The computer

In the the car tonight, Gillian asked "Can I have my own computer?" I laughed and said "What are you going to do on the computer?" She said "Reading Eggs. I do Reading Eggs in technology. I want a computer to do it at home." I said "You can use my laptop. Just like Johnny does for his homework." "Can I do it tonight?"  I can't say no to that. So I agreed if she had time after homework and bath she could use my laptop. Well it turns out that she had a hard time using the mouse on the laptop so we went downstairs to use Daddy's computer. 

She sat and played Reading Eggs (it's an online program for kids learning to read)  for twenty minutes before bed. We will make sure she has some time tomorrow to play too. 

Groundhog Day

Yesterday,  Gillian and John told me all about Groundhog Day.  John completely understood the concept of the groundhog predicting the weather.  Gillian was a little confused.  I got a video of her explaining what happens on Groundhog Day.

counting

Gillian has learned how to count by ten.  If you ask her how she learned, she says "From Peg + Cat!"  Peg + Cat is a new show that the kids found on Netflix.  It's about a little girl, Peg and her cat.  It's on PBS and the kids seem to really enjoy it.  Anyway, every time Gillian counts to 100 by tens she adds a little extra flair.

 

She cracks me up.  And of course when you ask her where that little bit at the end came from, she says "Peg + Cat."  With a little bit of help (from John) I found the episode Gillian learned how to count by ten.

 

This is the full episode.  The song is at the end when Peg is cleaning up the chickens.

 

The Lizard Guys

Gillian's school had the Lizard Guys come visit today. Gillian told me about their visit in the car tonight. She said "Silly Billy came today. What? That's his name! He brought a lizard. The lizard was so fast! He ran all over the carpet! And there was a frog. He was slimy and bumpy!" I asked "Was he a tree frog?" Gillian said "No! But he was hopping everywhere. And he said 'I'm outa here!'" I said "Really?" Gillian said "What? I can talk frog!" She also told me about the snake. "The snake's name was Jack-Jack. He was a boy!" Then she told me about the turtle. "And there was John's favorite animal! His name was Tickle. He was slow. Not like the lizard." It sounded like Gillian had an awesome time.  

Drop off

I dropped Gillian off at school this morning. When we walked in her classroom, Miss Lissette kneeled down and said "Do you know so and so from the kindergarten class? Well their mommy had a baby today! Baby Matthew. Isn't that exciting?" Gillian said "I like babies. Do you know I have a baby cousin? Baby Mackenzie!" Miss Lissette smiled and said "Yes. You love Baby  Mackenzie very much." Gillian then got off subject, and said "Do you know that my Grandma made a blanket for my stuffed animals and babies? And it's blue." Miss Lissette said "You are lucky that your grandma makes you things." I said "Oh, Gillian is obsessed with all the things Grandma crochets." Gillian then said "This is my Mom. And my Grandma is my Mom's mom. And do you know what? Her name is Grandma! Can you believe it?" Miss Lissette and I laughed. And I said to Gillian "You know Grandma's name. It's the same as mine." Gillian said "Oh that's right. It's Rose." She's so funny. 

Never eat soggy waffles

John has a quiz tomorrow on maps, directions and state facts. I our way home tonight, I reminded him about his quiz. He said "Do I have to study? Cause I know it all. Remember I got all the questions right last night." I quizzed him anyway. I asked "What is the state animal?" He said "Horse. But I wish it was a lion. Actually I wish it was a cobra!" I asked "What's the state insect?" He said "Honey bee." I asked "What are the four directions?" He was very quiet. So I said "You know, on a map." He very slowly said "North, east, south and west." I laughed and said "Very good."  He said "Wanna know how I remember? Never Eat Soggy Waffles. What? It works. Never eat soggy waffles. North, east, south, west!" 

First day of 2nd grade

Today was John's first day of second grade. He was not happy about getting up this morning. He whined "I just don't like school. I don't like all the work!" Daddy and I explained that going to school was his job. He seemed to get it. Daddy asked "Do you want to take the bus home today?" John quickly said "No. I wanna go to Time +." 

