The First Weeks of School

 Last week was the first week of school for the kids, and one of my most favorite weeks of the year. I love getting ready for things—writing proposals for projects, pulling together a course, plotting out my semester—with the hopes that this time I won’t be overwhelmed, fall behind, or get distracted.

But, that means my son started school last week. And, as we were told repeatedly during parents’ night, it’s time for our children to be more independent. Which is why I probably shouldn’t have spent most of one evening on the phone with another parent in his class trying to get him registered for Kahn Academy.

But this is not a blog post on Kahn; I will write one at some time, but as of right now, the need to complete lessons on Kahn interferes with just about everything else. So, here some pieces of advice for starting the school year—you know most of them, but they serve as good reminders (maybe Emery will offer some of his own).

1.     Reinstall a good sleep routine. I’m very strict on bedtimes, even in the summer, Emery kept his school sleep hours—with very few exceptions. At this age, what’s a kid doing out of bed after 8 anyway? (We don’t have much of a social life). It makes transitioning to back to school hours so much easier.

2.     Keep outside commitments during the first week to a minimum. Okay, I broke this rule this year as Emery is in a local Playmakers' production of Seussical: The Musical and has had rehearsals every night from 5-8 (which has interfered with his 8 o’clock bedtime).

3.     Clean off that study area and set up for the school year. Yep, we’re in the process of clearing off the desk in our kitchen to set up the homework station—pens, pencils, books, calculator, stapler, tape, etc.

4.     As a former teacher, I think it’s important for a parent to always be aware of what’s going on at school—what will your child be reading and/ or studying this year? Then, maybe read one of the books they read (I just read The Lemonade War—Emery’s first independent book for the year—I was able to read it in one sitting), rent a movie on the topic from your library, tell them how you learned to divide double digit numbers. I don’t know yet if these conversations work, but it’s fun to learn about the Mayans again.

5.     I’m a firm believer in car conversations as I’ve heard these tend to be the places our children open to us. Albeit, sometimes I have to interrupt Emery in mid-thought to navigate construction.  

I asked my husband for his advice, and it once again reveals my bad tendencies as a mom to focus more on the extracurricular than the curricular.

Victor’s advice: Don’t let your wife jam a bunch of other stuff in your kid’s life when you should be focused on grades.

Emery’s side: last week was the first week of school for us kids , and one of my least favorite  weeks. I hate getting ready for school. Plus mom  broke rule 2!!! (more than you know.) I also get giant binders that barely fit in my back pack. While I write this I wonder. Will I be able to switch  costumes quick enough?

What advice do you have for a successful back to school endeavor?

Review of Sea of Monsters: From Mom, Dad, and Son (no spoilers)

Okay, let’s get one thing straight. The book is always, always better than the movie. Now, some great movies have been inspired by books  (Jumangi and The Invention of Hugo Cabret are great examples), but a book was written to be a book, not a movie (at least I hope so). In the case of the movies Sea of Monsters and The Lightening Thief, both stories are well-adapted and manipulated for the screen, but both truly lack the hilarity and originality found in the novels. I was impressed with the way the book’s themes were retained—there are messages about the role of relationships and confidence and working together. (I must admit my bias here, I’ve seen Rick Riordan, the author, speak at a conference, and interviewed and wrote a brief essay on his work). But, this is a review of the film.

Here’s a quick plot summary.

Percy rejoins his friends, Grover and Annabeth, at Camp Half Blood as they embark on a quest to save the camp. The mythical item they need is located on an island in the Sea of Monsters. Along the way, they meet several mythical characters who help or hinder their journey. Percy also learns a bit more about his past and his place in this world.

Random comments.

1. The film was well cast! Thanks so much for having Anthony Stewart Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I’m a huge Buffy nut and sort of scholar) and Yvette Nicole Brown from Community.

2. Some things only my nerdy family noticed: first the joke Nathan Fillion made about short-lived television shows (he was in Firefly—another Whedon connection) and in the scene on the deck of the Andromeda, Luke is listening to “Waltz” by Brahams. the fifth piece in Suzuki Vol. 2 book for violin. And, yes, the scene in the taxi is sort-of like the scene with the Knight Bus in Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azakaban.

