Sean turned 13 in August

These posts are not going in order, but I'm telling myself it's better to get them finished than to have them perfect.

So, Sean turned 13 in August. It was a big deal, becoming a teenager and all. I wanted to do something really special for him, but as usual, when I want to do something really special, life has other ideas.

I did manage to write a message to him in a journal, that I hoped would mean something to him, but I don't even think he looked at it.
He wanted an Airsoft party, so that's what we did. We actually had the party in September. Chuck had already said yes to an expensive Airsoft gun for his birthday, and we invited the friends who are into it to a sleepover party. There were eight kids running around the property with Airsoft guns for a couple of hours.

We had pizza and cake, and hotdogs and Marty grilled some meat, and then the number reduced to about five. All boys, who spent the night in tents out in the garden area, where we could close the gate so they wouldn't be harassed by the dogs.

I took pictures, but this has been the year of losing photos, for me. I hate that I don't have any. I'm hoping Chuck took some.

Sean performed in a recital

We hadn't been back from our Southwest trip very long, so he had missed several lessons, and we quickly tried to get some extra lessons in before hand.

The recital was in a public park in Gig Harbor in July, and it was so very hot that day with temps in the 90s. Unusual for us.

He hated it. At first he seemed OK, but he arrived without having eaten much of anything after being at his dad's.

He performed a piano piece from a video game.
He did pretty well, considering there was a huge crowd, he was one of the first to go on, and he was using an instrument he wasn't used to.

But he didn't feel that he did well at all, and he didn't like the experience. Swears he will never do it again.

Chuck was great, and as soon as Sean arrived, Chuck stayed with him until he was ready to perform. After he was finished, he came over to the blanket we were sitting on and collapsed. He was starving, and emotional. Chuck ran up to the restaurant to find something Sean could eat while we watched the rest of the kids perform.

I regret that it was such a negative experience. I know what I should have done to ensure that he was prepared, but we live and learn.

Sean at 10

I wrote this post months ago.

I don't write very much about my children. Most of the posts have been about outings, or birthdays, and I tend to want to protect their privacy.

But there are some things that I know I will forget about if I don't write them down. All of my kids are amazing, and I love each of them so much, and enjoy their wonderful personalities.

Sean is the youngest. He is very unique. From an early age I could tell he was going to teach me things about myself, and challenge me in ways I hadn't been challenged before.
He is 10 now. He loves what most 10-year-old boys love. Legos, and more Legos. Video games, which I don't really like, but I've decided to stop fighting it. Airsoft guns, and really any kind of gun. I used to fight that, too, and then decided maybe it was a phase and if I gave in and let him have a toy gun or pistol it would wear off. It never wore off. He has an arsenal.
Cars, trucks, and being outside are also some of his favorite things. He has a bicycle, a motorcycle, skateboard, roller skates, and if none of those are appealing at the moment, he'll make his own fun by going outside to dig for worms, or hunt for creatures he's never seen before.
All this is to say he is pretty normal, I believe. Full of energy, curiosity, a passion for all living creatures, including his lovely pet tarantula, Rosie, and a passion to explore.

He has always loved music. Before he could speak, he would hum along with hymns at church. He cried in the car as an infant. He absolutely hated to ride in the car, but one day I put in a classical CD and turned it up, and he quieted down. From that day, I had the CD ready as soon as we got in the car. To this day he enjoys classical music.

When he was a toddler I brought in a variety of instruments. We started with a tiny piano, then a type of string harp, a set of drums and a guitar. He loved all of it, but gravitated to the drums more than the other instruments. And he's pretty good. He hasn't had formal training, he just loves to keep a beat and make up his own.

There are a few things he has said lately that made me want to write this post. I know I've forgotten so many profound things he has said and done over the years, so I want to note these now before I forget them, too.

He enjoys an app on my phone that has little circles that light up and flow down the screen, and as you hit the circles it plays the notes on a piano to play along to popular songs. The other day he changed it to a harpsichord and I didn't really like the sound because he had it too loud. I asked him to change it and said "I don't really like that sound. It sounds like a harpsichord." He responded in a disappointed tone, "It is a harpsichord. I think it's awesome because it totally changes the sound of the song."

