Calvin and Hobbes and life

Andrew was reading a "Calvin and Hobbes" book tonight before bed.  When I went to check on him he looked very sad, almost in tears and said he felt bad for Calvin.  He said he had been reading about a bully taking Calvin's toy truck on the playground.  I took the book and read the dozen or so strips on the subject.  It was quite sad and I felt bad for Andrew and how bad he felt for Calvin.

Here is the final panel.

Coat Shopping

March 23rd is not a good time to need a new winter coat.  But combine yesterday's late season snow storm, today's cold temperatures, and my son breaking the zipper on his coat last night, and that is exactly what he needed.

So I send him to school in a coat that doesn't zip up (bad dad) and then hit all the stores.  

First Store - nothing.  A few hats and gloves are all that remain on their clearance shelves.

Second Store - a maybe.  A few clearance jackets....not sure it's warm enough, but only $10 so I grab one.

Third Store - arrive at 8:25, store doesn't open until 9:00.  rats.

Fourth Store - not a coat any where in site.

Fifth Store - Arrive at 8:57, doesn't open until 9:00.  could wait....but don't.

Sixth Store - Arrive at 9:03, doesn't open until 9:30. 

But now I'm at the mall, so I can at least wander around indoors even though most of the store are not open yet.  

Bonus, the big box mall corner stores are open!

Seventh Store - a few girls coats...maybe he won't notice the pink.  Pass.

Eight Store - Not even close.

Back to the Sixth store which is now open.  Found a boys coat for $99.  No Thanks.

Back to Fifth Store.  The coat may have "previous experience" and already been once upon a child....but for $10, we'll take it!

Drive to school hoping to get it to him before morning recess.  Nope, they're just heading out the door as I pull in to the parking lot.

After all that, I can already hear him after school.  "Dad, this one is ugly.  I wanted one like my old coat.  I wasn't cold any way.  I gave it to another kid.  Can I go without a coat tomorrow?"   

Homework helper or hinderer?

A few weeks ago, I was commenting on how hard it is for me to help my daughter with her 4th grade math homework.  Not that I can't do the math  (I know where the calculator is) but because it is way too easy for me to just give her the answer. 

What's 48 divided by 6?  

It's 8.  

How do you know?  

It just is, that's how I know.

This system gets the homework done much faster and with less whining and tears (from child and parent) than if I make her do it on her own.  

And I've since discovered it's not just math.  Last week I was "helping" her edit some writing.  She was supposed to be circling spelling errors in a story she had written and correcting them...but I found myself at the dining room table with the red pen, circling her errors and fixing the words as I read her story.  My wife had to yell at me from the kitchen to stop doing her work for her.  At which point a gave her a dictionary and made myself sit in another room while she finished.

Well, today I discovered proof of what I feared all along....that's it not just me taking the easy way out on homework.  

Every Monday afternoon I volunteer for an hour in my daughter's class room.  I usually run some math flashcards or help them write some science definitions in their notebooks.  Today, while helping some kids master division by 8's I heard this exchange between the teacher and another student:

Teacher:  How did you get these answers?  You were supposed to be working along with us when we were doing them on the blackboard.

Student: I just copied down the answers.

Teacher:  So now how are you going to do the rest of these since you don't know how we got those answers?

Student: I don't know

Teacher: And so now you'll need to take the worksheet home and do it as homework. And who will do it then? Mom, right? And I know 
she already knows how to do it. But do you?

So there it is....apparently there are more of us out there.  
Parents like me that take the "easy in the short term but really very bad in the long term" solution to homework.  

And worse yet, the teachers can tell when this happens!

And really, there is no excuse for this. I have no excuse or explanation for my behavior other than laziness and a fear making my daughter upset. Totally lame on my part.

I will take this as a challenge to not do her homework for her anymore. (unless we're missing something good on TV.**)

(**kidding about that TV thing - just seeing if you were paying attention)

Comfy Pants

One battle I gave up long ago is to have any sort of influence on my son's fashion sense.  I can't really blame him in his choices though because he chooses comfort above all else.  There are countless pairs of pants in his drawer that have never seen the inside of his school (or anything outside of his pants drawer) because they "don't feel right" or have that "stupid snap" on them.  I kept buying them because I thought they would look good....and he kept going back to the same old 3 pairs of comfy pants.  It was not a battle I chose to fight.

Which leads me to today's pants.  I wasn't surprised he put them on this morning, but why on earth did I put them back in his drawer after their last spin through the laundry?  I don't think they will make it back to his drawer next time.

I guess he's ready if the flood comes today.

Actually, after looking at the picture....maybe they can pass as long shorts.  Like the Fab 5 used to wear at Michigan.

3rd Grade Invention Convention Trauma

It just doesn't get any easier, does it?  I don't know how I will make it through the teenage years, when third grade can be so traumatic for both son and dad.

My son had his 3rd grade "Invention Convention" at school today.  The class had been given the assignment of creating an invention using one or more simple machines (inclined plane, screw, wedge, lever, pulley, or wheel and axel).  My son came up with a pulley system to raise and lower a bone for our dog.  We built it, he colored flames on it, and we sent it to school this morning.  They had a time during the day for parents to come and walk around the convention and let the kids demonstrate their inventions.  He did a great job with his demonstrations and seemed happy with everything.  And he got 50 out of 50 points on the assignment from his teacher.  

So, happy ending, right?  

No.

Tonight at bedtime, after he brushed his teeth, I found him sitting in the bathroom crying.  I had no idea why.  

"My invention was stupid.  Everybody else's was better than mine.  I hated mine.  I had to pretend all day that I liked it, but I didn't.  Mine was the worst one."  All that came spilling out between sobs.

My heart sank.  I was crushed.  I had no words to make him feel better.  

"I thought your invention was awesome.  Your teacher liked it.  It was just as good as all the rest."  He wasn't buying any of it.

If Third Grade is this bad, what will high school be like?  I'm doomed.

This picture shows him smiling on the outside....but he wasn't smiling on the inside.   :(