Basketball Game and Growing Up

Yesterday, Christopher stayed after school to watch the boys' basketball team play. Talk about a grown-up moment. A moment I realized he can do things such as stay after school and watch a game.

He saw the C team play and part of the B team before I came to pick him up.

I texted him to let him know I was at the front of the school. He texted back with "K were on r way."

He excitedly told me about going to the gym after school and waiting for the game to start. He paid $1 to get in and then bought some snacks.

He's at the point between a boy and a teenager -- pre-teen is the official name. To me it's he's between being a little boy who wanted me to be with him everywhere to a boy who wants to bravely try new things, but still tell me about where he is and what he does. I'm at the point of wanting him to be with me, but knowing he needs to explore and test his decision-making skills.

So far all choices have been A+. I hope he continues to get an A in the wise choice area.

Bringing Home the Board by Chris

I brought home my Robert E. Lee board today. Mrs. Ruiz said if we didn't take it home today it was going in the trash.

It was tough. I couldn't call my mom until I got in my friend's grandparents' car. I couldn't get a grip on it. I couldn't hold it from the side. I couldn't hold it from the top. That thing was trouble.

Drawing Sea Lions by Chris

In art I started drawing a sea lion. I am using pencil and regular white paper. It's big, like the size of the paper.

It's tear-outs. I'll tear out paper and put it on the sea lion. That is how it will get colored.

Oregon Trail

Social Studies was always a favorite subject of mine. I enjoyed learning about cultures, history and how countries work, but as I help Christopher study for tests and review his homework I have discovered I don't remember as much as I should.

His latest project is creating a poster indicating he is selling seats on his covered wagon going to Oregon.

I know the trail lead to Oregon and people came from the East, but that's about it. Seriously, don't know the time period or if Oregon was even a state at the time.

I know I need to know this, but maybe I'll just rely on Christopher telling me about it. That then may result in the ever-popular, ever-familiar, "I don't know."

Getting to School

On days I travel and when Gervais has practice, we rely on our village to get Christopher to school.

Previous trips, Christopher spent the night with my parents. The sleepover at their house ensures structure, a good hot dinner, early to bed and a nice breakfast. I also know homework will be completed. My dad probably errs on a bit too much information if it is social studies, but hey, more is better than none. To get Christopher to school in the morning does require an earlier start and puts my parents out of their way driving him over closer to our house.

So this trip, because he asked and it worked out, Christopher spent the night at his friend's house. They are earlier risers and eat breakfast so for that I felt good. The homework part and going to bed early . . . not so sure.

As Christopher walked home yesterday, he called to check in as he does every day. He said, "We're going to Dave and Busters tonight." What!? A school night!? My reply, "Do you have homework." He said in return, "No, just spelling and that isn't due until Friday." I took a deep breath and told him to have a good evening.

Since this was a favor, I figured I had little control over dinner, but prayed that the game night would not happen. When I called Christopher that night, he said they didn't go and were getting ready for bed. Whew.

Today, he said they got up early and were ready by 7:10 a.m. That may be a challenge to my parents. I don't know if he's ready that early at their house!

For now, we have two options. Friend and grandparents. Nice to have choices. With each trip, we'll choose carefully.

History Project by Chris

I got a 95 on my project on Robert E. Lee. I got a 100 on my process paper in Social Studies. I have to wait for my process paper grade in English. I hope it is a 100.

Early Morning Tutoring

I could get used to this. This week, Christopher has gone to tutoring three days. He'll also go tomorrow, Friday. He gets up with his alarm clock in the morning -- even though it's about 20 minutes earlier than his non-tutoring days.

And, we get out of the house by 7:30 a.m. and then I'm at work around 8:15 a.m.

We're all so much more productive in the mornings. We get through breakfast and our devotional pretty smoothly.

Aside from the easy morning aspect, the tutoring is helpful. It's free and he gets one-on-one time with his teachers. The interactions become safer because Christopher feels at ease expressing concerns and asking questions when he is the only student with the teacher. I think the comfort then moves to the classroom. He won't sit back and wait for a question to be asked, he'll raise his hand.

Yeah for tutoring!

Knock Out by Chris

In PE we played knock out. You use a basketball and shoot. When it's your turn, you shoot and if you make it you stay in. If you miss it and the person behind you makes it, you are out.

I did good. There's usually a last person in regular knock out, but this is a different kind of knock out. You just keep going and going.

We didn't even dress out. We were in our regular clothes.

Ratios and the Internet

Now he's working on ratios. The first worksheet came home tonight and Christopher asked if I would check his work.

OK, the first part of each of the six questions was easy -- what's the ratio of something to the total. One was ratio of completed passes to total thrown. Easy, got it.

Then, the second part of the questions raised the ante -- what's the ratio of completed passes to incomplete. Maybe I overthought it,but we used the trusty Internet -- a great math site on ratios -- to instruct us. Aaahh, we got it.

What would we do without the Internet? Maybe the bigger question is where are the notes on ratios from Christopher's math class?

Tutoring all week by Chris

Almost all week so far I have had tutoring. Monday we got to school early but because it was benchmark they wouldn't let me in. I just went outside.

Today, you went to Mrs. Espinoza's room for reading tutoring.

Tomorrow, I have Mrs. O'Keefe for math. I didn't really get the test. I should have told her. She said she could tell I didn't get it.

Walked in the door . . .

"Mom, I can now read a book and understand what it is about."

Aaaaah . . .heavens parted.

"Do you want me to tell you about it?"

More angels singing.

Basketball by Chris

In PE we played basketball today. We didn't get to dress out. We just played basketball. They were like holding me out there.

Our coaches were there. But we didn't dress out.

Reading Progress

Christopher's been reading. He'll read between 15 and 30 minutes each night.

Tonight, I asked him if he is enjoying his book and he said yes. I didn't ask anymore questions. I didn't want to dwell on past issues of not understanding what he's reading or it taking too long.

Monday night, I told him to read until 9:05 p.m. He typically closes the book at the exact moment the clock changes to the aforementioned set time. Monday, I walked in his room at 9:08 p.m. to get him in bed and he was still reading. Three minutes isn't a lot for some people, but that was an extraordinary moment for me. He went over his time limit for reading.

We're making some reading progress.

Geography Bee by Chris

Today in Social Studies we had to take a test on geography. I did not do good. I guessed. It didn't count.

I asked Mrs. Ruiz, "How am I supposed to know this." She said, "your knowledge." I don't get that.

Like one of the questions was where do peanuts grow in the United States, Georgia or Utah. I don't know.

And, then I did get Salt Lake City is in Utah.

I didn't make the geography bee.

Oops Pass

Because he made As and Bs on his report card the first nine weeks and had perfect attendance, Christopher received a Harris card. The card lets him skip a quiz, not turn in homework, get a bathroom pass and gives him an "oops" excuse.

He has decided to execute the oops portion of the card. He is not doing his spelling activity for the week. He confirmed with his teacher that the oops was allowed.

I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand, he is judiciously using his reward. On the other, he should do his homework.

But what I'm really feeling is rats if we didn't have this thing during football season and those horrible Thursday night games where we got home at 10 p.m. and he had homework due the next day!?!??!?

Hair Cut by Chris

My dad made me get my hair cut Saturday. It doesn't look right. It's crooked in the front, slanted kind of.

I hope people get used to my hair. Some people at school today said it looked good. Some people said it looked bad.

After the Holidays

Back to school today after a week off. Boy it was rough this morning. Nothing like sleeping in each day and going to bed late each evening. I so enjoy the slow-paced, nowhere to be in particular lazy holiday days.

So the alarm shrilled at 7:20 a.m. and Christopher did not move. His first words to me, "I don't want to go to school."

After that groggy comment, he stumbled out of bed, took a shower and was downstairs by 7:40 a.m. My kid learned efficiency from me!

I asked him if he remembered his regular and PE locker combinations. He looked at me as if I had two heads. "Of course," he said. "Who forgets that stuff?" Your mom for one. I remember very clearly forgetting my combination after each holiday . . . even after the three-day weekends.

Only reading homework tonight thankfully. The teachers are probably easing back into the routine as well.

I'm already ready for the Christmas holidays. Three weeks?

Project Turned In by Chris

I told Mrs. Ruiz it was ready. So I turned it in. I think I get 20 extra points for presenting today. I didn't want to go first because I was scared so I went second.

It was hard to talk about. I had to say what was on the poster.

