Aaron

Aaron is a happy 7-year-old who loves all sports, outer space, pirates, construction, Legos, computers, reading, puzzles, Star Wars and all things nerdy (Yes, even analogy workbooks.). He's an awesome big brother to Hayden... to Ryan? Not so much.

A New Favorite Sport

"One, two, three, four, I deserve a thumb war."

Overheard...

Aaron talking to his buddy, Reis, who is an only-child.

Aaron: Ryan is my brother. Who's your brother?
Reis: I don't have a brother.
Aaron: You have a sister?
Reis: No, I don't have a brother or a sister.
Aaron: So nobody is lucky enough to play with you all day except your mom?
Reis: Yeah, and my dad.
Aaron: Well, you only get to play with your dad at night because he's working until then.
Reis: No, my dad gets home at noon, so I play with him then.
Aaron: Well, my dad has to work until night because we chose to live in a big house.

Kindergarten Spanish

If you've ever wondered how Spanish is taught to a Kindergartener, this little video will give you a pretty good idea.

It was so funny... everyday I ask Aaron about his day, and he tlels me the details. Aaron is definitely not the most animated child in the world, so when I asked him what he learned in Spanish that day, imagine how tickled I was when he started doing his Spanish in this overly-animated style.

Apparently his Spanish teacher, Senora Turner, is a very happy, enthusiastic, high-energy, Disney character.

As a translation:

"Como esta' Sassy?" = "How is Sassy?" (Sassy is Senora Turner's dog, who they always talk to and about.)

"Como esta' tu color favorito?" = "What is your favorite color?"

(Now I always try to find a way to work the word "favorito" into any conversation I can, complete with hand motions.)

Car Fights

Me: Boys, I'm tired of the fighting. Aaron, you look out your window, and Ryan, you look out yours.

Aaron: Good. My side's the beautiful side.

April Fools!

At dinner today, we were all talking about April Fool's Day. Aaron learned about it at school. Josh started by tricking the boys into thinking they had to go to bed right after dinner. (April Fools!) Then Ryan said Josh had a basketball dribbling on his head. (April Fools!) Then Aaron said, "Hey mom! I'm going to put two paper towels in your shoe when you're not looking, so that when you put the shoe on, you think it's too small!" I said, "You are?" And he said, "APRIL FOOLS!" Hmmm... Guess he needs to work on the delivery.

Well, then I said, "Ok, seriously. Enough joking around. Aaron, I got an e-mail from Mrs. Weibel today." *pause* He said, "Ok." And I said, "And, I'm not too happy with what she had to say. Do you want to tell me what happened in class today?" Aaron looked down at the table, and looked guilty and sad. He said, "I shouted out the answers when it wasn't my turn." I was surprised he actually came up with something, and then I felt bad. I said, "Yep, and what else?" And he said, "Nothing." And I said, "APRIL FOOL'S!" He laughed really hard, and then said, "When I said 'shouting out the answers', that was an April Fools, too." Hmmmm.... somehow I doubt that.  :-)

Magic Treehouse

At Aaron's school, they have a reading program called "A.R.", which stands for "Accelerated Reader". The program is developed to advance kids' independent reading skills. Basically, all kids in the school district, Kindergarten (for those reading) through junior high school, take a computer reading test every quarter. The test tells you exactly what level the child is reading at, and what "range" of books they need to read in order to grow as a reader. Books that are below the level they're currently at are not going to help them grow. Books too hard are not going to help them grow, either. So, they're given a range of what books will help them grow. So, the computer decides the child's AR range.

The school libraries, and even the public library, have labeled all of the children's books with what AR level they are, and a point amount. Teachers then assign each child an AR Goal. For example, last quarter Aaron's goal was 8.0 points. (Most books at Aaron's level are worth 0.5 points.)

So, Aaron has to go to the library, he knows how to pick out books in his AR level, he brings them home, reads them, and then the next day he takes an AR quiz on THAT book, that is pulled up on one of the classroom computers. There are five comprehenion questions. If he misses one, that's ok. If he misses two, he has to reread the book and take a new quiz on the book. These quizzes are so cool, because they really hold the kids accountable for their independent reading.