Yesterday we were in the car and I had the radio tuned to a public radio station, and it was jazz Monday. I asked him what his favorite types of music are, and he told me a few of them. I asked if he liked jazz, and he said yes, it was OK. He said it was the kind of music you would listen to when you're purple.

I waited for him to explain that. He sometimes associates moods with colors, or feelings with colors. He said it's when you're not really sad, but you're not angry or happy either. And jazz is the kind of music he would listen to when he was feeling purple.

As we arrived home from school one day last week, I pulled up to the mailbox to let him roll down the car window and check the box. I told him it might be empty, because I thought Chuck might be home already. He said he thought so too. "I can kind of feel that he's here," he said. "Do you know what I mean? Do you feel it?"

I do know what he means.

Imagination Taking Flight

Sean looks to see what happens when he moves the control stick in the plane.

It's a place Sean and I have visited many times, and it's also one of our favorites. We decided to go to the Museum of Flight near Boeing Field one day during Spring Break. It never disappoints. There is so much to see there that we still haven't seen everything on display.

About three years ago Sean and I went and were able to walk through the Concord, and another time we were able to see Air Force One, which flew President Kennedy. While we are not a family of pilots or anything, we really do enjoy that museum. Sean has loved airplanes and helicopters since he was really little, and I find them quite fascinating.

This time Chuck went with us. He had been before, but it had been a while. Chuck and I watched quite a few of the videos at various stations, and listened to some of the radio broadcasts of WWII. We spent quite a bit of time in the barn exhibit, which shows the beginnings of Boeing. It also has some models of the first airplanes, and lots of memorabilia from early pilots. It's something to see. Remarkable, really.

Two of my favorite guys looking at a display of war weapons used in flight during WWI.

From there we ventured over to the WWII exhibit, then WWI, and over to the modern section.

We spent the better part of the afternoon looking at all of it, but still hadn't seen everything when it was closing time. As we were finalizing a selection in the gift shop, and Chuck told Sean we only had a few minutes until closing, an employee told us it was the first Thursday and they stay open late and it's free admission after 5 p.m. We were dead tired, and didn't want to stay any longer.

I'm sure we will go again, and when we go back I hope we can tour the space exhibit. We didn't get to that area.

It was most likely one of the last times we'll be in the kid zone. There is a small plane and helicopter, glider simulator, and some hands-on learning activities to teach how the controls of an airplane work.
Sean is getting bigger, so he probably won't fit into those small aircraft much longer, or be interested in that part of it.
But I'm sure he will go again and again for the flight simulator. He played that many times, and was trying so hard to perfect his landing. Luckily that one was free. There was another one that was more sophisticated that cost, but I don't remember the amount. I wasn't willing to pay, though.

The Museum of Flight was the perfect choice that day, as it was raining hard and an indoor activity was best.

Home again, home again, jiggity, jig

Canoeing, archery, kitchen duty, and dissecting a squid. Those were the highlights of our conversation about the camp experience as we drove home.

I admit that I am living vicariously through Sean on this one, just as I did when David and Jewel went off to church camp when they were little. I never went to "camp" as a child. My family camped, but that isn't the same. I never had the experience that I've seen in some of those goofy kid movies, where they are at camp and they have a leader with a bull horn calling out the name of the group that is always something like "OKAY, I WANT ALL OF THE GUPPIES IN FRONT OF THE FLAG POLE."

Sean was in a cabin group called The Huckleberries, and his learning group was called The Salmon. I haven't heard yet if there were bull horns, or competitive activities. It sounds like it was more about science and fun experiences. There were six boys in his cabin and two cabin leaders.

He loved the dissecting activity, although he said it was kind of gross. He told me about cutting the lens out of the eye, and how the leader explained how light effects the eyes. "I already know this, because of the work I did on my science project," he said. (His experiment was "Does eye color effect pupil dilation?)

When he was very young, probably 2 or 3 years old, we had a book about shells. Each page showed a layer of a shell and the creature inside. He loved that book. I've continued to buy those type of books for him, and so has his dad. He has a frog book, and a human body book that feature bones, muscles, etc. in layers.

