Sunday, July 26, 2009

Summer Fun !

Summer is in full swing. Ice hockey has one game left. We picked up football equipment yesterday. The Metrowest basketball season has two games left and summer camp starts tomorrow. Summer sabbatical for the wife begins Friday afternoon. The kids are having a great time and they are nowhere school ready. That's good news. There is a list of ideas for August and hoping there is enough time to get them done. Next week begins football and then soccer and ice hockey. I better get some rest!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Last Day Of School

The good and bad of the last day of the school year. The good is that the kids need a well deserved break from school. The bad is that parents have to wait until September to get theirs.
School vacation is an opportunity for the kids to have some time to get away from sports except for summer basketball, basketball camp, football starting the beginning of August and ice hockey and soccer starting the end of August.
Okay, maybe they don't get a complete break, but the exercise will be good. It's also a nice diversion from boredom that will eventually come from all the time off and the lack of structure in their day.
It's also a good time to reinforce good eating habits. For example, "You need to have one healthy snack if your previous snack was goldfish or something like that." It seems reasonable. After all, there will be plenty of popsicles, fudgesicles and visits from the ice cream man. A banana, apple, melon, or pineapple isn't going to hurt. Parents get a break from making lunches, packing snacks, filling water bottles, checking homework and making sure that the kids are dressed appropriately for the weather. Maybe it is a bit of a break for us parents. I will keep thinking that too !

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Are You Smarter Than A 4th Grader

The answer is clearly no. I found out a long time ago that even though you are the parent and you have the higher education, the kids have more parent street smarts than you do. I guess they have more time to spend analyzing and dissecting you than you do them. After all, they are just kids, what is hard figuring that out? When they are born, you feed them, change their diapers, hold them and tell them how much you love them. As they become more independent of these basic parenting acts, they spend their time manipulating your mind. It started with fashion and then "you didn't say I couldn't" or "that's not what you said".
I guess I always figured that I had it good until they would become teenagers, but after getting outsmarted on a regular basis in Kindergarten I came to realize that I was already behind and no amount of parenting books could help. I guess I will struggle along and at least act like I know what is going on and hope that I survive it?

Proud Dad

It's great to be proud of the kids for whatever they do whether it be good grades in school or their performance in sports. The hard part comes when you need to dish out equal amounts of praise and you want to be careful not to fill their heads with more than they can handle or you set them up to fail. It's important to be supportive and that helps them grow. For example, if they are struggling in school and they can use extra help than you help them through the difficulty to put them back on track. The idea is not to do their homework for them or to encourage them not to work on an area that may come easy for them. With sports it's the same idea. I was careful this week to encourage the kids when they performed well. His two goals in hockey and her back to back strikeouts in softball. I don't think they keep score, but I want them to feel that I watch and take an interest and that I don't violate any of the many documents that you sign as a parent about what you are allowed to do or say ! I guess that's where the balancing act comes in. Well, either way I am proud they belong to me.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Disney and Nick.

It's always important to keep an eye on what the kids watch on TV or what they are looking at on the computer. That often requires to watch shows with them. I can remember suffering through Teletubbies and some of the others. I enjoyed watching Arthur and Bear in the Big Blue House. Even now, watching Hannah Montana, I Carly, or The Suite Life of Zack and Cody hasn't been too bad. What can be sad is that when you put them on the bus or they decide to go out and play and you're sitting there still watching those shows. You don't realize it until an hour later that you're still watching the kids' shows and there are no kids around.

1st Communion

What can I say. It was a wonderful time even though we were promised that it wouldn't rain. The coordinator said she had an arrangement with God. I guess the drizzling that it was doing all morning doesn't qualify. The church was packed, it was warm, and you couldn't take pictures, but other than that it was great and our family was together. All f the kids looked great and we had a wonderful meal at the Chateau. I tried remembering what mine was like and all I could remember was the procession into church that began in the high school parking lot and ended in the middle aisle. I was dressed in a white suit. You know, the kind that you can't use for anything else. Time goes by quick and you take it all in.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Slumber Party

I did it. I survived my daughter's slumber party. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Six 10 year- olds running around and screaming. It started at 4:30pm on Saturday afternoon and finished around 11:00am Sunday. There were several games outdoors, making sock puppets, monkey bread, pancakes and banana splits. My head was spinning as all of them talked all the time. I wouldn't have been able to add a word in even if I needed to. I think they watched a movie and played some game called "truth or dare". I didn't ask any questions as I didn't want to know the answers. My only involvement was at midnight when I gave the "don't make me come down there speech" as it was time for them to fall asleep. A great group of kids having fun and not making what little hair I have left turn more gray. I would say a good time had by all !

Saturday, May 2, 2009

School Bus Education

The future of education is not in the classroom, but on the school bus. We need to forget about veteran teachers, new textbooks, or renovated buildings. We need to put our money into school buses !
The reason I say this is that when I ask my children how school is, they tell me stories about things they saw or heard on the school bus. It also seems that the principal has visited the school bus more than she has their classrooms.
Instead of helping them with their homework I find myself answering their "school bus" questions. Why did the principal come onto the school bus and why did the bus driver raise her voice. My answer is consistently the same,"because children are bad".
Who would have guessed that education is better served in a mobile classroom during a 20 minute ride?

