More artwork

Here is some more of Todd's artwork.

Santa Barbara Courthouse:

 
"Express Yourself" self-portrait, with emotions colored in:

Picasso-style sailboats:

Todd's Artwork

The art teacher at Todd's school publishes some of the children's more accomplished artwork on a website called Artsonia. Here is what Todd has done so far:

First up, a landscape inspired by David Hockney:

 

Then, a self-portrait inspired by Modigliani:

The Artsonia page:

http://www.artsonia.com/artists/portfolio.asp?id=3404934&artid=16664245

Todd the Shepherd

Christmas performance at school tonight! They told the story of the birth of Jesus through song and music-- some hand chimes and mostly the choir singing. Here is Todd dressed up as one of the shepherds:

Trouble at School

Todd sometimes gets into a wee bit of trouble at school, for talking. He'll occasionally get "talking tickets" for talking in class when he's not supposed to, but other than a bit of rambunctiousness that's natural for boys his age, he's been pretty well-behaved at school.

Well, today, when Daddy went to pick him up right after school for karate, his teacher had to tell him about an incident at school today.

Todd was sitting (eating?) with one of his classmates, D, when a 1st-grade boy, G, came up and joined them. As grade-school boys are prone to do, the conversation quickly turned to the direction of "potty humor". One of the first things out of D's mouth? Telling G that "your mom walks around the house naked". This devolved into the 3 boys coming up with other statements having to do with the word "naked". Three boys enjoying a bit of crass humor.

Evidently, when G got home, he relayed the "mom walks around naked" statement to his parents. His dad got mad, and talked to Todd and D's teacher about it.

Obviously, there are two sides to every story, but from what Todd told us, it didn't sound like he and D were actually making fun of G, all three were partaking of toilet humor, and it's likely that G's dad simply blew it out of proportion because he didn't want his little boy talking about people being "naked".

We warned Todd to think about the things he says and gauge them against 1) would he like it if someone said that to him? and 2) would it upset their parents if they told them about it?

Prime time for the "WWJD?" lesson we've been learning with the book I've been reading him at night!

Holiday Parade

The kids in Todd's class got to ride a float and sing in this year's holiday parade! They were all decked out in the cutest little tuxedo shirts, purple bow ties and purple cummerbunds:

Such a bright and happy and smiling face!

Unfortunately, by the end of the parade, that smile was gone, thanks to an uncouth crowd along the parade route. Read more about what happened here: http://heckledtrio.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-parade-gone-awry.html

Spelling Bee 2011

Time for the annual Christian school spelling bee, where all the non-denominational Christian schools in the Santa Barbara area compete. Todd won 2nd place this year, here he is with the 1st-place winner from another school:

New School

This Fall, Todd began attending Santa Barbara Christian School. It is the most expensive out of all the private schools in SB, but he's got a really good teacher and some good classmates, so it's worth it.

We both like the fact that there are simply more kids to play with-- there are a total of 14 in his combined 3rd/4th grade class. Small enough for individualized attention, yet large enough for him to make a variety of friends. That way, if he befriends a kid that I feel is a bad influence and would prefer he didn't hang out with, he has other kids to play with instead. Unlike his old school, where it had dwindled down so much in size that the one "bad seed" was the only kid near his age! Todd enjoys it for the same reason-- more kids to have fun with! :-)

The kids are learning some good stuff this year. Aside from the usual language arts, math, social studies, science, art, music and library, the kids are also learning about real life. There is a class economy in place, whereby each kid holds a job that pays a weekly salary. Out of this salary, the kids must pay desk rent (unless they save up enough to "buy" their desks). Kids receive "tickets" for things like talking during class or not turning in homework. These tickets cost money, as well. On the flip side, kids can be rewarded for something especially well done, in the form of coupons that can later be redeemed for "cash". And at the end of the month, kids can redeem their cash for items in a store-- or save up for a really big item!

I think it's a really nifty way to teach kids about all sorts of things in real life: how to manage your money, how to save for a goal, feeling the effects of punishments, enjoying the effects of rewards and being responsible about doing their jobs and earning their "pay".

All in all, we're pleased with the school so far. Todd's learning some good things and making some good friends. Here's to a successful school year!

Last Day of School

Todd's school closed unexpectedly early this year. The school had been struggling financially for some time, and had dwindled in both enrollment and staff until it was down to 1 teacher and 6 students (from grades K-5). We held on valiantly, but in the end, it made sense to close the school in the hopes of regrouping financing efforts in the coming year or two. We hope to see the school reopen after that, but in the meantime, we're disbanding.

