June 12, 2009 by Barbara.

One of the things that Malcolm Gladwell said last night was that people can’t take advantage of opportunities unless the opportunity is presented, or a kid can’t learn to play hockey on a backyard rink like Wayne Gretzky did, if there is no backyard rink due to climate change. I had an opportunity last night to ask for Gladwell’s signature in my copy of Outliers and get a picture. Ken wanted to save our seats and so I had to ask a complete stranger to take my picture. I’m not usually so bold but…

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June 9, 2009 by Barbara.

We went to the Museum of Civilization right after breakfast at Eddie’s on Sunday. I was determined to get there right at 9:00 to avoid any crowds. We made it at 9:15, only to discover that the museum doesn’t open until 9:30. I always try to get there at 9:00 but obviously I’ve never made it. There was a nervous-looking security guard that seemed to think that Uncle Roger and I were going to load Reid onto Grandma Joyce’s wheel chair and make a break for the Canada Hall before the museum opened. We went outside to admire the view of the back of Parliament Hill and the Library of Parliament while we waited. Once the museum was opened, we went straight to the Mythic Beasts exhibit. Reid was a bit like a bee in a flower garden - spending lots of time here and there but moving along quite quickly. We watched 3 videos, each of which focused on beasts of the air, sea or water. Reid liked the video with a mer-bunny in it but said the others were boring. Reid liked the representations of mermaids and also the unicorn and Pegasus. She found the dragon and sea monster near the entrance to be intimidating. I was struck by the description of the Japanese myth of the Kappa. One of the panels explained that the Kappa sometimes takes the form of child and encourages children to pull its finger as a game and then pulls the child underwater and eats them. The old “pull my finger” joke takes on a whole new meaning.

We spent some time decorating dragon scales but Reid wasn’t willing to leave her artwork behind on the community dragon. Uncle Roger and Reid each designed a dragon or three on the computer and watched them fly across the overhead screens. Reid surprised me a bit in that she started by trying to find the “right” body part in each instance. Rather than trying for a silly or colourful dragon, she wanted it to be a coherent whole. It made me think of a quote from Pablo Picasso that we saw in the children’s room at the Art Gallery of Ontario back in March:

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Seeking the “right” piece seems more adult than artistic.

Reid led us next to the Canadian Children’s Museum. She was eager to perform on the stage in the theatre with Uncle Roger. I’m not sure if he was as eager for that to happen but he went backstage and put on a costume when asked. I managed to steer Reid past the main studio because how many tissue paper-on-bamboo crafts does one family need? We visited the Building Brainstorm special exhibit and Reid spent quite awhile on the computer designing her dream bedroom. Perhaps she’ll be an interior designer when she grows up. Uncle Roger, Grandma Joyce and I all looked at Look-Alikes: The more you look, the more you see!  by Joan Steiner and I’m going to try to find it at the library to read to Reid. We didn’t spend time at the dollhouse, blocks or layout planning and spent only little time building a tent. A repeat visit will be required.

Reid and I planted seeds in our garden on Sunday afternoon. I’d forgotten how tiny carrot seeds are and how many come in a package. Reid wanted to plant them all but we didn’t have enough room. Am I the only one who is surprised that carrots grow from seeds? We also planted wax beans and zucchini, which grow from nice big seeds. We planted all of the seeds in the packages. We might have way too much of both, especially once the beans need staking. I was worried that my seed drill, aka Reid, wasn’t planting the seeds deeply enough. Plus, we’re not the world’s greatest weeders. We also have lots of critters who dine in our garden and grass and we don’t discourage them since they make for good viewing from our dining room table.

I know Reid had fun with Grandma Joyce and Uncle Roger while Ken and were out for supper and a movie but the details are vague. I know they ate supper on the front porch. Reid is obsessed with picnics, which she defines as meals eaten away from the dining room table, especially those that take place outdoors. Uncle Roger and Reid went to the park near our house and she rode her bike. As long as Reid tired at the end of the day, it’s a good day.

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May 21, 2009 by Barbara.

Last Sunday afternoon, Ken suggested that Reid and I should clean up her bookshelves. He’d gone through the toys that used to live on them and but them on a different bookcase. I thought it was a great idea since it’s something that I think of doing each night when I see the books piled every which way.

We went up and I started pulling the books off of the shelves. I asked Reid to start gathering the Franklin books in one pile and the Clifford the Big Red Dog in another. I put the Christmas books together and also the other holiday books and then grouped hardcovers, softcovers, Dr Seuss and so on. Ken came in after a while and was surprised that book situation was worse instead of better. I explained my organization principles and he said, “I thought you’d take the ones that were in piles and stand them up.”

I like to be able to find the Easter books at Easter and books about mamas just before Mother’s Day and I couldn’t do that this year. Now, it’d be easy to lay my hands on just the right book, even the one where the groundhog lobbies for a whole month instead of just a day.

