It is difficult to remember the time when Turner did not talk. He was playing with sounds, testing out words and trying to contribute to conversations long before his feet were moving him around the house. We all have our favorite Turner pronunciations, and I thought it was about time to record them. So, I hope you'll add to the list memorable Turner colloquialisms.
Tic Tocs (Tic tacs)
Hepicopter (Helicopter)
Hoppy Poppy (Hushpuppy)
Ci Ci added Desert Newseum (Museum)
Some recent (and favorite) stories:
We are always having toilet trouble here. There is nothing wrong with the pipes in the house; it is a family ailment, I suppose, of bad pipes in our body. No need to say, then, that the plunger gets good use. Turner comes out of the bathroom, where Andy has left a surprise, and he says to me, "Mom you need to plumb that toilet." Not sure how you "forget" such a wonderful surprise, but I really don't love when Andy leaves them for us to find after he's jetted off to work.
Andy brings some cotton candy home to Turner from a special event at Chili's. Turner pops some into his mouth and says, "Mmmm. Cotton candy exhausts in your mouth." (Dissolves)
We have chocolate covered granola bars that Turner enjoys having for dessert. Most of you know, though, it is still really hot here, so chocolate covered anything equals big mess in the desert. So, we put them in the freezer before we give them to Turner. In the middle of dinner last Saturday night, he asks me if I'll put a granola bar in the freezer in prep for dessert. I throw one in the ice, and we spend about forty minutes chatting over dinner. Our usual Saturday night date (Andy works a double on Saturdays). After we finished eating and Turner had completed his chores (taking out the recycling and cleaning off dinner dishes), I retrieve the granola bar. "You think it is frozen enough yet?" He replies, "I don't know." I hand it to him. He taps it on the table and it makes a knocking sound. He smiles. I open the package, and he pushes on the chocolate. "Seems pretty stable. The granola part I mean. The chocolate part will do."
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Catching up with catalina peeps.
Margot's 6th birthday party was yesterday (Margot goes to Turner's school and is an old friend from preschool). The kids wore costumes to her party so that they could act out a play. There was a stage set up, though the kids preferred to act out their play away from the stage so that they could engage in free form acting. The play featured a fighting match where Margot was a wolf attacking everyone while the boys protected the other women present. All of Turner's friends from Catalina were there (or most of them anyway), so it was a big reunion.
Most of the kids attend Sam Hughes elementary now, so it was really great to get to see them all again. Turner was Obi Wan Kenobi. Noah was Darth Vader. Thorsten and Joaquin were pirates. Margot was a ballerina slash wolf. Ginger, Annie and Erin were princesses laden in pink (Ginger, by the way, is going to be a big sister AGAIN. Another girl too). Hansana forgot his costume but wore a pirates hat and his brother transformed himself into a cowboy with a creative hat. Rowdy was Ben Ten. Tatum was the wizard from Wizard of Oz (still a movie T needs to seem *update, he's seen it now). The kids built weapons out of foam, and they only briefly stopped their battles when we called for cupcakes and when Margot opened her presents. Turner made her a card with lots of horses drawn on it, and Turner picked her out a pair of socks (M. wears cool socks everyday pulled to her knees), a kangaroo animal, and a special toy that you put your hand in and the pegs reproduce the shape of your hand. Turner was a most convincing Obi Wan.
And, of course, there was chocolate cake.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
San Diego 2010.
Cici and D met us in San Diego this past weekend. We went to the zoo one day, Leggoland part of another day, and to the USS Midway for a tour. We have tons of pictures. Here are a few.
Saw some monkeys.
Loved the hippos.
Inquisitive kids: Not a real elephant, but it did have "real" parts.
She pranced a bit in front of us to show off her shiny and magnificent fur. Then she placed herself right up front and took a rest. So beautiful.
For La La who couldn't stay up for Miami Vice
Plenty of animal sculptures to ride on, and Turner tested most of them out.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Talking to each other.
