Boy Mama and Teacher Mama Meet Again

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As a teacher, there were certain things I was ADAMENT I would NEVER do once I became a parent.

1) I would NEVER carry my child’s backpack- children are certainly able to carry a backpack themselves.

2) I would not only not carry my child’s backpack, but I would NEVER hang it up and unpack it for him.

3) I would NEVER “teacher shop.”  Asking around about the strengths and weaknesses of  a teacher is so very wrong.

4) I would NEVER compare teachers. It is like comparing apples and oranges and  it is unfair to the teachers and disrespectful of them as professionals.

5) I would NEVER pack candy in my child’s lunchbox nor would I send him to school with a sandwich made on white bread.  How could those parents feed those things to their children and then expect them to be able to learn??

6) I would NEVER be late. That, too, is disrespectful to the teacher and to the class.  Plus it is just a bad way to start the school day.

7) I would NEVER be late to pick my child up from school.

8) I would NEVER have my child complete his homework at the last minute.

9) I would NEVER let my child watch TV on a school night let alone before school.

10) I would NEVER keep my child home from school for “just not feeling well” or keep him home because of a upcoming big event.

11) I would NEVER drop off nor pick up my child while on the phone or while otherwise electronically distracted.

12) I would NEVER worry about my child and would be confident in his teacher’s ability to do right by him.

Well, let’s just say that 2 kids later, all this has gone to crap.  I am not that mom I vowed to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am not that bad, but I have certainly fallen short of my own high expectations.

1) GUILTY- I carry my son’s backpack to and from school. It is so big and heavy I am afraid it will physically harm him or someone else.

2) GUILTY- I often hang up my son’s backpack and even take his homework out and put it in the homework basket.

3) PENDING- Haven’t really done this. I haven’t “teacher shopped” since my son is only in Kindergarten. Ask me again in 8 months and we will see how I fared.

4) GUILTY- I compared. I admit it. The two kindergarten classes “look” so very different and it makes me wonder if all the kids are getting the same quality, experience.

5) GUILTY- on both counts. I sent chocolate kisses and candy hearts in my son’s lunches. And, homemade cookies as well.  I also send him to school with sandwiches made on white bread- I have an excuse for this one though- he cannot eat whole wheat bread. Phew.

6) GUILTY- We have been late. Can we just leave it at that?

7) GUILTY- I have been late only 2 times. That is not so bad, really.  I have to wake my napping child and walk uphill to my son’s school (no, not in a blizzard, but in the blazing heat) and that should really be reason enough.

8) GUILTY- We completed his “news” project (due this morning) last night right before bed.

9) GUILTY- Can I blame this one on someone else in our household or is that cheating? Yes, I do sometimes let my kids watch a tv show before bed IF homework is done, teeth are brushed, pjs are on and the toys have been cleaned up.  TV before school is generally a big no-no, but when my husband was away on business for 3 weeks and I was going insane, I let them watch a show while I took a very needed shower.

10) GUILTY- I did. My son was feeling “out of sorts,” but not horrible. We had big plans with friends that evening and I kept him home.  The horror!  Sure was worth it though! 🙂

11) INNOCENT- I am NEVER electronically distracted when I drop off and pick up  my son.

12) GUILTY- I worry about my son. I worry that he is talking too much. I worry that he uses potty talk with the wrong people. I worry that he won’t have friends or that the friends he has are not a good influence. The list goes on.  I also worry that I worry…

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I was a really great parent before I had kids….

© www.boymamateachermama.com 2012 

Teacher Mama: What Boys Like to Read

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I have been reading A LOT of the literature out there about what boys like to read.  Instead of posting a bunch of articles about the topic, I thought I would make things easy and create a brief summary of what boys like to read and share it with you all. Let me know what you think!

First, did you know that a lot of boys are having trouble reading?  (From Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm in Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacty in the Loves of Young Men (Heinemann, 2002))

  • Boys develop slower than girls.
  • Boys take longer to read than girls do.
  • Boys read less than girls.
  • Girls tend to comprehend narrative and expository texts better than boys.
  • Boys do not value reading as much as girls.
  • Boys have trouble relating to the feelings and emotions of a lot of fiction.
  • There is a lack of positive male role models in literacy.