We walked to the bus stop as a family. Gillian insisted on holding John's hand. 

We were surprised to find out that John will have company at the bus stop, a little girl who is in Kindergarten. We didn't introduce ourselves today (but I will tomorrow). It was the first day and her parents seemed super nervous. 

At dinner tonight, I asked John a LOT of questions about his day. Here are some of them and his answers. 

What was your favorite part? "Time +"

What was your least favorite part? "That summer had to end and I had to go back."

What color was your table? "No table. We have desks. But they look like tables. Cause they are pushed together. Six tables in each pack. And there are four packs. That's like 18 desks!"

Who sits across from you in your pack? "A girl. I don't want to talk about it."

Did the bus driver remember you? "Weren't you there?" 

Who did you sit with at lunch? "Boys. We sit far from where I sat last year!" 

We got a lot of information out of him this year. As we were talking, he said "I thought second grade was going to be harder!" Had to giggle a little. It's only day one, I'm sure it will be harder than first grade!

Never eat soggy waffles

Daddy told me that I should ask John "What's on a compass?" I listened to home and asked John. John said "There's an N. And a E and a S. And also a W!" And he stopped talking. That couldn't be the end. So I asked "Is that it?" And John said "Well there's an arrow. And you know what all the letters mean?" I said "No. I don't. Can you tell me?" He smiled and said "Never Eat Soggy Waffles!" I laughed and said "That's what the letters mean?" He covered my mouth (so I wouldn't wake up Gillian) and said "No. That's how we remember all the directions. Never Eat Soggy Waffles. Mrs. Belena taught us!"

Money

At the bus stop this morning, I asked John about school. He said "We learned about money! We had a special class. Where we got to count money." I asked him, "What's the smallest coin?" He grinned and said "The dime. It's silver!" I'm impressed, so I asked "How much is a dime?" He said "10 cents. And it takes 10 to make a dollar!" I asked "What's the next biggest coin?" He said "Like size? Cause the penny is the next biggest. But it's only one cent. You need 100 of them to make a dollar!" He also told me about nickels and quarters. I said "I like quarters. Their the best!" He said "Um, yea! Because you only need four to make a dollar. Pennies are the worst." 

At dinner tonight, Daddy asked John "Have you heard about a fifty cent piece?" John looked at me and said "Is that real?" I explained that they don't make them anymore. Then Daddy asked "Do you know about the gold dollar coin?" John again was skeptical. But I nodded. And Daddy said "Do you know they call it the Sacagawea?" John said "Well we didn't have any of them!"

Statue

Daddy called me tonight before I left the office. I could hear Gillian in the background. She was super excited and talking very fast. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but Daddy said he would explain when I got home. 

Today, Gillian and her class made a mask that looked like the Satute of Liberty. Gillian told me all about it "She's a girl. And she's holding a thing. And it's on fire! And she's got spikes on her head! And you can go inside her. You gotta buy tickets. I want to go see her!"

I love that she is so excited about learning, but all I could think of was John trying to say Statue of Liberty. Check out my previous post: http://johnandgillwentupahill.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-was-your-day.html?m=1

The alphabet

Gillian goes to daycare (we call it school) and this year in the 3 year old classroom she is learning to recognize the alphabet. Every couple of weeks they work on a new letter. They trace the letter and at the end of the week they make a picture of the letter. They started with A. 

Gillian was so proud of her monster A. She showed me and roared. When Daddy saw it he said "I bet they are all muppets. It looks like Animal." Well Daddy was right. Because B looked like Beaker. 

I love the Muppets and I look forward to seeing her creations every few weeks. So far we have Crazy Harry, Fozzie, Gonzo and Sam Eagle. But my favorite was brought home yesterday. 

