The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Volume 8

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JoNightshade

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Jo, you could always request Sharkbite go in early. If he evaluates as ready for kindergarten, then he's ready.

Unfortunately all indications are that the district is pretty strict about the age thing. If you wanna go in early, you better go find yourself a private school. We're contemplating the idea of doing private school for a year or two, although switching schools is not something I want to put him through, either... ugh. Well, time will tell. And there's still time. :)

The team has rested on their laurels and hasn't increased the level of difficulty of their stunts (uhm - that's the coaches' fault), and some teams came in from Ohio and Connecticut and kicked Kiddo's team's butt. So they're gonna go tweak the routine and add more difficult stunts. Hopefully they'll get back to the top at their next meet.

The only thing I can think reading this is "Please be careful, please be careful, please be careful." I dunno how you can watch your kid spin around in the air and stuff. I'd be a nervous wreck. (There will be no football in this house if I can help it!!!)

Quite miraculously it seems that we may have graduated from the PACIFIER! I went to pick up Sharkbite from the grandparents and they told me he'd lost the thing and gotten through the entire night without it. We weaned him down to sleeping time only a while back, but every single time we've tried to go cold turkey the poor guy just cannot sleep without it - wakes up crying every half an hour or so.

Buuuut apparently he slept like a log last night! So we're trying it again. He's a little distressed, but not nearly as much as one might think given the control issues he's developed around this magical talisman of comfort. I have promised that three nights without it shall earn him a trip to the toy store for any item he so chooses. Which I can promise at this point because it's pretty safe to say he's going to choose either a hotwheels car or a bag of marbles. ;)
 

xiaotien

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jo, pre-k is big here in cali.
i'm sure you can find something
suitable for him? sweet pea started
"early" as a november bday. i wouldn't
have put munchkin (my boy in) under
the same circumstance.

not a matter of readiness for academics
but for the social situations.

daw, =) i've changed my mind.
i'd like at least 3 dozen reads if i do
self-publish. getting more ambitious!!! ;*)

seriously though, it is definitely an option
for me once other venues have been exhausted.
never say never.

rick, sorry about the 4th place.
but it is a lesson in life, and necessarily a
bad thing, you know? i have no doubt that
if they regroup--they can be number one again.
and it'll be that much the sweeter.

am i the only one that despises girl scout
cookies? blurgh. glad that isn't a temptation
during my Pastry Embargo. today, i bought
a chocolate truffle cookie at the farmer's market.
so good. (embargo is off on weekend. =)
 

kellion92

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Followed the conversation with interest this weekend, but I was too far behind to do anything but lurk.

Jo, if you choose a private kindergarten, you will likely be able to transfer your "too young" son into public first grade if he's ready (or into another year of kindergarten if he is not). A lot of people do that here, especially since our kindergarten is half day and for many working parents, it's less disruptive to stay in private preschool another year.

But again, lots of kids are 6 in kindergarten now. It's hard for many younger children to adjust to the rules and behavior of a classroom -- it's much more academic setting than when I was young, at least -- more like what 1st grade used to be. There are a couple kids who were very disruptive in my daughter's kindergarten class who now are fine in second grade. It's possible they would have been better off waiting so that they never got the reputation or self-image as a misbehaving kid.
 
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Calla Lily

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My only objection to GS cookies is they're giving you much less in the box for the increased price of $3.50.

I buy a couple boxes of Thin Mints for kiddo every year. Otherwise, I'll stick with homemade.
 

Amarie

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But again, lots of kids are 6 in kindergarten now. It's hard for many younger children to adjust to the rules and behavior of a classroom -- it's much more academic setting than when I was young, at least -- more like what 1st grade used to be. There are a couple kids who were very disruptive in my daughter's kindergarten class who now are fine in second grade. It's possible they would have been better off waiting so that they never got the reputation or self-image as a misbehaving kid.


This is so true. The sitting still is hard for energetic young children. I have two friends whose sons were both in a good school system, and the teachers kept pushing for the parents to put the boys on ritalin. They were not ADHD though; they just couldn't adapt well to controlling their energy.
 

sammyig

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Morning all.

Not much to report here except that our scale may be broken. Let's just say that if one weighs ones-self, then does their morning constitutional, then comes back and the scale reads a weight gain- there is something wrong.
 

Tasmin21

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Mornin' folk!

Actually at work in the office today, though Snowpocalypse Round 2 is supposed to hit about 9 tonight. Will most likely be working from home tomorrow, and maybe Wednesday. I will say, it's saving me a ton on gas.