So, what do boys want to read?

  • Boys are more inclined to read informational texts, magazines and newspaper articles.
  • Boys are more inclined to read graphic novels and comic books.
  • Boys tend to enjoy escapism and humor.
  • Boys enjoy science fiction and fantasy.
  • Boys like to read about hobbies, sports and they they like or would like to do.
  • Boys to read books in a series.
Did you know?
  • Boys  resist reading stories about girls (girls don’t mind reading about boys)
  • Boys read less fiction than girls.

Want some more information? Check out this article:

  • Why Johnny Won’t Read–Schools often dismiss what boys like. No wonder they are not wild about reading.   http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA439816.html

Boy Mama: Boys and Nature and the Nature of Boys

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Sticks. Dirt. Dig. Dump. Dig. That is what it is about for my boys.  We spent hours each week in the park across the street digging in the dirt and playing with sticks.  We use our plastic construction trucks from Walgreens (these are the BEST by the way) digging holes, lifting a load, dumping that load into the dump truck over and over again.  And the sticks, who knew there were so many uses for them– digging, scraping, swatting, building, sweeping, writing, piling- you name it, we have done it with a stick.  I sit with them and try to see what they see.  There is a whole world going on. For my 2.5 year old, it is mostly the action of using the digger to pick up the dirt, to dump it into the truck and then to dump that load to the ground.  He does it in such a slow, methodical manner as if every millimeter he moves is vitally important.  My 5 year old, on the other hand, is telling a story. Whether it is an intricate story of the happenings at a construction site or a simple story of a digger doing its job, it completely becomes his world for that moment in time.  I do enjoy digging with them for a while. It is fun to get down into the dirt and to feel the earth in my hands. But my story is not the same as either of the boys’ stories. My story is simply being with my boys.

Book Mama: Truckery Rhymes

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As you know from a previous post, I am a huge fan of Jon Scieszka’s books.  My boys are also huge fans, although they don’t know Scieszka’s books by his name, but instead by the stories he tells. The Trucktown series has been one of the best additions to our home library.  A whole series all about  some wacky trucks and their adventures in a place called Trucktown.  The stories include such characters as Dump Truck Dan, Rescue Rita, Monster Truck Max and Cement Mixer Melvin each of  which has his or her own personality.  The series includes picture books such as Smash! Crash! and Melvin Might as well as what they call, “Ready to Roll” books (beginning readers) such as Zoom! Boom! Bully and Snow Trucking. These books incorporate wonderful rhymes, simple, repetitive text, fantastic illustrations and lots of action.  All the things little boys love in books and, the things that make them want to read and keep reading. The series is growing and plans for more books are in the works.

But by far our favorite Trucktown book is called, Truckery Rhymes. This is a collection of traditional rhymes rewritten using the Trucktown characters and all things truck.  The whole book can be read in one sitting or read over time.  The rhymes are catchy and we find ourselves singing them throughout our day.  The colorful, cartoon-like pictures very detailed and great fun to look at.

This is one of our favorite rhymes in the book. It is sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Rumble, Rumble, Monster Max
Rumble, rumble, Monster Max.
Can you jump those junkyard stacks?
Up above the trash so high,
Like a rocket in the sky.
Rumble, rumble, Monster Max.
Yep, he  jumped those junkyard stacks

This version of Rock-a-Bye Baby has replaced the original nursery rhyme as a favorite for my youngest son at bedtime.

Rock-a-Bye Mixer
Rock-a-bye mixer at the stie top.
When the wind blows, the building will rock.
When the beam breaks, the mixer will fall.
And down will come Melvin–
           bricks, beams, and all.

So if you have little boys who love trucks as much as mine and, you want to keep them interested in books and inspire them to become readers- these books are a must for your home library!

Watch Jon Scieszka read his favorite Truckery Rhymes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5LCJE-yMwY

© www.boymamateachermama.com 2012