Friday, April 25, 2008
Aaron at Kindergarten!
Yesterday morning we had our scheduled classroom visitation at the charter school we are considering for Aaron this fall. Well, our mind is definitely made up about the school (loved it!).
The teacher started with circle time where they talked about what the date was (in both English and Spanish), and then they had a question of the day (what kinds of transportation vehicles they had all been on before). She asked a lot of the kids to answer the question directly, including Aaron, and I was happy that he actually answered as I had coached him pretty heavily about being polite and answering the questions he was asked. Then they sang some songs and had a quick game of Freeze Dance. She then broke the class into three groups, a math center, a choice center (free play basically), and PE. Normally she would have had two academic centers and not just one but was short a parent volunteer.
We went with the PE group first, which was led by the parent volunteer, and it was just free play outside, not organized games or anything. Afterwards his group went to the math center, and Aaron did really well. Each child was given a paper bag filled with colored blocks that interlocked. The task was to build towers by attaching the blocks of the same color together (3 red blocks, 4 blue blocks, etc). Then they were to sort the towers in order from tallest to shortest. Lastly, they were to color in squares on a grid sheet corresponding to their towers. So, the task involved sorting, counting, and conceptual thinking.
Now, granted, Aaron had two of us (Michael and I) keeping him on task, but honestly he did really really well on his own and only needed help when he got to the grid part. Translating the concept of what he had built to coloring it on paper was a bit advanced for him. But no trouble building or sorting his towers. He did better than at least 3 of the other kids in the group of 6 kids .
At this point it was snack time, so we excused ourselves.
Aaron liked the visit and his special day, but he definitely made a point about not being big enough yet to go to this new school.
The teacher started with circle time where they talked about what the date was (in both English and Spanish), and then they had a question of the day (what kinds of transportation vehicles they had all been on before). She asked a lot of the kids to answer the question directly, including Aaron, and I was happy that he actually answered as I had coached him pretty heavily about being polite and answering the questions he was asked. Then they sang some songs and had a quick game of Freeze Dance. She then broke the class into three groups, a math center, a choice center (free play basically), and PE. Normally she would have had two academic centers and not just one but was short a parent volunteer.
We went with the PE group first, which was led by the parent volunteer, and it was just free play outside, not organized games or anything. Afterwards his group went to the math center, and Aaron did really well. Each child was given a paper bag filled with colored blocks that interlocked. The task was to build towers by attaching the blocks of the same color together (3 red blocks, 4 blue blocks, etc). Then they were to sort the towers in order from tallest to shortest. Lastly, they were to color in squares on a grid sheet corresponding to their towers. So, the task involved sorting, counting, and conceptual thinking.
Now, granted, Aaron had two of us (Michael and I) keeping him on task, but honestly he did really really well on his own and only needed help when he got to the grid part. Translating the concept of what he had built to coloring it on paper was a bit advanced for him. But no trouble building or sorting his towers. He did better than at least 3 of the other kids in the group of 6 kids .
At this point it was snack time, so we excused ourselves.
Aaron liked the visit and his special day, but he definitely made a point about not being big enough yet to go to this new school.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I see you Grandma!
Being the "geeky" dad that I am... today was really special because I got to watch Aaron and my parents have their first video phone call. It was a lot of fun!
If you use Skype, feel free to add me (mlmeraz) to your contact list.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Garden Update - into the home stretch!
Michael dug/constructed the last box for our community plot this week and on Saturday we mulched all the paths and rebuilt the teepee structure, lining it with brick. Then, on Sunday, while the boys were down at Grandma and Grandpa's (see Mike's last post), I spent the day beginning to plant the two middle boxes (one rose each, and some poppies), and portions of the last two veggie beds. A lot of my seeds have not come up at all, so I planted some last minute procurements from the nursery.
I did start some seeds at home last week (carrots, salad bowl lettuce, green onions, chives), and hopefully these will do better and can be transplanted into the existing gaps.
