All about Kevin

Dreams: A conversation

Jesse — 2008-01-07T11:59:29-05:00

Sparked by the textbook that I'm reading for class I asked Kevin about dreams.

Did you have a dream last night?
No, I don't think so.
Where do dreams come from?
My brain, I think.(pause) They're in my eyes.
How do they get there?
Well, they come from down here (points to toes) and travel to here (draws path along body to eyes.)
They come in through your toes?
No, I don't think that's true, maybe they come in here (points to knees).
Do you make your own dreams?
No.
Where do they come from?
God puts them there.
Then he puts them in your knees?
ummm...(I can see him thinking through his previous thoughts)...I think so.
Does Alex dream?
I don't think so. Yes, he dreams. Everybody does.
Everyone dreams?
Well, not everyone. Bad guys don't dream.
Why don't bad guys dream?
Because they don't sleep.
Bad guys don't sleep?
No, because they don't want to get caught by the police.

Today's Conversation

Jesse — 2007-11-25T23:44:37-05:00

On the way home from church this evening, Kevin was talking about getting Buster Bear (his stuffed Bear) a bear for Christmas. He was talking about going to Build-A-Bear.
Teri asked quietly if we should make him use his own money for it...but he heard and said, "Yes, I have enough money."
Jesse: Do you know how much a bear costs at Build-A-Bear?
Kevin: No
Jesse: How do you know you have enough, how much do you have?
Kevin: Thirty Dollars (don't know where this figure comes from)
Jesse: So if a bear costs $20, how much would you have left?

He then posed a random guess and I told him to figure it out and not guess...I heard counting for a while and finally told him he would have $10 left.

Kevin: How much is $20 in nickels. (He knows nickels and pennies)
Jesse: 20 times 20. That would be 400 nickels.
Kevin: FOUR HUNDRED?!?!
Kevin(dejectedly): I guess I'm not going to get him a bear.

I reassured him that he had more than enough...after all$30 is 600 nickels.

He then asked what would happen if we didn't have cars. I explained that only the very rich have cars (top 3% of the world) and that not everyone has a car. To which he followed up with asking what if we didn't have cars or stores.
Again, not everyone has cars and not everyone has stores...

Jesse: Some people have to get their milk from cows or goats.
Kevin: Where does cream milk come from? (cream milk is what he calls whole milk)
Jesse: Cows.
Kevin: Where does plain milk (2%) come from?
Jesse: Cows. Milk is sent to a creamery where they make sure there are no....
Kevin: YOU CAN MILK A GOAT?!?!

Guess tonight was a night of Interjections.

Going through the Zoo's Gate

Jesse — 2007-10-15T19:11:28-05:00

First I was sleeping and then daddy waked me up. Then we drived to church and then we stayed in the class for a little bit. Then, ta da, the school bus (actually, a charter bus) arrived. Then it took us to the zoo.

We saw lots of animals and got to ask questions. We saw howler monkeys, lions, prairie dogs, and gibbons. We learned that they walked with their hands up. We practiced walking like a gibbon and looked in the mirror for practice. I asked, "Why do pandas have black and white fur?" And the zookeeper said, "The scientist don't know." But I know exactly what the answer that the scientist will give me - "I don't know" is probably what they will give me.

I liked Mommy and Daddy being with me. I liked that we got to see all sorts of animals together. I thought the prairie dogs were special too. I also liked the monkeys. I liked eating and I liked the crocodiles, but we didn't go to the petting zoo.

At the end of the day we went to the gift shop and I got a shirt. Then daddy got something for Alex and gave it to him. We had to hurry down the hill. We stopped in the middle of the hill to look at frogs. We saw all sorts of animals in there, then we saw a frog. We saw snakes and turtles and then frogs. We saw some poison frogs, there were red ones and blue ones and green ones. Then we went to the bottom of the hill and got the bus.

There was three special spiders that didn't have any glass. There was also a big spider that could eat birds.