I picked him up at the camp today, since it is only 3 minutes down the road from our house. The others were getting onto buses to head back into the city. As we were making our way to the car one of the cabin leaders was walking by and said goodbye to Sean, and that it was fun. Sean offered his hand in a handshake, and thanked him for being cabin leader for them.

Those are the moments that make me so proud, and so glad that he has had a Montessori grace and courtesy curriculum since he was four years old.

I'm always encouraging him to study hard and learn, but out there in the world, good manners and knowing how to get along in a group are just as important as reading and math skills.

Gone to Camp

Last night I was alone for the first time in a very long time.
Chuck was on shift, which I'm used to, but Sean has gone off to camp with his 4th and 5th grade classmates.

It's his first time away from home with people other than family. Their days are jam-packed with activity, and I'm hoping he is having a great time.

It's a little weird to be alone, and while I thought I would get a bunch of things done, I didn't.

I stopped off to do a little shopping after work yesterday, and the only thing I really got accomplished after I got home was a little bit of laundry.

Sean comes home tomorrow afternoon. I should have taken a photo to chronicle this big milestone, but just getting to camp and getting him used to the idea took quite a while. And I mean weeks. So I didn't want to interject any distractions at drop-off. But it was a cute scene. He had is little rolling suitcase, and his sleeping bag roll with pillow. And as soon as he saw his friends he was gone. Barely a "goodbye" to me.

It was one of those moments when part of you is sad, and the other part is proud to see your child embrace a step forward in development.

Bugs, a favorite around here

Summer is fading fast, and it seems like we haven't really done much. A study of the calendar revealed that I am going to be knee-deep in my regular volunteer activities within a week or so, and that means we have to pack in as much summer fun as we can-- pronto.
I needed to run a couple of errands the other day, but I also wanted to make sure we had fun on that outing. Sean has loved bugs and anything else that moves since he was old enough to realize they were around.  So off we went to the Bug Museum in Bremerton. It's a nice place with a lot of things to see, and it's FREE!
The museum is not very large, but there are a lot of things to see inside. Lots of bugs pinned to boards and labeled, some live insects and such, and even a few reptiles in the back.
Lilly was still with her mom, so it was just me and Sean this time around. We saw lots of great stuff, including a tiny praying mantis. Most of the living things were things we've seen before at the Bug Zoo in Monroe, Wash., but it was still fun. Now that we know it is so close we will probably visit more often.

We loved the larger-than-life insects around
the museum. Most of them were outside, but
this caterpillar was a great place to rest
for a minute. 

Sean liked this big spider named Boris.

Conference Time

The bead cabinet.
Photo by Sean

Today was conference day with Sean's teacher. (I'm writing this to have a record for myself, just in case you are stumbling onto this blog and wouldn't want to read this post.)

I so love his teacher, and his school. I love the Montessori method, and today was one of those great Montessori moments.

Sean is a "third year", meaning he has reached the final year in his classroom. He is a third grader. He has mastered a lot of the materials the younger children are working with, and has moved into a leadership position. In fact, Ms. Diamond said he frequently helps the younger children, or others who are also third years. When she asked him who his friends are this year, he said, "everyone, really." She told me he really has stepped into a leadership role and seems to have a good relationship with everyone in the class.

Ms. Diamond began the conference by asking him how he felt things were going with his writing. He said he feels it's going really good. She acknowledged that he has had an explosion in writing this year, and contrasted how he approached the work last year.

She asked him what his goals were this year for his writing, and he said he is working on a chapter book and his goal is to write 30 to 60 pages. (I felt my heart swell, I admit.) She asked how he chose those numbers as a goal, and he said, "Most chapter books are longer than 60 pages, but this is the first time I've ever written a chapter book, so I think I should start with less pages." Ms. Diamond agreed that when we do something for the first time we have to allow ourselves some leniency.

She suggested some areas he could work on to challenge himself, and penmanship is one. He writes small, and she suggested that he write and draw his pictures larger so the reader can focus on the content of the story instead of the work it takes to read the small print. Sean acknowledged that one of his friends frequently says he can't read his writing because it is too small. He said he writes small to save space so he can write more, but agreed to try to use the lines on the page to form his letters larger, what they call the head line, foot line and butt line.

