Fast times and wild living with (the former) Baby Whozit…
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool) on Oct 26th, 2013
If online reading tutorials are teaching me a lot about the cultural expectations that feed into standardized tests and potentially trip up low-income and/or urban dwelling children, then pre-K books are teaching me a lot about how our color language can reinforce negative stereotypes about darker hues and put difficult (notice I did not write […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool) on Nov 1st, 2012
When I agreed to take over teaching Spanish at KIP about six weeks ago, I assumed that the hard part would be whipping my atrophied Spanish back into shape. So two weeks ago, I made a trek to Barnes & Noble and bought a Spanish grammar review. I have yet to crack it open. On […]
Posted in Jessica, Kindergartener, KIP (Preschool) on May 23rd, 2012
As of today at 1:00 p.m., Simon will no longer be a preschooler. Today is his last day ever at KIP, a fact that I’m resigned to but not overwhelmingly happy about. For as much as we’re both excited about kindergarten, new friends, and all the amazing things he’ll learn next year, this place has […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Apr 30th, 2012
I find the endings of things to be very difficult, and goodbyes to be the most difficult of all. Even when I’m the agent of change, and even when it’s a change I’m excited about, the leaving part always leaves me with a lump in my throat. So it happened that last Friday I checked […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Nov 18th, 2011
For this year’s KIP spring fundraiser, the school is having a big eighties-themed dinner and silent auction, and various KIP dads who play/have played in bands will be assembling into the KIP All-Dad Band to provide at least some of the night’s entertainment. The first meeting and mini-rehearsal was in our basement last night, and […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Oct 28th, 2011
It’s that time of the year again. KIP opted to host their annual Halloween parade a little early, on Friday the 28th instead of Monday the 31st. At first I was a little confused about this, but I think the logic was that a parade + party + trick-or-treating on Monday = a bunch of […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Aug 17th, 2011
Today Simon became an upperclassman at his preschool. It’s hard to believe that he began KIP three years ago, but it’s true. What’s even harder to wrap my head around is that many of his cohort are starting kindergarten this year. Simon misses that mark by 16 days—16 short days that bring me the gift […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Jul 28th, 2011
Among the many, many changes coming Simon’s way when he leaves KIP for elementary school in a year or so will be the shuffling of the friend deck. I already know that one of Simon’s friends will be at Hawthorne or at the school where her mom teaches, and another has moved to a different […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy on Jul 18th, 2011
Behavior is a funny thing. I want Simon to be obedient and well behaved in class, so I was happy to learn that all last year he never once required a time-out or even a stern talking to. He was a good boy, and his teachers liked him. On the other hand, I don’t want […]
Posted in Jessica, KIP (Preschool), Little Boy, Simon says... on May 24th, 2011
It happened about eleven years earlier than I expected, but last night I found myself getting Simon ready for his first date night out. It was with a teacher, I’ll concede, and she brought her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, but I’m still counting it as a date. A double-date to be precise. Ms. Tammy […]