My favorite animal was gibbons and my favorite part of the day was going to the zoo. I think my brothers favorite animal was monkeys, I think he liked the little ones. His favorite thing at the zoo was the trucks that were working, I liked them too.

Carded

Jesse — 2007-09-17T20:52:43-05:00

It doesn't seem like long ago (it's been about 9 months, I suppose) that Kevin declared that he wanted to learn to read. At the time, he was able to recite the alphabet, but didn't recognize all the letters. Not too long after that announcement, I saw Hooked on Kindergarten, which includes Kindergarten phonics, handwriting and math, on sale and bought it to use as part of his schooling. We started using it around April to identify letters and their sounds.

We told him that when he finished the program, he would be a reader and could get a library card and we'd take him to the bookstore to get any book he wanted.
Today, he received his library card. I thought that it would take a lot longer then 4-5 months to go from not recognizing letters to reading blended letter sounds, it's incredible how fast a child's brain can absorb stuff.

He checked out a large pelethera of books, as usual, but today, he used his own card.

There's no need to fear...

Jesse — 2007-09-04T20:31:21-05:00

One of the neat things about Kevin's schooling is JumpStart World. As he works through the levels, he's rewarded Super Gems (12 over the course of the year), that can be redeemed for real-life things. One of the rewards that we set up for him was to take him to see Underdog in a theater.

I had today off so he had a chance to cash in that reward. This is the first time that he's been to the theater and I think he enjoyed the experience. We went shortly after lunch, just Kevin, mommy and daddy. We got to the mall a little earlier than expected so we grabbed the tickets from the Egyptian 24 and headed to the sporting store to see the fish. We chatted on the way back about what he would have - he was really looking forward to popcorn and soda - and he decided on rootbeer. After getting inside, we hit the restrooms and then spent an inordanant amount og money on snacks (about $10 more than the cost to get in). They didn't have rootbeer so kevin got Cherry Coke in his kid's tray, which came with popcorn and Oreo cookies. He also had Nestle's Crunch bites and Sour Patch Kids.

No surprise, but we had the theater to ourselves so we sat dead center of the middle row that was at the top of the first flight of stairs (extra leg room!).

I don't know that Teri's a fan of Underdog, but I enjoyed it as a child and I though the live action version was done well. I enjoyed being able to share a piece of my childhood with my son. The only part of the movie that I didn't like was the adaptation of the theme song. They (Crow?) did a fast rock/rap type of song, which I really didn't think fit...I understand they can't do a 2007 remake and keep a song from the mid-60s, but they could have done better.

I don't remember Underdog having a back story, which was the basic plot of the movie and I think they did a good job of coming up with the question of how he came to be. Overall, it was a good movie. There were two plots of peril that upset Kevin. At one point Underdog is captured by the bad guy and something happens to underdog (which was upsetting enough for mommy's lap). The climax of the movie had a bomb scene - and a move to daddy's lap. I was glad that we had the theater to ourselves because Kevin was upset and screaming with concern about what was happening to Underdog.

Good movie, great day, and as usual, I enjoyed Patrick Warburton (as typecast as he is becoming).

Pinball Wizard

Jesse — 2007-08-21T14:32:23-05:00

We're home schooling Kevin and finding out that it was a good choice...and that there is no turning back as far as Kindergarten goes.

In Maryland, you have to be 5 by September 1st to begin Kindergarten. If you feel your child is advanced you can have them tested for this to be waived, but they have to turn 5 within 6 weeks of the cut of date - or October 15th in this case. Kevin was born October 29th so he can not enter Kindergarten until next year (2008-2009).

Late last year he began showing boredom with the Jump Start (preschool) computer games that we had. Jump Start was in the process of releasing Jump Start World but it started with Kindergarten. When it was release we figured we would see if he could handle it...and he's pretty much been sailing through with few bumps. He's on level 8 of 12.