From there we moved to reading, and she shared some scores with me. He is reading at standard, but when she assessed him with another tool she said it seems he is reading above standard, which means he is reading at a higher than third grade level. She suggested he continue to choose the "good fit" books and challenge himself. "Good fit" books are books that he can read on his own, that he understands most of the words, but are also a little challenging.

As is common with Montessori students, Sean has had that writing explosion and almost focuses exclusively on writing and reading. I know from experience with homeschool that this will likely change as the year goes on, but she looked at his work plan (the students write their own weekly work plan) and asked that he spend some more time on math. She suggested that he begin the day with writing, but put a time limit on himself so he saves time to work on math each day as well.

The work plan folder.
Photo by Sean

The fraction work I wish I had here.
Photo by Sean

Some of the areas he can work on are fractions and multiplication. Ms. Diamond suggested we use some real life problems to work on this, including slicing apples and such. "Would you like your apples sliced into fourths?"

Then she went over his goals for himself, and the things we would like to see him work on as well. To watch this exchange was amazing. Sean actively participated in this conversation and gave complete answers and explanations about his work and his goals for himself. He asked her for extra packets of math to take home to work on. It will be great, since we still have some of the materials here. We have the box of beads and the stamp game, which can be used with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I wish we had the fraction boards, but I can make some with Chuck's help.

I was so proud to watch him participate in a serious conversation about his plans for his own education this year, and to hear what his goals are for himself. He is so supported and loved there, and the responsibility is put on the student. There is no brow beating or ridicule, or accusations, or demands of "why didn't you complete this work?" or "What do you have to say for yourself?" type of energy there. No threats of, "If you don't do the work you're going to fail."

Because the student has written his/her own work plan (with guidance in the beginning, of course) the responsibility lies with the student to be sure that work plan is carried out. Once the work plan is completed they are allowed to do "other," which is free choice.

Sean said his favorite free choice is origami.

He has become so mature this year. I love watching the transformation. He has always been a great kid, but today I saw a different side of him.

Change is in the air

I feel a change comin' on. I don't know about other people, but for me change seems to come in a big chunk. I can usually feel it coming, and there is always anticipation and a little bit of uncertainty with it.
I've had to make some changes with the newspaper. I'm restructuring, and there is a lot of excitement, stress, sadness, and possibility. For some I know it will be scary and I might even lose some people in the process. I truly do believe I'm doing what's best in order for us to grow and put out a better publication.
There is also a change coming here at home. I homeschooled Sean last year with Montessori philosophy and materials. I use that term philosophy loosely because I am not a trained Montessori teacher. I have a Montessori outlook on learning. I think he did fine here, but given the chance I would rather have him in his old Montessori school. Part of the lower elementary education is collaborating with other children, learning from the olders, and mentoring the youngers.
There is just no way to get that at home. So while I definitely prefer having him home as opposed to a classic public classroom, I really prefer that he continue with his Montessori education in a Montessori classroom.
During his summer camps I have been talking with various people and found out that a public school near us is converting to Montessori. The school has gotten a bunch of grants, etc. and they are phasing in Montessori for pre-K, K, 1 and 2 grades. Of course in Montessori, the pre-K and K are the Children's House, and the 1 and 2 grades will be combined.
Their plan is to build a brand new school, starting on it next year, and convert the entire school to a K-8 public Montessori school. There is already one school in that district that has been a huge success. The lady who turned that school around is now coming in as principal at this one.
I'm beside myself with excitement.
We visited today. I wanted to first know if he would even be accepted, since we live in a different district. It was easy peasy. I had to get a release form from our district to transfer him to that one, and that was surprisingly painless. (I've never had good luck with any "school" bureaucracy, whether it was elementary or college.)
I didn't really talk to Sean about it very much because I wasn't sure if we could get in. I didn't want to stress him out for nothing, nor get him excited for nothing.
He prefers to stay home, but honestly I have seen a big difference in him since he started camps, and it is a positive difference. I just hope it will be the same at this school. XX(That's me crossing my fingers.)
I felt like this move was meant to be. As soon as someone explained what they are doing there, I thought it was the answer for us. I can't afford private Montessori. He's going into second grade, and just makes the cut for their Montessori plans. AND, a teacher from his former school will be teaching a first-second class. If this works out, he will have had Montessori education from the age of 4.
So we met the most friendly office lady, Michelle, and she was very helpful and welcoming. She said we could have a look around in the rooms, though they don't have everything in them yet. They expect a shipment tomorrow of the equipment and furniture.
Sean had his face in a sour pout, so we stopped first at the library. Strategic plan on my part. He loves books, and the library was his favorite room at his old school. I knew this one would be larger, and he fell in love at first sight.  He could have stayed all day looking at the books.
This move is a huge leap of faith for us. This school has been a very poor performing school. The enrollment has dropped dramatically over the years. It's a very old building. It's public school.
For him, it will be a big change. He doesn't always do so well with change, so I hope that he will settle in nicely there. I'm going to be very watchful. If it just isn't working out, we'll change back to homeschool.