3.  As far as watching the film, it was hard to concentrate when Emery kept whispering in my ear all of the things that were different in the movie than the book. Also, Emery thought the 3D was cool; I didn’t mind it, but I didn’t think it was necessary.

4.  I feel like with these two movies, they write them as stand-alone films in case someone is seeing them for the first time, and just in case they don’t make a sequel.  

My son and husband make two good points in their reviews: first, this is a film suitable for younger audiences (even younger than Lightening Thief) and you need to accept that this movie is not a faithful recreation of the book. Am I glad I went to see it, yes. Will we probably buy the DVD, yes.

Emery’s review of Sea of Monsters: the book  was 115% better. First mistake; Talia!!!!!!!  They pronounced her name wrong!!!!! It’s Thalia! They also took out the guinea pig  scene !! When they make the Son of Poseidon, they will regret that. Don’t get me started on Kronos! THEY just eliminated 1 whole movie because they moved elements from the Labyrinth to this movie. On the positive side, I like the special effects (ex the wind) and the plastic eye on Grover. If you read the book and you are flexible watch it if you are not don’t.

Victor's Review: Let me make it clear that my review of Percy Jackson and the Sea Monster is 100% aimed at the movie not the novel which I haven't read. I feel like the best way to go about this is to first admit that I had no real desire to see this film.  Rather, I had a desire to be with my wife and son, and since they were bound for the film, so was I.

I also feel that comparisons all not always fair ... but that's what I'm going to do anyway.  This Jackson film seemed to be aiming squarely at a younger audience whereas by comparison, the Harry Potter films seemed to transcend the YA label,  There was never a second I thought this Percy Jackson film was "for me."  The quippy dialogue bordered on the obvious, and the set pieces were all way tame ... again, I assume, aiming at a younger audience.  (The last film I REALLY enjoy was Django Unchained, so ....)

If you’re a good parent, and your kid wants to see it, then yeah.

If you think a movie with swords should have more stabbing ... then no.

So, what do you think? Did you or will you see it? What else are you watching this summer? 

Summer Reading, Having Some Fun

So, what did your kid (if you have one) read for his or her summer reading? Mine had to read The Report Card by Andrew Clements. School starts next Thursday and he’s not done yet, but I think he’s close. He seems to like it because he’s shared scenes with us and I’ll hear him chuckling from the back seat of the car. He’s read other books by Clements before including Frindle (we read that together at night) and Lunch Money, which he read to himself.

I don’t recall seeing what he was supposed to do with his summer reading other than read the book, but a quick glance at his school's website reveals that he should be able to answer a few discussion questions, including various levels of questions such as recall and evaluate. As an English/ Language Arts person, I’m torn on the topic of summer reading. On the one hand, I appreciate those teachers who encourage students to read for pleasure. Reading after all, has been used to address “summer reading setback.” Allington et al has done substantial research in this area and the ways summer reading might help close the achievement gap and concludes that easy access to self-selected texts can help in this endeavor.  I’m trying not to turn this blog into an academic endeavor, and I’m feeling the urge to cite a bunch of research supporting effective strategies for summer reading, so I’ll conclude this section with three links I found interesting in regards to summer reading:

1. Here’s a June 2013 New York Times’ piece “28 Summer Reading Suggestions from College Admission Experts” by Brennan Barnard. Titles for students, parents, and everyone—is it every too early? I didn't see the film Admission, but I'm currently reading the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It's interesting to learn a little bit about the process of applying to ivy league institutions and the parent in me wants to completely restructure Emery's path to college (he's decided to go into video games, so of course, none of this knowledge I'm gaining will help him). 

2. Some neat ideas to encourage summer reading compiled from librarians and found on the Scholastic site.

3.  Finally, here’s a site with further links directing readers to what’s being assigned in various states as well as good recommendations for specific tastes (so, not just books for boys, but books for teen boys, books for boys who like history, etc.) It’s kind of a cumbersome page and one could spend a lot of time of it . . . 

As a middle/ high school student, I only recall being assigned summer reading once—the semester before AP American History, we were to read James Michener’s Chesapeake and Centennial. I fell in love with these huge texts and went on to read Mexico. We never discussed the books—not once. And, I never brought them up. At the time, it didn’t bother me.