He also started telling us that he wanted to learn to read, so when I say Hooked on Kindergarten on sale at CompUSA, I snapped it up and brought it home. It contains phonics, math and handwriting. Within two months he's half way through the phonics portion.

So, school started yesterday for our county and Kevin is half way done with reading, 25% with math, and well into handwriting. We need to look at social studies, science, language and fine arts, but I'm convinced that sending him to kindergarten next year would be the wrong choice. He'd be really bored.

By next year, when we start home schooling, he'll likely be doing 1st grade work during his kindergarten year. We're not pushing him in anything (except taking a break from school to play). I think it's going to be a matter of trying to keep up with him teaching wise...and we'll have to work on balancing our curriculum.

School

Jesse — 2007-08-04T11:24:35-05:00

Although Kevin doesn't officially start kindergarten until next year, we realized yesterday that his school year has already started. We've been using Hooked on Kindergarten (from the makers of Hooked on Phonics) and he's been flying though it. He's also more then half way done with the Kindergarten levels of Jump Start World.

At this point, we know that our choice of home schooling is one that we should stick with. If we were to send him to Kindergarten next year I have no doubt that he would be very bored.

I hung his progress posters today for his workbook as well as the posters for the kits. It'll be neat to see him work though all the levels. We've been focusing a lot on reading so we'll have to try to balance some handwriting and math...but I suspect that he'll finish the reading program WAY ahead of everything else.

First Bike

Jesse — 2007-05-13T20:53:05-05:00

Yesterday we headed to Toys R Us and let Kevin pick out a big boy bike - a two wheeler with training wheels. We didn't get home in time to assemble it so it had to wait until today.
After church, while mommy was taking a Mother's Day nap, Kevin and I put his bike together. Then when everyone got up, we went outside for a few spins around the driveway, then decided we should all head to the park.

Good Night Prayers

Jesse — 2007-05-01T20:10:31-05:00

Each night as Kevin goes to bed, to help him decide what to pray about, we ask him a couple of standard questions, then he prays. We ask, what are you most thankful for (or what was your favorite part of the day); and who would you like to pray for?

Tonight, he answered those and I thought that might be the sum total of the prayer, but instead he started, "Dear God, Help Alex not to cry when I bonk him..."

It was all I could do not to laugh.

Learning Tools

Jesse — 2007-04-17T14:01:16-05:00

Kevin has had his own computer for a few months now and it's been a great asset in helping him learn. For a while, he had one of our used laptops and a toddler game as well as one other game that was a tad too difficult.
When I set up my old desktop for him to use I loaded JumpStart Preschool (a 1999 version) and he enjoyed it enough that we bought JumpStart Advanced Preschool, which he has played quiet a bit and been able to pick up some math, reading and language skills from. It comes with 4 CDs, Toddler school time, Preschool Fundamentals, Language Club and an Art CD. Quiet an impressive collection for less than $20.
At that time, Knowledge Adventure, was working on a pseudo-on-line learning system that caught my eye; JumpStart World.
In JumpStart World, your child gets to select from several different characters that they can play. They are then dropped in to an interactive world (much like an MMO) where they are able to walk around the town, talk with other characters, and enter building to participate in activities. There's also a few fun activities outside the buildings as well, like the music stand and a character that will play hide and seek.
It's fairly customizable as well. Using gems earned in the learning games, children can purchase music (for the music stand) and decorations for their cabin which allows them to have some say in the customization. There are billboards around town that will display their artwork and can display photos (or other jpgs) that parents load from the parental controls.
One thing I like that has changed from the regular JumpStart programs is that the parental controls are a separate program. Using this, you can upload photos and check on your child's progress in the different activities. There's also a web based portal that will let parents send a special message, enable special rewards, and see what badges their children have earned.

I was a little disappointed that there is not preschool module; JumpStart World is for K-2. However, we found that the Kindergarten module is something that he can handle.

