Merry Christmas 2011

Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates anything this special time of year! This was our Christmas card insert this year.



And, of course, the posting of my favorite holiday poem, found on a Christmas card many years ago. (I posted it annually for a while, then skipped the last two years for some reason.) Wishing you all a wonderful Happy New Year!

Believe
Believe in Christmas Magic
Believe in Ancient Lore
Believe in a hundred impossible things
The New Year may hold in store

Believe in Heavenly Angels
In Santas and Elves by the score
Believe in a hundred impossible things
In Flying Reindeer and more

Believe in a Babe in a manger
In Wise Men and gifts galore
Believe in a million impossible things
You've never believed before

-Author Unknown

Currently feeling: in the spirit of the season

Radio: A Conversation With Luke

As we drove *down* into the parking deck below my husband's office building....

Me (clearly not thinking about where we were): What happened to the music?
DH (taps radio): Loss of signal.
Me (sheepishly): Oh.
Luke: Yeah, Mom, we're *under* the building, so the radio can't hear the satellite singing.

Currently feeling: in orbit

Wordless Wednesday - December 21, 2011

Currently feeling: spoiled rotten!

One LEGO to Rule Them All

LEGO Lands Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Oh yeah! Dare we hope there is a video game in the making as well?

Currently feeling: ready to play!

Have Capitalization Rules Changed?

Graded papers come home from school every Thursday. We do our best to review each one. He worked hard doing them, and the teacher worked hard grading them. We also want to be aware of what he is struggling with, so we pay special attention to questions he missed on tests. Most of the time, I can figure out and understand why he got them wrong, and most of the time, it's not a big deal. Every once in a while, we see he is missing something a lot and try to work with him on whatever that issue might be.

But this week, we were both really confused. It was a multiple choice question asking which of the following had the correct capitalization for the holiday:

A: fourth of July
B: Fourth of July
C: Fourth Of July

Luke had marked answer B. The teacher had marked that as wrong and circled C as the correct answer. Um, I don't think so. At least, it wasn't that way when *I* was in school! Then again, they don't teach the Oxford comma anymore (which I obviously still use!), you shouldn't use two spaces after a period anymore (which I still do half the time), and Pluto isn't even a planet anymore, so what the heck do I know?

I poked around on the internet, and as best I could tell, "of" is correct. Then, I asked around on Facebook and Twitter. Admittedly, those are not always the most reliable sources, but I trust my friends, and if the rules *had* changed, one of them was bound to know it. Again, all agree that "of" is correct. Hmm. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but this was on a test! If he had the answer right, I wanted him to receive credit for it.

I certainly didn't want to sound angry or accusatory, so I sent a note to his teacher asking if there is a source showing that "Of" is correct. Maybe the key was wrong and she didn't really "read" the question, just graded them according to the key? Or maybe the rules really had changed and she could show me.

The test came back today, with a return note on it. She agreed that it was a grading mistake on her part and updated his score accordingly. Whew! I know my grammar isn't perfect, but it's nice to know I'm not losing my mind and things haven't changed *that* much since I was in school.

Currently feeling: relieved

First Grade Awards Day - Winter 2011

A note was sent home last week announcing that Luke would be receiving an award at First Semester Honors Day. The note didn't say what the award was for, but I suspected it was for his grades.



(Sorry for the blur; should have taken the big camera!) He was awarded a certificate for being on the Principal's Honor Roll - All A's and S's. Sounds really awesome, and it is, but keep in mind that about 2/3 of the First Grade was on the Principal's Honor Roll. Most of the remaining kids received an award for being on whatever Honor Roll covers A's and B's (can't recall the name right now). Then, the remaining few received "Academic Improvement" for bringing up their grades since the first of the year. Basically, every kid received something (or it sure seemed that way, which is fine). There were some other things, like Good Citizenship awards and one for having finished the First Grade Reading List (doubtful Luke will even get that one by the end of the year, which is fine).



I wanted to include this shot for a sense of scale. Notice how much taller he is than most of the others. But also notice on the far right! Yes, that is "Hermione", the little girl from our neighborhood that we photographed at Halloween and again at the First Grade musical program. She was more or less his height at Halloween. Now look at her! She's got 1-2 inches (3-5 cm) on him (though her shoes are also taller than his (I looked!)).

Well done, First Graders!!

Currently feeling: so proud

Wordless Wednesday - December 14, 2011

Currently feeling: the front porch thought *now* would be a good time to collapse?!!