Jumping Jacks are the Hardest Thing

We've been back at school for almost 2 weeks and summer already seems like a distant memory. Josie just started 2nd grade & I began my 23rd year of teaching and we're both loving it! We aren't thrilled about the early start to our routine or the August Heat but things are going well, especially since our classrooms have working AC at the moment! (Back to School Night was conducted in sweltering classrooms with NO AC that registered 98 degrees indoors--not very aromatic introduction for new parents.)

Josie's now seven (in legal terms, I've heard this referred to as the Age of Reason) but her logic & observations continue to delight me. Although, there are those brief moments when I wish for quiet and solitude instead of listening to her constant chatter. I quickly remind myself that it won't be long before she'll hit those pre-teen sullen/silent years so I put my Listening Ears back on so I don't miss out on Josie's Wisdom.

During the final weeks of summer we were busy with Play Dates & Water Park Visits & trips to the coast to escape Fresno's Summer Heat. She also spent a lot of time with her friend, David, swimming in his pool, hanging out with him at her Dad's house, & enjoying Game Night with his family. I tried several times to invite him to our house for a Play Date but each time I suggested it, Josie vetoed the idea. After several suggestions, I started wondering if she didn't want David to see our "old" house so I asked her directly, "Why is it that you don't want David to come to our house?" Her response was honest: "Mom, I have a lot of Girl Things at our house. I don't want David to know I have so many Girl Things so it's easier to play with him at Daddy's." I suggested that we could pack up the Girl Things and give them away or hide them in my bedroom. She pondered that for a moment and said, "Yes, that might work but we can't give away my Polly Pockets yet." (Darn it!)

Speaking of "Darn It", Josie has an ongoing fear of Flushing Toilets. She cringes at the sound at home every time a toilet is flushed. But, she's downright fearful of those Sensor Toilets in Public Restrooms because she has figured out that those are extremely LOUD & they often flush while she's still sitting on the toilet. I think she suffers PTSD due to Sensor Toilets. Needless to say, at home she rarely flushes the toilet and her bathroom visits are followed by these questions, "Did you wash your hands & flush the toilet?" These questions always result in an About Face Run to the bathroom to remedy whichever task she forgot. A few weeks ago, on one of those dreadfully hot Fresno days, I was putting laundry away and heard Bentley lapping up water out of the toilet. My mind flashed & I ran to the bathroom to find Bentley drinking out of an unflushed toilet and was completely grossed out. I yelled, "DARN IT! Josie---you have GOT to start flushing the toilet without any reminders!" Sensitive Josie sulked into the bathroom with tears in her eyes & whimpered, "Mom, I can't believe you just 'Darnded' at me. That hurts my feelings." After a calm discussion & a demonstration of what Poor (Disgusting) Bentley had just lapped out of the toilet, I think she remembered to Flush for at least 24 hours.

Now that I'm teaching the same grade that Josie attends, I get to see her quite a bit throughout the day. I love this & so far, she seems to think it's pretty neat that she can call me "Mom" while everyone else calls me "Ms. Severt" (although, I hear "Josie's Mom" just as often as I hear "Ms. Severt). I'm definitely NOT a model of Physical Education and it's laughable to think I'd know the first thing about teaching PE but in California, elementary teachers are the sole instructors of Art, Music & PE. (Scary to think I have to instruct/model any of these 3 subjects, huh?) Our Second Grade Team of Teachers has a system for PE. We begin the year teaching all of our 120 2nd graders to line up like the Football Team and we do exercise & warm up drills, counting off like drill sergeants. We follow that by a lap or two around the track, walking in the heat & jogging if the weather is tolerable. Once our kiddos have the Warm Up Routine under their belts, we'll begin teaching skills of popular recess games: soccer, basketball, hoola hoops & hopscotch. This is a much different routine than Josie's PE experience in first grade where they played things like Roller Ball or Jump Rope or parachute. After the first week of PE (Ed Code requires 100 minutes of PE per week), I asked Josie what she thought of 2nd Grade PE. She sighed heavily, "I'm not liking it so much. When do we get to do the fun things like throw balls at each other?" I promised her that we'd start the Fun Stuff soon but tried to focus on the positive aspects of Exercising. "Which Warm Up Exercise do you like best, Josie?" "I don't know, but I can tell you which one I DON'T like the most: Jumping Jacks! My arms are close to my brain so they seem to understand what to do but my legs are so far away from my brain that they don't do the right thing. Jumping Jacks are the hardest thing about 2nd grade, Mom."

Simplicity!

We've had one of the best summers---haven't felt this relaxed in a long time & as I look through our collection of digital photos, I'm amazed at the adventures we've had with family & friends!

I'm not sure why this summer felt less stressful: Is it because we had such mild temperatures for Fresno? Or maybe it's because the end of the school year seemed so dismal with lay-offs, goodbyes, and changes? Perhaps it's just a mind-set because I was determined to enjoy the days with Josie & settle into a state of calm. Whatever it was, it's been delightful & energizing!

I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason our summer was filled with so many adventures is due to the fact that we've had no television since sometime in May (converter box died). At first, I thought about replacing it and even checked into the least expensive cable plan but after a few weeks, Josie & I decided we didn't really miss television. We've played lots of games, read numerous books, had lots of play dates, camping trip, day trips to the coast, poker night with friends, water park outings, and lots of time to talk. And talking with Josie is always enlightening and interesting!
To top it off, a few weeks ago a transformer in our alley exploded loudly and after it was finally repaired and our AC was restored, I discovered that our computer modem had been fried. Took me a few days to explore my options and finally bought a new modem but still the connection was intermittent. Facebook, emails, and computer games came to a halt but it just added to the time we spent doing more interesting things. After a few lengthy phone calls to at&t I finally had a modem that 'sort of' worked but then the computer kept shutting down on it's own and frustration started seeping into my bliss. After a few attempts to defragment and clean up files, I finally had computer wizards check it out and it's been determined that the motherboard is fried.
Being without connections and reading updates from those I love and those I barely know, I realized that life without Facebook might be a good thing for me. I'll save for a new computer (or, do what Josie keeps suggesting: "Ask Santa for a laptop!") but in the meantime, our wonderfully generous friends, Robert & Nikki, have loaned us a laptop so that I can keep the world informed of the latest Josieisms.

I'll add this post to Facebook in case anyone wants to click on the link and save the blog in your favorites or become a follower. I'll miss updates from those I love & admire on facebook but I hope you'll keep in touch via phone & email or maybe even stop in and read my blog from time to time.

severt.lori@gmail.com
http://www.thoughtsfromtheseadblogspot.com/

And, of course, I have to leave you with a recent Josieism: "Summertime is great but I miss my friends and I really need to get back to school and work on my 'clalluses' on the monkey bars. I'm really out of shape, you know."

Time to get back to work, eh? I need to develop the calluses on my brain!