The program also updates itself with additional modules. The advertising on this is a bit fuzzy since they say that it updates as your child needs it and it says it downloads monthly. Here's how it goes: When you buy the game, you get 2 modules (you can DL the program for $15.99). Then each month, the program will down load the next module (modules are 9.99 each/ on sale for $7.99 right now) so that you receive a total of 12 modules. However, if your child finishes a module before the month is up, they will receive the next module early. So, the cost, if you plan on doing the whole thing is a minimum of $7.99 a month. Right now, there's a special to get all 12 modules as you need them for $74.99.

That seems like it might be a bit much, but based on the work that he is doing now it's been worth the initial fee. The trial download allows access to the reading and math huts, the zippy-mart, and their cabin. I know that there are other places because you can see them in game, they're just fenced off. I don't think this is something that he's going to get board with for quite a while...it may just live up to the promise "Your Kids may never watch TV again."

(He's watched TV in the week since getting it, but he hasn't asked to watch TV.)

Another step towards geekdom

Jesse — 2007-04-15T14:51:37-05:00

It won't be long before Kevin heads out on a long journey. Some of the family is going to North Dakota to visit Teri's grandparents. They're planning on taking the portable DVD player and some other games, but that's a LONG drive. There's not much that you can do to relive 2 days in the car, but I did have something that I thought would help.

Not to long ago, I won an iPod shuffle. Ihaven't been using it since I have a regular iPod so I thought he'd get a little use of it one the trip. This morning Teri told him I had a surprise for him and then, after lunch, we played "Dad's Clues" (ala Blue's clues). The clues were block shape, music, and an apple. He was pretty surprise to get his own iPod...some of the comments so far: "Wow," "I never want to stop this thing," and "Daddy, I really like my iPod."

We may need to make a trip to Best Buy for headphones, the ear buds aren't made for small ears and keep falling out.

Too Much TV?

Jesse — 2007-03-21T20:55:09-05:00

This evening, Teri, Kevin and Alex were watching one of Alex's Baby Einstein videos while they were playing. When it ended, Kevin asked, "Oh, it's over. Who was that sponsored by?"

Swimming

Jesse — 2007-01-10T23:43:02-05:00

Kevin started swim lessons last night...pictures will eventually follow.

Happy Almost Birthday

Jesse — 2006-10-21T20:52:17-05:00

I have to give props to Toys R Us for making a kid feel special on his (almost) birthday. Generally, I see the "give us your birthday and we'll send you a gift" club as a way to get addresses and direct advertising, but, while Toys R Us does that, they go a little bit further.

Kevin got a card in the mail along with a giftcard for $3. Along with the card, was a slip that said to be sure to let an associate know when we came to the store near his birthday. When we went in, Kevin went to customer service and said, "Excuse me, it's my birthday day."

To celebrate, they gave him a crown and a balloon, as well as some stickers. They also announced his name and sang a birthday song over the PA. As he went looking around the store, many customers and every associate we encountered wished him a happy birthday.

All the way home and until bed he talked about how much he liked being the birthday boy and how special it was. Way to go Toys R Us.

Wish List

Jesse — 2006-10-03T14:19:00-05:00

Kevin has begun thinking about Christmas and his Birthday and s pointing out all sorts of things that he thinks he would enjoy. We're, of course, going to cull the list a bit and shorten it, after all, most kids think that everything they see advertised would be perfect to have.

Anyhow, some of the items include the MindStorm Robot by Lego, Tall Stacker Pegs Building Set by Lauri, Pop-Up Pirate game by Tomy, books about astronomy and dinosaurs, and a Solar System Mobile.
Ravensburger Puzzel with Tractor
Garbage Truck
Yuck! science kit
Gertie Ball
Rescue Heroes Command Center
Toys R US had some sets called Sealife set, safari set and artic set (all in generic looking packaging)
Socker Boppers (look in toys R us sporting section)
Tonka Mighty Moterized Heliocopter

He's also into Legos, geotracks and superheros....Lego has some really neat superhero stuff.

Edit: You can also check his Amazon wishlist.