Mrs. Ruiz didn't say anything, but she started clapping.

Collared Shirts and Blue Jeans

Now that the temperature has dropped a bit, shorts aren't really working for Christopher. On to blue jeans.

He has four "working" pair of jeans -- meaning, he'll wear them.

My thought and basically what the entire fashion world believes is anything goes with blue jeans. T-shirts, collared shirts, shirts of any color, etc.

Nope. Not in my house.

And now the rules of what goes with blue jeans according to my son:
1. You wear a light blue collared shirt with light blue jeans. That's it. Not dark blue shirts or white shirts, light blue collared shirts.
2. With dark colored jeans, you can wear white striped collared shirts and a navy blue collared shirt. You cannot wear a black collared shirt.
3. You can wear a T-shirt with dark colored jeans only if it is gray or white.

It's going to be a long fall and winter.

Milk by Chris

Today I got milk for breakfast. Some of my other friends were there eating breakfast so I just got milk.

I'm probably going to start doing that. Because I'm pretty thirsty. Like today.

Thank Goodness for Book Reports

Christopher has a book report due December 15. This means one thing -- he will actually read a chapter book!

He has the book picked out -- it's a story based on Tiki and Ronde Barber, two NFL players, when they were in middle school. OK, it's not classic literature or some 500-page book, but it's a book. And it is over 150 pages.

Maybe he'll do another book report in January. And then February. Then March. And so on and so on.

"I can't figure out my homework"

That was the quote of the day. I'd like to believe it, but in reality it's Christopher's way of saying, "I don't want to work on it right now so I'll wait until you get home because if you are really tired, you'll just help me with the answers."

So, he's figured me out!

And, the homework was in math. Fractions. Adding complex fractions -- I'm not even sure if that is what they are called. Maybe mixed fractions. It's the 3 2/4 + 4 5/4 kind of problem.

While, he thinks he has figured me out, he should know by now I can't figure out fractions.

Yes, I walk in the door frustrated and tired -- horrible traffic and my husband calling asking me to bring him his shoes to Lee before the basketball game -- and I see the worksheet o' fractions.

I tell Christopher we need to get started and he points out his notes. Thank heavens for step-by-step notes. I was so grateful I forgot to point out to him that he could have read the notes and done this work by himself. Oh, but he needs me. Warm feeling . . .oh, wait I'm frustrated and tired.

We get down to business. Based on the notes, and not because I remember this at all, if the denominators are the same (bottom number for you who don't know), you add the whole numbers first (big number). Then you add the two numerators. In my example above, that would be 7 7/4. Great, time to reduce.

You reduce the 7/4 to 1 3/4 because 1 equals 4/4 and when you add that to 3/4 you get 7/4. I'm so smart -- thank you, thank you notes!

Then, you add 1 3/4 to 7. Answer is 8 3/4. I helped him with the first three and then he knocked out the rest.

My confidence factor on the answers was pretty high -- not because I even know how to check the work beyond what I just wrote -- but because there was a puzzle involved in the work sheet. The kind where the corresponding answer goes with a letter and when you fill in all the blanks you get some clever saying responding to a phrase. Our letters matched up correctly! We got it right!

Call me Ms. Fraction. At least until tomorrow when I'm sure it's adding different denominators -- there's something like finding a common factor or something in there.

On to the Next Project by Chris

In reading, we have to do a book report. And this kid already finished it. I was working on my word skills in the library.

I have to pick a chapter book that the teacher approves. It can be a comic book or anything like that.

I think we have to write it on the computer. I'm not sure.

It is due December 15. I think.

Finished Project

Finishing touches were made this evening -- Christopher touched up with glue to make sure all the labels and pictures were adhered to the once very white, but now very well done display board.

We logged about five hours this weekend and an hour tonight putting it together. Yes, I helped. Christopher had drawn out his plan, found his sources and came up with the labels. We both cut out the pictures -- I have some pretty cool Martha tools to help with that precision. He glued.

The details, as we called them, were typed up on the computer. I helped type, but he came up with the words. He had resources (web site print-outs and two books) scattered all over the floor by the computer.

It looks great. Being limited to 500 words was tough -- he ended up with only 61 for the Civil War. Fortunately, Christopher focused on Lee and who he was as a general so he didn't have to go into detail about the war.

He is taking it to school tomorrow (two days ahead of the due date) to share with his teacher and get any tips to make it better. So he may have some more work to do over the next two nights, but I cannot imagine she will ask him to do more. He has tutoring in the morning with his Social Studies teacher so he can finish up his bibliography.

He wants to win now so he can advance to the state competition. He said, "We get to do a six-foot board for that."

Yippee.

Nothing

This history project is to be worked on in Social Studies class, yet I'm not sure what Christopher has actually worked on in class. It seems he brings everything home -- because we have so much time in the evenings for extra work!?

Today I asked him . . . so what work are you doing in class? He said he looks up sources and goes on the computer. I asked where those sources were and how he could use them on his display board. He said he doesn't write them down. Huh?

He said he could bring his display board to class and work on it and I asked what would you do. He said he didn't know.

What is not connecting in this kid's head? He has a 3x4 foot blank display board. Nothing on it and no idea what is going on it. He's filled out three "note cards" of information based on three sources. That's it.

I don't know why he hasn't figured out he has to do this board. He is going to tutoring next Tuesday afternoon, but who knows what he'll walk away doing.

Tomorrow, in class, he's completing a bibliography page -- I guess of his three sources.

I don't want to help him on this because he needs to learn, but he literally has nothing. Nothing! And the thing is do next Thursday. So he has wasted an entire week of class room time. Nothing has come out of his class. Nothing!

I specifically told him today that tomorrow he will come home with a completed sketch of what the board will look like -- what pictures he wants to include, what labels he will make, what the timeline will look like. I also told him I have no stake in this game. It is his grade, not mine. Did anything connect or will nothing result.

I'm about to go crazy staring at that big ol' white board in my living room.

It is blank. It has nothing.

Incredible Pizza Company Field Trip by Chris

Today I went to Incredible Pizza Company for selling magazine subscriptions. I rode in a Hummer limo. There were three limos. No. 1 was blue, no. 2 was white and no. 3 was yellow. All different colors. I rode with Coach Fuschak and I got to control the radio on the way back. The chaperon for the blue one was Mrs. Horrigan, the chaperon for the white one was Mrs. Roman and the chaperon for the yellow was Coach Fuschak. Mr. Watson, our assistant principal rode with us in the passenger seat.

About 20 people could fit in the limo. My limo was yellow.

We only had like two minutes to play games. I played the game where you press start and roll them up to like a thousand.

I ate like everything there. I ate pizza, ice cream, pink lemonade, spaghetti and glazed doughnut type things. It wasn't just pizza it was everything.

I missed a lot of third period and missed fourth and about 75 percent of fifth.

It was a good day. I wish we had more time at Incredible Pizza.

Shoes

Again with the shoes and my child. He has eight pair of tennis shoes, yet could not find any pair to wear to school today. He said the shoes he had didn't go with his clothes. I lost it.

I want to throw away all the shoes he never wears -- maybe worn once or twice -- and have him only have one pair. He has too many.

We have created a child who thinks he gets that many choices, yet in the end only chooses flops. I hate flops at school. He was able to wear them today because he went on a field trip to Incredible Pizza Company.

Never again will he wear those flops to school. And, we are going through those other tennis shoes. He's getting rid of all of them except for two pair. End of story. Bottom line. He has too many.

Choosing the Best Way

Tonight I previewed the sixth grade sexuality program. Whew. It is a new curriculum this year. The material covers six days, which for Christopher means it will be over a three-week period because he has health two days a week. The PE coaches, health teachers and nurses teach the course.

The coursework is from Choosing the Best Way. Each segment includes a very brief video, four or five pages in a workbook and a take-home parent/child interview.

The first two segments cover making good decisions and selecting the right type of friend. During the friend segment, the material covers crushes and infatuation. Harmless enough, right?

The third and fourth are the doozies. I think they layer them in between the beginning and the end purposefully. No, I'm sure there is a sensible order to this thing. Anyway, the third is about avoiding unhealthy relationships and the fourth covers identifying the risks. OK, the third is about having sex and the impact of those decisions. It also includes a bit on rape. Ugh. I know it is something we need to discuss. It just seemed well abrupt. That's a topic we'll cover at home before Christopher hears it at school. The fourth covers getting pregnant and contracting STDs. Neither of the third and fourth segments praises or lauds having sex. In fact, it portrays everything in somewhat of a scary light, which I'm OK with at this age. One mom tonight wondered why the beauty of sex wasn't covered. Uh, they are in sixth grade. We want to scare them into not doing it!

