The 3 R's

On Monday, Ry came downstairs, smiling radiantly, with Cyndi close behind him. He had a small book, called "Sam", in his hand. For some time now, he's been sorting out words phonetically. At the same time, he's been making some sophisticated addition and subtraction, and even mathematical, calculations, inserting them into conversations, while also trying out words and phrases he has picked up. And the other day, he mentioned that he couldn't read yet but one boy in his kindergarten class already did. We've also been playing some simple games together, a version of tic-tac-toe where you can "gobble up" marks (thus changing X's into O's using bigger pieces that cover smaller pieces, like those Russian nesting dolls), another one with dogs and cats he says Ariel gave him, and "Go Fish". I don't have much interest in tic-tac-toe, for obvious reasons, but the gobble-up version involves a bit more strategy. He never minds losing, but he takes a lot of pride in winning.

So he curled up on my lap and he read his book to me. We high fived. Cyndi was ecstatic. Like everything else he does, he carried the book around for days, reading it at every opportunity. I said he was ready for "Ten Apples Up on Top."

Jackson has homework every night. A little writing exercise and arithmetic and math problems. He seems to get the concepts and readily explains the vocabulary. At cub scouts last night, he enjoyed making an electric circuit.

I picked the boys up from school the other day. Cyndi, of course, is almost always the one who does that. First, I picked up Ry at his classroom. Once we began walking on the school grounds, many other boys from other classes said hello to Ry. Jackson found us. Walking to the car, he told me about his idea to invent a "teleporter" that uses two satellites and a device, about the size of an IPod, that changes a person into digital data. The device digitizes itself, too, so it can also travel and reverse the process at the destination. There would be protection for errors and storage, and some kind of code that would prohibit thieves from transporting themselves to places they could rob. The Train With the Magical Wand again. Oh, Jackson did a pretty sophisticated magic trick using cards the other day. I was stumped until he did it again. I told him I think I figured it out and we both just sort of smiled at each other.

Because Jackson is so friendly and open and honest and good-natured, he seems to have many friends at his school, both girls and boys and adults, too. I don't think he has any problems at school. He loves to be involved in the games at recess, but I am afraid he feels a little disadvantaged when he plays with the boys who have played lots more organized sports, like soccer and football. It doesn't seem to have stopped him from playing, though.

Both boys complain that I don't like many of their new games. I try to tell them I don't mind the toys, it's the violent back story, which they usually watch on YouTube, that I don't like. So far we've avoided all of the in-home arcade games, like Super Mario Brothers. The boys say I don't like it because it's violent and try to persuade me that it's not as violent as other games that are available. The truth is that I wish they were spending more time on other things. We have cut down on some of the invasive television and internet streaming that seeped into our computers, televisions, and IPods. It always amazes me when the boys stop to watch the kind of program you might see on PBS and they are fascinated, truly fascinated, and watch without agitation. In those instances they are drawn into the program, but given the choice they would never have given it a chance. I'm afraid my argument that intellectual stimulation is the best form of entertainment still falls on deaf ears. But I see progress. All of which is why I hope we can do a trip to see Ariel in NYC and swing down for visits to Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg, which I am certain will make a huge impression on Jackson, and in turn Rylee.

But first things first. Baseball sign ups should be soon, and it's time for Jackson to get braces I think.