Back in February I bought an AntWorks Antfarm for Blue Boys Birthday in April. What??!! I like to be prepared!



Anyway, His birthday was two weeks ago, and yesterday was the first day we caught sight of active ants. The kids ran in screaming ANTS! WE FOUND ANTS! So I got a Tupperware container and we kidnapped 26 ants and brought them home (The kit said 20 - 25 ants, but I doubt that one extra ant matters..right??)


There they are, just wandering around, aimlessly. The blue gel stuff you see is both their home and their food. It was developed by NASA to test the effects of ants in a zero gravity envinroment - which my kids think is awesome and means that the ants are going to be ANTronauts soon. (The boys have told me this about 8 million times since yesterday, they love word play)

I like the fact that it has the LED lights on the bottom as Blue Boy still requires a night light, and our plan is to leave the ants stationary on the counter so we can all watch them dig their tunnels, and then, once the tunnels are established, move it into his bedroom.

I love getting the boys unusual gifts, like this! ( I think they kinda like it too)

Labels: kidtalk

Holy cow I Love a good rodeo! I love the sights the noise, even the smells, which at times can get kind of dicey, as you know! I think that it is the general atmosphere of excitement the crowd generates, every one feeds of each others emotions and by the time the cowboys start buckin' everyones hats are off and the crowd is screaming!

In our town we have a rodeo every summer. The kids look forward to it, but I get the feeling that if they had the chance to go to a REAL rodeo, if I got National Rodeo Finals tickets, and took them to see the pros in action, they would never again be satisfied with the three cow rodeo we attend every summer!

I have seen roughly a million televised rodeos, but only one real live one, and the difference is astounding. Sitting at home watching the guys take on bulls the size of a car is scary enough, but when you are right there in the stands, your heart is liable to jump out of your chest and watch from the seats beside you!


If you ever get the chance to score tickets to a rodeo, don't turn your nose up, rodeos are awesome!

Labels: hometown, kidtalk, SPORTS

So. Its snowing again. A lot. With cold wind and did I mention snow?

A lot of it?

GAH!

Also. I understand that in kindergarten they start teaching the basic blocks of reading and writing, but I had no idea they had taught my son so much!

For Christmas the kindergarted gave - I assume- all the students an activity booklet, coloring book and set of crayons.

This Am Blue BOy wanted to try it out, which, I thought was a waste of time becuase he cant do this stuff.

Dammit all if he cant do Dot to Dots up to 50! And he knows the sounding letters and how to write them for words!

For example. they had this : We see them at Christmas time

And an ant, nail, grape, lion, ear and snake, the kids had to sound out and write down the first letter of each thing to get the answer to the riddle.

And he did it! Alone. Without help.

INCLUDING reading the instructions.

And yet, becuase he cannot pickup a book and read it to me, he swears he cannot read!

Labels: kidtalk

So we went to see the grade three teacher at 5. Each interview is slated for fifteen minutes. We were in there for thirty eight.

Yes I kept track.

Rainbow man is having a lot of trouble in school. Curriculum wise, Language arts - reading, printing etc. is his main trouble spot.

We decided on a game plan for that.

The other big problem he is having is his ability to focus and stay on task in school. Its pretty sad that he is side by side two boys who are also known chatter boxes and each of them has asked the teacher privately if they could be moved because RM is always talking and distracting them.

I am not quite sure how to deal with this part.

He is very disorganized - losing his books, not bringing home homework and the like and we have a few plans in the works to deal with this. If they seem to work I will bog about them, but for now, they are under wraps!

Labels: boys, In My Opinion, kidtalk, school life

Over all, Blue Boy is settling into Kindergarten really well.

I had my first interview with his teacher this afternoon. He knows 12 out of 26 Uppercase letters by name, but only nine lower case letters. Oddly enough he knows the sounds that 16 of the lower case letters make.

He knew his numbers one through ten by sight, and all of the required colors. He can draw the shapes asked for except the diamond and the triangle.

Socially he is starting to volunteer information - ie: putting up his hand and answering questions, he is also starting to talk to his classmates - although not at inappropriate times.

I grabbed some recipie cards from my mother in law after the interview and will make alphabet flash cards. Not sure other than having him trace squares and diamonds how to practice those.

Overall, he is dooing great.

Labels: boys, kidtalk, school life

I should be washing some dishes and folding some clothes, but instead I am blogging.

Here is why :

• December 29th of last year Blue Boy (5) saw the optometrist
• In my province, kids can go once a year and the government pays for it.
• until they are 18
• last year BB was an 8/10.
• Ten meaning he definitely needs glasses
• His doctor was willing to prescribe them at that time.
• It was my choice.
• knowing kids eyes change a bunch in their childhood, I wanted to wait and see if they would correct themselves.
• I don't think they have.
• Since school started (2 months ago) he has headaches on the days he has school.
• He says his head hurts and the area he points too is where my head hurts when I am straining my eyes.
• In the last month he began having headaches after (and sometimes during) watching of a full length movie. (two hours)
  
• This morning he watched a half hour show on TV and got such a bad headache he was left laying on the couch whimpering.
• Enough is enough!
• I am shelling out the fifty five bucks to have him examined.
• I would rather pay than make him suffer for two more months just to have it done for free.
• When I said as much to the receptionist she said they would bill his appointment as a partial exam.
• Partial exams are specifically for kids having trouble.
  