Andy, Turner and I are on a journey to Sam’s to pick up lunch-packing supplies in preparation for the start of school. Turner wants to play his Nintendo. “Hey buddy, let’s wait to play your game until we get to Sam’s. You can play it while Dad and I do the shopping.” He protests. I try again. “Well, we don’t really get to spend much time together as a family. And even though running errands is not an ideal way to be together, it counts. So let’s talk to each other on the way to Sam’s and get caught up with each other. Then when we get there you can play your game. Compromise?” He concedes, “Okay. Then let’s talk.” So we do. At first we do the usual, ask Turner a question. Listen to his answer. Think of another question to ask to get him talking. He tells us about video game characters and relays life stories to us about them. We nod and do the “uh huh” tradition. Around about Alvernon and River (10 minutes from the house), Andy and I get into a conversation about the week’s plan and the business of organizing a too-busy household. Another five minutes down the road and Turner says, “Are we EVER going to get to Sam’s?” We are turning on Stone, the road Sam’s is on. “Yes, we are almost there buddy.” “Good, I’m getting tired of you guys already.”
Parent and teacher conference.
I've spent two weeks working, sporadically, on writing my teaching philosophy, which goes out in my dossier for jobs. It is really hard to explain why I'm a teacher and how I do that, especially when I only get two pages. I love my students, that is why I teach. I like the process of learning and watching that happen over and over again; it's a bonus that I feel somehow part of students' growing consciousness and critical thinking about existing in and being active with the world. Being a parent is this feeling a million times over. I love watching Turner grow. Each day getting to know a little more about him and his personality, what he likes and doesn't as well as why. He likes school. He's excited to practice what he's learned, trying to impress Andy and me. I mean, we've always been impressed by Turner. He is easy to be around, and he is entertaining. This week, I found out how much so.
I was excited about parent teacher conferences. I was worried about how he was adjusting given the Kinder switcheroo. On our end, things seem great and he is loving it. But, I was really curious to hear what his teacher thought, and eager to know what kind of student he was. Ms. Cipolla, by the way, is a dynamite teacher who easily summarized her teaching philosophy for me before she began our conference (I didn't ask, she just offered it up). She is articulate and thoughtful in why she teaches what she teaches and how she goes about doing it. I wanted to bottle her philosophy up and drip it all over Microsoft Word. I was so grateful as a parent, to get to know her in this way.
So, after Ms. Cipolla explained her approach with Kindergarteners, she pulled out a Ziploc bag full of Turner goodies. There were pieces of art and she explained their learning objectives. There were examples of his writing and several drawings (she called T a 'real artist'). And, there were the tests. Public school means standardized means of assessment. The entire district takes the same tests to measure learning objectives. They are: how many letters can the student identify in the alphabet, how high can the student count, how many colors student could name, how many numbers can student recognize, in one minute how may "initial sounds" can student identify when given a word, in one minute how many phonetics can student name (they tell him a sound and he identifies the letter).
So, here's my warning. This is going to sound like bragging, because it totally is. Turner could identify all the letters, upper and lower case, in the alphabet. He counted to 29 before she cut him off. He recognized all his colors and all twenty numbers offered to him. In one minute he identified 21 initial sounds. 8 was the goal for students to get in the middle category (those above expectation) category. Students below 8 were divided into those needing extra reading instruction and those marginal, who might need it but maybe not. Two other children were above the middle category (which ranged 8 to 12). One of them got 13 in a minute and the other 12. Turner, again, got 21 (I read her paper, she didn't show me the numbers for the other kids of course). In the next test, phonetic naming, the goal was again 8 in a minute with categories distributed as before. More children were in the bottom two categories in this test. Turner scored 22. In the math tests, he did equally well though her results weren't as quantified. He was to count the number of blocks in an object and his method of counting was studied. Turner pulled all the blocks out of the object, lined them up and counted them, moving one to the side as he counted. Then, he double checked his counting. Ms. Cipolla was impressed that he counted twice before answering her. She said this is something they try to teach the kids, later in the semester, and that he was one of two kids that did this (the other student was female). Ms. Cipolla said that he has met all his kindergarten learning objectives already. So, the pressure's off, not as though there was any.
