Last month the boys got to spend some time with their cousin and we got some quality time with him and his mom. We had a great time with them here but the best part was watching the three boys figure out how to get shirt off the ceiling fan. If you are wondering how the shirt got on the fan then you likely don’t have young kids. The only proof I need to know that I am teaching my kids well is found at the end of this video when Primo gives us some words to live by.
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I don't need no stinkin jacket, I got a tattoo
Here in Portland we have been in full on wintery mix for the last two weeks. Sometimes it snows, other times it rains, but it’s always cold. Each morning I have to get one or both of the boys to school so we have same discussion minutes before heading out the door: “Grab a coat boys, it’s cold out today” “But daddy I don’t want to wear a coat, I want freeze on my arms.” I know that as we walk from the car to Primo’s class room the boys are going to be whiny little punks because they are so cold so I fight the battle right there and make them put on a coat.
This morning I was thinking about it as we headed towards our lockers to bundle up for the trip. I told the boys it was cold out, opened the door to let them feel it, and then told them i thought they should put on a warm coat. Primo grabbed a sweater and a coat but Segundo ran outside to find his bike in his quarter sleeves. Without getting frustrated I reminded him that it was cold out and that I would not be giving up my jacket or toque so he needed to be sure. He’s four years old so he’s sure about everything until he changes his mind so off to school we went with no extra covering.
He was cold on the walk to school. He cried and whined and pleaded for my hat to put his hands in to keep warm. I didn’t let him have it. Lessons were being taught, impression being made for next time. I felt bad for him and thought I should have brought a bail out jacket stashed in the car for this kind of situation but the cold wasn’t going to kill him. We were only out in the elements for a couple of minutes, just long enough for the lesson to sink in I hope. We will see what happens tomorrow when it’s time to gather our things for the trip to school. Maybe four is too young for lessons like that to be taught and retained but when I think of the type of kids that I want to raise it seems important. I want boys who make good decisions on their own and not just because some one makes them do things. I try to always come back to that picture of the adults I hope my boys become when evaluating parenting decisions.
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Long road trips were a family tradition while I was growing up and our family would play “My Grandfather’s Store” whenever we were out on the open road. The game is a variation of 20 questions where someone while start by saying “there’s something in my grandfather’s store that starts with an S” and then everyone else in the car starts asking yes or no questions until someone correctly guess the mystery S word. We have started playing the game with our boys on longer drives and they are quickly learning the questions to ask. You can almost guarantee that if Segundo is them one coming up with the mystery word then it’s a superhero. Primo will go back and forth between superheros and fruit so you have to think a little more. Most of the time My Grandfather’s store is a grocery store so the first question is always “Is it Edible?” Primo knows what edible means but apparently Segundo does not. Last week while my brother was here he started the game on a drive to pick up Primo from school and Segundo excitedly joined in:
M: “There’s something in my grandfather’s store that starts with an s”
S: “Is it Edible?”
M: “Yes”
S: “It’s a snake isn’t it?”
M:(laughing) “No it’s not a snake, I don’t think a snake is edible.”
S: “Is it a slug?”
M:(laughing harder) “You don’t eat a slug Segundo, do you know what edible means?”
S: “Is it Super Man!”
The game went on with me narrowing it down to a fruit, that was red, that was a berry, that started with straw. Segundo still didn’t know what it was and had my brother and I cracking up as he went through the clues out loud.
S: “It’s a fruit, that’s a berry, and it starts with straw”
Dad: “Say that again but switch the words”
S: “It’s a straw that starts with berry?”
D: “ok now just say the two words”
S: “straw …….berry, STRAWBERRY! I did it!”
It took Segundo about 10 minutes to finally get strawberry, but it was 10 minutes of pure comedy for Mark and I. We told him what that edible means you can eat it but the next time we played the game that information didn’t seem to stick.
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This month I’ve taken over as the class room liaison for the Kindergarten class at Primo’s school and taken the opportunity to help in the class one day a week. Since Segundo is such a great kid he gets to hang out too and get involved with the bigger kids and their lessons. Primo’s school is Reggio Emilia based education so the students have a self guided curriculum and while I was there one of the kids wanted to make an airplane to see how it would fly. The rest of the kids were busy with snap cubes, blocks, and other activities while I helped the aeronautic enthusiast with her paper plane. Once we folded a couple of models we decided to head outside to see how they flew and a few kids joined us with paper in hand. Soon we had all but two of the kids folding airplanes and flying them from the top of the play structure. We made hypothesis based on the designs and then talked about what happened after we tested each plane. we decided that longer planes went farther so the kids started using giant paper to make planes that were over two feet long.
The morning blew by and we all had fun folding and decorating our planes before flying them. As more kids from other classes came out to the playground they joined in with planes of their own. The next week on my helper day the kids were ready to make planes again but it was a terrible rainy day out. We could make planes but we couldn’t go outside to fly them. The kids still had a good time folding the planes and talking about what they thought their designs would do in the rain and wind. While I’ve had a great time in the classroom the last three weeks I’m beginning to fall into a paper airplane rut. When the kids see me coming in with Segundo they head right over to the paper supply and start clamoring for new designs. I’m pigeon holed as the paper airplane guy but I guess there’s worse things.
