A new school year

 My kids started school last week. They are at the same school this year. And they are both so happy about this! (So am I!!!) We were *lucky* enough to win a spot in the one and only all day kindergarten class at our school. Yes... we won a spot. Its craziness really. Our school system is required to "offer" all day kindergarten, but due to space and budget and politics... not all of the kindergarten classes are all day. For this year they did a lottery and drew names for the 20 spots. Our school has 4 half day classes and one all day. We we SO happy to get one of the all day spots because that meant we didn't have to pay to send Abby to a private school that offers all day and she would get the most awesome teacher ever! Seriously, her kindergarten teacher is so cool. I love her already.

 

My happy kids on the first day of school! Alex is in 3rd and Abby is in Kindergarten.

 

 

 

 

Walking to the school and talking.

 

Since Alex is the big kid who has had years and years of experience at this school thing, he happily explained to Abby all the details about school. He told her what is good in the cafeteria and what isn't, what the cool toys are on the playground, who the nice teachers are.... you know...all the important stuff. He really has been great with her. After two days she was a pro and happily talking about her school as if she'd been there a year already.

 

Alex is in 3rd grade this year. Apparently 3rd grade is the year they stop being babies. Its the big kid year. Funny... I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until Freshman year of college. Hmmm... I'm really not ready for this. Lets rewind time and we'll curl up on the couch while I feed you a bottle and play with your toes to make you laugh? No? Whatever.. Go to class and learn your multiplication tables and cursive and nevermind your dear ole mom. I'll be over here in the corner looking at your baby book and wondering how in the world 8 years has gone by so quickly.

 

And while I am sad that they are growing up a little too fast for my taste, I am also very excited for what this school year has to offer. This year I am serving on the PTA Executive Board. I absolutely love being so involved and I know they love it too. I look forward to all the school activites and even the homework (ask me about that again in a month or so!) and I look forward to seeing how they grow as they learn.

 





Play Ball!!

This is my little ball player. Except he's no longer a ball player. He's a 7 year old kid. A kid I am so proud of. A kid that some people find hard to understand. But I understand him, for the most part. And I love him. He makes me laugh. He makes me want to pull my hair out. He's mine.
Alex has been on a t-ball team for a full calendar year now. He started last fall with zero experience. And when I say zero experience, I mean the kid had never picked up a bat, never even put a glove on his hand. ZERO. The team we joined had never met each other and we didn't even have a coach. Someone stepped up and we all went from there. It was a fun season!! The kids really enjoyed themselves.
This spring season was a little different. The focus of the coaches shifted from being about teaching the kids how to play to only working on technique that would make them win. WIN. Win. Win. Apparently, the city we live in is very competitive about their baseball. Its a sad thing, really, when I hear that. "Its a competitive league" ... that pretty much, to me, means that the parents will do anything to be number 1.
At 6 and 7 kids are competitive. They do have the want to win, even when it comes to silly little things like say.. . arguments with their kid sister. HOWEVER.... Its my belief that at 6 and 7, playing a sport should be about 1) having fun, getting outside, running around, structured play and 2) LEARNING the proper way to play said sport, the rules, how a point is scored, how to be fair, how to listen to instructions, how to play well with a group of kids.
I do NOT believe that winning should be the goal at this age. It was said at a recent team meeting that kids don't learn anything from losing. I find that to be completely false. When you lose... anything... be it a game, a friend, a toy, whatever, you ALWAYS can learn something from it. You learn what you can do better next time, you can learn that if I do x, y will happen. There's so much to gain if you just realize that there is a lesson in losing! Don't get me wrong, I am all for winning. Its exhilarating! But I don't think that winning should trump learning at this age.
Also, at said team meeting, it was suggested that little league is used to weed out players for jr. high teams. Which, is an insane concept to me. However, if by "weed out" they mean ignoring the kids that need more help with their skills than others, yes... its working. If by "weed out" they mean benching some players more than others giving them less experience on the field (the same experience that they NEED to play better), then yes, its working. If by "weed out" they mean making parents feel like they are inferior because their child is not as naturally gifted as others, because their child is a whole foot smaller than their "all stars", then yes.. its working.

For those reasons, and because Alex is pretty burnt out on playing ball and has expressed that he doesn't want to continue, we quit. I've always heard that quitters never win. I think we are the winners now.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" ~ Semisonic - Closing Time

New Blog-ish ~ KB

So... welcome to my new-ish blog. Since I'm not really doing a ton of photography, I'm converting the blog to more of a personal nature. As if it isn't already! Ha. Well, anyway, welcome, stay awhile, glad you're here.

Abby had a tball game tonight. Let me say, its so cute. I absolutely love watching her at bat. Its so natural and she seems so at ease. She's gonna be a great softball player one day!