In the Middle

On a topic completely separate from that of today's post (but look for it soon...), I recently got a Kindle Fire, and it's awesome.  One perk is that I've been able to listen to articles from the Ensign while I complete mundane tasks like applying mascara or shaving my legs.  I particularly enjoyed last month's First Presidency message by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Always in the Middle."  As an homage to that article (highlight: "Being always in the middle means that the game is never over, hope is never lost, defeat is never final.") I'm going to start in the middle of the topic I really want to address:

Back to School
> Pictures
> Homework
> A funny observation
> The end

On Day 2 of Kindergarten, Alex came home with a bit of homework to do.  He easily completed the section of lines he needed to trace, but his pace slackened as he struggled to color the three animals printed on the paper.  I gently pushed, only to have his big, brown eyes droop as he explained, "But Mom, they're spirits.  They're supposed to be white."

Some kids would invent this idea as a way to get out of the work associated with coloring the pictures.  But that's not Alex.  In his mind, these pictures just are spirits.  And spirits are white.

One of my biggest concerns as Al's mom is how to simultaneously protect Alexland while helping him find a way to fit his fantasies into the constructs of society.  If the teacher says the pictures need to be colored, then they need to be colored.  But I can just imagine each "you have to" chipping away at the colorful paint in Alexland, and I worry about formal schooling destroying that wonderful part of him.  In this case, that balance was bribery and chocolate.

I stated simply, "I know they're spirits, but your teacher would really like to see them colored.  If you can turn that cow into a red spirit or a blue spirit, I can give you an M&M that matches whatever color you choose," and Alex was back to happily coloring and jabbering.  "These spirits just have their bodies sticking out.  Like humans do."  When I responded with a chuckle and a quizzical, "We do?"  His quick response of, "Yep.  Right under our knees," let me know that in this instance, the borders of Alexland are safe.


Back to School
> Pictures
> Homework
> A funny observation
> The end

It went down something like this...

Me: "Adam, let's go outside and take a couple of pictures before school."
Adam: {whining} "Mooooom..."

So we skipped the before school pics, since I knew I was going to subject him to some after school pics with Al anyway.  When Al was ready (he's in p.m. Kindergarten, which means he gets to sleep in), the conversation was a little different...

Me: "Al, let's go outside and take a couple of pictures before school."
Alex: "Can I pose?"

D wanted in on the picture action, and I'd dressed him in NPA blue and khaki for just such an opportunity.  I can't believe how red his hair looked that day!

I never did get any pics of just Adam, but I cropped Al out of a few group shots to get documentation of my first 2nd grader.

But my favorite pics are those of my two boys, brothers and friends, both excited to be attending school together.

Back to School
> Pictures
> Homework
> A funny observation
> The end

The University of Phoenix class I am taking right now is on Classroom Management, and it's a pretty great class to be in right at the beginning of the school year.  My professor (whom I miraculously don't seem to hate) prepared a PowerPoint outline of the week one subject matter and included this picture:

 I laughed as I noticed one student near the lower left labeled as "hallucinating," and thought that described Alex pretty well.  I showed the picture to Kirk a few days later, and asked him to identify Alex.  I laughed even harder as Kirk said, "He's all of them!  Repeatedly sharpening pencil, making faces in window, daydreaming, carving up desk, playing imaginary harmonica, making cat noises, banging pencil rapidly between teeth, giggling, forgetting to bring pen, pencil, or notebook, belching, whistling, ripping paper out of notebook and crumpling it, singing, setting off fire alarms {think Dickens Festival news promo for those of you who were there}, making faces.  They're all Alex!"

Back to School
> Pictures
> Homework
> A funny observation
> The end

"Whatever our age, whatever our location, when things occur in our lives, we are always in the middle. What’s more, we will forever be in the middle."

I can't think of a better life to be in the middle of!