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This picture above shows the faint scratch that Segundo had under his right eye. The filter from Instagram lightened bright red line that I first noticed some 30 minutes after he had hurt himself. If Primo had done this the whole neighborhood would have known instantly as he screamed and writhed on the ground as if he had been harpooned from a Japanese whaling ship. It takes a lot more to get Segundo to even cry, let alone scream in pain. I’ve seen him walk into a table, fall off our tall bed, flip over the steamer trunk in our living room, and take a header while running on the sidewalk outside. He pauses, asses the situation, and then usually says “I’m ok, it’s ok, I’m ok.” There are plenty of times where he gets hurt enough to cry but his threshold for pain is much higher than his older brother. It might be because Segundo falls, runs into, trips, and crashes far more than his brother does. He seems to have a wider stream of data to draw from when it comes to gauging pain. Primo, on the other hand, has a smaller sample and therefore no measurable difference between a bump and having his leg severed above the knee. While I try not to let their difference threshold affect me I have used the phrase “Sack up” a time or two for Primo. once in a while I get in a better response of “take a second to figure out how hurt you are, and what the reaction should be …..” so that I don’t come running every time I hear an anguished scream. One of these days he will be eaten by a wolf because I didn’t respond, or at least I think that’s how the story goes.
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Dads are passing on their love of Tech as much as they are passing on their love of sports. Geek dads are cooler than they were in the past and kids are picking up new technology faster and faster. I have an iPhone for the first time and my 4 and 5 year olds can turn it on, enter my not so secret code, and find the apps they want to play with alarming speed. As technology become more prevalent in our households the need to manage the time spent with our devices becomes more important. Kids do what they see their parents doing and when we turn out attention to our tablets and laptops for long period of times kids follow suit. While I’m glad that my boys are comfortable with the new technology I want to make sure that it is not at the cost of other equally important skills.
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Here in Portland we have some great musicians making music for kids and the young at heart. One of our favorites is Mo Phillips and his perpetual Support Your Local Dad Tour. Mo is releasing a new album, called Monster Suit, this April and some friends are joining him for the release party at McMenamins Kennedy School. 5:00 PM Saturday April 14th Mo will be joined by Portland musical luminaries Lori Henriques, Little Sue, Lincoln Crockett, and Johnny Keener for the release of Monster Suit. If you live in the Portland Area you need to get this show on you calendar and head on down to the Kennedy School for what promises to be a fun show. While you’re at it head over to the great blog Out With The Kids and grab the new podcast that Jeff Bogle is doing highlighting great Kids music each month. The song “Big Red Truck” off Phillips new album is featured on the podcast as well as other fun songs that parents will love.
MO PHILLIPS’ MONSTER SUIT FAMILY CD RELEASE CELEBRATION!
with special guest band mates Lori Henriques, Little Sue, Lincoln Crockett, and Johnny Keener
WHERE: McMenamins Kennedy School. 5736 NE 33rd Ave., Portland, OR 97211
WHEN: 5:00 p.m., Saturday, April 14 (Doors open at 4:00 p.m.).
ADMISSION: $10 per family
INFO: 503-249-7474 http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-school-home
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Primo dancing to the Popinski Podcast in preparation for opening night. Watch ESPN 2 tonight at 6:30 Pacific 9:30 Eastern to see some great displays and singing.
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This past week the Portland Timbers hosted a pre-season tournament with three other teams. Our season tickets allowed us into the six games in seven days and it was a great way to get ready for the regular season opened on Monday March 12. I found that I was not quite ready to climb the stairs with an armful of flags a couple dozen times. Since this was pre-season I thought it would be good to introduce a couple of people to madness of a live Timbers game in the middle of the Timbers Army.
For the second batch of games (San Jose v. AIK Sweden, and Timbers V. Chivas) I brought Primo along to join my section 104. This was his first game in the Timbers Army with the first team. He has been to reserve team and Under 23 games but this was the A team and a packed supporters section. Since we sing TA chants in lieu of nursery rhymes he was very prepared. Decked out in Rodney Wallace’s toque and his Little Timbers scarf he jumped right in. Most of the game he stood in front of the Capo leading chants and mimicked every motion he made. He also went down to the rail and stood in front tough looking dude that turned out to be the sweetest guy. He told Primo all about what was happening and as the Timbers scored he went crazy hugging everyone around him and high fiving his way down the row. He loved Timber Joey cutting the log and dancing to Tetris but he favorite thing was when the Timber scored. he has wanted to go to a game for so long and the joy on his face during the whole match didn’t leave until way after I kissed him good night. The highlight video for the game shows Primo’s little face towards the end when you see Timber joey cutting the log slice. His face is at the end of the green and white flag at the 1:24 mark.
I can’t wait to bring him and his brother to more games this year.
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This past weekend I helped out at our PCPO Early Childhood Education and Parenting Conference. I assisted speakers with their AV needs and helped set up tables the night before and managed to hit up a few sessions. The real value in a conference like this is being around other parents and teachers that care enough about their role in their kids education to give up a saturday. The sessions were great, especially one of them on Fathering and Mothering Boys, but the lunch time chats with other parents about what they were gleaning from their classes was even better. The sense of community and shared joy and frustration around parenting acted as a high-powered recharging station. There were even some other dads in the mix, about 10% of the crowd, to help me feel less like one of the girls.
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