So sad to see everyone go, and Todd had barely gotten to enjoy a full week in the new house before having to go back to LA to start his summer vacation early.

Here's to next year!

More "fun" at school

Today provided some more school-related drama, courtesy of our friend Loftur. Remember him? If not, you can refresh your memory at: http://toddsdiary.blogspot.com/2010/01/school-daze.html

At lunch today, I watched as Loftur savagely beat his sandwich against the table. He was unhappy that it was... well, whatever it was, he didn't like it. He threw it against his bag, thumped at it a few times, then took it out and slammed it on the table, where he proceeded to bash his fist into it several times, until one of the older kids told him to knock it off. Okay, not really eyebrow-raising, as that type of behavior is pretty much par for the course for this kid.

What happened later was more frustrating, however.

Allan got a call from Todd and Loftur's teacher this evening, informing us that Loftur had hit Todd because Todd apparently told another kid, Johnny, something that Loftur had asked him not to tell. Sounds like Todd told a secret he shouldn't have, right? Still no excuse for Loftur to slap him on the eye, but still something we should discuss with Todd, right? Guess again.

Turns out this is what had really happened:
Johnny, a second-grader, was reading to the class. The teacher slipped out of the classroom while he read, putting him "in charge" of the class. Now, courtesy, common sense and rules dictate that other students do not talk while someone is reading. So what do you suppose happened while Johnny read aloud? Why, the same thing that always happens everyday: Loftur turned and talked to Todd.

Todd, aware of the rules, piped up and told Johnny (who, remember, was "in charge") that Loftur had talked, upon which Johnny did what any teacher would've done: put a check mark next to Loftur's name on the board. This incensed Loftur so much that he slapped Todd in the face, and THAT's evidently when he told Todd that he shouldn't have told Johnny.

When their teacher returned, Todd told her Loftur had slapped him. She turned to Loftur and asked if that was true. He confirmed. She asked why. He replied with exactly what I stated above: that Todd had told Johnny something Loftur had asked him not to tell. In other words, the kid lied to make it sound like Todd did something wrong. (of course, even if that were true, that's still no excuse for slapping him)

So what does the teacher do? Rather than get Todd's side of it, or even ask Johnny what happened, she is satisfied with this version of things and sends Todd to the office to get some ice. And since anytime kids go anywhere outside of class, they are accompanied by a buddy, who do you suppose she sent out with Todd? Why, none other than his affirmed slapper-- Loftur!

So, let's see... she left a room full of 1st and 2nd graders alone at least twice. Strike one. Then she took in only one side of the story. Strike two. Then she pairs Todd and Loftur as they leave the classroom shortly after this incident. Strike three?

While I'm furious that Loftur basically lied to the teacher about what happened, and am thus concerned about the effects such habits/behaviors have on Todd, I'm even more incensed about how their teacher went about all this. It's really hard to have faith in and support (both financially and by word-of-mouth) a school where my son's teacher doesn't keep discipline in the class properly, and even leaves them alone (however brief that period may be). Sigh...

Report Card

Got report cards today for the 2nd term of school. Todd's doing well in all areas. Doing okay in handwriting, which is no surprise-- he could definitely use some improvement there. It's amusing to read his teacher's comments praising his good listening. If only he would listen that well at home!! :-P

School Daze

Had an interesting conversation with Todd today about some of the goings on in school. In general, he's one of the better-behaved and more attentive students, but he's still a regular, easily-distracted 5-year-old, and having a teacher who's very soft on discipline doesn't help matters.

The kids' names are listed on the board one by one, and every day they rack up either checkmarks or stars. Stars if they did something well, checkmarks if they misbehaved. I asked Todd if he'd ever gotten checkmarks before, and he said yes, a couple times. Why? Because he kept talking. To his seatmate, Loftur, of course.

I remember seeing their seats together in the classroom the last few times I was there, and was a bit concerned that putting the 2 together wasn't such a good idea. When I suggested this, Todd explained: "Loftur wanted to sit next to me. Mrs. Markos (their teacher) told him he could, as long as he behaved". Knowing that she seldom takes disciplinary action against such misbehavior anyway, this wasn't such a good idea.

