First Day 1st Grade

First grade begins! Carrie, Shane, and I all walked down to the bus stop together to kick it off.

Shane got all of the serious out of his system in the first picture.

Sorry, teacher.

I thought I was the most pumped for Shane to go to school, but then there's this picture.

Shane said he had a great day when I picked him up after school. I picked him up a little early in case he was tired, but my fears were unfounded.

GRE Test

I took the GRE today. My boss let me head out early. I've been thinking about a doctorate and this test is part of the applications process.

It took me almost 7 hours to drive, test, and return. The testing center was in Lynchburg. I had to turn all my pockets inside out, bare my ankles, turn my ring, and get wanded with a metal detector to test. The woman made me rewrite my signature, because it changed slightly from the one on back of my license I first wrote 19 years ago.

I did well enough for my purpose, though. Glad I got it out of the way before the students showed up.

Classroom 2017-18

The room is ready.

Time for kids.

Open House Eclipse

There was a solar eclipse. You may have heard about it. I wasn't going to look, but my boss bought glasses!

She even led the charge out of a meeting when it first started. The glasses made the world look pitch black until you centered on a dull orange circle. The moon was creeping in from the right. Think Pac-man.

When we went out again: Clouds. Thunder. Then rain.

I thought it would be neat to see the eclipse, but it's not like we were somewhere the lights would go out (which would have been awesome).

There was a break in the clouds right before Shane's open house, though!

Shane and Carrie pulled up just in time.

Aaaaaand then the clouds covered it up again. I'm glad Shane got to see it!

We went inside and met Shane's teacher. She was super excited! Shane ate it up (and I reconfirmed I'm not cut out to be a K or 1st grade teacher. I am not that effusive!).

Everyone else must have come earlier, because we were the only ones. Shane went crazy on the yoga balls, and Carrie and I had visions of him bouncing all over the room come Wednesday. Hopefully, it won't be a problem!

An End to a Social Summer

Carrie had to work a bridal show, so Shane got to hang out with me all day. Only it wasn't just me.

First, church. Shane reacquainted himself with some school friends from kindergarten. We'll get to see who's in his 1st grade class this week!

Afterwards, Dylan and Eli. There were a ton of Legos on the floor when we arrived.

John and I hung at it longer than the boys. I made an odd looking Mad Cat and John built a suit for Ace McCloud from Centurions (Oh, the nostalgia!).

I don't know which kid started the head (or if it was meant to be a head), but I used it to make another robot....which Eli was ready to smash with a hammer.

Krista got back and showed us the most amazing pillow. One side was full of sequins and you could draw patterns by brushing your hand across them. I'd never sleep.

After a rendezvous with Carrie to deliver something she forgot, Shane and I heard a knock on the front door.

Guess who?

Tay came down while I was checking on the chickens, and asked if we could visit the creek before she moved. Her mom wouldn't let her go unless I was there, so we all went exploring.

They all got wet. Very, very wet. And muddy.

I encouraged them to go up to the playground for a spin cycle. I wanted them to dry off, but it turned into a party. A couple other families had planned a picnic.

Everybody got along, ran, climbed, and begged me to spin them faster.

Tay wanted to go a new way further down the creek when we left.

For a change, Raheem was shouting "Wait up!" Tay and Shane had shoes they could wear in the water (Which I encourage due to glass and rocks). Raheem did not.

My game is to stay dry. I hopped from rock to rock until the rocks ran out. I didn't let Shane wander further out of my sight from there. The older kids went a little further.

Shane started throwing rocks from up on high. The others thought it was a great idea when I called them back.

We caravaned back as a team. Rah tends to run ahead as if it's a competition. Sometimes, Tay takes the bait in the circle, but overall she's more aware of Shane and keeping him in the loop. Regardless of the cause, I make a point to compliment the kids when they stick together or check on one another.

They used the hose to wash off the mud when we got home.

Which turned into a block party when Henry and Sam came out.

I only intended for us to make a quick trip, but somehow it kept evolving. I'm beat. Makes for fun summer memories for the kids, at least.

Biking Everywhere

Shane's become a fanatical rider in the past two months. We rode to the park with Raheem, Henry, and Sam Friday.

Satuday, we hit the creek.

We keep meeting new people there. Freeman was hanging out with his sons, Evander and Isaac.

How I parent: When Shane asks to do something, I don't always say "Yes," or "No." Sometimes, the answer is "How?"

"Can we ride bikes in Willoughby?" Shane asked.

"How are you going to get your bike up the hill?"

Took some work, but he did it on his own. I wouldn't have let the bike fall all the way down the hill, but I let Shane strain and manhandle it over a fallen log.

He found out going downhill is a different kind of difficult on the way back.

Week of TKD

It's been one year since Shane first went to TKD camp. He went again this year for the same reasons. He's had a fun week.

The big growth story of the week isn't Shane, though. It's Carrie.

Last year, I didn't tell Carrie ahead of time when Shane went to the pool for TKD camp. This year, she knew. In fact, the instructor reminded her when she picked up Shane on Thursday. It didn't register until she tried to go to bed.

Then she bolted straight up.

We talked and she let him go the next day. Surprise, surprise, Shane had a ball. His swimming progress eased Carrie's pool anxiety enough.

A good week! I had been expecting TKD progress, but God works in mysterious ways.

Pokemon Night #3

Tonight marked our third visit to the Pokemon League. I guess that makes us members. I recognized Samuel and Liam.

They passed out some free cards and made Shane's night! He was beside himself with joy. We haven't talked about deckbuilding yet, but he was ready to start with his new Oricorio.

I bet he begs extra hard to go again next week.

Work Begins Again

My 12th year as a teacher began in a rainstorm in the mountains. This year, we have a grant for our students to come out to an outdoor, natural play/therapy area. 

The work day started with everyone sharing their stories from the weekend.

One cried, because her Jewish boyfriend felt he had to go downtown to stand up to Nazis. He stepped out of the crowd on Water St to pee and when he returned the car had already struck.

Another cried, because her husband worked for the city and she worried about his safety. People from all sides are lashing out at how the city handled things, and there's still much more to do. She also had many friends

Another talked about how he kept his kids inside with the TV off. His friends were downtown, but he stayed home to protect his family.

Another left town in the middle of the night with her family to keep them safe.

Another felt guilty for being out of town and returning to find friends who were EMTs cut and bruised.

An older gentleman who works with us, talked about his own experience in the Civil Rights movement. He talked about how it hurt and angered him to be so hated as a young man, and wondered if our students would feel that same pain.

That's not all, but I don't feel it's my place to share more and in greater detail. There was anger, regret, hurt, and sorrow. Everyone was functional and had processed on their own already.

For myself, I don't regret moving Shane out of town. He will be exposed to hate later in life, but I want his foundation firmer before he has to confront it. I do regret not being a force of kindness in town when there was such darkness. A large group of clergy did a prayer walk. I was anxious as to what kind of Cville we would find when we returned home. I was encouraged when Tay and Raheem ran up to greet us. Then the kids rode bikes like nothing had ever happened. I'm not sure how aware they were and I didn't ask in case their parents didn't want them to know (yet).

The rally was a dark moment, but light shines brighter in the darkness. An opportunity to shine exists now.

Then it was down to business.....which was learning about the nature program. Not very taxing. We had lunch and met up at the high school for the convocation. The superintendent had everyone stand and sing "Lean On Me" and "Love Train." There were three hearts made from glow-sticks in the back of the auditorium to honor the three lives lost on Saturday. It was well received!

Tomorrow, we will start training and planning. The students may have a lot of processing to do when they start next week. Then again, a lot of them have been through so much that the rally was just one more thing and the least of their worries. No one will know until Wednesday.

My photos were limited because my phone's camera likes to act up from time to time. I'm not sure if it's a software or hardware issue. I don't care enough to look into it either.

Summer 2017 Reflection

Goal 1: Teach Shane to ride his bike

Status: Accomplished! The kid wants to ride it all the time now.....which means I have to move even faster to keep up with him.

Goal 2: Go on some trips! Make some memories!

Status: Accomplished! Shane and I went to the Beach, NOVA, Staunton, and Richmond. We visited Grandma and Grandpa with Mommy, and we drove down to SC as a family (Though, Carrie and I split from Shane to go on separate trips). Carrie went to Ireland with Grandma, and to finish it off Carrie and I went to Delaware for Dan and Shar's wedding.

Goal 3: Finally play Pandemic Legacy.

Status: Accomplished and completed! We finished it!

Goal 4: Help Shane build connections.

Status: Accomplished. He spent a lot of time with friends and family this summer. Now, I would have loved to have done more. I'd love to find another family at Jackson-Via for Shane to be friends with in addition to the neighborhood, and out of neighborhood friends he has. However, I think he was given plenty of social opportunities this summer. We weren't hermits. We're bumping into more people here and there that we know through school, VBS, or an activity.

Goal 5: Get some sort of adult social life going on.

Status: Maintained. Shane is my social life. I finally tried to go to a board game meetup, but it was a one-time event. I have been meeting up with Matt, Pat, and John online roughly once a week. Work will put a lot more social in my life when it starts again.

Goal 6: Think of something else for Shane to learn or experience.

Status: Accomplished. I'll say the creek. We've never done that before and he sure has loved it.

Goal 7: Learn something myself (Like a focused effort, not the normal daily learning)

Status: Researching. I haven't joined a class or really pursued anything, but I have looked at GRE test dates and homebrewing. My first brew isn't ready to crack open yet, but I'm looking forward to it! Not an accomplished, but I don't feel like it's a fail with how the summer went either.

Shane starts TKD camp and I go back to work tomorrow. Summer's officially ending.