The fifth segment covers abstinence which includes signing a pledge. The sixth is about saying no and standing up for yourself -- a big chunk is over not drinking alcohol.

I signed the permission slip for Christopher to attend the classes. In hearing how the teachers handle questions (written on pieces of paper and then answered the next day based on the teachers discretion and done with definition only) and knowing there is a very scripted presentation, I'm comfortable with him attending.

Now, this class puts it out there that the parents need to take some of the responsibility as well. That's why I attend these parent preview sessions -- I find out what will be covered so I can determine what we need to prepare Christopher for.

Oh, I want him to be little and not grow up . . . but I know this stuff is out there. So, I'd rather talk about it at home, prepare him and then let professionals help reinforce and teach.

The classes start in about two weeks. That means we have two weeks to talk to Christopher. Better do it.

Ultimate Frisbee by Chris

In PE today we did ultimate frisbee. It's a game with a frisbee. You throw it and try and make a score. You try and throw it in between the cones.

I scored. Well someone threw it to me and I got it.

I like doing those things in PE.

Veteran's Day Assembly by Chris

We had the assembly during third period, of course. PE time.

The orchestra played, the band played and the choir sang. They played "Our Country Tis of Thee."
This guy said something and this girl said something about her dad who went to Iraq. He had crutches when he came back.

Display Boards

Who knew there were so many choices for project display boards.

You can go with the traditional foam core board and construct the panels yourself. I assumed this would be our approach since I had not shopped for display boards in oh, say, 30 years. That would probably be the last time I put a project together.

I purchased two black boards.That wasn't right according to Christopher. I then found a smaller corrugated cardboard three-paneled Elmer's brand board. Again, too small, not right.

Third time to Target, I hit the mother lode. I found the 36x48-inch three-paneled Elmer's foam core display board. Just right.

Since November 4

We've elected a president. Barack Obama will be our 44th president and he will be the 1st black president. I fell asleep before his acceptance speech, but did see clips in the days following.\

Christopher had to answer two questions with five sentences each for debate class as a result of the election.
1. What was historic about this election? He answered with comments on Sen. Obama being the first black and that two women were very involved in the election (Sen. Clinton and Gov. Palin).

2. Do you agree with the results of the election? He answered with yes, that he was glad Sen. Obama was elected. He even used the word transformational -- because he heard it discussed on the television and by me with friends.

But those two responses are not what struck me about Christopher's reaction to the election. The morning after, I woke him up by telling him the news. He gave a thumbs up.

Then, over breakfast, while we watched the news, he said "What's the big deal about him being the first black president." Interesting commentary. It's so natural to Christopher that a black person be elected. He doesn't even think about the color. He just knew Sen. Obama was elected.

With that reaction, I wondered if he wasn't connecting the history. I told him less than 50 years ago black and white children couldn't go to the same school. I reminded him of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. He knows those stories and understands they were horrible times, but I don't know if the history of civil rights matches up in his head to the history-making election. He needs to understand what black Americans went through to have what they were promised -- equality.

After we discussed Sen. Obama, my son looked at me and said, "Don't worry Mama, someday there will be a woman president."

Someday.

Math Benchmark by Chris

I wrote in all my agenda spaces Benchmark for today. We had the math benchmark. I did OK. It was 28 questions and we had two and a half hours. I guessed at some.

I didn't have a book to read when I finished. I should have brought Diary of a Wimpee Kid. I could have read a magazine or anything.

We told scary stories in math instead of having work. Mrs. O'Keefe told a scary story about her brother's baby who saw a man with googles and knee pads. I left the classroom before she finished so my friend told me the whole story. Why would a baby see that?

Don't Say Anything

That was a request from my son today -- and I heard it last week as well.

As I worked the polls at his elementary school this afternoon, Christopher and his friend walked to my car and where I was. Both waited on me to finish my shift at 4 p.m. While I wrapped up and turned over my literature to my replacement, I saw some middle school kids messing with the many campaign signs posted around the school's perimeter. They were pulling them out of the ground -- which was very hard and required us to use extreme force and a sledge hammer to get signs in the ground -- and then walking around with them. I said in that direction, "Hey, leave those alone."

"Mom, don't say anything," said my son.

I looked at him and thought -- this is now the second time he's asked me not to be forthright and stand up for something. What? My son knows my personality and yet, is asking I don't say anything.

Last week, a boy was loudly cussing, using the really bad word at a girl across the street. Both started yelling and cussing at each other. Parents, kids, teachers . . all were around and could hear loud and clear the comments. I was at the stoplight closest to the boy, so I rolled down my window and before I said anything, my son said, "Mom, don't say anything."

I didn't, but as we drove away I let him know boys should never talk to girls that way and if I ever hear him using that language especially when talking to a girl, he won't be able to talk for a very long time because I will have popped him in the mouth so hard . . oooh.

All that lesson aside, I guess I'll have to cool it when I am in front of him. Maybe I point out what is wrong with the action I'm observing and let him form his own conclusions. Maybe I keep my mouth shut and let the punks do what they will . . .

Naaah, that ain't happening. I going to say something.

Research Project

Over the next two weeks, Christopher will be working on a Social Studies research project. It is paired with a National History competition.

First, he had to choose an individual who has made a historical contribution. He picked Robert E. Lee. I believe that has to do with where his dad coaches football!Second, he had to select the type of project. The choices were performance, documentary, web pages, research paper or an exhibit board. He selected the exhibit board. Yippee! It's a giant diorama. We loved doing those last year for fifth grade reading projects.

Both Christopher and I have big plans. Unfortunately, upon execution of those plans, he discovers I'm not so crafty or creative and we then struggle with the final design.

This time, we're planning. We know we'll need pictures, possibly a confederate flag (that'll spark some conversation), possibly a representation of Lee's horse, Traveller, and of course, lots of labels.

Research will be done at school. He has a series of activities -- notecards, drafts, outlines, etc., he'll be completing during class. The homework is taking the research and putting it on the board.

Over the weekend, we'll find the board and get some other props. Then we can begin assembly over the next week.

The project is due November 19. So we really have two and a half weeks, but I can almost picture the weekend of November 15 and 16 -- board heaven!

Necklace by Chris

I wore my 15 necklace to school today.

My mom kept saying Oh Christopher don't lose it.

I couldn't wear it in PE so I put it in my shoe in my locker.

It was easy to put back on.

I wanted to wear it because I just wanted to see what it felt liked and if I wanted to wear it again.

I probably will wear it again tomorrow and the rest of the week. I hope I get some more charms.

First Report Card

Apologies for such sporadic postings this past week. I was out of town Wednesday evening, we had football practice and loads of homework Thursday night and then Friday was a football game. Thankfully, we now have some time today to reflect on the first nine weeks through my son's first middle school report card.

All As except for that 89 in English. AARGH!?!?!? And, to top off the extremely aggravating 89, the English teacher's comment of I is a code for "exhibits positive attitude." Seriously, he gets kudos for a positive attitude and you can't bump his stinking grade up to an A.

Christopher seems OK with the B. He really wanted straight As, but knows he did his best. Again, the B resulted in two low, timed, in-class assignments. His homework, quizzes and tests -- an A average.

I plan on e-mailing his teacher. I will thank her for the nice comment and then ask how we can work together to get Christopher an A the next nine weeks.

Gervais and I are so proud of him. He has adapted well to changing classes and having different teachers. I think that keeps him focused and on top of his behavior. He gets to start fresh every 40 minutes.

He received all Satisfactory conduct codes except for one class, Art. In that class, he received an E. Yep, excellent.

That about sums up this first nine weeks in middle school -- excellent.

Voter Registration Card by Chris

In Social Studies, we did a voter registration card.

I filled out my name and signature. My signature took forever because I wanted it so perfect. We had to put our school name and address.

On Thursday, we are going to vote.

I told my mom I was voting for McCain. Really I'm voting for Obama. I'm voting for Obama because I feel like it.

Fractions and Percents

Uh-oh, the time has arrived. Christopher is doing fractions and percents. For some reason, I am incapable of doing either. Colleagues at work can tell you, I can never remember how to do a percent -- what do I divide into what or is there something I multiply?

Now, I can tell you if half the pie is shaded and even go so far as to tell you 2/10 is 20 percent. But when you start doing 2 3/5 and what is an equivalent fraction, I simply stop. Yep, don't even try to figure it out. Quite frankly, my brain begins to hurt. I cannot find those neurons that connect to reason out the problem.

I've accepted this math shortcoming in my personal life and my work life. I ignore the need to do a fraction or a percent. Or, I ask my trusty friend Allison to figure it out. In fact, last week, I called Allison to help Christopher figure out what percent equaled 1/12. I knew it was less than 10 percent, but didn't know what to divide and how to move the decimal point . . I don't even know how to ask the question and use the right terms to correctly write about fraction figuring out.

It should be as simple as me reading a book, going online, practicing or getting a workbook, but I'm 40 years old and have managed just fine. So, I'll use the online tools whenever Christopher gets stuck or call up my good friend Allison. I've got all three of her numbers so she can't hide from me.

I wonder what's the percentage of time she'll help!?

Happy by Chris

I was happy to get my WOW turned in.

I was happy I don't have to do cursive in spelling and I finished spelling today and it is not due until Friday.

Art Project Turned In

Christopher wrapped up the WOW piece Sunday afternoon. It is fantastic. It took coaxing on our part to encourage him to stop. He kept wanting to mess with it, to get it perfect, to have it look like the magazine picture. From the background, to the fingernails, to the subtle gathers in the player's basketball shorts, each item was painstakingly reviewed and mulled over by Christopher.

He enjoys art so much except that he wants to create literal, exact interpretations of the pieces he is referencing. I don't think he understands he can interpret a piece. Even when he makes up a drawing without an existing picture to compare to, he is easily frustrated because the picture doesn't look exactly the way it should.

I need to research artists who create their own version of a picture so he can see he is able to do that. I think he believes artists make each image perfect. I need some sort of abstract artist as an example. Or there's a sports artist who would paint these pictures of athletes in action.

I can sense his frustration and his drive to make something perfect. That mindset doesn't allow him to free himself and just draw. Sometimes he'll be so close to completion, but he'll crumple up his work and stop. Stop cold.

He's very talented and can really draw well. I just don't want him to trap himself into this frustration cycle and lose his passion.

I want him to feel the WOW.

Blue Jeans

The cooler weather has finally come and with that warmer clothes are required. Long-sleeved shirts, blue jeans and hoodies all become a part of the clothes calendar.

Thankfully, we had gone through the blue jeans and long-sleeved shirts a few weeks back. During that try on time, we discovered four pairs of jeans, four pairs of athletic pants and one pair of cargo pants no longer fit. That left Christopher with two pairs of jeans and a pair of khaki pants.

So this morning, it was pulling out a pair of jeans to combat the 46 degrees temperature. He wore a short-sleeved shirt, but pulled on the hoodie.

And, because we live in South Texas and the weather changes faster than well, it just changes really fast, this afternoon, he lugged home the hoodie in his back pack. If he had worn a long-sleeved shirt, that too would have been in the back pack.

The two pair of jeans and the shirts that still fit all pass the "look" test with Christopher right now. We'll see if one pair of jeans is too faded or too dark or too baggy or whatever, but for now we'll be rotating two pair of jeans. I'll wait for the "look" fall out to determine what type of jeans will replace the four pair we gave away.

I know we the parents make the final decision because the money paying for the jeans belongs to the parents, but I prefer to avoid early morning battles if it simply means buying a pair of jeans he likes. Oh, they have to be from either JCPenney or the Gap, maybe Old Navy. Not quite ready to buy the jeans he likes from Abercrombie.

Personalized Debate

With Red Ribbon week comes loads of conversation around drugs, alcohol and smoking.

Each day carries a theme -- from wearing crazy socks to dressing like twins -- and application to the week is put into place in some of the classes.

In Christopher's debate class, the work this week focused on "why or why not do I do drugs." Won't the teacher be surprised if a kid justifies using drugs. How would they handle that? Fortunately, and obviously, Christopher took the side of not participating in drugs, smoking or drinking alcohol.

He had to write a one-page paper and then illustrate his reasoning. His picture, cleverly drawn (art is paying off) showed a cigarette with a red X and a bottle of Bud Light with a red x. This of course indicates don't do either.

His paper covered how unhealthy drugs, et al, are and what they do to your body. His examples ranged from yellow teeth to pimply skin. He also pointed out the expense to doing drugs.

As he wrote, he commented that he used the words "you" and "your" frequently. I told him that personalizes the debate and helps the listener better identify with your argument. I came close to launching into a comparison of the presidential debates, but stopped, when he said "I need to count these yous and yours." Obviously, my personalization argument didn't add up for him.

Maybe I should have used you and your as I described my reasoning.

Movie Day by Chris

In debate, we watched Willy Wonka. In English, we watched Because of Winn Dixie.

I don't know why we watched these movies. We're doing a paper on Because of Winn Dixie.

I like watching movies because they are fun. It's the best thing in school because you don't have to do any work.

WOW by Chris

I finished my hand and I think I've got to take it home tomorrow because I won't finish it by Monday.

The picture has a hand with a ball. I don't think I should do a background because there is too much. It's one of those Sports Illustrated pictures with all the people in the background, like sports players and coaches from college. It's too much.

If I do the background right now I probably won't finish. But if I do the hand and the ball I'll finish.

This morning, I thought it was good that my dad was going to take me to get me to tutoring on time. Then we went to one of the teachers classrooms and Mrs. House was like all the people here "super."

I had to call mommy with my cell phone at school because I had to stay for tutoring after school. Mrs. House told me to.

Traveling Requires Instructions . . .

and feedback.

No posts yesterday. I traveled to the Valley for work. I should have left behind my log-in credentials so Christopher could have input something for the day. I should have logged in from the hotel and done the same.

I didn't. He didn't. We didn't.

I did learn that when I travel I have to leave behind instructions. I've always been that way. When I went to Paris, I had a day-by-day calendar of Christopher's activities. Gervais has grown to love this idiosyncrasy of mine -- OK, obsession -- but I noticed last night and today, I forgot about the feedback.

I called Christopher last night before he went to bed and then as usual called this a.m. No answer at the house and it was too early for Christopher to be dropped off -- see my earlier post about the courtyard and a.m. drop-off times. I phoned Gervais on his cell and he told me "Oh, I dropped him off early for tutoring in English."

Minor detail left out of last night's conversations. Again, I had left instructions, but did not receive any feedback -- even when I asked the usual question of how school was and did he have homework and what were the big take-aways of the day.

Nope, no mention on tutoring.

Well, I'll be specific next time I travel -- which is next week -- and ask for feedback. Get a few more details, talk through the blog posts, as those seem to be how I get my feedback.

Art project

For a kid that could not be in band and wanted desperately to be in art, Christopher is acting flippant and way too casual about his WOW art project.

He randomly picked something that made him say WOW. Some random basketball player he saw in a magazine. He could have selected anything -- Shaquille O'Neal, Lee High School football, scoring a touchdown in football, the Navy Pier in Chicago -- all these things make him say WOW.

I let him know he is showing disrespect to his teacher by not being interested in this project. This is their final grade for the nine weeks and is to demonstrate all the concepts they've learned. Also, these projects will be in a district-wide competition representing Harris and his teacher.

I don't know if it is pre-teen attitude stuff or what, but I can't stand the "I don't know" and "Whatever" language he is using as he describes the project.

We'll be talking about this and digging a bit deeper this weekend.

WOW, I didn't think I'd experience such lack of interest on the outside when I know I on the inside he cares.

WOW by Chris

In art we are working on drawing a picture that makes you say WOW.

I'm drawing Brandon Rush. I'm drawing the ball he's holding with his arm.

I couldn't think of anything else so I picked Brandon Rush. We had to pick from anything and I saw some Sports Illustrated magazines that Mrs. Fox had so I picked him.

Health by Chris

Today we had Health, not PE.

We had to write definitions to words. Words like emotional, physical and stuff like that.

We have another Health test we take on the internet. It was released today. Coach said it was released at 1 p.m.

Almost All 'A's

Christopher has all As except for a pesky 89 in English. He will be turning in a vocabulary project tomorrow that should garner him a 100. Hopefully, that grade and some other in-class work this past week and next will pull him up to an A.

He wants straight As so badly. The two low in-class timed assignment grades are haunting him.