Got about 3K done on MBG over the weekend. Hoping I can keep the momentum. I find that it's hard for me to write on days that I work from home, 'cause just sitting sitting sitting at that same computer literally all day is driving me insane.

My in-laws always buy like cases of GS cookies, and wind up giving us boxes and boxes of them. (Thin Mints are my favorites, but I like the peanut butter sandwich ones too)

S'all I got so far.
 

Maryn

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Good morning, everyone. We've got "black ice" here, enough that I asked Mr. Maryn to shoot me an email about arriving safely at work. Apparently he went skating on the front walk when he retrieved the paper.

Our kids' early school years were so long ago that I'm unsure my input could possibly be relevant. Holding kids back a year was common then, too, especially boys, in the hope of giving them an advantage over their classmates nearly a year younger. They need social maturity and impulse control equal to that of the girls, and at that age few have it. Academic readiness was then pretty much a non-issue except in kids coming from a home with parents who did not read to them, engage in games and counting play, and other basics of parenting.

Two of Kid Two's preschool buddies were held back that way. One did very well academically. The other did not, although I gather he attended community college for a while. We've lost track of him, and his name is so common there's little hope of locating him without actually running into him or his family.

Maryn, who has rambled
 

Rick

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Good morning Purgies!

I'm at work today, for my once every 2 weeks punch the clock effort, as I come in and out of Leave. I'm already out of my routine - I accidentally set the alarm clock for one hour later than I should have this morning.

(((Tas))) for Snowpocalypse round 2

Girl Scout cookies - we order them every year. I especially like the ones that used to be call Samoas (sp?) - some sort of cookie coated with chocolate, caramel, and coconut. I can't remember the new name, but I just ordered 2 boxes. The nice thing about these cookies is Lynne doesn't like coconut, so the coconut on these cookies works like insect repellant, leaving them ALL FOR ME! (I order the peanut butter and thin mints for Lynne. Mint is my insect repellent - I won't touch anything with mint in it. Blech! Even the smell of mint turns my stomach.)

Oh! I did my first guest post. Feel free to leave a note so it looks like I have friends and such. :D
Maer - I tried to make a post but the blog won't let me. I click on Reply and the box appears and it says "Leave a comment", but I can't seem to click on anywhere where it lets me type. I tried a couple of times and still no-go. Is there something I need to do I'm not doing? (I notice that the posts know who you are - do I need to log in somewhere?)

The sitting still is hard for energetic young children.
Sitting still is hard for me too. I'm too easily distracted by - squirrel!

Actually, if I were starting school today vice decades ago, I'd probably be diagnosed with ADHD. I'd daydream in class and play around during craft time and for some reason was enamored with the concept of collecting one of each letter (A thru F) on my report card. I had no idea I was supposed to do well on tests and projects until the 3rd grade, when I accidentally got straight A's one time (which I initially considered a MAJOR fail on my part). But I got a lot of praise from my parents and teachers and the light bulb went on. I was like - "Oh, I'm supposed to get ALL As?"
 

Calla Lily

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Co-worker just came up to me to say she'd finished VT and gave it 2 thumbs up. :yessmiley She also said it's getting good reviews on Am@zon. I said, "I never--" and she finished "...read reviews." We both laughed. Then she said one of the Amzn reviews started with "She doesn't know I'm reviewing this..."

Okay, now I'm curious. But I'm still not looking. I sleep better without looking.
 

JennW

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Morning purgies!

My little one turns 5 this fall and misses the school cutoff by 4 days. We're waiting until next year to start anyway. I worry b/c I do think he's ready now (mostly from being in pre k and also sitting with big bro during first grade homework, etc.), but like Kelly said kindy is wayyyy more academic than it used to be and I'd rather make sure he's old enough to sit still, etc. esp. since our kindy is full day.
 

Rick

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Hey! I resemble that remark!


ETA: Lily - WOOHOO! for 2 thumbs up (as opposed to 1, or to 2 opposable). And congrats on the good reviews!

ETA 2: Jenn - I was just kidding!
 

Amarie

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Awkward - HC has put up one of my books on a couple of their sites as being nominated for an award which it was actually not nominated for, and they are missing the ones it is nominated for. Since I am in limbo with a retired editor and no clue who is on staff there now, I need to track down the right person to get the info changed. My communications tend to go astray there, so I'm not sure I can get it done.

eta: I've also come to realize the editorial assistant jobs are ones people take to keep for a short amount of time and then move on. In a three year period, there were four of them I worked with, and all were lovely people. The last one I was in touch with has since gone on to bigger and better things. In other words, don't get too attached to any editorial assistant.
 