Oh how do we learn?

I am amazed by some of the things Sean knows how to do, and it seems he instinctively knows. I feel like I should be writing so many things down, but I am always doing something else. So here's a post all about Sean and the things he's doing right now. He will be 7 years old soon.

Friends gave us a zucchini from their garden, and Sean decided we should cut it into small pieces and fry it in a pan. I prepared the egg dip, and the cornmeal and parmesan cheese mixture. He cut the pieces, dipped, and put them in the pan.

I wonder what path he will decide to take when he makes the choice of a career. He's so analytical, and loves to learn how all machines work. But he also loves to cook, and use a camera.

Lately he has wanted to cook. I have always let him have as much freedom as possible while making sure he is safe. I don't want him to get hurt, yet I know there are times when getting a little cut on a finger, or touching a hot pan can teach us a lot about how to respect tools in the kitchen. Now that he is more coordinated, I let him work and I watch. And yes, he has had a cut on the finger, and a little burn from a hot pan.

A couple of days ago he heated a biscuit for himself and a friend. We don't have a microwave, so he had to use the oven. He wrapped the biscuits in foil, put them in the oven and asked my advice on how long to cook them. When the buzzer dinged, he got the pot holder and removed the biscuits. His friend loved it. Sean said, "So it sounds like you like my cooking?"

He made brownies last week, and followed the recipe, but put a little more water in the mix than what the recipe said. The brownies were delicious, but the consistency was like chocolate cake. When I pointed this out, he said, "That's because I put in more water."

He has always enjoyed using the computer. First he started by typing the letters to try to make words. He began doing this a couple of years ago. Now he has graduated to using search engines, and routinely wants to do some sort of research and ends up on Google to search for it. Today he decided to look for one of his friends online! He typed in the boy's name, but did it in a child's way of looking, "somwin namd" and then he typed the child's name. He spelled it the way it sounded and hit enter. It came up with no matches, and I said, "Oh, no matches for that name, I guess he's not on the Internet." I turned to do something in the kitchen, looked back over at the screen and he had a people search site pulled up with the name of the kid. There were men all over the country with that name. He clicked on one of the results and it sent him to a page where you pay a fee to get information about the person. He saw the cost and said, "What? $14.95?? That's ridiculous."

Milestones

I have always enjoyed watching my children grow and change. Sean hit some milestones in June. He lost his two top front teeth, is transitioning from Primary class at his Montessori school, and learned (still getting the hang of it though) how to ride his bicycle.

He also suddenly changed his stance on being photographed. I have spent the last two years struggling to get pictures of him.

Here are a few to mark some moments. Still no open mouth smiles to show the missing teeth, but I hope to get one soon.

There were four children in his classroom who will be moving on to first grade. Two of his teachers took turns saying positive things about each child, relating their favorite activities and things to work on in the classroom. There were three Primary classrooms, and each had about 4-6 students transitioning.

Great cake. Wish I had seen it before it was cut. We celebrated the students advancing to first, fourth, and seventh grades. One student will be a sophomore next year and will attend Tacoma School of the Arts. He has been at Harbor Montessori School since he was 3 years old!

Best buddies. Sean and Max have been in the same class for three years. Montessori students typically spend three years with the same teacher/teachers (HMS Primary rooms have 3), in the same room working on materials individually at their own pace.

Last year he wouldn't even try this. One day about a week or two ago he decided it was time to learn to ride his two wheeled bike. He didn't want any help. Look, both feet on the pedals!!