A Threat to Santa

Hi! My name is Melissa and SOMETIMES I may be a dysfunctional parent. Is there a group or Two-Step Program for people like me? Oh and Dude. We are one flesh!
We forget to put money under the kids' pillows when they lose teeth. We spell words in front of the kids only to have the kids figure the word out before we do.
And... last year I forgot to hide the toys from our seven-year-old Kojak, before Christmas. This is why we got a note from his teacher a few weeks ago asking us to talk with him because he went to school telling his peers that Santa didn't exist and neither did his horses.
We could not figure out why he did that. I just prayed that none of the kids went home crying to their parents about Santa. So we doned our Huxtable hats and had a
chat with him. We didn't get far when he blurted out, "Mama! I saw Rex in your closet on Christmas Eve! Right beside the snowman wrapping paper!"
Dude shook his head.
So we have had these back-and-forth conversations with him recently. We didn't want him going Malcolm X on any other kids and try, by any means necessary, to convince them that Santa was not real.
We weren't quite sure how he was feeling about Santa in the last few days. Until we found a letter tonight:

Going Too Far!

Our son is so protective and territorial when it comes to me... his favorite Mommy! Of course his only one but "favorite" has a great ring to it. (Picture me with a smile, sunglasses and feet up as I reflect on this) Back to the blog.
He would do anything for me. Except... protect me from the Chick-fil-A cow. If you've followed the blogs you know the history of that character and Chuck-E-Cheese. Oh, and Mickey Mouse, and the vertically-challenged man from our church who dressed up like a cell phone during Fall Fest, complete with ashy knees. Our son finished his cotton candy under one of the tables that year. Basically he is fearful of anyone dressed in a costume. I try to convince him that "God doesn't give him the spirit of fear" but his consistent response is, "Well Mommy somebody gave it to me bad!"
Not only does he try to be protective but he is territorial.
We were relaxed, watching a movie when he said, "Daddy. I knew Mommy before you."
I grinned a bit but just passed it off. I mean Dude and I know better. No need to reply right?
Well...
Dude replied.
"Nope. I knew her first buddy."
Our son sat up. Looked at Dude then at me.
I closed my eyes and held my breath in anticipation for what the little seven-year-old was about to say.
"No. I knew her first Daddy," pointing at my stomach, "I was in that tummy!"
Dude peered at me. "Will you tell him?"
I pressed my lips together.
"First I was in her tummy then I grew (talking with his hands) and grew until I was ready to come outta there and see Mommy!"
He smiled and sat back as if he had won the round.
Dude sat up and came back with, "I helped get you here!"
He was confused. "Uh, Mommy how did Daddy help me get here?"
Again... I closed my eyes.

Creativity Gone a Little Far

Well the kids finished their Tae Kwon Do trial this week! They were so excited and so were we. They received their white outfits the first day and completed two days of thirty minute one-on-ones with an instructor. The nine-year-old did well and really got into it. Her seven-year-old brother... well... the first private instruction didn't go so well. He didn't get into it as much as his sister. I just know, if we had put that Chick-fil-A cow in that room, he would have been highly motivated to do the moves. Hopefully he will grow out of that fear in the next few years. Maybe he will become so confident with Tae Kwon Do that the next time we go into a Chick-fil-A he will get his Bruce little Lee on and do a flying kick over those waffle fries and nuggets and make the cow flee instead of the other way around for a first.
The second private instruction went a bit better for our Bruce little Lee!

They were super excited because they broke a board!!! You know they were pumped! And they let them keep the boards of course. We did what most new members probably do- took pictures of them holding their boards!

Well I guess Dude and I valued that experience a little more than they did. Earlier this evening they were working so hard on some little project in the living room. I know I heard masking tape. We really didn't pay much attention to what they were doing. We were elated that they were working together without any fuss. I guess I should have questioned that.

Just before dinner, I heard Dude: "What! Why did you...?" A loss for words? I had to see what was going on.
I walked in to see that our two little creative beings had made a cash register out of masking tape, markers and... the boards they broke. The ones we cherished and valued so much.
A cash register? Check out the photo. Only the Jacksons! We need a sitcom.

The Best Time for Bilingual Education

Early Childhood Learning- The Best Time for Bilingual Education
The future is a mystery, no one can say what it will hold – but if current trends continue, your child will grow up to enter a workforce in which the competition for decent-paying jobs will be nothing short of cut-throat. Despite the calls for greater co-operation and "interdependence," human nature being what it is, it's a good bet that the economy of the the future will operate according to the Law of the Jungle. It goes without saying that a good education is one of the best ways to prepare that child for survival in that economic jungle of the future.

The Bilingual Future

One of the future trends that has become certain is the existence of a diverse, global society and this rings true especially in the United States. Almost from the beginning, the U.S. has been a land of immigrants, and while the "melting pot" has been an interesting theory, it has not happened in practice. On the contrary, most major U.S. population centers have become more of an ethnic and linguistic checkerboard; Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese speakers represent some of the fastest-growing segments of the immigrant U.S. population.

As China continues to rise, English may very well lose its preeminence as the international language of business; at best, it will have to share that top status with Mandarin in decades to come.