I told Gillian "This is my favorite letter!" She said "It's Kermit!" I love it. And I love this project that Gillian's teacher is doing. I can't wait to see them all!

basketball

We signed John up to play basketball with the Tinton Falls Recreation.  It was supposed to start the first Saturday in January, but it got cancelled due to the snow.  Luckily this Saturday the weather was perfect and John got to have his first day of basketball.  It is an instructional program four first graders, and the kids get to practice for 45 minutes and then they get to play against another team for 45 minutes (there are a total of four teams).  Daddy took John this Saturday and the first text I received said "Not the smallest one on the team!" 

 



John had a hard time mastering dribbling (I think a lot of the kids did), but John listened to his coach and followed instructions.  John made some new friends and was very strong.  Daddy told me that one of John's teammates threw him a ball and the ball bounced off of John's fingers and hit him in the face.  John grimaced but didn't cry.  He was very tough.  He brushed it off and moved on. 

 

When I saw John, I asked him about his first day at basketball.  He told me "I met a new friend.  His name is Daniel.  Like my second name!"  I am so happy that he made a friend and remembered his name.  He also told me "I do not like the buzzer!  It's loud."  Daddy told me that every time the buzzer went off John would cover his ears. 

 

Below are some videos of John playing basketball.  He has some good intentions, but most of the time, he is just all over the place. 

 

 

 

 

 

Penguins

I was talking to Gillian tonight.  I asked her if she knew who was coming to school tomorrow.  She said "You?"  I wish I was going to visit her school tomorrow, but I told her no.  And then I told her that the penguins were coming to visit.  Every year, TLC has the penguins from the Jenkinson's aquarium come visit the school.  Check out my first post about John and the Penguins.  It's amazing to see how much they have grown in the past two years!

Anyway, I told Gillian that the penguins were coming to visit school.  She smiled and told me "I'm going to hug them!  But I not going to kiss them!"  I asked her why she wasn't going to kiss the penguins.  She told me "Then they turn to frogs!" 

Spanish words

Tonight while John was reading a book, he stopped and said "Do you want to hear a Spanish word I say a lot?" We couldn't say no to that. So then he said "Elefante!" (For those who don't know, elefante is Spanish for elephant).  Daddy and I giggled. Then John said "Wanna hear another one?"  We say "Yes!"  And he says "Equis!" We asked John "what does that mean?"  He said "I don't know. I think it's a letter!"  He may not remember anything but he is definitely learning a lot in Spanish class. Also, Equis is Spanish for the letter X.

Golden rain tree

Last week John had a special program at school where he learned about the golden rain tree. He asked me "Do you know about the golf rain tree?" I told him no. He said "Well they are amazing!" He then proceeded to tell me everything that he learned. "Did you know that we have 10 of them at our school? And do you know why they are called golden rain? That's because they have flowers that are yellow and they look like rain. And you know what? They aren't even supposed to be here. They are from China. I wish I could go to China. You know why? So that I could see more golden rain trees!" 

The next time I picked John up from school, he showed Gillian and I one of the golden rain trees. Now every time Gillian sees a tree she says "Look! It's a golden rain tree!"

Juan

John had Spanish class today. He told me "I learned how to spell my name in Spanish today!" Intrigued, I ask "How?" He says "J....U....A....N!" I giggled and said "Oh your name in Spanish is Juan."  He said "No. It's John! But I'm not sure how J U A N spells John!" 

While he was doing his homework, he said "I'm going to write J U A N on the top. That's how I'm going to spell my name now." I explained to him that he needed to spell his name the correct way and that Juan was to only be used in his Spanish class. He wasn't too happy with my statement, but he didn't complain too much. 

Adventure with Uncle T

Once again, since school was closed on Friday, I asked Uncle T if he would be interested in watching John for me.  Uncle T said "Just John?  During the day?"  I answered yes to both of his questions and he said "Okay, dress him warm.  We have work to do!" 

