Communications & Response to Issues: 3) Homework

Hi Zander, Yesterday morning I was getting Ryden ready for school and I found in the front pouch of his backpack a rolled up sheet of Japanese homework (It is rote practice of the character さ) I asked him about it and he had that expression on his face like he had been busted. He didn't know what to say. I told him homework isn't optional and it doesn't do him any good hiding it. He quickly said he wasn't hiding it. I wanted to address this before it became a problem. We need to reinforce that all homework sheets need to go into the blue folder. I don't want to be rifling through his backpack and I'm sure he doesn't want me to either. I want to be able to trust Ryden at all times, not just most of the time. Since it was right before heading out for school I didn't get much time to address this, but I hope to have another discussion soon. 

Somewhere along the way, homework has become a burden to him. He used to do it so easily and with pleasure. I usually have him do homework as soon as he gets home or after a snack.  But there seems to be more stall tactics of recent. One thing I try to keep in mind is at this stage to not to be too overbearing, especially regarding the quality of his work. I want Ryden to enjoy learning. I have found that with Math he enjoys playing the games in the Everyday Mathematics book. We usually do them after dinner.

-m

Monster Mash

This is an event that is held every year at JSIS, Ryden's school. We got there early to buy some books at the book fair. Ryden's reading is coming along well. With a little bit of help he can read stories such as Red Marshmallow Squirters on his own.

Ryden loses a tooth but gets a new jacket

Ryden shows us his new gap. He found 4 shiny quarters lined up under his pillow the next morning. The tooth fairy had visited.

Ryden has a new jacket to keep him warm through the winter. It is pretty nifty with its removable liner fleece and all of it is reversible. The next morning in the playground he does a little show-n-tell;

Curriculum Night

The most clear message I received that night was from Kayoko sensei. She handed out a mathematics text books for us to borrow and said she would be teaching math in Japanese but it will be on our shoulders to teach the same material in English. There is a concern that when they are tested in Math using the English language, some things risk getting lost in translation or not understood. It is up to us to fill any gaps. I will keep the math book in Ryden's traveling red bag so if you ever want to do math with Ryden, it will be in there. There are games and regular exercises.

I wanted to share these images from Ryden's published book. He is such an imaginative illustrator.

 

I had a fun time on the airplane.

 

Ryden & Dad getting on the plane.

 

I had a quiet time on the plane. I like that I could be in a cloud.

 

I saw the space needle from the airplane.

 

I liked when I bumped forward on the landing.

 

I was happy that I got to California. I saw my stepmom and the cats.

The End.

Ghosts and Pumpkins

Ryden was super excited about decorating our front porch. I will add an evening shot soon.

Fall is here

Fall is in the air with gusty winds and cooler temperatures. We have been picking the last of the tomatoes for our salads, salsas and pasta dishes. We had our last weekly front porch party on Friday. Had to use a heater and blankets. Our new neighbors Chris and Tracy came by with beverages in hand.

Aikido is going well and it looks like Ryden wants to continue so we will be getting the requisite uniform that looks like a thick version of a Happi coat. 

Ryden received his first project from the wooden toolbox subscription. It was a wooden marshmallow launcher, which of course is being used to launch everything under the sun including grapes....hmm. Ryden came up with a fun game where we launched one of Chaplin's rubber balls into a tin bucket, taking turns and using hatch marks to count our score. It made a great tinny ding sound whenever the ball landed inside. Whoever got 20 in first was the winner. Ryden won. :-)

We had Carter, Dylan, Gwen & parents over for dinner. A nice evening. We had beef and green and red peppers, rice, salad, bread and pasta with alfredo sauce and grapes.

our first fall fire

Pesto pasta with corn

 

Playdate with Carter in their backyard trampoline

 

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Dinner: Pork with oregano and veggies

The cherry tomatoes are from our garden.

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Pork with oregano and veggies

 

Ryden's Blueberry sculpture