I’m trying to read each book once before repeating them. So far, Reid hasn’t asked to hear one twice. She tried to misfile a book that I’d chosen and she rejected, though, much to Ken’s amusement. I could put signs on the shelves but since Reid doesn’t read and wasn’t concerned when I explained the problem, I’m not sure it would help. In fact, Ken might mix them up just to drive me nutty. He’s like that, you know.

C’mon over and read a book whenever you’re free. We’ve got lots from which to choose.

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March 1, 2009 by Barbara.

Reid and I watched cartoons yesterday morning. Ever since we put the television in the basement watching tv has been a rare event. One of the shows that we watched was Super Why. For those of you who didn’t know who Daniel Cook was, I’ll explain that the show involves four little kids who each have super powers, like spelling, sounding out and reading. It’s the little guy, the star of the show, who stands on letters that spell “READ”. This guy, for obvious reasons, is Reid’s favourite. Not surprisingly, since Reid doesn’t read, she is not troubled by the incorrect spelling of her name.

At one point, when the characters were encouraging the kids to associate sounds with a letter. I joined in saying the sound and was reprimanded promptly. “If your name was ‘Bookmark’, you could do this show but your name is Barbara. My name is “Read’.” Put in my place, I stayed quiet since my name definitely isn’t “Bookmark”.(I’ll have to speak with her about the use of “was” versus “were” in the conditional tense.)

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February 10, 2009 by Barbara.

Ken and Reid had a busy weekend while I was in Toronto. They started out with a visit to the library after school to choose some books and a video. Reid sees this as a perfect start to her weekend, or any evening, for that matter. They were at Canadian Children’s Museum when it opened at 9:00 on Saturday morning and stayed for 2.5 hours. I’m not sure where they spent their time exactly but I bet Ken had to suggest that they leave in the end. Reid’s frequent visits don’t diminish her desire to spend lots of time at the cargo ship, bus, theatre and so on. They ate their lunch in the Café du Musée before heading to the Canada Aviation Museum. The “airplane museum” is Ken’s favourite museum in Ottawa, I think. I tend not to go unless the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation member’s winter party is held there. Reid used to like to go but the last couple of visits haven’t gone so well. Where once Reid like to find family groupings - the helicopter family, for example, with its big (Daddy), middle-sized (Mama) and small (Reid) ‘copters. I don’t think that Ken will be taking Reid with him any time soon.

Reid started a new swimming class on Sunday morning and the highlights seems to have been jumping into water that was over her head. It hasn’t been that long since Reid wouldn’t jump into shoulder-deep water unless the teacher was holding her hands. Reid also told me about finding a diving ring. On the first try! She explained that sometimes she doesn’t get them at all. I suggested that she would have increased success if she opened her eyes when she was under water. Reid gave me a skeptical look and said, “I don’t do that.” The “silly mama!” part of the sentence was only implied.

I signed Reid and me up for a parent-child pottery class at the Gloucester Pottery School a few weeks ago and the first class was Sunday afternoon. Since I was away, Ken eagerly filled in. Or, at least, he agreed to go in my place. I’d left telling him about this obligation to the last minute since I was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to dwell on it much in advance. In the end, I think it wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Reid’s eyes sparkled when she told me “what we made”. When I asked Ken what he had made, I learned that Reid had been speaking with the royal “we” in her description of what had been made. Ken said that Reid kept taking over his creations. I’m not how well I’ll like it if/when she does that to me. I’m not as magnanimous as Ken - it’s birth order, eh, I’m the “baby” in my heart.

I’d picked up the fixings for some kid-friendly meals - spaghetti and meat sauce, fish and chips, stirfry chicken and veggies - and they seemed to enjoy them. If it’d been me, I might have been tempted to hit the mall’s food court but Ken isn’t as keen on dining out of the house as me. Ken told me that Reid is much better behaved when I’m not around and also that she went to sleep without any trouble. I don’t think either of them me missed me overly much but they both were glad to see me. I’m glad to have had the weekend but was happy for the welcome back hugs as well.

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October 7, 2008 by Barbara.

Last Friday, Reid and I went to the playground next to her school, the one I didn’t know existed, and I was ready to leave before she was. I have to keep track of things like supper and bedtime while Reid thinks more of play. It’s the way we divide labour in our family. I told Reid that we needed to leave but offered to go again one night this week. We discussed our week and determined that Monday was out because of swimming lessons. Reid ruled out tonight because, in her words, “I have to learn to read on Tuesday night.” I must have missed that note from the teacher. To go from no homework - I don’t even know what their theme is, if they have one - to being expected to teach Reid to read in one night seems excessive! On the bright side, Reid’s communication book noted that Reid was reading words like “_at” and “_ar” yesterday and so perhaps I’m not starting at nothing.