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Tasmin21

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Oh, forgot to say, today is also my performance review. (our bonuses will be on this Friday's paycheck, so they have to actually TELL us what we're getting before Wednesday, which is when we can view our paycheck) Boss Boss has been insinuating that he wants to create new job grades within our department so we actually have some kind of career track here. I intend to tell Flaky Boss that if they want to keep me at all, they better do it sooner rather than later.

Also: There's a car on fire in the parking garage. Like, fully engulfed in flames. It's not mine, nor is it parked next to mine, so I've decided that Monday is pretty ok so far.
 

Rick

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(((Amarie))) Good luck with the comms. I didn't know your editor had retired.

(((Tas))) Vamp dust for your performance review!
 

SelmaW

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LOL Rick I don't know why but that story about A-F cracks me up. Kids have weird ideas sometimes.

Kindy really is so much more academic these days, which puts boys at a disadvantage (generally speaking, obviously there are exceptions both ways). I guess it's a symptom of becoming increasingly test-focused.

Tas - o.0 Wow. Uh, hope everyone's okay! That's quite dramatic.

Yay for good reviews, even unseen ones, Lily!

I like Samoas and Tagalongs, but I too balk at getting less for more. Seems backwards when half the time the cookies are stale anyway.
 

Dragonstar

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Rick, it logged me in with my Word Press account, but I'll shoot an email to Chris and ask how others can log in. Thanks for bringing it up!

I am awake entirely too early, but feeling better, which is good.

I got nothing else.
 

firedrake

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If anyone has any spare Samoas or Thin Mints they want to post to me, feel free. :D
 

Amarie

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Girl Scout Cookies are part of a huge business and support a large paid staff of GS adminstrators. The local troop gets to keep about 14% of the price of the box. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930513&slug=1701067

I was a girl scout back in the dark ages and loved it. My daughter was a girl scout and I did the organizer cookie mom for a year, but do not like the incredible emphasis now on selling those cookies.

We still buy them, but mainly because kiddos like them. If you want to support your local girl scouts, better to give a donation directly to the troop.

eta: much of girl scouts have morphed into a prebusiness training type emphasis, sell more and the incentives are cheap little doodads, it's even in the literature how gs is training girls for the professional world.
 

Dragonstar

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Well that's what I get for posting before being awake.

LW is on my blog and OL will be on MythB3h@aving when I wake up enough to put together coherent site notes.
 

NIYRAK

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Morning Purgies!!!!


I have a little to add to the school discussion based on my own experiences...

Daughter (who is now 16 and taking AP classes and has a 3.3 GPA) was 5 for two weeks in Kinder, then she was 6 the rest of the year. She is one of the older kids in her class and had trouble in elem. school b/c she was bored and acted out...Now, she is challenged and focused and I couldn't be more proud.

Son 1(who is 7) is a younger child in his class (june b-day) he does fine and is actually testing higher than some of the older kids in his class. (in second grade reading at a third grade level and the highest math scores in the entire 2nd grade.) So his young age had no real effect...

Son 2 (4 yr old) is a whole different kind of animal... b/c of his hearing loss he is verbally behind other children his age. He will go into Pre-K next fall as a 5 yr old and be a year older than all the kids in his class for the rest of his life (unless he moves up a grade at some point.) His teachers are impressed with his progress daily yet still feel he is not going to be ready for Kinder this fall.... I think he will be much like daughter and excel due to this maturity over his classmates...

My point is, for the most part it is NOT about the age of the child but the level of their development when starting school.
 

Maryn

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Thin Mints are my weakness. I'm only allowed to have like one box, because I'll basically sit down and eat the whole box.
Wait, are you saying we're not supposed to do that? I mean, sheesh, the boxes don't hold all that many cookies.

Last night I made 'diety' banana bread which came out... minimally adequate. The fat replaced with applesauce worked, as did substituting half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. What didn't work so well was the Splenda. The first bite seemed okay, but the chemical aftertaste of the stuff lingered for ten or fifteen minutes--and not in the good way a trace of sugar does. I wonder if you can mix Splenda and sugar and have it come out okay?

Maryn, relearning to bake so she doesn't shorten her own life
 
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