Getting Ready

Traditional wisdom has been to start teaching a second language in middle school, or even high school. Yet numerous research studies clearly demonstrate that the optimal period in a child's life for multilingual education is during the preschool years – at exactly the same time they are learning their first language. Yes, it is possible to learn a second and third language later in life, but it is more difficult, because that neurological "window of opportunity" – when the brain is most malleable – has passed.

According to Dr. Fred Genessee, Professor of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, it's as easy for young children to learn two or three languages as it is for them to learn one. He's not alone; educators throughout the world (in countries that often have two or even three official languages) have understood this for decades.

The way a child learns a second language is by actually speaking it in a total immersion environment. You may recall an episode of the animated series The Simpsons in which young Bart gets trapped on a farm in France – and by the end of the episode, finds he's actually speaking the language. While this was a fictional scenario, the phenomenon is real; anyone who has taken young children abroad to stay with relatives in a foreign country for any length of time has observed this happening.

Enrollment in a preschool or day care program that offers immersion in other languages is the best way to get your child started. This investment will make him/her much more competitive in the job market later on.

Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for http://www.primroseschools.com/OurSchools/Georgia/Atlanta/>Atlanta day care
facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of http://www.primroseschools.com/>day care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.

Apples Falling From Trees

It's funny how your kids do things that you did when you were little. We tell our two all the time, "You can't be sneaky. We either did it before or thought about it." And usually we were just a little bit better than them at pulling it off.
Tonight our son was busted. We took for granted that he gets in there and does what he is supposed to do... take a shower! I mean it was easy to believe: he always got his towel, soap always there, we saw him get in and close the door, and the hook- he was always singing! Then he would get out, dry off, put his pajamas on and use the little squeegee to clean it out. And there is always steam.
Well he came in our room just after getting out of the shower tonight with the towel wrapped around him- pajamas in hand- to ask if he could stay up a little later.
"Hey! Your skin is unbelievably dry if you just got out the shower," Dude said.
No response.
"Did you take a shower?" Dude asked him.
He nodded.
"It just don't seem like your body has gotten wet," Dude said while looking him over.
I began visualizing myself decades ago. Running the water, then waiting for the bathroom mirrors to get foggy from the steam so I could draw little stick people. Or I would stand in front of the mirror and rehearse what I was going to say to the boy who sat behind me on the bus and pulled my hair. He would then pretend to be asleep. Oh yes, I told him off... in the bathroom mirror. I don't know why I did that.
But now, here was our little seven-year-old busted for the same thing.
He looked over at me as if he wanted me to save him. My look to him: You're on your own buddy.
"Get in that shower and put some soap on your body and wash!" Dude told him.
"You mean I gotta use soap?" our son cried.
I guided him back to the bathroom quickly before Dude stood up.

Strong Enough For A Man But Made For A Woman

One day the naivete will wear off. I just know it will. BUT WHEN????
Our little seven-year-old believes whatever his nine-year-old, cut-from-a-different-cloth, sister tells him.
She could tell him money grows on trees and he would be waiting for some bills to bud.
Well... the other night we were awakened by a smell. Sometimes, something as simple as a smell can make you feel a little nostalgic. I sat up in the bed and thought about my grandmother who has been deceased for more than twenty-five years. She wore an old, strong deodorant called "Tussy". That is what I smelled.
Dude finally woke up too.
We turned the light on. Isn't it funny that we often say that we cut the light on. Okay, okay- back to the story.
There was our son, in the wee hours of the morning... with the smell all over him.
"What in the world?" I asked, while covering my nose.
"We smelled something and she (referring to his sister) said it was me. She said I smelled," he began to tell us.
"But you just took a shower!" Dude told him.
"Well she said she could make me smell good so she put that stuff she use to make her arms smell good, on me," he continued.
Dude looked at me. I closed my eyes.
He actually allowed his sister, who is a minor too, rub Secret deodorant all over him in the still of the night. I mean it was in his hair, on his neck and partially on his pajamas.
I guess their slogan is true: "Secret...strong enough for a (little) man but made for a (little) woman."

Gotta Find That Toof!

Our little seven-year-old has been slow about losing those teeth of his. I've been longing to see the two front ones come out so I can take pictures and pull them out when he turns thirty and starts dating! (Yes I said 30!)
Well he finally lost one at the top, in front.
Later that night when it was time for bed he couldn't find it.
"It's time for bed now!" I yelled.
I heard him running."But I gotta find my toof!" he panicked.
After about five minutes I yelled again, "Let's go!"
My dad was in the living room.
"Don't worry 'bout it. You can find it tomorrow buddy," he tried to assure him.
He didn't accept it.
"Oh no! I gotta put it under my pillow tonight 'cause my toof came out tonight!"
I had an idea- "I know the tooth fairy and I will tell her to give you another day."
He stopped and thought about it.
"Well my toof fairy is not a she but a he, Mama."
With that tooth out now, his "she" sounded like "he".
"Okay. You gotta get in the bed now," I told him.
He was determined to get a tooth under that pillow, so he walked up to my dad and whispered, "Papa. Can I get one of yo teefs out yo cabinet in yo bathroom and put it under my pillow?"
While my dad choked, he ran and asked me, "How much does the toof fairy give for the bigger teef?"