I once worked at a school that required summer reading for its AP courses. I agonized over the choices and chose four novels. I also gave an assignment to be completed before the beginning of school. I cringe at the memory.

If I were to give summer reading now, and speaking as a parent, I think a little guidance would be nice. Here are some guidelines

1.    Chose an engaging text, and if possible, offer choices.

2.    Explain the purpose behind assigning summer reading.

3.    If the summer reading is purely for pleasure, great. If not,

         let parents/ students know what will be expected from them. Should students be able to take a quiz on the book the day they return? Discuss the book as a class?

   

That’s all I can think of. What successful summer reading experiences have you had?  I’ll share that the summer reading program at our local library in which patrons read a certain number of books for rewards really doesn’t motivate Emery and that form sits at home blank, just like last summer. A great book seems to be enough incentive. 

Emery’s comment: I put it off because I forgot where the book was! [I think I hid it]. There are also other books I have not read like No Talking and Lost and Found. i am also reading the sequel to Charlie joe jackson's guide to not reading. 

Summer Camp Rules!

Yes, I realize that the summer is almost over and it’s rather late to be posting about summer camps, but in education, we stress reflection so much that I thought it was time to reflect on this summer’s choice of summer camps.

I tend to over think some things and summer camps for my nine-year-old son is one of those things.

I begin planning/ signing up for camps in April, but I start hearing about them as soon as January (and someday I’m going to get Emery into Camp Half-Blood, based on the Percy Jackson series and offered in Texas but its registration starts in November!)

As an educator, it makes me crazy to think of the hours my son spends on the couch watching television and playing games while I’m at school and my husband is at home with him. Of course, many of my teacher/ professor friends actually spend time with their children during the summer (at the pool, the library, at home engaged in meaningful activities) so I shouldn’t complain. Camps, for me, are a way to ensure Emery is not “wasting time.”

The way I choose camps now has changed quite a bit, but a few rules remain in place:

1.    My husband sets the number of weeks Emery can spend in camps. Usually, it’s no more than 5 weeks.

2.    I no longer consider school readiness camps or anything that is set in a classroom (although those are very tempting and Emery did a first grade readiness course which he didn’t complain about).

3.    If he goes to a camp and doesn’t like it, he can quit (zoo camp and robotics camp were disasters).

4.    Camps that are focused on a topic or a skill rather than a hodge-podge of activities tend to be better (I hated the camps I went to as a kid—we did various activities, mainly watching television, until Friday when we would take a field trip. I know my parents’ choice were limited as they both worked full time jobs, but I don’t think I enjoyed them as much if they had been something I was interested in).

5.    Emery must be interested in the topic of the camp. And I get a little specific—he used to do an art camp downtown, which was really great. It was an art camp (the one he went to was focused on the 80s) and campers did all sorts of art throughout the day, visual, musical, performance, etc. On the last day, they did a show with 80s music and skits—Emery learned The Thriller dance. However, he hated the visual arts part and even the director remarked that he was more of a performer than a visual artist, so we now do a camp that focused just on performance.

6.    Finally, I have to remind myself he can’t do every camp. For some (like video game camp), he’s too young; others overlap with the ones I’ve already signed him up for. 

So, in the late spring, I print out blank calendars of the summer months and begin to fill in our options. This year Emery participated in these camps:

1. DFW WOW Suzuki Camp (see previous post written by my husband) https://www.dfwwow.com/

2. Playmakers Baton Rouge Character Development Camp http://playmakersbr.org/

Here’s the description; his cousin took this one with him. They loved it.This one week camp offers the young actors with a opportunity to learn the dynamics of stage makeup and character movement work. The actors will explore different styles of stage makeup and character movement to create their own individual character. This performance will culminate in a mini presentation of the week’s lesson.

3. Greater New Orleans Suzuki Camp http://www.gnosuzukiforum.com/     

This was our fourth year (maybe 5th) at this camp. It was Emery’s third year with musician Tim Brock with whom we took private flute lessons. By the end of the week, Emery and Mr. Brock were improvising. Like the Dallas camp, a week focusing on music took his flute playing to another level—it was amazing. 