I know he needs to get things done in a timely manner. But should grammar and punctuation be rushed? I can hear my journalism professor Dr. McCorkle yelling at me saying all good writers should so fully know the rules of grammar and punctuation they could complete assignments in record time. I understand that expectation of writers and journalists, but a sixth grader?

And, I guess he'll learn a lesson about focusing on the task at hand. Taking his "eye off the prize" during those timed lessons resulted in low grades.

Seriously, though. Shouldn't tests and quizzes be weighted more? Fully show the level of comprehension of the subject and concept?

I hope, I hope, I hope, he can get an A. I'm e-mailing the teacher tomorrow indicating my level of interest -- which is sincere -- and hoping she can let him to a bit of extra credit to boost the grade to an A. Doesn't the other work in the class show he is an A student and capable?

Acrodunk Show by Chris

Today I got to watch Acrodunk. It was some guys who slam dunked basketballs jumping on trampolines.

My friend said there were only two guys, but there were more.

I thought one ws going to get stuck in the net because he jumped so high.

It was cool.

I kept telling people one guy was my dad because everyone said the guy looked like me. I then said no I'm just kidding. That was funny.

Homework Piling Up

What is it about three-day weekends that lead to four-day weeks that create massive pile-ups in work?

It's a day off, we don't make it up that same week. At work, suddenly five days worth of meetings and calls are packed into four days. And, at middle school, four nights worth of homework piles into three nights.

Our favorite vocabulary project made it's way home Tuesday. Remember, Mondays are good for us because we have nothing on those evenings. So now, with only two of the four exercises done, it means we have to finish another tonight and then do the 20-seven word sentences in cursive tomorrow before and after football practice. Yuck.

But the fun doesn't stop. More homework entered the house tonight. So, we have to get that stuff done (which is due tomorrow) and then work on the Friday vocabulary project.

Anticipating Thursday's addition to the mess!

So the benefit of being off Monday was what again?

Dad Driving

This morning, Gervais took Christopher to school because I had to catch a flight to Dallas for work.

Apparently, everything went according to plan. Christopher got up in time, got dressed in the clothes indicated on the chalkboard closet calendar and did a devotion.

OK, that works. There are mornings where I will need Gervais to take Christopher. That means Gervais won't get to work as early as he usually does, but at least it can be done.

Pizza Cheese Sticks by Chris

I ate at the snack bar today because I didn't know we were having chicken nuggets and pizza cheese sticks in the hot lunch line.

My friend called me over and so I missed pizza cheese sticks.

Instead, I got a chicken sandwich, two milks and chips.

No Homework Weekend

Three magical words in one wonderful phrase. No homework weekend!

No social studies project, no English project, no PE test, nothing, nada. Yippee!

I will encourage him to read this weekend. He has two new books that he's interested in so there should be at least a few minutes spent reading this weekend.

The bonus -- it's a three-day weekend. Three words for three days -- no homework weekend!

Kaleidoscope by Chris

In art we worked on our kaleidoscope. You color patterns in a circle.

It's cool.

Notebook Paper and Pencils

Christopher has gone through two 100-page packs of notebook paper and about 10 mechanical pencils. They are disposable, but still 10?

He now will go the old fashioned, sharpen your own, no. 2 pencil route. Those are about 20 for $1. The disposable mechanical pencils are around 5 for $3.

And, the three-ring, three-inch binder is on its last leg. That binder is packed. Each subject has a tab. Two of the tabbed areas have spiral notebooks. The social studies tabbed area also has a workbook. Plus, he keeps notebook paper and his zippered pencil case in the binder. The plastic pockets are tearing and the outside edges of the binder are beginning to bend and give.

Round two of school supplies is upon us and we haven't even finished the first nine weeks.

Deodorant by Chris

I had to bring new deodorant to PE. I dropped my other one out of my locker and someone else picked it up.

My hands got real sweaty because of the deodorant and I tried three times to open my locker.

Finally, I got it open.

A Few Low Grades

Checked Parent Portal today and discovered Christopher had some unusually low grades -- two in English and one in reading.

I e-mailed the teachers and received similar responses. Both indicated he seems to get off task easily rather than focus.

Here we go again. We've made it six weeks with no behavior problems and they seem to be creeping back.

The instruction tonight was for him to keep his behind in his seat and focus on his work. I also told him he is to keep his mouth shut.

At home, the punishment will be no cell phone and no sports. I told him bad conduct grades keeps him out of honor society and sports at school.

I think he got the message.

All I Could Think About by Chris

All I could think about today was going to the pep rally at Lee. I can hardly wait to see the football players.

I also finished my vocabulary so I could go to the pep rally.

I have a social studies test tomorrow on a map of the continents.

Math Test and Vocabulary by Chris

We had a math test. Our teacher said if we finished the test early we could sit at our desks and do whatever we wanted as long as we didn't talk.

I did some of my vocabulary project. I only have to do sentences now.

A Debate

(Tuesday night post on Wednesday a.m. due to practice and crazy evening!)

Driving to practice, Christopher talked about debate class. At last! Interest in debate!

We got on the subject after discussing insurance for your car and health.

He picked two topics in class to write about and take a position. I was pleased with his choices:
1. Should you have to go to school on Saturdays? He stated no. He justified his argument by pointing out kids need to be kids and there are other activities families are involved in on the weekend that they should be allowed to participate in.

2. Should you be allowed to play sports if you have bad grades? He stated no. He wrote if you aren't disciplined enough about your grades, you aren't showing you care. He did tell me he wrote if the student is trying to improve, he would as a coach talk to the teachers to determine if the student should get a chance to play.

I think he's getting it.

Busy day, Busy week

It's weeks such as this that wear us down. We are able to get everywhere on time, with the right clothes on and the right equipment -- even with cash in my pocket, but we don't feel really there. It seems we are always thinking of the next place to be or the next few things we need to take care of.

Last night, Christopher's football team had their make-up game. This make-up game resulted from the Hurricane Ike cancellation weekend. The game was at 6 p.m. at the Mays YMCA. For those who don't know, I could have written 5 p.m. on the Nile. The field where we played is on the other side of the earth from where I work. While we live a bit closer, it is still a traffic-filled journey.

Carpooling coordination began as soon as we found out the time and place of the game. Fortunately, Christopher's friend's dad could take them. I could leave work at my regular time, mind you, I had to change at work into my Colts clothes -- as I wrote above, we can get where we need to be in the right clothes.

We lost the game. While I watched and cheered, I wondered what we were going to do for dinner, how was Christopher going to get his homework finished, was the laundry going to be done for practice Tuesday and what time were we all getting to bed. The coaches would have said my head was not in the game.

We picked up a raspa for Christopher at the field after the game and headed home. Before we left, his friend's dad said he wasn't going to take said friend to practice tomorrow. Add that to my list, I now need to leave early from work to go home, come back across town and take him to practice.

My mind is already running this morning about the evening ahead and Wednesday (pep rally), Thursday (practice and varsity game) and Friday (basketball practice).

It's a busy day, busy week.

Extra Activities and Clubs

Harris has clubs galore. Christopher has opted not to participate in any.

No Student Council. No Science Club. No Reading Club. No Spirt Club.

And, he doesn't want to participate in Academic UIL.

He seems to be happy just being.

I wanted him in Student Council, but couldn't force it. I did not anticipate he would join the Science, Reading or Spirit clubs.

But something at school should create interest.

Maybe there will be an Art contest or a Debate tournament.

Something beyond the eight subjects a day.

This is hard for me because I wanted to be in everything. I was even in Beta Club. I have no idea what we really did, I think it was a service organization, but I was in it.

Something. He should participate in something.

Friday by Chris

Friday is good. It is the last day of the week. We have our game the next day.

We got homework today from Mrs. Ruiz. It is due Tuesday.

I played football in the courtyard this morning because I got there early.

PE First

I went to my locker first and then I went to PE.

I had PE first today because it was early dismissal again.

Some kid has two times. PE is his elective and he gets to go twice. Some girl told me that. I wish I was in that.

I didn't have health today. My test is up today with 14 questions. Tomorrow I am going to bring my notes home.

Now it's Writing

So the two things I love, enjoy, relish, am passionate about Christopher can do, but doesn't want to.

Reading. And, now writing.

He has a paper due tomorrow in English that is a first-hand account of a personal story. He chose his first football game of this season. Wow, seems exciting and covering a favorite topic of his. Yet, the excitement of telling the story translating into writing the story quickly fades as the pencil nears the paper.

