  NO CAN DO.  If you know where credit is due, please fill me in! 

~ Lately I've been spending a good deal of time in Sophie's classroom volunteering.  I am LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT.  Don't even bother writing to tell me how I missed my calling as a teacher. I already know this.  Luckily, I can volunteer and still get my fix of these amazing children.  They inspire me.  I read an article recently about how children are not only our future ~ they're also, and more importantly, our present.  This is always at the forefront of my mind when I'm there in front of them.  They teach me as much as I teach them.  I was the mystery reader this morning and I took three of my favorite books to read: It's Okay To Be Different, Big Al and Sunday Chutney (Clearly I like books about diversity!).  One page of It's Okay To Be Different says: "It's okay to have an invisible friend."  After all the books were done and I was helping the kids get lined up for lunch, Sophie called me over.  She told me her friend, Sean, had something to tell me.  He looked me right in the eye, with a HUGE smile, and said, "I have an invisible friend".  "Really", I replied, "what's his name?".  Kevin.  "Well Sean, when you  get home today, you tell Kevin I said hello."  With that he smiled SO BIG and gave me a big hug and asked if I could stay for lunch with the class.  How adorable is that?  I think I made his day. And he definitely made mine!!!  

~ My Iggy Pop post for today will be a little late. I have to get more photos scanned and in digital format.  It's been a busy week with Halloween and volunteering, etc and I haven't had a free moment to look through photos and head to Target.  

~ A quick shot of the Halloween costumes this year (for the grandparents!):

For the record, Soph's costume is supposed to be a witch costume. Were it not for the hat, I would think it to be a space costume or Jane Jetson's dress from the show.

~ Because I CANNOT RESIST, here are a couple of Sophie's pictures in the astronaut costume when she was one year old!

(This last one is truly one of  my favorite pictures of all time! Sophie was an adorable baby.)