Now, for the 'bad' news. Turner had two bullet points to work on. They are: "will follow classroom rules by sitting quietly and refraining from distracting behaviors (talking or touching/bothering other students and/or disruptive behavior (talking out of turn, shouting out answers or general disobedience)" and "will be an active listener focusing on the speaker and not playing with clothing/shoelaces, items on the floor." Ms. Cipolla smiled as she delivered this news to me. And these things were not a surprise to me. She said, "He's a real entertainer you know. I laugh so much at him." Yes, he does always want to share a joke or find a way to be funny. "And he has this crazy vocabulary. He tells these stories..." Yep, he can totally tell a story. "But, he does a good job of entertaining his classmates too. They pay attention to him instead of what we are talking about." Oh, and "He tackled a kid on the playground. I think he was trying to hug him, but he took off running wide, I mean, wide open and his arms were stretched out. He grab onto the other boy and they went down like a football move." No one was hurt, but the other kid wouldn't play with Turner the rest of the day. Turner got a yellow card that day. I ask Ms. Cipolla if we need to really worry about any of these things, or can we just reinforce at home that we are Peacebuilders and practice more active listening. She smiled and said she thinks Turner is just wonderful and that he is still adjusting to the new school. She said she "loves" having him in class, and that he has times in class when he is so quiet and engaged in an activity or in what she is saying. It is just other times, always on the mat surrounded by his classmates, that he has a story to tell or something to do to make the others laugh (I think dancing has made an appearance or two).
I was excited about parent teacher conferences. I was worried about how he was adjusting given the Kinder switcheroo. On our end, things seem great and he is loving it. But, I was really curious to hear what his teacher thought, and eager to know what kind of student he was. Ms. Cipolla, by the way, is a dynamite teacher who easily summarized her teaching philosophy for me before she began our conference (I didn't ask, she just offered it up). She is articulate and thoughtful in why she teaches what she teaches and how she goes about doing it. I wanted to bottle her philosophy up and drip it all over Microsoft Word. I was so grateful as a parent, to get to know her in this way.
So, after Ms. Cipolla explained her approach with Kindergarteners, she pulled out a Ziploc bag full of Turner goodies. There were pieces of art and she explained their learning objectives. There were examples of his writing and several drawings (she called T a 'real artist'). And, there were the tests. Public school means standardized means of assessment. The entire district takes the same tests to measure learning objectives. They are: how many letters can the student identify in the alphabet, how high can the student count, how many colors student could name, how many numbers can student recognize, in one minute how may "initial sounds" can student identify when given a word, in one minute how many phonetics can student name (they tell him a sound and he identifies the letter).
So, here's my warning. This is going to sound like bragging, because it totally is. Turner could identify all the letters, upper and lower case, in the alphabet. He counted to 29 before she cut him off. He recognized all his colors and all twenty numbers offered to him. In one minute he identified 21 initial sounds. 8 was the goal for students to get in the middle category (those above expectation) category. Students below 8 were divided into those needing extra reading instruction and those marginal, who might need it but maybe not. Two other children were above the middle category (which ranged 8 to 12). One of them got 13 in a minute and the other 12. Turner, again, got 21 (I read her paper, she didn't show me the numbers for the other kids of course). In the next test, phonetic naming, the goal was again 8 in a minute with categories distributed as before. More children were in the bottom two categories in this test. Turner scored 22. In the math tests, he did equally well though her results weren't as quantified. He was to count the number of blocks in an object and his method of counting was studied. Turner pulled all the blocks out of the object, lined them up and counted them, moving one to the side as he counted. Then, he double checked his counting. Ms. Cipolla was impressed that he counted twice before answering her. She said this is something they try to teach the kids, later in the semester, and that he was one of two kids that did this (the other student was female). Ms. Cipolla said that he has met all his kindergarten learning objectives already. So, the pressure's off, not as though there was any.