I’m still going to pitch the park as tonight’s activity since it isn’t too cold (maybe 12 degrees Celsius), it isn’t raining and it isn’t cold yet. Days like these will become less and lass common as autumn progresses here in Ottawa. I want to take advantage of the weather. Maybe Reid can wait to learn to read until the next rainy evening we have.

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October 7, 2008 by Barbara.

Today was the first day in a month that Reid hasn’t told me that she doesn’t want to go to school. The first week went well at pickup and drop off but since then, Reid has told me that she doesn’t want to go to school. Usually she asks at bedtime if the next day is a school day and if it is, then she says she doesn’t want to go. Sometimes she asks me how much longer she has to go to school and isn’t happy with my “about 20 years” response. Reid declared her preference to abstain from education last night but not this morning. I don’t suppose it will happen again tonight. When I pick Reid up from school, she is always playing happily and sometimes makes me wait until she has finished something before we can leave.

All this to say that if you know Robert Munsch, Marie-Louise Gay, or any other author of children’s books, please let them know that some kids do very well on the first day of school but need a little encouragement as the routine develops. We’ve read many books about first-day jitters but haven’t found any that offer advice for the “hey, my life has really changed” stress that Reid is experiencing.

Me, I’m savouring a day free of my well-practiced “school is fun, important and inevitable” lecture. Hope your day goes well, too.

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September 27, 2008 by Barbara.

Friday was picture day at Reid’s school. She had many ideas of how her hair should be styled: a small portion in a ponytail on side and the rest on the other side; 2 small ponytails on either side of her face with holders at the top, middle and bottom; one ponytail on the left side and the rest at the back. I kept saying that I wanted her hairstyle to be a bit formal and visible in the photographs. Finally, Reid said that she wanted “Stephanie’s Ponytail”, sticking right out the side, and I agreed.

Robert Munsch, in Stephanie’s Ponytail, tells the story of a girl who wears her hair in a ponytail at the back one day and the kids in her class tell her how ugly it is but then the girls all have that style the next day. Over the next few days, Stephanie has her ponytail out the side and on top and each time it criticized but more and more of the kids copy her latest hairstyle on subsequent days. Finally, Stephanie announces she will be shaving her head and when she arrives at school the next day, all of her classmates and even her teacher have shaved their heads but Stephanie has a ponytail at the back of her head.

Reid thinks that the other kids in the class are silly for copying Stephanie but feels free to take inspiration from her. She went to day care once with a top ponytail that “looked like broccoli growing out of her head” and has chosen a side ponytail a few times, thanks to Stephanie and Robert Munsch’s influence. I wonder if he ever intended to be the inspiration for little girl’s hairstyles?

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September 19, 2008 by Barbara.

Reid was listening to a book-on-cd while we drove home last night (thanks again, Uncle Roger) and had trouble getting on of the pages turned. She asked me, “Can you ‘pose’ it?” And I reflexively said, “Do you need me to pause it?” Reid replied, “I need a ‘pose’.” And then I understood. In French, the word “pause” is pronounced “pose” and Reid is spending most of her waking hours in a French environment. This is the first real sign that she is retaining what she hears. I have been having the same trouble for a couple of months. Of course, I also incorporate English words into my French sentences in class and that isn’t considered at all cute, though sometimes we laugh if the pronunciation is extremely French but not good enough to make it a French word. I wonder how Ken will fare with Reid’s and my franglais* when he returns?

One of the women in my class has a daughter who describes her school day and school friends in French because she attends a French-language school and the rest of her life in English. Melissa’s kids are in an immersion program and don’t do this. Of course, they’re only spending about half their time in French - and that’s why I want Reid to acquire language rights to attend the French school system. I sure do hope that she’ll have the necessary French skills by the time she is done kindergarten.

*Franglais is the mixture of French and English words in a given sentence and is practically its own language in Ottawa-Gatineau.

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September 18, 2008 by Barbara.

Just before bedtime last night, Reid took down from the wall one of the pictures that she made recently and announced that she would tell me a story about it. She told me that it would be a scary story and so I would have to hug her tight when she was scared. Reid said the beginning and end wouldn’t be scary but the middle would be. I didn’t ask her why she was planning to tell me a story that was so frightening that she needed to be hugged but I thought the question really loudly.

By the time we got snuggled in for the story, silliness overtook fright. The creature she’d drawn was a monster named Gravement and he was attacked by …. (Reid searched for a moment) … Super Burper who burped and farted on him. When Super Burper started pooping on the head of poor Gravement, I told Reid I didn’t want to hear anymore. And it’s true. I’ve officially heard enough of the potty humour even though it still makes Reid giggle. Don’t let Reid’s fondness for dresses and shoes fool you into thinking that she is a girly-girl.

Do you suppose that this is a phase that Ken wishes he was here to experience fully?

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