4. Fencing camp http://redstickfencing.com/ Okay, I was a bit skeptical about fencing camp. A camp that ran from 9-4 in a studio? What would they do for 7 hours? Well, they did a lot and Emery had a marvelous time. They ran drills, learned and used the different weapons (even historical ones), had bouts, watched films with fencing scenes, and played some sort of “storm the castle” game. Coach Ryan is great and really did a fantastic job working with his students.

5. Live! Learn! Louisiana! My colleagues run some really wonderful programs, and my friend Dr. Jennifer Jolly has run a camp for five summers now at the Louisiana State Museum in downtown Baton Rouge. She’s invited Emery to participate in the camp for several years and he hasn’t been able to because of camp rules #2, #5, and #6. I finally realized that the camp does not violate rule #2 and this year it wouldn’t violate #6, so I signed him up.

I must add that my hesitation was also based on Emery’s unpredictability. I didn’t want something to happen that would jeopardize our friendship—I can’t be more specific since Emery will be reading this, but it might have involved a food fight.   

He had a great time. 

You can read more about it at the link below, but his teacher for the week helped him research and put together a video project on red beans and rice. She even set up an appointment for him at a local restaurant to interview a chef. Children rarely have the chance to pursue topics that interest them with the help of a well-qualified educator and I wish schools were like this all of the time. I might have to reconsider #2 after this experience.  

http://chse.lsu.edu/sponsored_programs/LiveLearnLouisiana.shtml

What did your kids do this summer? 

Emery's comment: i don't waste time!!!!! some of use have to educate/play video games for our not so lame nintendo future!!! besides that she showed she knows me well.

The Sorting Hat Exercise: A Seminar in Personalities for Parents and Children

We are currently at Suzuki Camp #2. I flew in Sunday night from a conference in Colorado, (I could spend a whole month of blog posts on being a mom at a conference on education) and have been trying not to work, but grades are due tomorrow and there are those emails to respond to for journal editing, etc.

Anyway, today there was a special session titled “Personality types: How they affect practicing with your child.” I had planned to go by myself, but after joking with Emery that I was going to learn some secrets about being a parent, he decided he wanted to go with me.” In a story best not recounted here, Victor wound up going.

Basically, our teacher (who based her presentation off several research studies and presentations—it was like being at another conference session) asked us (the parents) to group ourselves according to their personalities: Artisan, Idealist, Guardian, and Rational. I turned out to be a Guardian. I love lists, charts, like helping people (which I do incessantly and probably annoy people with it) am sensitive to negative criticism, and knowing what the exact steps are for praise.

I was certain Emery was an Artisan—they don’t like endless repetition, enjoy stimulation, and like to show off.

I was wrong.

He and Victor are both Rational—they like asking questions, don’t respond well to charts, and ask “’Why’ in order to have the reason” (just demonstrated by my son who asked my husband why he was setting up the music stand). That explains why when the instructor went around the room, I expressed frustration with my practices with Emery and Victor smugly said he had no troubles.

How could I have been so misled?

Of course, this information would have been helpful 5 or so years ago, and I guess I already knew some of this stuff (he was never motivated by the infamous one hundred days of practice chart), but it’s nice knowing now how to proceed. And, it’s nice that Emery was there because he kind of understands why I do things they way I do.

And, of course, we now have our inside jokes, especially about Victor who thinks the whole session was a Harry Potter sorting scene and is calling me a Hufflepuff and who said to me a few minutes ago

“Guardian doesn’t mean appreciated.”

Emery's comment: smugly SMUGLY!!!!! she's right about that.BUT she forgot to say i learned stuff too! 

Suzuki Camp, part 2, my husband's take

Warning/ Disclaimer

I asked my husband to write a blog on being a Suzuki parent. As he is a writer, I should have realized he would completely ignore my directions and come up with the following post. Readers beware--he uses words I don't. 

He did send a great picture, however.  My kid's the one in the middle. The other two are his buddies: Connor and Brennan. 

Father / Son music camp.

Look, this is my wife’s thing, okay?  When my son started Suzuki violin lessons I was supportive.  Under one condition: my son was taking violin lessons.  Not me.  I have a PhD in English.  I’ve learned all I ever want to learn.  I am NOT interested in learning ANYTHING else.  FUCK MORE KNOWLEDGE.

