Spectacular S: Mrs. Weekend Pooper

That is what we are calling Mrs. V-P around here. There are four kindergarten classes,, and all receive a homework packet weekly. In three classes, it goes home on Monday, to be returned Friday. SS ended up with the teacher who believes the weekend should be spent doing homework. Her packet comes home on Thursday, and is due Tuesday or Wednesday (need to check my notes from orientation). Thus, the Weekend Pooper moniker. Call us weird, but we feel that weekends should be school free. With Patrick working Saturdays, he only has one day a week to spend with SS, and homework did not rank anywhere on his list of to do things. Add SS's slowness and we are not exactly thrilled. Oh well...

This week SS received her first packet. That was our first glimpse of what SS needs to learn this year. Cool, but as P noted, it would have been nice to have that information during orientation, especially for non Spanish speaking parents. For example, there are several items on the alphabet chart that even I have no clue what they are. I know it is a bird on Q, but it certainly isn't a quail. A quick Google search yielded Quelea and Quetzal as options. It's definitely not a Quelea, and if it is a Quetzal, it is one awful depiction. We are to practice with our children daily, and I'm already behind.

Here is where I'm unabashedly wishing Abuela would move her a$$ nearby. Abuela is the absolute Queen of the Spanish Language. She has creepily encyclopedic knowledge of spelling, pronunciation and grammar. Every time I speak or e-mail her, I get a good dressing down about my horrendous butchering of her beloved language. That's the witch about language, use it or lose it. In a way, SS is going to help me right some of my many wrongs. And it is already rubbing off on P. The man that for seventeen years did not make the slightest effort to kick start his high school Spanish, that same dude, is really trying hard. I'm glad he finally found an important enough reason to try. Nah, I'm not bitter about it.

SS seems to be doing well adjusting to her 90% Spanish, three hour school day. Since we moved, SS has been watching movies and cartoons in Spanish. Never thought that cable/DVD feature would help so much. It's so funny to hear SS sing along and repeat things in Spanish. Like P, she asks me several times a day how to say something in Spanish. She must not be hating it much then. Yesterday she pointed out manzanas (apples) and zanahorias (carrots) at the supermarket. We are working on a Spanish related treat for her in January. The plans have not been finalized, but P said it is happening. We are sure SS is going to have a blast.

Wow, after clicking on publish I realized this is post number 1,000. And to think I was going to do this for just one month after coming home with SS. Must say that it is fun to be able to look back her very imperfect life with us. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm glad SS will have something not only to look back on, but also to read.

P will be able to help with the reading, because astonishingly, his Spanish reading skills are impressive.

I'm going to need help from Abuela with the pronunciation of some syllables.

I know C is for crab, but now idea what it is in Spanish. That is a crab, right? Also lost on N, Ñ, P, U and W.

SS has six of the colors down, good thing she learned some in preschool. Ironically, she knows café, a color that I learned in school as brown. It was not until I was in my teens that I learned the Spanish word, marrón. Purple I learned as violeta; the word morado reminds me of bruises. So much for one people one language.