Then Todd told me how he didn't do well on spelling tests because Loftur kept disturbing. He kept asking Todd what the answers were. Todd, to his credit, so far has ignored his pleas, but even so, it's distracting enough to break Todd's own concentration. Never mind the fact that it's cheating! I'm sure Loftur just doesn't understand that, but it nevertheless leaves me concerned that their teacher overlooks or outright misses this kind of stuff all the time.

I instructed Todd to tell his teacher the next time Loftur did it again, so she could put a stop to it. They have spelling tests every week... let's see what happens with this next one!

Double Master Reader

Awards ceremony at school today for the Fall into Reading program. Daddy and I missed it, unfortunately. First graders had to read a minimum of 480 minutes by the end of the six-week program. Those who read twice that were deemed "Master Readers".

Todd, with his voracious reading, read 1968 minutes. He was a Double Master Reader!

Prizes consisted of books, pencils, candy, a certificate and ice cream.

Let the reading continue! :-)

Storybook Time

Today marked the first day of "Presentation Week", whereby the kids did all sorts of presentations for parents and grandparents. Things kicked off with Storybook Time, in which the kids wrote their own stories and read them aloud to the class. Twice Todd was called upon and asked if he would like to come up and read his story. Twice he refused. I was surprised-- it seemed unusual for him to act so shy in school. Then came the real reason: "I want to go last!" he calmly declared. I see. And last he did go :-P

Todd's story was about "The meaning of Thanksgiving", in which one friend teaches another about being thankful. Written, illustrated, and narrated by the author :-)

The kids wrapped up their presentations with a recitation of a couple of poems. They had worked all last week to memorize their lines-- Todd, of course, working on them with Oma, as he was still there the first week back. It all went smoothly, and I was happy that I could be there to see my little man :-)

Long-awaited updates

At long last (and just in the nick of time-- 2009 is just about over!) I've managed to update this blog, with 17 (that's right, SEVENTEEN) new posts, not including this one. I'll have to strive to do better at keeping this up, alongside my regular blog.

In between all the activities I've written about, Todd's made steady progress with his reading (where not just the reading but even (and more importantly so) the comprehension is at an advanced level) and we visit the library nearly every week to pick up a stack of books to tide him over for a week.

His karate got off to a bit of a slow start in the fall. Although he practiced his moves well over the summer, he didn't practice his kata, so it took some time for him to get back into it. He's learned the 2nd kata as well, and is starting to master it.

His intensive swim lessons over the summer have vastly improved his skills. Oma had him in a variety of group and private lessons at various facilities, and the constant practice helped a lot.

When he returned to SB, I enrolled him in private lessons twice a week, where he was able to refine his strokes and improve his endurance. In January I'm going to try to put him in group lessons once more, at the YMCA, to see if being around more advanced kids will help propel his motivation to improve himself, esp since he seems to be stagnating a little with the private lessons.

Well, I think that about concludes the updates for now. Whew! Sorry about the long delay. Don't forget to scroll down... FAR down, for all the updates since my last post on June 15! :-)

Promotions and Christmas Concert

Last week Todd tested for his yellow belt. He had to learn not only his moves, but answer questions as well. The test went well, and today he got promoted to yellow belt!



That same evening was his school's Christmas concert, where he and his classmates plunked out two or three notes on the keyboards, and sang various Christmas tunes, including "Santa Claus is Coming To Town"... in Latin! Now there's a neat twist!

Progress report

Met with Todd's teacher today for a progress report. He's doing fine in all areas. His reading is doing especially well. She tested him up until 5th grade, and he was still able to read well at that level. Not only his sight-reading but his phonics were good, too, enabling him to sound out unfamiliar words. So far so good!

Age timeline

Todd's class assignment entailed him taking a sheet of paper that had a row of ages written down, and to indicate what he was doing at those ages. A timeline of his life, if you will. This is what Todd had to say about the various stages of his life:

0 - 2: I was a baby
3 :I was a little boy
4 : I started kindergarten
5 : I started first grade

Making lists

Todd's class read the "Frog and Toad" story in which Toad makes a list of things to do that day. Inspired by the story, the kids set about creating lists of their own. Todd's list contained things like

Eat barkfust
Take callium (calcium)
Play on the conputer
Read stories to my mom

etc... all of it written by himself, with very little spelling help!

Since then, he's had fun making lists at home, too!

Class photos, 2009

School has started. Todd is in first grade. It's a combined 1st/2nd grade class, so it's relatively "large".

My, how he has grown:



Here he is with his classmates:



And with the rest of the school: