ZBoy has had a very long, carefree summer. No commitments to anything but playing, visiting his friends -and a little vacation with mom.
We were talking about school starting last week. He said he wasn't looking forward to it much. He wasn't crazy about starting up with math again because he wasn't very good at it.
I told him that I thought he was. For one thing, he thinks about math. A lot. He's formulated theories about numbers that are way beyond where one would think a 10-year old's mind would go. But he's somewhat lazy about the basics. He adds and subtracts pretty well, knows most of his multiplication tables but doesn't remember them in a timely way, and feels lost in division. In spite of these difficulties, he says math is boring.
"Honey," I said. "There are all kinds of math. There's algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, statistics... lots and lots of ways to see and use math. Your problem is that you want to leap past the basic stuff and get to the interesting stuff. It's like wanting to build a house. You have all these ideas about rooms and ceilings, but you're still studying bricks. The thing is, you need to know about bricks and plumbing before you can build the house. Otherwise, it just won't work."
"Hmmmm... that's a great way of looking at it, Mom. I guess I need to pay more attention to my brick."
Last night, he had a little stress-relieving cry before falling asleep. He was nervous and a little excited to be starting school today. I was a little worried about how this morning would go, but he got up when the alarm went off, took his shower, got dressed and ate his breakfast with no complaint. Finally, I told him it was time to go:
Luckily, my sweet little boy reappeared before his poor old mom could get TOO freaked out.
No, no, Mom! I beg of you....
Laughing, he got up but he's now at that stage when you tell him to smile, you either get some kind of goofy face or the look above. I didn't realize he'd stained the front of his shirt until I saw this picture. Oh well.
A couple of weeks ago, I was getting this:
Then he pulled this face and I suddenly saw my son as a teenager - it was quite spooky.
Luckily, my sweet little boy reappeared before his poor old mom could get TOO freaked out.
9 comments:
LOL! Too sweet! And yes we are not in a hurry for him to be a teenager! (Mind you he will probably be a fun one at that!)
Had to laugh at the stain. Looks like someone around here's belly! Hmmmm! Interesting theory about the maths. With our Zak we often have to use physical evidence to back things up, he understands it much better if he has visuals or real life examples. So much so that he has started looking for answers in this way all by himself. Amazing how they all learn so differently, isn't it?
The first day of school is always so hard! Poor guy! LOL!
He's adorable, as always. I love the laying on the carpet with the backpack on. Sometimes Rachael gets back in bed with her clothes and shoes on, then when you bang on her door, she sits up groggily and says, "I'm up, I'm up."
J.
I bet Zboy is the class clown, he looks like a fun kid, or should I say tween...I feel your pain, you just have a couple more years before the teen years...enjoy him now while you can!
Oh dear...I have been in ZBoy's shoes. I never looked forward to the end of summer. Math can be a real challenge.
I was fortunate to have my dad around to help me. He loves math and is an excellent teacher. There's nothing wrong with a bit of after-school tutoring, either from a family member or a teacher. If math starts to be that big of a problem, perhaps that might help?
Totally off topic, but how stoked are you about the Avatar movie coming out? Have you seen the previews yet?? :)
Loved the back to school picture!
From that first picture I I thought maybe he had fallen back asleep on the floor - having to get back to the school early morning schedule.
THAT is the part I'm not looking forward to. My kids school starts at 8am. That means 7;45 we are out the door. too damn early after summer sleeping.
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