"Daddy... we need to move the (fake) fire place. If we leave it there, how is Santa supposed to get out from the fireplace and not knock the Christmas tree over?"
"And you can't leave just one carrot Daddy, Rudolph isn't the ONLY reindeer. SHEESH DAD!!"
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Thursday, 12 November 2015
First Trouble
When I asked T how his day was today after school, he conveyed that he had got into trouble...
T: "I got my own table today Daddy. I have to stay there forever."
Me: "Probably not forever, but do you want to tell me what happened?"
T: "No."
Me: "Well CAN you tell me what happened? I'm not going to give you trouble, I just want to try and understand what happened."
T: "Ok, I guess. I'm not going to get in more trouble, right?"
Me: "Right."
T: "Ok. I was disruptive, and talked when I wasn't supposed to."
Me: "That doesn't sound too bad, are you sure there wasn't aything else?"
T: "No. Well... that did actually happen a few times. Like in the class... in the gym... in computer class... in centres..."
Me: "Is there a reason that you were talking?"
T: "Yeah, cuz N was talking to ME."
Me: "But you know that there are times you can talk to N and times that you can't."
T: "I know Daddy. I'm just bored. We keep learning stuff I already know."
And so it begins.
The eternal walk of trouble through boredom...
I know it well. I got in a bit of trouble at school.
But I lasted more than a couple of months before I reached the state.
What I learned from my experiences, and the piece of "wisdom" that I hoped to convey to Tommy, was this:
Me: "I understand. We've already done a lot of learning because you're very lucky, and very smart. But you have to let everybody else learn too. Do you understand?"
T: "No."
(lmao)
Me: "(fighting off the laugh) Well just because you have already learned something, doesn't mean everybody has. Let them learn - you'll have more to talk with them about. If you're bored, memorize everything the teacher says. I know you can remember things with incredible detail. Focus on the details."
T: "I like details."
Me: "I know you do little man. So when you already know something, learn it better. Learn it well enough that you could teach one of your friends if they didn't understand something. Wouldn't that be nice?"
T: "I could help be a teacher?"
*recognizing the enormous negative ramifications that could stem from this*
Me: "Well not really a teacher bud. But you can be a helper to your friends. You could help E (his little girlfriend, awww) if she ever didn't understand something. Like say she was having trouble counting..."
T: "So I could have a play date about counting?"
Perhaps it's wrong, but while this isn't what i was neccessarily driving at, it seemed like it was the reward at the end of the rainbow, so I went with it...
Me: "Sure you could bud. If you understood well enough because you had listened and memorized everything."
T: "I will listen. i will memorize everything."
And the scary thing is... he just might.
T: "I got my own table today Daddy. I have to stay there forever."
Me: "Probably not forever, but do you want to tell me what happened?"
T: "No."
Me: "Well CAN you tell me what happened? I'm not going to give you trouble, I just want to try and understand what happened."
T: "Ok, I guess. I'm not going to get in more trouble, right?"
Me: "Right."
T: "Ok. I was disruptive, and talked when I wasn't supposed to."
Me: "That doesn't sound too bad, are you sure there wasn't aything else?"
T: "No. Well... that did actually happen a few times. Like in the class... in the gym... in computer class... in centres..."
Me: "Is there a reason that you were talking?"
T: "Yeah, cuz N was talking to ME."
Me: "But you know that there are times you can talk to N and times that you can't."
T: "I know Daddy. I'm just bored. We keep learning stuff I already know."
And so it begins.
The eternal walk of trouble through boredom...
I know it well. I got in a bit of trouble at school.
But I lasted more than a couple of months before I reached the state.
What I learned from my experiences, and the piece of "wisdom" that I hoped to convey to Tommy, was this:
Me: "I understand. We've already done a lot of learning because you're very lucky, and very smart. But you have to let everybody else learn too. Do you understand?"
T: "No."
(lmao)
Me: "(fighting off the laugh) Well just because you have already learned something, doesn't mean everybody has. Let them learn - you'll have more to talk with them about. If you're bored, memorize everything the teacher says. I know you can remember things with incredible detail. Focus on the details."
T: "I like details."
Me: "I know you do little man. So when you already know something, learn it better. Learn it well enough that you could teach one of your friends if they didn't understand something. Wouldn't that be nice?"
T: "I could help be a teacher?"
*recognizing the enormous negative ramifications that could stem from this*
Me: "Well not really a teacher bud. But you can be a helper to your friends. You could help E (his little girlfriend, awww) if she ever didn't understand something. Like say she was having trouble counting..."
T: "So I could have a play date about counting?"
Perhaps it's wrong, but while this isn't what i was neccessarily driving at, it seemed like it was the reward at the end of the rainbow, so I went with it...
Me: "Sure you could bud. If you understood well enough because you had listened and memorized everything."
T: "I will listen. i will memorize everything."
And the scary thing is... he just might.
Monday, 14 September 2015
Math Boy?
Dear World,
It's become apparent (to me) that lil T is quite gifted with numbers. Obviously at such a ripe, young age - it's tough to gauge any type of relative intelligence, but over the weekend, T counted to 110 by ELEVENs.
Now advanced skip counting isn't new to him, but what was unique about this was that nobody taught him... he didn't memorize it, he didn't see it in a video... he just recognized the "pattern" and locked it down. He doesn't know or understand it completely yet, but he just taught himself his '11 times tables' before he was 5 years old.
He can now count by 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s and 11s.
His brain interests me like nothing else on the planet earth.
He can now count by 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s and 11s.
His brain interests me like nothing else on the planet earth.
Keep learning kimosabe, that quest for knowledge is not only exemplary, but inspires even your dad.
Signed,
Proud Papa
Friday, 11 September 2015
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
First Day?
First day of school for many in these parts... congrats and good luck parents. Tommy has been waiting for this day for months but with staggered JK, the poor kid doesn't start until Friday. Much to his chagrin I assure you.
So this morning, he was standing first on the porch, and then going to the end of the driveway, and was saying, nay yelling, "Happy First Day!!!" to every kid that walked by.
So this morning, he was standing first on the porch, and then going to the end of the driveway, and was saying, nay yelling, "Happy First Day!!!" to every kid that walked by.
A couple of the older kids looked at him sideways, but most just laughed and waived back. He hasn't even got there yet, and he's vying for school embassador. Funny kid.
Happy Back-to-School Friendos.
Happy Back-to-School Friendos.
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