Now, for the 'bad' news. Turner had two bullet points to work on. They are: "will follow classroom rules by sitting quietly and refraining from distracting behaviors (talking or touching/bothering other students and/or disruptive behavior (talking out of turn, shouting out answers or general disobedience)" and "will be an active listener focusing on the speaker and not playing with clothing/shoelaces, items on the floor." Ms. Cipolla smiled as she delivered this news to me. And these things were not a surprise to me. She said, "He's a real entertainer you know. I laugh so much at him." Yes, he does always want to share a joke or find a way to be funny. "And he has this crazy vocabulary. He tells these stories..." Yep, he can totally tell a story. "But, he does a good job of entertaining his classmates too. They pay attention to him instead of what we are talking about." Oh, and "He tackled a kid on the playground. I think he was trying to hug him, but he took off running wide, I mean, wide open and his arms were stretched out. He grab onto the other boy and they went down like a football move." No one was hurt, but the other kid wouldn't play with Turner the rest of the day. Turner got a yellow card that day. I ask Ms. Cipolla if we need to really worry about any of these things, or can we just reinforce at home that we are Peacebuilders and practice more active listening. She smiled and said she thinks Turner is just wonderful and that he is still adjusting to the new school. She said she "loves" having him in class, and that he has times in class when he is so quiet and engaged in an activity or in what she is saying. It is just other times, always on the mat surrounded by his classmates, that he has a story to tell or something to do to make the others laugh (I think dancing has made an appearance or two).
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Acting out imagination.
I pull Turner from Dragon Tales to help me cook dinners, yes plural. Sundays we usually cook a bunch of stuff to get us through the week. Turner enjoys being in the kitchen with me, but he has slowly moved from helping me cook to just being in the same room with me while I cook. He gets lost in imagination. While I do miss the conversations we had while we cooked, I love getting to watch and hear his brain work. Today I am making lasagna (for tomorrow) and pasta salad (for lunches next week). Turner comes into the kitchen and starts the search for a lizard with red stripes.
It was on the kitchen table the other night when Margot was here. I suggest he look on the table by the front door where most everything in this house "lands" at some point. He finds it there. On the kitchen table are three dinosaurs, two of which eat meat and one that doesn't, a bird, a tree, and about a thousand pieces of paper (but that is unrelated). He tells me he needs something, and he starts snooping among the dirty dishes on the counter. He finds shrimp cocktail sauce that should have been refrigerated two days ago (the oral history cluster had catered meeting this month and I came home with lots of yummy stuff. cocktail sauce excluded). He puts the little jar on the table and then asks for "an applesauce container and two washcloths." From the table, dinosaurs are blasting off the cocktail sauce, landing into the washcloths. Sometimes they jump from cocktail sauce to applesauce to table and into the air. They are usually shooting some sort of weapon or power blast or special element of nature at one another, all the while the animals are speaking to one another in English and some "foreign tongue." Occasionally a dinosaur "camps" on the applesauce, as though s/he is taking a rest from battle. At other points in his play, dinosaurs got onto special moving objects that shot them through the air and around the island, into the living room, and back to the patio before landing back at the kitchen table. Cooking lasagna is not a short process, and these dinosaurs had a lot to say and do with one another. They were strategic in battle, angry at times, laughing at other times, and terribly mobile. There were a few points when one dinosaur comforted another. "It's okay," he said, "I understand that this is hard for you." I love the way this kid thinks and lives with compassion, understanding, and encouragement.
It was on the kitchen table the other night when Margot was here. I suggest he look on the table by the front door where most everything in this house "lands" at some point. He finds it there. On the kitchen table are three dinosaurs, two of which eat meat and one that doesn't, a bird, a tree, and about a thousand pieces of paper (but that is unrelated). He tells me he needs something, and he starts snooping among the dirty dishes on the counter. He finds shrimp cocktail sauce that should have been refrigerated two days ago (the oral history cluster had catered meeting this month and I came home with lots of yummy stuff. cocktail sauce excluded). He puts the little jar on the table and then asks for "an applesauce container and two washcloths." From the table, dinosaurs are blasting off the cocktail sauce, landing into the washcloths. Sometimes they jump from cocktail sauce to applesauce to table and into the air. They are usually shooting some sort of weapon or power blast or special element of nature at one another, all the while the animals are speaking to one another in English and some "foreign tongue." Occasionally a dinosaur "camps" on the applesauce, as though s/he is taking a rest from battle. At other points in his play, dinosaurs got onto special moving objects that shot them through the air and around the island, into the living room, and back to the patio before landing back at the kitchen table. Cooking lasagna is not a short process, and these dinosaurs had a lot to say and do with one another. They were strategic in battle, angry at times, laughing at other times, and terribly mobile. There were a few points when one dinosaur comforted another. "It's okay," he said, "I understand that this is hard for you." I love the way this kid thinks and lives with compassion, understanding, and encouragement.
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