Uncle T came to pick up John on Friday morning.  Uncle T already had a truckload of split firewood.  They were going to bring it to Mr. Matt's house.  I headed to work and the boys headed over to Mr. Matt's house.  Miss Brittany texted me to let me know that John was hard at work stacking firewood.  When Mr. Matt got to the office, he also told me that John was working hard (for like 20 minutes).  He also said that he asked Johnny "I heard you are going on a trip."  John put up his little finger (as if to tell Mr. Matt to wait a second), then he responded "Nineteen days!"  Mr. Matt then said "How about I take Aunt Missy's ticket and it would be you, me, and Uncle T in Disney?"  John again raised his little finger to Mr. Matt, thought about it for a second and said "Well I'd have to write Mickey a letter and I don't think he knows you!"

The boys ran a few errands and then headed to the dealership so Uncle T could pick up his paycheck.  When I saw John, he came running over to me.  I asked how his morning was going.  He said "Great!"  I asked him if Uncle T fed him breakfast.  John said "I got a sandwich and milk!"  I asked where they were going next.  Uncle T said "Maybe to get some lunch.  And then to get wood.  John how much wood do we need?"  John said "We need eight pieces for a birdhouse!"  And off they went onto their next stop. 

Later I received a picture message from Uncle T. 

 

That's John in a Dizzy Dragon.  It could only mean one thing!  The boys stopped at iPlay America.  Aunt Missy was a little surprised to see John by himself on the ride.  Uncle T said "John wanted to ride solo.  He's a big boy now!"  John went on a few rides and got to play some games too. 

 

After iPlay, they got something to eat and then went to Uncle T's house to build a birdhouse.  Uncle T got two kits to build two birdhouses.  Uncle T used a tack nailer to help move the process along.  They made the first birdhouse and John convinced Uncle T to use a hammer instead.  Uncle T told me "After my thumb got hit a couple of times, I asked him if we could do it my way."  And they finished the second birdhouse with the nail gun. 

 

 

John had a great day with his Uncle!  Thanks Uncle T!  



The scientist

The other day, John said to Daddy "Don't worry Daddy! I don't want to be a firefighter anymore. I want to be a scientist!"  Daddy was very happy to hear this and asked John, "Why do you want to be a scientist?"  John said "Because I want to travel back in time to see how the dinosaurs got extinct." 

Tonight I picked him up from school and he was complaining to me about how we missed the book fair. "I didn't get any new books. You know I want to be a scientist now. And I need a lot of books so I can figure out why the dinosaurs went extinct. I might even have to sleep in a library!" 

the fireman

At dinner tonight, Gillian and I told John that tomorrow a fireman would be visiting Gillian's school.  This made John very happy.  If you remember a few weeks ago the fire department visited John's school and he really enjoyed it and learned a lot (check out Fire Safety).  Anyway, we had John's attention.  Gillian tells us "I like the fireman.  But I don't have a hat.  Maybe I can use Johnny's hat.  But it needs stickers.  I could decorate it."  John's face said it all.  He wasn't happy with his sister's idea.  He said "I hope she isn't talking about my hat.  I'm going to put it under maxima security!  And she better not put any stickers on it!"  I suggested that maybe the fireman would bring hats for everyone since John got his hat when the fire department visited his school.  Gillian was very happy to hear that, but then she said "I get a hat.  But what about Minnie?"  Gillian has a small Minnie Mouse doll that she carries around everywhere.  John took his hat and put it on Minnie and said "See Gill, it won't fit her!" 

tickets

Since Daddy and I work full time, John needs to stay after school in the Time + Program.  The program runs from after school until 6 pm.  John loves it.  Every day the kids are given time for a snack, then they work on their homework and then they have free time to play games or play outside.  After the first week of school, John came home and told us "It got a ticket!"  He further explained "We get tickets if we are quiet during attendance.  If we get ten tickets we get to pick something out of the big prize box!"  The next day, we asked him if he got a ticket.  He told us "No!  And I don't know why!" 

It's been hard for him to get tickets.  He currently has 9.  Every day this week I have been asking if he has gotten the elusive 10th ticket.  Every day we get a different story.  Today, I asked him and he said "It's really hard for me.  It's not just being quiet.  I gotta sit still too.  It's hard."  I am glad that it is a challenge for him, but at the same time I hope he gets the 10th ticket soon.