Suddenly, the rules take over. It has to be three to five pages. It has to be double-spaced. We only have three days to write.

With the rules comes a dampening of joy. It's no longer fun.

Seriously, he can spin the best stories. His accounts happenings are exact and interesting. He chooses descriptive words and indicates emotion.

What is a journalist to do? He's heard the stories of words are powerful and carefully describe what happens so that others want to hear more of your tale. He knows I'm a writer and formerly served as a reporter. Not impressed. He wants to get it done. Get it over. And, writing is not about getting it over. It's starting and refining and re-creating. I can see his eyes rolling right now.

I'm thinking if he records himself and then listens to his dictation, he may hear the energy in his voice and then he could put that on paper.

Nonetheless, he has 2 1/2 pages completed which gets him an 80. Half a page more would earn him a 90. Four pages borders on a 100. He's content with the 80 -- I told him, we're a family who isn't satisfied by the bare minimum so he is finishing out the half of a page tonight.

How can I create enthusiasm? After football practice . . .yeah, good luck.

Second day of Early Dismissal by Chris

It was boring today. I didn't have PE.

It was fun because we didn't have sixth period. It was fun that we didn't have that.

Tutoring

Christopher had math tutoring this morning. We had to get there by 7:45 a.m.

He got a bit nervous as we drove up because we arrived right at 7:45 a.m. But they didn't open the school until that time so he felt a bit better.

As a result of tutoring, the bad grade went to a 75. Much better. Not great or even good, but much better.

I'm a big fan of tutoring. It's free and each teacher offers it. You can attend each tutoring session which is once or twice a week per subject. Some are before school, some after.

I tell Christopher, it can only help him. Plus, attending one-on-one or small group tutoring helps him get to know his teachers better. They see his willingness to learn and desire to succeed. Just like his clothes, teachers notice those subtle things.

By no means do I want to force him into tutoring, I want him to feel comfortable with it. Tutoring is not always the result of a low quiz score. We explain it helps him understand concepts he may be confused by or if he has questions on work. His teachers are there to help him.

To tutor him.

Early Dismissal by Chris

I don't like that my schedule is all weird, but I like getting home early.

Today, I had 1st through 6th period.

Tomorrow, I skip 3rd period and 6th period and we have 7th period and 8th period.

Thursday, I skip 1st period and 2nd period.

Early Dismissal Days

It's that time of year. Conferences. That means early dismissal.

Christopher gets out at 1:30 p.m. today, Wednesday and Thursday. While we don't have any parent-teacher conferences, we still benefit from early release.

It's always quite an issue -- where does your child go on these days?

Christopher walked home today and got to the house around 2 p.m. He was picked up for football practice around 5 p.m. He did fine, but three hours seems long to me. My neighbor across the street keeps an eye out on him and he busily does homework, but I still worry a bit. He knows he cannot go outside or use the microwave (or oven for that matter). He is very reponsible about locking the door and getting straight to work. He cleans up after his snack.

He is OK I know, but these are the days I wish I could be at home waiting for him. It seems so, well, latchkey-ish. Is he lonely letting himself in? I don't think he gets spooked or scared, but he does come home to an empty house.

Only two more days . . .

Lost Homework by Chris

I thought I lost my math crossword puzzle homework. When I went to math class, I didn't have it so I was thinking and my stomach felt all tingly because I knew I had it in there because I knew I had it at the house. I thought I dropped it somewhere.

During class I was thinking about going to my locker because during PE I put my binder in my locker. And maybe it fell out then in my locker.

Class went on and on like it always does.

At the end of class, I went to the teacher's desk and said I needed a new math crossword puzzle homework. She said Christopher come back and I thought I was in trouble or something.

Then she said come on I think I know where it is and so I followed her into a room with the computers, but not a computer lab, and she had my social studies paper and my math homework.

She said some person gave it to her.

I wonder where it dropped. I don't get that.

Responsibility is Rough

After the high of 105 on a math test, Christopher came down a bit today.

For starters, he was unable to complete an online PE quiz that was to have been completed this morning. The coaches' web page was down over the weekend so Christopher couldn't get in to take the quiz. He was a bit panicked and worried about what Coach Fuschak would say -- note, his coach is the son of the head Mac football coach, and that coach is a very important person to Christopher. I e-mailed the coach last night and he responded today stating it was OK because the servers were down. There is an online test which will be issued Thursday. While Christopher will have one week to complete it -- guess what, we're knocking it out right away.

The second event was a poor math quiz grade. There were five questions and he missed three -- you do the math. On one question, he simply didn't check his work and rushed through it. The other two he plain missed. He has tutoring Wednesday morning where he will correct his test. I think they get a passing grade when that happens.

And, the final straw broken today, involved math again. His homework fell out of his binder during class, he got very flustered and was unable to turn it in. When he went to explain this to the teacher, she said someone had turned it in and she told him to bring it by her classroom after school. Guess what didn't make it to math class after school? I almost turned around to take him back, but thought, this may be a lesson he needs to learn.

I know he has so much to remember and he should be the one remembering, but what is my duty as mom to help him? I want him to be successful so if I see something going wrong, I should help correct it, right? But there is the whole enabling thing and I want him to develop his own skills around responsibility.

I hate the three strikes he had today. It made for a rough day. For both of us.

Hummer Limo Ride by Chris

I have 12 orders. I get to ride in the limo. If I get three more, I can invite a friend. Grandmother is going to look at it tomorrow at Ryan's baseball game. Maybe her and Granddad will both order. Then I'll need one more.

Joy of Reading?

While I've not been as successful as my sister Amy in encouraging my child to read, he does see me read, I read to him and we go to the library frequently. He even has his own library card. So why does he not like to grab a book, sit down and read?

He does read the Sports section of the paper each morning, which as a journalist, that thrills me. But I want him to read books and discover, this is going to read quite cliche, the joy of learning and imagining. He still likes his reading teacher, so hopefully something will come of that. I also think I'm going to get him the new Rick Riordan series, but will it end up on the shelf along with the many, many other books I have purchased him -- many at his urging.

People have told me, find the right book and he'll get hooked. He just needs the right topic. My child loves sports, but hasn't latched on to books about sports. He'll read a Matt Christopher selection or go back to one of his early year favs Salt in My Shoes, but it's not that fire and desire to read.

I believe you learn so much and experience so much -- things you may not get to do in real life, but through books you can go on adventures.

Oh, I want him to read and love it.

Another Thursday Football Game

These Thursday games wear me out. Along with getting home late, Christopher had social studies homework on world religions. Tough to read, tough to understand -- especially at 10 p.m.

He also gave me a log-in sheet for a PE test. I believe they are taking an online, two-question quiz. He's finding out more details today.

Playing

Christopher finished up his vocabulary work tonight. It's due Friday, but tomorrow is a football game.

After finishing, he met up with his friend. They rode their bikes around the neighborhood.

At one point, Christopher came inside to tell me he was going to ride with his friend back to his house. He also said he was playing with L. She's a girl from his class last year. Her mom was room mom with me and is team mom with me this year. She lives around the corner from us and he has never, I repeat never, played with her before.

She's a very smart girl who I believe is in AP classes, but she's a girl.

Since when did he want to play with L?

Truly, she's lived around the corner from us for years. Now all of a sudden, he's playing with her.

Not ready for this . . .

cogAT by Chris

It was a test. It took five periods.

Some were hard. Some were easy. Some I guessed.

The questions were math, reading, patterns, shapes and numbers.

Too small shirt by Chris

The shirt I wore today was too small. I need another brown one.

Lunch Money

I wrote my third $30 check and we have another week left in September. My child has gone thorugh $60 since the beginning of school.

I watch the parent portal and see he spends between $2.40 and $3.15 each day. He hit a $3.85er one day, but we quickly nipped that. I think that was a double chicken sandwich day with chips and a drink.

Guess what? He eats it all. It's not going to waste and he's hungry. He's a growing 11-year-old boy. He's not eating junk -- except for when he gets the occasional chips or ice cream.

We've established a one-day a week snack bar and the other four days are hot lunch. The $2.40 is for a hot lunch with an extra milk. When he makes it to around $3, he's usually at the snack bar or buying a juice or water with the hot lunch. And, some days he buys an ice cream.

Gervais and I both bring our lunches to work to save money. I believe we are simply allocating our savings to Christopher's meal plan.

Great job

Those were the handwritten words on the top of his math thest.

