chez nous

I've talked about it before, but it's something we still continue doing. Ry and I leave the house around 7:30 in the morning every Saturday and Sunday. Our first stop is Starbucks for an Americano espresso, a hot chocolate with extra whip cream, and a maple pecan scone.

on the lip of the half pipe

After we back out to drive to the skateboard park, where he's practicing new tricks and skills, there is a restaurant called Chez Bob on our way.

Ry is in first grade now. He talks a lot about things he just learned in school, repeating what he heard his teacher say. This week it's even and odd numbers and compound words.

biking at the skateboard park

He reads everything in sight, including shop signs and road signs and billboards along the streets. And so he reads the sign for Chez Bob. He knows chez is French; he knows it's pronounced shay but he like's to say chezz instead to be funny, and he knows it means the place of Bob. So he applies the word to all manner of places, like Chez Sanchez, and wants to know how to spell other French words and also Spanish words.

Spelling tests are a breeze for Ry. Jack was missing words on his spelling tests, and his teacher wrote him a nice note, basically saying he should do better and it's just a matter of learning them. So I quiz him the night before the test. It only takes a few minutes for him to get them down cold and this week he got all of them correct. He tells me things he's learned in school, but the subjects are becoming more sophisticated and expansive: human physiology, history, political science, astronomy. His class had a field trip about a month ago or so to las Golondrinas, the living museum on the way to Santa Fe, and while we've gone a couple of times as a family I think the experience of going with his class and his teacher, along with the volunteer docents and artisans who guided the class, made a big impression.

chess tournament in school cafeteria

Jack had a chess tournament last week. It took place in the cafeteria of his school. I was quite surprised as there were easily over a 100 elementary-aged kids playing; probably a half dozen schools, both public and private, and each school had about three teams of five players each. The parents sat at the edges of the room, and there were assistant tournament directors monitoring the play. The director outlined the rules.

It was fascinating to watch the children and how their personalities were displayed during play.

another angle

One boy wore a jester's hat; a few of the older kids feigned indifference; small children displayed decisive and aggressive play beyond their apparent maturity, moving pieces quickly, slamming them down. Others wrote down the moves studiously, carefully moving. I saw one young girl "con" her even younger opponent into a draw when she was losing.

Jackson played a girl who seemed a little older. As Ry and I watched him play, Jackson took his time to move and to record the moves, and then fidgeted and swayed in his seat while waiting for his opponent, as though he were listening to some internal music. It wasn't distracting; it was just kinesthetic.

zooming in to Jack's game

Many of the games were over, and Jackson still seemed to be playing defensively. I couldn't detect an end game. Then I noticed Jackson methodically taking pieces and then he had two queens. You knew it would not be long. The girl sat patiently. She knew. Jack took his time to write down the final moves. It was excruciatingly painful. Just move your queen, Jack! He wrote some more. The girl waited. Finally, he moved his queen. Checkmate. Jackson and the girl shook hands above the chess board, an etiquette that starts and ends each game, a particularly impressive sign of sportsmanship because it requires both players to reach over the table to extend their hands.

The boys each had teacher-parent conferences Monday. The reports were good to glowing. They are both doing exceptional in mathematics. Ry has many good friends in his class. He writes wonderful stories about skateboarding. He was last week's VIP, which meant he got in front of the line, and got to bring in things to show (some Legos, a plush Angry Bird), and had a big poster with pictures of him and his family and his favorites things. Jackson's teacher wants him tested for the "gifted" program and thinks he should apply to the academy for middle school. He and his friend are part of what his teacher calls the Geek Team and she sends them off to other classrooms to set up and fix computers. Jack talks about going into business with his friend now. The boys are off this week for Thanksgiving. There will be turkey in Belen. As we drove to Belen last weekend, "Albuquerque Turkey" came on the Saturday morning children's radio show. Sung to "(Oh, My Darling) Clementine ", it goes something like this:

Albuquerque is a turkey,
and he's feathered and he's fine
and he wobbles and he gobbles
and he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet that you can get,
better than a dog or cat
He's my Albuquerque turkey,
and I'm awfully glad of that.

Albuquerque is a turkey,
he's so happy in his bed,
'cause for our Thanksgiving dinner,
we had egg foo yung instead.

For Christmas, Jack has already put together a modest Christmas list for both him and Ry. It's some new Wii game. Ry desperately needs a new skateboard and there's Legos he's sure to want. Jack wants a tournament chess set that includes a clock. And maybe they'll get scooters, too. Ariel and Chris are coming just before Christmas and we've talked about maybe seeing the luminarias together in Old Town on Christmas Eve, after supper in Belen and before it's time for the boys to go to bed. Jackson wants to be involved in Santa this year. Ry overheard me tell someone where we got his skateboard. I told the kid the name of the store. I don't remember if that was a Santa gift, but later Ry asked me if I bought it. I think he was figuring out something. He usually says he can ask for anything from Santa because Santa doesn't buy the gifts, he "steals" them. And the boys are very excited about our newest idea of driving out to California on the day after Christmas in Poppa's small RV. I told Mom & Dad, and they were excited.

The last soccer games were this past weekend.

Ry tackling

It turned out to be such a great season for both of them. They had good coaches and, just like the baseball season in the spring, you could see their skills and knowledge rapidly rise. Ry was fast on the field, and the coach said he was the best tackler out there. Jackson scored goals in the last two games, and was making spectacular midfield headers.

last soccer Saturday this season

It really boosted his confidence. The best part of his last goal was seeing his sheer joy. It was a spectacular shot. He couldn't believe it scored. Jack had an iffy start to the season. I'm not sure he was really enjoying it, but as the season and his playing developed, you could see his enthusiasm and involvement rise. He started talking more, both calling out plays and cheering for his teammates. I think Ry was enthusiastic the entire season, because he just loves to run with other kids.