Josh says...

"Kaleb, you are the cutest baby who ever walked on earth!  Wait, you can't walk.  You are the cutest baby who ever rolled on earth!"

Say Please!

So I found this cool book by Ron Clark called "The Essential 55".  It's all about raising successful students.  He has traveled all over the worked with his students and this book is the rules he created so that these students are successful in the world.  They range from Say Please to Clean Up After Yourself.  So... we're undertaking the essential 55.  Although it may be more like 52.  There are a few of his rules I disagree with (I like Doritos).  So, here I'll list the 55 and we'll start on #1 Sunday.  The plan is that we will report on each one as we go.  Here goes nothin....
1- Responding to Adults
2- Make Eye Contact
3- Congratulating Classmates
4- Respect Other's Comments, Opinions and Ideas
5- If you win, do not brag, if you lose, do not show anger
6- Ask a Question
7- Cover your mouth
8- Do not show disrespect with gestures
9- Always say thank you
10- Don't insult the giver
11- Random acts of kindness
12- Grade fairly
13- follow along when we read
14- Answer all questions with a complete sentence
15- Do not ask for a reward
16- Complete homework every day
17- Transitions -
18- Be Organized
19- Don't moan or complain
20- When Sub is present, all rules still apply
21- Follow the rules
22- [Doesn't apply]
23- Greet people by name
24- Keep yourself germ free
25- Make visitors feel welcome
26- Don't save seats
27- Don't stare at someone who is being reprimanded
28- Call someone and leave a message - once
29- ABCs of etiquette
30- Be responsible for your trash
31- Tipping
32- face forward
33- When meeting people, shake hands, repeat their name
34- Take only your fair share
35- If someone drops something, pick it up
36- Hold the door for people behind you
37- Say excuse me even if it wasn't your fault
38- Enter public buildings quietly
39- Compliment places you visit
40- Don't call out to friends
41- Answering Phone
42- Thank Chaperone's - and friend's parents
43- Go to the right, walk left (on escalators)
44- Walking in public...
45- Never cut in line
46- No talking in the movie theater
47- Do not bring Doritos into the school building
48- If anyone is bullying you, let me know
49- Stand up for what you believe in
50- Be positive and enjoy life
51- Live so that you will never have regrets
52- Learn from your mistakes and move on
53- No matter the circumstances, always be honest
54- Carpe Diem
55- Be the best person you can be
There are a couple I don't agree with (again with the Doritos) and a couple that really don't apply since this book was written for school  So here are a few more I'm going to add in from a magazine article:
1- Say Thank You - to friend's parents for rides, to the lunch lady, ALL the time
2- Don't interrupt grown ups who are speaking to each other
3- When you have doubt about dong something, ask permission first.
4- Keep your negative opinions to yourself
5- Do not comment on other people's physical characteristics unless it is to compliment them.
6- When people ask you how you are, tell them then ask how they are
7- Knock on closed doors - then wait for a response before opening
8- When you make a phone call, introduce yourself then ask if you can speak to the person you are calling
9- Don't call people mean names (even your siblings)
10- Don't make fun of anyone for any reason.  Teasing shows others you are weak and ganging up on someone else is cruel.
11- Even if a play or assembly is boring, sit quietly and pretend you are interested.  The performers and presenters are doing their best.
12- When you come across a parent, teacher or neighbor working on something, ask if you can help.
13- When an adult asks you for a favor, do it without grumbling and with a smile.
14- Use eating utensils properly.
15- Keep a napkin on your lap - and use it!
16- Don't reach for things across the table- have them passed.

WOW!  That's a long list.  I think my kids are pretty good at some of them.  Others will take some work!  So here we go... we'll see how this works...

Job Charts

We're trying something new at our house, an online job chart.  We're on day four and so far so good.  Somehow, getting online to check off your jobs is motivating.  We use http://www.myjobchart.com/login  It is powered by Amazon- in other words they want you to reward your kids for their work by buying them stuff off Amazon.  In my usual fashion, I have gotten around this.  Here's how it works:  You assign your kids jobs, each with a point value attached.  You can even create bonus jobs.  You then give them reward options they can buy with their points.  The suggestion is once penny per point earned.  Well, my kids get points for everything from brushing their teeth to sweeping the kitchen floor.  And we're poor.  (Ok not, poor in comparison to a 3rd world country, but Ed McMahon hasn't shown up at our door recently - or EVER!)  Plus I have this thing about not paying my kids to clean up after themselves.  So they earn points, but I totally skipped the Amazon "bribe your kids" rewards and used the part where you add your own.  We have things like late overs (1000 points), I forgot something passes, choose a movie, date with Dad, etc.  They are almost all free and most of them encourage time together.  I think it will be a good way to gauge how the kids are doing (I get an email every night telling me what they did and didn't do).  It will also be fun to see what things they choose to buy.  Even better~ the counters are clean and the dishes are put away.  And for their efforts, I get a game night and a date with my daughter.

Play Ball!

Baseball Season is upon us!  Ok, not really, but baseball financial season definitely is here!  Paying out all those fees, buying cleats, pants, socks, oh ya, and Isaac wants/needs a new bat.  Bats for almost 14 year olds are pricey.  We're facing the dilemma of what to buy- do you buy something that will get him through a year or so, or the one he really wants that will work for High School.  Wow- buying a bat comes with a lot of emotional turmoil... Does he really need a 33 inch bat?  I remember buying him a tee ball bat (Chad once told me it was the kind of bat convenience store clerks keep under their counter in case they're robbed).  Then there's the whole high school issue.  Most of the bats you buy for Super League can't be used in High School.  Do we buy one that is approved for high school?  He will be old enough to try out to play up to JV next year.  But Riverton is a really big high school.  With lots of baseball players.  Will he make the team?  If so, will it be a good experience?  Will he get to play as much as he wants?  He loves the Bulldogs, does he want to leave them?  See? all this from buying a bat, that we haven't even purchased yet.  Good thing he doesn't need a glove!