I digress.

The point is that I was asked to take my son to a Suzuki music camp in Dallas because my wife is so selfish that she insisted on teaching in the summer.  As if.

The guy at the rental car place knew us.  We got a mini SUV for the price of an intermediate car.  We drove west.  Vrroooom.

We stopped at Buc ee’s (http://www.buc-ees.com/index.php) which obviously needs no explanation.  T-shirts and a coffee mug.  Then we met up with friends for a professional baseball game in Rangers Stadium.  The Rangers got their asses kicked 9 to 2.  But it was fun.  Hot dogs and popcorn for the boy.  Beer for me.  Good times.

The camp started the next day and this was the worst day of the summer so far.   Running around trying to find the right room, and by the way my son had NO FUCKING IDEA what a “polished” violin piece meant.  He might as well be playing the kazoo.  Holy fucking shit all that money on lessons and he just sucked.  Seriously, he might as well as well have been playing the trombone from his ass.  The “master class professor” implied as much.  After the first day I wanted to kill everyone.

We practiced.  We paid attention.  To my surprise this worked.  The boy got better.  I didn’t have to beat him with a stick.

The boy’s master class teacher was the best in that he didn’t tolerate jacking around.  He was like the grad school professors we all claim to love – tough and inspiring and tough.

My son’s “polished violin piece” was super steaming crap.  But it became polished by the end of the camp.  Which is to say the camp was not total bullshit.  Somebody at least took it seriously and my son was the better for it.

Sure.

I’d rather go to another Rangers game.

Suzuki Summer Camps, Part 1

Emery's Fourth Violin

I have one of the best jobs ever, in my opinion, for being a mom. My schedule is crazily full and I’m just as busy as others in the workforce (at least from what I can tell), but my hours are rather flexible (I can grade after he goes to bed) and I get to spend much of the holidays with my son. I often find myself wanting to educate the public that mine is a nine-month job (meaning I’m paid for nine months of work), so of course I don’t work during the summers, but alas, I do anyway. Usually, I spend my summers researching and writing manuscripts, but this year I’ve decided to teach two classes and I’m too busy to do much more than plan and grade.

Which leads me to this post: Suzuki Summer camps. My son has been playing the violin for the past five years or so (he’s nine). When he was three or so, I noticed he loved music (especially Charlie Brown music) so being an educator, I signed him up for music lessons (that seems to be a common pattern in my approach to parenting-kid shows interest in something, I sign him up for private lessons-I am in education, after all).

So, for those of you not familiar with the Suzuki method—it’s approach for teaching a musical instrument to very young children that follows certain principles.

Now, these may be wrong, but here’s what I’ve learned about being a Suzuki parent.

1.    The child learns how to play much in the same way he or she learns his or her “mother tongue” from a parent and from practice. This means that the parent learns how to play the instrument so he or she can help the child in daily practice.

2.    You and your child should practice together every day.

3.    You and your child should listen to music, including the pieces you will learn to play on the violin.

4.    The child moves through skills and a set repertoire of music at his or her own pace.

5.    The parent (and the child) do not compare their progress with other children (learning to play the violin is not a competition—I thought this would be harder for me to do, but it’s only been quite recently that I’ve started to wonder about my child’s progress).

6.    The child learns that the purpose of practice is to make “it” (the playing) easy.

7.    The child memorizes all pieces of music and learns to read music only when he or she is ready (often when they learn how to read words).

There are more principles, but those are the ones that I have learned. Yes, we practice nearly every day, but on those nights that I teach (often twice a week) I have to really on my husband to follow through and make sure Emery practices. Yes, it’s quite a commitment.

Which leads me back to the camps. There are a number of Suzuki camps in the summer in which students work with other teachers and students. They are actually a lot of fun and students, as with most camps, develop friendships. My son is at a camp this week—I am not. Instead, I had to send my husband while I continue teaching my courses.

My husband is not educated in the Suzuki way.

He hasn’t attended parental training, read the books, or discussed with other parents what it means to be a “Suzuki” parent.

It could be a complete disaster or a complete success.