I did start some seeds at home last week (carrots, salad bowl lettuce, green onions, chives), and hopefully these will do better and can be transplanted into the existing gaps.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Grandparents & Technology
Technology is growing and expanding at an incredible pace. For some of us, its pretty exciting but for most its fairly intimidating. For grandparents... it's downright scary!
Web 2.0, digital downloads, social networking, RSS, DVRs, podcasts, mp3... are just a blur when you're still trying to learn the basics of how a computer works. So, I have to give my parents a HUGE round of "virtual" applause for taking a big leap into the scary world of technology over the past few weeks. The VCR has been ditched and replaced with a DVR, digital cable and new HDTV (which is gorgeous). Their computer has been completely overhauled and they're now using web-based emails, calendars, RSS readers, and Skype. They're enjoying the world of digital music with an iTunes account and iPod. And just last night we installed a webcam and they made their first video phonecall.
That is a lot of tech to absorb in such a short amount of time but they're making slow and steady progress each day.
Great job Grandpa and Grandma!
Web 2.0, digital downloads, social networking, RSS, DVRs, podcasts, mp3... are just a blur when you're still trying to learn the basics of how a computer works. So, I have to give my parents a HUGE round of "virtual" applause for taking a big leap into the scary world of technology over the past few weeks. The VCR has been ditched and replaced with a DVR, digital cable and new HDTV (which is gorgeous). Their computer has been completely overhauled and they're now using web-based emails, calendars, RSS readers, and Skype. They're enjoying the world of digital music with an iTunes account and iPod. And just last night we installed a webcam and they made their first video phonecall.
That is a lot of tech to absorb in such a short amount of time but they're making slow and steady progress each day.
Great job Grandpa and Grandma!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Aaron Builds a Robot
Building with blocks or Legos has never held much interest for Aaron. However, building with furniture... he loves! The house was very quiet while he worked hard on his latest creation. If you look at the photo with the eyes of a pre-schooler you'll see the robot (Transformer).
Hint: the feet are the two small chairs at the bottom of the photo.
Hint: the feet are the two small chairs at the bottom of the photo.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
What Bug or Animal Do You Think I Am?
Aaron's class spent much of their Friday dressing up as animals and creating this poster for all the parent's. Can you tell what animals they are?
Aaron has two pictures in the poster (a front and back). Jacob's picture is next to the word "What"... I almost didn't recognize him.
Aaron has two pictures in the poster (a front and back). Jacob's picture is next to the word "What"... I almost didn't recognize him.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Happy Mother's Day... in 1978!
I visited my parent's today to help them install their new HDTV and Digital Cable DVR and my mom brought out an old Mother's Day card I had given her back in 1978. It was a 10-year-old's attempt at a humorous card and well done... in my opinion.
Yes, "Mikey" was my nickname and still haunts me today! Who is Charlie... he was my imaginary friend. We did everything together.
Yes, "Mikey" was my nickname and still haunts me today! Who is Charlie... he was my imaginary friend. We did everything together.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Pre-School Activities
Aaron's teacher (Mr Gabriel) does a lot of fun activities with the kids. I'm trying to remember to grab a few photos of these projects whenever I can. Here are a few lists from the last month that he put together with the kids.
"Skettie" is how Aaron says spaghetti. Mr Gabriel is great at writing down exactly what the kids say.
"Skettie" is how Aaron says spaghetti. Mr Gabriel is great at writing down exactly what the kids say.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Salad from the Garden
One of the nice things about a community garden is... the community! We had our first "garden" salad tonight thanks to our garden neighbor (Min) who had extra lettuce to share.
Aaron loves salads so eating his dinner was no problem. It's meat that we struggle getting him to eat.
Aaron loves salads so eating his dinner was no problem. It's meat that we struggle getting him to eat.
Another Garden Box
The 4 large garden boxes are all done. Now, all that is left are the 2 smaller boxes. We got one of those done today. Unfortunately, it sank a bit after being placed and looks awkward. I may dig it out to fix.
Bridget spent her time doing more planting. Aaron helped quite a bit but prefers to dig through the dirt and look for worms. He found one!
Bridget spent her time doing more planting. Aaron helped quite a bit but prefers to dig through the dirt and look for worms. He found one!
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