Well, Aaron just had his reading test for this last quarter, and my little Kindergartener scored a 2.3, which means he's reading at a 2nd grade, 3rd month level. His range is 2.2 - 3.1.

When Aaron's teacher e-mailed to tell me his latest AR test results, I was SO proud of Aaron. He's worked so hard on AR this last quarter, and clearly it's paid off for him. I called him into the office to tell him the great news, and he started jumping around, laughing, and screaming, "YAY!!! I can read Magic Treehouse ALL BY MYSELF now!!!! They're only a 2.6!!!"

I used to read those books to Aaron when he was younger. I've told him before that he should read them himself, but now that the TEST tells him he can read them, he's all over it!!

I let Aaron go to bed tonight with one of the Magic Treehouse books and a flashlight at 7:30. I just checked on him a few minutes ago, over an hour later, and he was still in there, reading in the dark. "I'm trying to get to Chapter 5 tonight!" I've never seen him so excited about reading, nor has he ever read without me telling him he has to, and this is only the second time he's read at home without reading out loud to me. I love his new found enthusiasm for books. I vow to keep him supplied with books that get him as excited as Magic Treehouse does!!

60s-70s-80s Day

Last week Aaron said, "Mom! Tomorrow is 60-70-80 day at school!"

I asked, "What does that mean?"

He said, "That we have to wear 60-70-80 clothes!"

"OH! Clothes from the 60s, 70s or 80s??"

"YEAH!"

The next morning, he woke up and said, "Don't forget, mom! I have to wear Olden Days clothes today!"

The Bandaid Bandit

The other day I was doing laundry, and noticed that I'd run about 25 bandaids through the washing machine and dryer. Strange.

The next day, more laundry, and I found a big wad of bandaids in one of Aaron's pockets. Not a brand we use here at home.

So, the next day, I asked Aaron about it. After some lying I learned that he took them from the gym at school. Of course, I was furious. Sure, it's just bandaids... but it's also stealing. Something Aaron hasn't done since the Compulsive Candy Cane Thievery of 2005.

While on the one hand I was embarassed and furious, on the other hand I was happy to have the opportunity to teach him about stealing when he's six and it's bandaids, and not when he's a teenager and stealing.... drugs. He needs to learn now that we pay cash for drugs, we don't steal them.  ;-)

So, today is the day that Aaron will deliver the apology letter I had him write and return the bandaids to his gym teacher.

Aaron Makes Me Melt

Last night, Aaron was very tired after school. Poor guy. And Aaron was crying at the drop of a hat about everything.

I crawled into bed to read the boys Owen Foote: Frontiersman (excellent book - especially since we live out in the woods like Owen), and I told Ryan he could lay in the middle.

When Aaron got to the bed, yet another fit was pitched. I told Aaron he was too tired for a story, and that he needed to go to bed, and that we'd read the book tomorrow.

I put Aaron and Ryan to bed, and as I shut the bedroom door, Aaron screamed, "EVERYTHING IS SO UNFAIR!! RYAN GETS EVERYTHING!! HE GOT PLAYDOH TODAY, AND HE GOT TO BE IN THE MIDDLE NEXT TO YOU, EVEN THOUGH I LOVE YOU THE MOST!!!"

Ahhh.... That is so sweet. Aaron has told me on a couple occassions that he loves me more than anyone else does in the world. I know he sincerely believes that, and it just melts me. How I wish his love for me would never change. I want to keep him a Momma's Boy forever.

The Hardest Homework

Aaron was given a homework assignment last Friday:

He had to make a poster about Martin Luther King Jr. (or "Marshin Looper", as Ryan calls him) and what he stood for, because this Friday (today) the whole school was going to be doing a peace march, while singing, "We Shall Overcome".