Friday, May 1, 2009

Softball Practice

An interesting place to spend some time. Young girls learning the game and putting it all together in anticipation of the beginning of a new season. The latest "softball fashions" are on display. I did what I could to help my daughter with some instruction on throwing, catching and hitting. Despite my advice, she is doing very well.
It's fun to watch the coach pull it together as he shows them the basics and the girls are discussing what happened in school or what the latest gossip was. They seem to be having fun and if nothing else they are building confidence, self-discipline and self esteem. It works for me.
We do our best to support our kids as they learn and improve and try never to forget that it's about having fun. They have plenty of time to solve world peace and hunger later !

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Cub Scout Campout

A campout with Cub Scouts. I have to tell you that I was a little concerned about it. Tons of screaming kids running around, sleeping on the hard ground, no hot meals, and a bottle of aspirin.
I was pleasantly surprised ! We started out on Saturday with the obligatory baseball and softball pictures. It's the usual drill. You show up a half hour early and wait with hundreds of other families as hats and uniforms are straightened out for the best possible picture.The paperwork and checks are filled out and ready to go. The kids are lined up and marched into the hallway where they receive some preliminary instruction and then head into the gym. One by one they take their picture in a batting pose and then move to the other side of the gym for the team picture. After that it is off to the field where they are celebrating "Opening Day". We grabbed some hot dogs and chips, not as expensive as Fenway Park, but just as good.
We then headed for the packed car and made our way to the Boy Scout Camp for our Cub Scout overnight campout.
The kids changed out of their baseball and softball uniforms and we were ready to go. My son had attended a summer day camp and he was our guide. We parked the car and began unloading our stuff. We were thankful that the campsite was adjacent to the main parade ground, which was next to the parking lot. That's not to say that we walked back and forth what seemed like a million times.
The rest of the group had already arrived and set-up. Lunch was being served. We began setting up our very large tent that our neighbors let us borrow. The tent was huge. It had a entrance foyer and you could stand-up in the sleeping area. The rest of the day was great. There was a rock wall, obstacle course, archery range, etc. We threw around a ball, took a walk and had an incredible meal that ended, of course, with smores around the camp fire.
A great night of sleep and then made to order breakfast sandwiches, cereal, fruit and muffins. It was then off to the BB gun range. My daughter wasn't interested, so she and I went fishing at her request. My wife went with my son to the BB gun range. My daughter had two on her line, but they got away as she pulled them out of the water. After the BB gun range my son joined us. My daughter had enough of fishing so it was just my son and I. While we were alone, he commented how this was a great father-son moment. I also realized it was a great daddy daughter moment as well. It is those kinds of moments that make the day. I spent quality time with both kids at different times. Lunch rounded out the day and it was time to go home.
On the way home, the kids asked what was my favorite time of the campout was and I told them that it was the opportunity to share such a great time with just the family. Thanks to my wife who planned well and made the trip a smooth one.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Making the Schedule Work
I am not sure how it gets done, but we make it through the schedule, thanks to my wife. In the period of a year, we make it through our work schedules, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, baseball, softball, football (fall 2009), cub scouts, etc...
We often have to split up so that we can be at two places at the same time. I am not sure that scheduling is an easy thing to explain, but somehow we make it work. I think that knowing that other families have the same challenges make it easier.
As crazy as it seems; scheduling makes me crazy and I enjoy every minute of it !
Providence Bruins Game
Game 1 of the Providence Bruins vs. Portland Pirates. It was a great game, to bad we lost. My son and I attended. It's always exciting to have one of those father-son or father-daughter moments. I remember going to watch the old Boston Bruins AHL team or a Boston Red Sox game with my dad. It was great bonding moments. Just one on one like I was the only one that counted.
Going to the game was fun. It's always interesting to observe their reactions during a game. They are always looking for that moment during the game when the gloves come off and the real battle begins. A couple of years ago I took the kids to a game that was sponsored by their school. We all sat in the same section and everyone knew everyone else.
The students were excited that a Providence Bruins player (Mc Intyre- now with the Edmonton Oilers) had visited the school that week and now they had someone on the ice to cheer for.
It was only a matter of time during the game when McIntyre squared off with a player on the other team. The kids started to cheer for him as he popped the guy squarely in the nose and the blood started to flow. The kids went nuts ! I have to admit that I was cheering on the inside, but I tried keeping it to myself as I didn't want to give the wrong impression to the kids and I didn't want them to think that hockey was all about "brawling". They saw right through me. It's unfortunate when your kids are so young and they have you already figured out.
It's rewarding when your child asks you a question in which your answers help shape their understanding, not just of hockey, but also of competition, good sportsmanship and just plain fun.
I find myself constantly in the position of being diplomatic. I want to always give them good honest answers and hope that they come to their own conclusions. That's one of the things that I can offer them. It was a great bonding moment. I was happy that we had that time to spend together. Definitely a Kodak moment. I should have brought a camera !