A 105 on his first math test. Wow. He is so excited. He said, "I got it because I studied and I knew it."

Talk about a confidence booster.

His math teacher may take the turn from a "serious teacher" (his words) to a favorite. Today, she required a 10-question homework worksheet for students who were talking a bit too much. Christopher was not one of them. He said she told her he only had to do five questions because he was behaving so well.

Math comes naturally to Christopher. He understands the concepts and how to show your work. From time to time, he will rush through the work and not spend the time checking it for accuracy. That's when the grades slip a bit. But now he's checking his work and writing so clearly.

And making a 105.

105 by Chris

When I got my 105 math test, I thought you must have got the wrong name because I have never got a 105 and then I saw my name on it and I was really happy.

I knew mama was going to be proud.

And, I got my PE stuff to my PE locker.

Missing Phone by Chris

I couldn't find my phone today. But I got home and found it on my desk on top of the phone box.

First Progress Report

The first progress report came home today.

We're so proud. He has all As in his classes. OK, except for debate. He received a 75 on a speech he gave on day three or so of class because he is in a class with seventh graders who have a year of debate under their belts.

He's being moved to another class -- with sixth graders only. His grade has changed as well. I checked parent portal today, and he has no grade in the class.

His English teacher wrote a comment about his effort being commendable.

Very proud.

Thursday Night Football . . .

Means no post Thursday night. We got home late after dropping off Christopher's friend at his mom's house.

Christopher brushed his teeth, washed his face and skipped the shower to get into bed.

An upcoming post will include comments on Christopher's recent attempts to wear casual clothes to school -- t-shirts, basketball shorts, flops and today he wanted to wear his football jersey.

Party Invitation

Christopher was invited to his first girl/boy party. It is a birthday party for a girl in his Social Studies class. She didn't go to elementary school with him so she is someone new.

He doesn't want to go. No interest whatsoever.

Now, I think he's a bit nervous and anxious about the party. So he said no to the invitation. Also, his friend was not invited and he doesn't know any boys who were invited.

An interesting sentence written on the invitation indicated the party would be chaperoned. Seriously, that was a question? How could a 12-year-old party not be chaperoned! I guess it's a common question.

People will accuse me of keeping his as my "baby" and hey, who cares. He is my baby boy and I'm glad he said no. Not only was he not ready, mom wasn't ready.

Running by Chris

Today we ran two cross countries in PE. I walked some. Most people walked.

I finished my vocabulary for English class so I don't have to do it tomorrow.

Organizing Time

He has a project due Friday that is requiring him to allocate time to it each evening. It's vocabulary in cursive so he's not too pleased.

He selected three items totaling 50 points:
1. Alphabetize the 20 words
2. Write 20 sentences with the 20 words. Each sentence should have seven words.
3. Define the 20 words.

Yesterday, he knocked out the alphabetizing and five definitions. Tonight, after practice, he completed 10 sentences.

He said he would finish 10 sentences tomorrow before I got home and then I could help him with the definitions.

He understands getting things done and not waiting until the last minute. I'm so proud.

Fundraiser and a Hummer by Chris

During my favorite period class PE, we had a fundraiser in the cafeteria. They went through all the stuff we needed to know about and I kept thinking get to the prizes.

If you sell two magazines, these three guys Acrodunk come to our school and jump off trampolines and dunk the ball.

And about the dirt bike thing. Last year, two of my friends said they thought they were coming to our school, but I don't know if that is true or not.

Lots of people were going "ooh" when they'd see a prize.

But to the best part.

If you sell 10 subscriptions, you get to ride in a Hummer limo and go to Incredible Pizza Company with an unlimited card all day and free pizza.

So I told this girl to get my friend and we were pointing at each other like this was good. If I get 15, I'll invite him. If he gets 15, he'll invite me.

I hope I get the hydraulic car that you can plug your ipod into and it has all these lights.

For those people who don't have that much money or don't know a lot of people, they can go to the lollipop tree and draw a lollipop that might give them some money. Or they can go to the pencil spot and get a pencil with money.

Dropping Off

When I dropped Christopher off today, he still said "love you, too," but he's hoping out of the car faster these days.

He wants to get out at the exact right time so he can be on his own. He doesn't want me dropping him off too close to the entrance, but not too far back either.

Then I watch him walk off. He's smaller than most and seems dwarfed by the bigger kids.

But he slings that backpack over the one shoulder and heads off to the cafeteria.

He's already grown up so much in three weeks.

Work by Chris

I finished my math homework in debate.

We watched a movie in art.

I have to do 50 points on words in English by Friday. I already finished 10 points.

AIM

AIM is a course all sixth graders participate in and the first six weeks of the year cover organizing your time and adjusting to middle school.

After that, the students move in to studying some sort of elective. The choices are Model U.N., speech, UIL and debate. On behalf of Christopher, I selected debate. Tuesday at Greenback Night I discovered he was in a sixth period AIM debate class with seventh graders. That meant he wasn't receiving the "welcome wagon" treatment.

I e-mailed his counselor (she and I are tight -- remember the lateral move from band to art) and she called me the same afternoon.

Voila. He's able to move to a sixth-period, all sixth-grade AIM debate class.

I like this calling the counselor. I need to buy her a very nice Christmas gift.

Art by Chris

My favorite thing to do at school is draw in art.

We learned meandering lines and scribble 1.

Late Night with Loads of Homework

No posting from Christopher tonight.

He had math homework (least common multiples), English homework (correcting sentence fragments), social studies homework (finishing up the culture essay) and art homework (drawing his favorite place to be -- he picked a football field).

Along with Colts football practice, dinner, shower and just plain relaxing, he didn't get into bed until 10 p.m.

I don't like these kind of nights. Yeah, I'm supposed to be in bed way before now.

Sick by Chris

I coughed all day in school yesterday.

Sick

Christopher felt sick yesterday. I arrived home from work to a sleeping, yet coughing, kid. He had a fever around 100 degrees.

He woke up to eat a bit of soup and drank some OJ. The combination doesn't work for me, but it seemed to work for him.

He finished his homework -- contractions worksheet and the rough draft of his Social Studies essay. He wrote neatly enough so it could be his final draft -- he's hoping to see Mac play football tonight. He's a planner that kid even when he's not 100 percent.

Culture by Chris

We have to write an essay in social studies about culture.

Large Cheeseburger with French Fries and Tea helps us remember things about culture. I picked clothing, food and technology as my choices to write about.

**Note from Jill:
L = Language
A = Art/Architecture
R = Religion
G = Government
E = Education/Economics
C = Clothing
F = Family
F = Food
T = Technology

Whew

Greenback night is over. The intent is to raise money for the PTA and I am happy to contribute.

After the PTA meeting wraps up, the parents are off to class. Yep, I walked Christopher's walk. I went to his classes and had five minutes between classes. One whole minute more . . and I barely made it to class. No locker or bathroom stops. I did chat between classes -- wonder why I had tardies in school?!

We only spent 1 1/2 hours at "class" and I'm wiped out. No wonder he wants to take a nap when he gets home.

All but two of his teachers knew who Christopher was instantly upon my introduction. His PE teacher didn't know him right off the bat, but the eighth-grade PE teacher did. His debate teacher didn't seem to recognize the name, but it was the end of the evening. I heard comments such as "I love him," "He's great," and "He's doing so well." I left feeling proud and encouraged.

And, tired. I now really have an appreciation for all a sixth-grader has to remember. Thank goodness I didn't have to work a locker combination!

Things by Chris

I'm going to wear my purple PE shorts under my shorts on Friday so I don't have to carry them to the cafeteria.

I need a journal for PE to use for health.

You can bring an ipod to school and just keep it in your backpack.

Monday Post Tuesdy Morning

This can only reflect we're tired. I think the adrenaline is gone and we're now officially back in our routine, which still includes evening activities.

As soon as I got home yesterday, I scooped up Christopher who had just woken up from a nap (no homework thankfully!) and drove to Lee for Booster Club. He enjoyed being there with the varsity players, but he didn't get home with Gervais until about 8 p.m.

We knocked out.

And, tonight is Greenback night for me, practice for Christopher. Hopefully, no homework.

Team Parent

I had my first team parent meeting today. I am so grateful the meetings are at 7 a.m. rather than some random time like 9:15 a.m.

It's my way of being involved at the school. I'll meet with the teachers on Christopher's academic team and find out what kind of help they need. It's room mom on a bigger scale.