This would probably never be a Kindergarten assignment, if it wasn't a whole school assignment, and here's why:

Me: Aaron, have you guys been learning about Martin Luther King at school?
Aaron: Yes.
Me: And what did you learn?
Aaron: That some bad guys killed him because they didn't like his rules.
Me: .....ok..... What else?
Aaron: That's all.
Me: Well, we have to make a poster about MLK and what he stands for. What would you like to draw on it?
Aaron: A soldier.
Me: ...Why?
Aaron: Because Martin Luther King wanted freedom, and that's what soldiers are fighting for. [WHAT?? How is OUR child turning into a Republican? Apparently I have more to talk to with this child than just MLK. ;)  ]
Me: .....yes.....well..... ummm.... You see, MLK wasn't really about fighting. He was more about peace and love and freedom.
Aaron: Well, I could draw the Pilgrims! They wanted freedom, and they didn't fight, either.
Me: Yes, but they wanted religious freedom.
Aaron: What kind of freedom did MLK want?
Me: They didn't teach you at school?
Aaron: They just told us he was killed. [Ahhh.... the mind of a 6-year-old.]
Me: Well... ummm... uh... a long time ago, people were mean to African Americans because their skin was a different color from ours. Know what I mean?
Aaron: Yes.
Me: Does that make them different from us on the inside, or are we all the same?
Aaron: Same.
Me: Yes. And that just makes them who they are. Like how you're tall. That's just how you were born, and you're still the same as everyone else on the inside. Right?
Aaron: Right.
Me: Well, some people thought it was bad to be different, and they made mean rules for people who were different. It would be like if Carlos in your class could never be line leader because his skin is a different color than yours.
Aaron: Carlos has the same color skin as me.
Me: Right. Ummm... Ok.... So, back to the poster. Uh... forget drawing a picture. What word makes you think of MLK?
Aaron: Killed. Because the bad guys killed him.
Me:... No. Let's think of a word that DESCRIBES him.
Aaron: Famous. Was he famous, mom?
Me: Yes, very. Still is. But I was thinking more about a word that symbolizes what he stood for.
Aaron: What does symbolizes mean?
Me: Well, what he was about, really. Like letting everyone be equal and the same.
Aaron: *blank stare*
Me: *sigh* Love, Peace or Freedom... which word do you want?
Aaron: *counts the letters of each word on his fingers* Love.

For crying out loud. Why couldn't the homework have been to make a poster illustrating a quantum physics theory?

Lessons From the Bus

Aaron got off the bus the other day with his friends, giggling and flipping me off.

"Look what I learned on the bus, Mom! It means the worst word in the world," he said as he was laughing.

"Aaron! That is not ok!" I said, as I was freaking out on the inside.

"It's just a joke, Mom. It doesn't even mean a word. They said it means F U, and that's just letters."

"Do you know what F U stands for Aaron? It stands for F#$K YOU." Aaron dropped is middle finger, the smile wiped off his face, and he looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"Oh. That is the worst word in the world. I've known that since I was three."

"That's right, and you better not do that again. Don't forget, there are video cameras on the bus, and the principal is watching you." I had to add that last part for good measure.

I really thought the first time Aaron flipped me off would be as an angsty teenager, and that it would happen behind my back. Not as a Kindergartener.

At first I was livid. I thought these bratty bus kids are corrupting my sweet, innocent child. But, then I got to thinking: Aaron is a really good kid, and now that he knows better, I know it won't happen again.

On the other hand, I have to hope he doesn't teach Ryan about the middle finger.

Aaron's New Video Game

I have a little, handheld, electronic Yahtzee game that Josh and I go through cycles of being slightly addicted to. Today I got home from work, and had this conversation with Aaron:

Aaron: I got to play with my new video game today!!
Me: Video game?? What video game? I didn't know you have a video game.
Aaron: The math one.
Me: Your Leap Pad?
Aaron: NOOOOOOO.... the VIDEO game.
Me: I'm not sure what you're talking about. Will you show it to me?
Aaron: Sure! *digs around, looking for it* THIS math video game.
Me: *LAUGHING SO HARD* Honey, that's a calculator.
Aaron: You've GOT to see this!! Nine....... plus........... six..... equals.......... FIFTEEN!!! It's RIGHT! Isn't that SOOOO COOL????