• The Government pays for partial exams.
  
• So his appointment will be a full eye exam at partial price
• (that means free)
• He goes next Tuesday at 1:40
• This pleases me

Pee ess: I am addicted to blogging.

Labels: healthy living, information, kidtalk

Last night my eight year old showed me in his agenda that he had to study for a test on the history of our town. Unfortunately he did not have even close to enough study material s in his duo tang - and thats another rant all for a different day!

Using Google and the study guide questions the teacher provided, we were able to look up about 95% of the answers and make our own study sheet.

He spent quite a bit of time studying it last night and again this morning, but he said after school that he feels very confidant he got most of them right. He thinks he missed one question.

Right now? I will just settle for a passing grade!

Labels: kidtalk, school

When BB started Kindergarten I expected to be somewhat sad at the loss. But I'm not. In fact today, with just me and the baby.. toddler home I am loving it!

Stuperman is a bit more clingy, he just isn't used to playing on his own, but there has not been a single argument to referee, nor have I had to take any toys away. In fact, stress wise, this morning has been a zero on a scale of one to ten!

I was really dreading when I lose H. He mom will take a year off for maternity leave and I will not have her for a full year!! I was worried that Stuperman would be annoying and I would get stressed out, but Monday and now today I have not had H and the days are just zooming by.

I like the person my baby is turning into, And I would never have noticed without this time alone!

Labels: I'm Important Too, kidtalk

Last year and the ear before and the year before, I was a candy natzi with the children. I doled their sweets out sparingly and to be truthful, in September of this ear I finally tossed out the dregs of their trick or treat bags.

I have Easter and Christmas candy from last year that needs to be tossed as well.

This ear I have decided that I will actually let them eat their candy.

All of their candy.

Labels: decisions, information, kidtalk

Some parents are absolutely against their children playing with guns. Even water guns. Some parents refuse to have them in the house, whether they are real, or air guns or pellet guns.

Me? I have no choice on the matter. My husband is a hunter. He has guns, and yes they are locked in a safe and the only key is on his key ring. I don't even know where he keeps the bullets.

My boys own ever type of foam dart gun and water gun that there is, the oldest even has a child size bow- with tipped arrows.

Last winter my husbands parents gave our boys a BB gun and they have a blast with it. They don't get to load it with BB's yet, but it makes a satisfying sound when they cock and shoot it anyway. Last night I sent them outside to pick up their toys for the night. One item was forgotten, their BB gun, right behind the car.

Now that my husband has driven over, and destroyed their gun, I think that this Red Ryder BB gun would make a great replacement - just in time for Christmas!

Labels: Holiday time, I'm Important Too, kidtalk

This time of ear the spiders have tow choices. Stay outside and freeze to death, or come inside and tr to avoid the Arachnid hunters.

Our cat, and two of my three obs are very willing spider smooshers. The cat pukes each and every time she eats a spider BTW. Why is that?

In any case, I just tucked the boys in, I know it;s late. The husband wanted them to see a movie on TV and promised it would be over at nine. I said OK seeing as it is the eldest's birthday.

The movies wasn't over until 9:30.

Tomorrow will be a nasty morning, that;s for sure.

Back to the spiders. The five ear old went to get into bed and instead raised the alarm SPIDERS! SPIDERS! Both me and the five year old are very scared of spiders, so the now eight ear old had to come to our rescue.

The real problem is that I am now terrified that there are spiders in MY bed!

Labels: ewwness, kidtalk, sleepy time

FOUR time I asked m son if he had homework. Four times he told me no. One of those times i actually sent him to his back pack to check and he still said no.

What do you suppose I saw this morning when I was digging out his lunch kit?

If you guessed seventeen math problems, you would be right!

My only consolation is that Blue boy is in kindergarten and does not have homework.

But that will all change next year when he goes into grade one!

Labels: kidtalk, sigh

Today, we celebrated my son;s eight birthday. He doesn't actually turn eight until the 29th, but that's a Monday, so that doesn't work.

We had cake - he made it with his Nana, Friday after school, It was a Dragon and rockin' cool.

In a few hours I will be uploading a billion and seventeen photos to the photo blog, link int eh side bar.

We had him open his gifts, he got another eighty Pokemon cards - uhm note to all : don't answer "Pokemon cards" to everyone who asks what he would like for his birthday.

He also got some sort of test tube alien thing, they are going to try it tomorrow, and a new camera. I bought the camera this summer from eBay.

Then we went to McDonald's - his choice - for dinner and hit the bowling ally for a game.

He said it was the best birthday ever - but he says that every year!

Labels: I'm Important Too, kidtalk, party