Tag: #kinderlog

Coloring Books for Adults, Anyone?

Crayons, Coloring Book for Adults
Image from Flickr Creative Commons

 

 

Years ago wifey purchased something I never knew would be of interest to someone her age.  It was a box of crayons and a coloring book along with it.  What I find funny is that it was way back when we do not have Marcus around yet.  Knowing wifey as someone who seldom spends on anything unnecessary—either by choice or not—I let her grab her art stuffs because for an employed adult these are cheap anyway. While at some point in my elementary days I wished that I also possess a box of crayons with built-in sharpeners, I have let go of the thought as soon our art subject is over. But for wifey, age didn’t matter.

I do not consider my wife as someone who is really into arts so I was thinking all along that she would soon ditch the crayons as soon as we reach home that day.  I was wrong.  She did manage to spend time coloring the book as if it will be graded by a teacher. In my opinion, she rendered the colors well.  She also made sure that her crayons are all in proper order after each use and that anything that starts to dull gets sharpened. Her crayons remained almost pristine until the day someone came into the picture.

Our kid eventually took over wifey’s 48-color Crayola. And I know that she had some reservations giving the crayons due to the fact that she knows the fate of Marcus’ basic crayon set. Some got stripped of labels, some broken in half, and some lost in the Kindergarten battlefield. Some made their mark on our wall—thanks to baby oil, these got erased easily.

Today The Guardian released an article Colouring books for adults top Amazon bestseller list and it made me discover that wifey isn’t alone.  Surprisingly, there are also others who are into crayons and coloring books regardless of age. (Whew!)  Now I wonder if it is a good time to buy a Marvel coloring book. Nope, not for wifey. Not for Marcus either. You know, it does not hurt to start all over again.

***

Mood: 4/10 Honks! (Two days away and I miss them.)

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(Street) Smart?

This week is Marcus’ 3rd week of summer class and yesterday after he exits the classroom I was able to have a short talk with his teacher to check for progress.

Soon I learned that while he gets marked with stars on the back of his hand for doing a good job almost often since day 3 he seems to be fooling around–which I suspect happens when he is bored. His teacher said, “I know that he knows the answer but sometimes he would deliberately give the wrong one.”

Upon arriving home I had him reviewed using the Word Family House game with a very clear condition: for every wrong answer he gives I delete one of his apps from our Telpad tablet. The frustrating session began. He says ‘cup’ instead of ‘mug’, he says ‘punch’ instead of ‘hit’. The clues I’m giving weren’t just working. He lost three apps by lunch time.

Today at school before class I reminded him that there will be another round of review, just like yesterday, same rules apply. Excitedly, he told me, “Daddy, I have given to mommy some of my games. I have placed Talking Tom and Minecraft in her apps folder.” Those were his favorite games, now it his mom’s which I can’t technically delete this time. I’ll give to him. Street smart, isn’t he?

***

Mood: 1/10 Honks! (Jack Bauer in 10 minutes.)

Not So Usual Monday

Today seems to be just another usual Monday for all of us at home. Our routine remains the same: wifey prepares breakfast while I prepare Marcus’ uniforms. And when I say prepare it involves ironing his small shirts and pants which I discovered since last week as a task that is more complex than doing the regular adult clothing size. Not to be forgotten, of course, is dealing with the small guy’s resistance—something we have to contend with since the opening of classes.

But heavens must have wanted to reward us for all the sacrifices we continue to make just to send the kid to school.

Marcus and I arrived late which is usually the case on Mondays. We were met, however, with an excited class adviser who told me an unexpected news—Marcus is their class’ top 3 pupil for this quarter. “Top 3?!” I almost exclaimed in front of his restless classmates but I held my composure and was able to fake a bland reply.

“Marcus you made it to top 3, do you know what that means?” I asked him as he takes a seat and as I make my way out. He just smiled and shook his head. Yes, he probably does not understand all about it and he might not even care right now.

Just like any other Mondays, I soon left the room and went straight to the nearby gym but this time I was already pumped up even before I started my usual weight training routine. This Monday’s so usual yet not. Thanks to you Marcus. Good job son, you made us proud.

***

Mood: 1/10 Honks! (So this is feels to see a good report card.)

Unexpected Bully

This Monday we heard a very surprising news, one so unlikely, when we picked Marcus from school. I got off from the car and approached two anxious faces–the assistant teacher and school director–looking after our kid as he does his usual end of class playtime. And my gut feel proved itself right when the school director walked with me and Marcus back to our parked car.

“Sir, I will tell you something about Marcus…he’s been acting up in class. This morning he wrote on his classmate’s school uniform. Their adviser also said that every now and then she has observed aggression since the start of school year a month ago.” Boom. The few meters to our idling car felt like a hundred. The director’s report made me walk a lot slower, it dragged me more than the weight of Marcus whom I was cuddling then. I feinted a smile to appreciate the feedback.

“What’s the news? What were you discussing with Sir Ric?” asked my wife who was waiting inside the car. “How’s school, Marcus?” she added a cliché question as Marcus settles down at the backseat. The next thing my wife heard struck her just as it did to me. To display some bullying is the least of the things we expect to hear about our son. The news was just unbelievable. There were some serious exchange on our drive back home.

Yesterday, I already talked to our son’s adviser and likewise had a chat with the director at the dreaded principal’s office. I have told them that Marcus has been made aware of what he did and that I am open to receive updates regarding his behavior in the next days. “Let’s talk again next time, but hopefully not about Marcus,” I said as I stood up to leave. The director agreed, “Yes, sir. Hope it will be about our badminton game.”

***

For the very first time, Marcus helped out in washing the dishes after lunch. He also wiped the table top. I wonder what’s up this time–must be his way of entertaining himself as it’s nine days since I had our cable TV subscription discontinued.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (He just played the Christmas CD.)