I feel connected, but at the same time, just like Christopher is learning how to be proactive, this team parent thing is strucutred similarly. We make up when we interact with the teachers and how much we do with them.

I'll be learning too.

End of the Week by Chris

Everything opened good today.

I missed one on my social studies quiz today. I wrote down government twice and one should have been economics.

P.E. Locker

This P.E. locker thing is getting kind of tough for Christopher. I told him to take deep breaths and not get frustrated. He said he was the last one in the locker room. I think that made him nervous. I told him tonight to not think about it so much. Maybe that will help.

I don't want him to have to worry about things. I want the easy things to be just that . . . easy.

I know he needs to study, manage his time and make good choices, but I want things that are unimportant be that . . . no big deal.

He did tell me today he went to the front of his math class to factor some numbers. He wasn't nervous, he just did it.

That confidence will hopefully translate into getting that dang P.E. locker open two times a day every day.

PE Locker by Chris

I couldn't get my PE locker open so I was late to lunch and I had to eat snack bar and they said the lunch line was closing and I was in line.

I barely got to art in time. I took a deep breath, but couldn't get my locker open. My hands were sweaty because we had been outside.

Our debate teacher told us to watch the Republican Convention. I said I already was because my mom made me.

Routine

We're almost in the school routine.

The mornings have been going well. Christopher is up by 7:20 a.m. and is dressed and downstairs by 7:40 a.m. at the latest. We eat breakfast, do devotion and then make sure we are ready for the day.

The afternoons are also falling into a pattern. He calls me while walking home. He gets inside, gets a drink and a snack . .then gets right to homework. The homework was a bit more today than yesterday. He wrote an essay about something that made him happy. It was his Celtics basketball team. And, he had to draw a picture with some happy events sitting on the top of a mountain and sad events at the base of the mountains. His great-grandparents dying were two of the sad items.

And, there is the evening routine. On nights without practice, he and I check his homework, I make dinner while he plays outside. We eat, he plays some more and then showers. Gervais gets home around 8 or 8:30 p.m. Christopher and him talk a little bit and then Christopher is in bed by 9 or 9:30 p.m.

I don't want to fall into a rut, but I do like routine.

Walking by Chris

I walked the whole way home today. The first time. Other days my friend's dad or mom picked us up. Or I walked to my friend's house.

I ate hot lunch today not snack bar. The line wasn't long.

We ran the track in PE and my shoes got dirty.

P.E. by Chris

I'm so glad I opened my P.E. locker.

We just did stretching and push-ups.

Favorite Teacher

Mrs. Roman, the reading teacher, has emerged as Christopher's favorite. Don't know why yet, but he said it this morning.

And, he added, "Good thing because she can help me like reading." Because math is his favorite subject, he doesn't need that teacher to be his favorite. Sixth-grade logic at its finest.

He also has his first round of homework. Some math factoring work and an essay about the first week of school. His diligence toward getting work done has always amazed me. Even as early as second grade when they received packets each Friday, which were then due the next Thursday, he would want to finish them Saturday morning.

He walked in the door, sat down, got out his math worksheet, finished it and then pulled out the partially written essay to complete it.

He does not put things off. After all, he already has a favorite teacher!

Early Arrival

Christopher wanted to get to school early this morning so he could hang out in the sixth-grade courtyard. He also wants to get there early so there is no possibility of him being late to his first class.

I'm OK with him getting to school a little early, but not too early. Hanging out in the courtyard leaves open too many possibilities of trouble. Since I'm in charge of getting him there, it will be no problem to control his "early" arrival.

He's grown up so much it seems -- even in this one week. He's still concerned about being late for class and getting swept up by this team of teachers who put you in in-school suspension. He wasn't late to any of his classes this past week, so I'm not sure why the worrying. I think getting the right stuff from his locker at the right time for the right class still seems a bit overwhelming.

I continue to remind him that his locker is close to his classes and he can just be prepared each day, thinking through what he needs.

His response, which seems to be his mantra for the year . . .

"There's a lot to remember in the sixth grade."

First week by Chris

The best thing is I got to my classes on time.

The worst thing is I can't get my PE locker open.

CHAMPS by Chris

I got my PE locker. It's hard. It's impossible.

I don't want to wear my white shoes anymore because there are puddles in the stairs and they'll get all dirty.

I don't want to do CHAMPS again. It's been the whole week. CHAMPS, CHAMPS, CHAMPS. All the rules. Independent work, small group activity, fire drill, clean up, everything you name it. It's probably on there. CHAMPS.

(What is CHAMPS, Jill asked):

Conversation -- you know, like be quiet
Help -- raise your hand, ask the teacher
Activity -- "I don't know"
Movement -- don't get up
Participation -- participate
Special Instructions -- turn in your homework

Debate

This morning, while I drove him to school, Christopher said "Debate is fun."

OK.

He needs to bring magazines and newspapers to debate class. I'm guessing it is for debate content.

He didn't say anything else about it.

It's a good start.

Snack Bar by Chris

There wasn't a long line so my friend and I went to the snack bar. I had a spicy chicken sandwich, chips and a drink. I didn't eat all the chips.

I did good with my locker today.

I took my art supplies to Mrs. Fox this morning so I wouldn't have to get them from my locker after lunch.

Dress Code

Fortunately, Christopher dresses well. He wants to look nice each day at school. He likes to wear collared, polo style shirts with his neatly pressed shorts. He always wears an undershirt.

Yesterday, he told me "Everyone wears skinny jeans." What does he know about skinny jeans? I replied with "The girls?" No, he meant the boys. And, they aren't skinny like the fashion magazines show skinny -- they just aren't baggy. Baggy is what he's always worn.

I'm predicting we'll be buying a new style of blue jeans come cooler weather.

Today, we saw a goth-dressed kid walking to school. He had long stringy hair flipped to the side. Christopher said, "That doesn't look good."

I agreed and quickly said thanks that my son puts forth a good impression because he cares about how he is perceived -- oh, and how he looks!

New Schedule by Chris

My reading teacher gave me a new schedule today. I have art with Mrs. Fox. I had to buy supplies tonight. My mom and I found them at Target.

I wasn't late to any of my classes.

There wasn't a very long line at the hot lunch line. I drank white milk. It's good.

Schedule Change

Now, he calls me from home to tell me he received a new schedule today and he is in Art fourth period. No more band!

How that happened I have no idea. Christopher was told by his advisory teacher that no schedule changes would happen until next week. So I called the counselor today leaving a long ol' message about why Christopher needs to make a "lateral change" to Art.

Oh, I had already sent an e-mail to the counselor Saturday evening asking for the change. And, our friend, the Art teacher, knew of our dilemma. I had also written a note that wasn't yet turned in by Christopher explaining why he should be moved.

All this activity and his schedule was already changed by this morning.

Wait, I do know why it happened. Answer to prayer!

He still tells on himself

Today's phone call indicating he is on his way home included the soon to become usual "it was a good day" and "lunch was good."

It also included "Mom, I walked across the street when it was the hand because there were no cars coming and everybody else was walking."

He is not supposed to do that. It's a busy road. Is this peer pressure? Why couldn't he wait? We'll talk about this tonight on the way home from practice. His walking home buddy will also be in the car. We'll set it straight.

First Day by Chris

I was nervous this morning before I got to school.

I went to my locker and I had trouble getting it open.

Then I went to advisory.

I didn't get lost going to my classes.

I was a little late to PE.

When you are in middle school, your day goes by like that (a snap).

I texted dad and called mom on the way home.

"It was a good day"

I just received the first day phone call from the cell phone.

He's walking home, said it was a good day and then quickly asked can he go to his friend's house.

I'm thinking the first day is a bigger deal for the moms than the kids.

He won't do a schedule change until next week. He remembered to ask about it at school.

Day one, done.

Good Year by Chris

I hope I have a good year.

Starting Off

Christopher has a cell phone. We purchased it today. He paid for half of the phone and is paying $5 a month for texting. We pay for the monthly plan.

The phone is to be used for emergencies only as he walks home from school. He calls us from the home phone once he gets in the door.

It will stay off, tucked away in the bottom of his backpack during the school day. He can turn it on as he begins his walk home.

Today also marked organizing his clothes for the week. So we chalboarded it up and he has the five outfits ready to go.

He also has his backpack ready with his PE uniform, house key and school agenda. His schedule is in an easy-to-find spot.

He's ready for sixth grade.