Kumon: Work Hard and the Results Will Come

For close to three months, Harrison has been attending Kumon twice a week and doing work almost every day. It’s been a long road, a lot of hard work and this week we saw the results. Amazing results. Even the wonderful people at the center are surprised at how quickly Harrison has moved.

When he started, he was not enjoying reading and learning as much as we thought he should. It was a perfect storm of things I believe that was holding him back. It was never having the smarts, we were sure of that. Harrison I believe hit the Grade One wall. SK was all fun and games and now actual work was cramping his style.

Last name ever, first name greatest. Congrats Harry on 100% on your #kumon test.

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He had to learn to do work in a specific time frame, focus on the teacher and figure out how to do it all on his own. That is quite a challenge for a kid just starting real school.

So Long Old Friend, I Will Miss Your Sweetness

Breaking up is never easy. It brings with it, sleepless nights, awkward conversations, stressful decisions, inner struggles and the stone-cold reality that things will never be the same.

It absolutely blows.  But some relationships are so toxic and wrong, that once you break through to the other side, life is good again. The hard part is getting there. It’s a journey that makes what they did in The Hobbit, look like a walk down the street.

Truly giving up on something you love, there is nothing harder.

But I must.

As of an hour ago, I have decided to break up with a dear, old friend.

The Tooth Fairy is a She and knows Magic

For quite some time, Harry has had a few wiggly teeth going on in his mouth. Finally yesterday, without him even knowing, he lost his first tooth. Where it went remains a mystery. I explained he probably ate it by accident. This brought on many questions as Harry wanted to make sure the Tooth Fairy will still come.

Harry lost his first tooth today. Number 2 is very close behind. Guess we will finally meet the tooth fairy.

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He was pretty confident “she” would still come. Yes, Harry said the Tooth Fairy is a she. He also was quite confident the Tooth Fairy had magical powers to know that he lost and tooth and that he needed a visit overnight.

Boobies, Night Poopies and The Beginning of Advent

During the course of a week, so many things happen that I want to share. I really should write them down. Anyways, here are some of the highlights happening in our house these days.

The Discovery of Boobies

No, not the actual boobies. But the word. Harry learned the word from, get this, an older girl at school. He can’t say it without giggling. It’s really hard as a parent not to laugh as well. It’s part of childhood. Learning those funny words that make grown ups cringe. The really funny thing is, even when he is 16, he will still be saying it and giggling just the same.

Time To Do Your Homework

Who remembers liking homework? Just the thought of it gives me the shakes. I remember the day when I finished school. Of all the things it meant in my life, the biggest was no more homework. I was never great at homework either. Spoiler alert, I did not do much and always scrambled at the last-minute to make it look like I did something. I never enjoyed studying or doing assignments at home. I was much more into sports and doing my own thing. I think I also watched a lot of TV. Anyways, homework has reentered my life.

harry doing homework

Our oldest son now has homework. He is in Grade One. It started off slowly with the occasional task that needed catching up on. But now, we have full monthly homework packages to be worked on 100% at home. It’s all detailed and spelled out on a calendar and there is the freedom to do it when you want. But it has to get done for Harry to keep up.

One of my biggest fears as a parent is the day I am not smart enough to help with homework. Good news, I looked over the 31 tasks for December and I feel confident I can still be relevant.

Harry loves homework. Maybe it’s because he has no idea what it will be like in 10 years. Maybe he will love it forever and be an academic wonder? Who knows. But at this point, it’s great to see his excitement. It makes it so much easier to do with him when we have the time.

To Go, Or Not To Go? When The Sickness Strikes

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After a week like our family just had, the title above has so many meanings behind it. You see, our household was struck down with the sickness over the past several days. The sickness that hops from belly to belly and does not stop until everyone has had it.

It started last Friday night in the evening with Harry, then it moved to Charlie, then in moved to Katie, and finally it got to me. I did my best to avoid it, but when you are the one on cleanup detail, how are you supposed to hide?

That meant every day turned into, making the tough call on who was going to school and work and who wasn’t. It’s always hard for parents to make this choice. While on one hand, it’s your kids and if they are sick, they stay home. But then all the other factors weigh heavily on your brain. Can I work from home? What will I miss at work? But we were supposed to do thing A or thing B today. Will Harry fall behind on his Kumon? What the hell are we going to do all day sitting at home being miserable?

Monday we all toughed it out. This was where Katie and I thought we were going to miss out. The boys just had a quick weekend bug right? Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I got called Monday afternoon at work. Charlie was down for the count, just lying on the floor at daycare under a blanket. Okay, he made it almost all day, not bad.

Kumon Update: Seeing Good Progress After A Few Weeks

As you may know, Harry, our oldest, is going to Kumon twice a week to accelerate his reading skills. Through the blog, I was contacted by Kumon to give the program a try and to share my thoughts on the experience.

Well, we are a few weeks in and I would say we are seeing good progress so far. As I mentioned before, it’s all about structure, routine and repetition. You don’t spend a lot of time doing it, but you do daily for 10-20 minutes.

kumon

Here is how our Kumon schedule works.

  • Sunday: Harry does a booklet in the afternoon.
  • Monday: Harry does a booklet after dinner.
  • Tuesday: We go the Kumon centre where Harry does 30 minutes, which includes a booklet with one of the instructors. Here is work from the week is reviewed. We are given new booklets.
  • Wednesday: Harry does a booklet after dinner.
  • Thursday: We go the Kumon centre where Harry does 30 minutes, which includes a booklet with one of the instructors. Here is work from the week is reviewed. We are given new booklets.
  • Friday: You guessed it. Harry does a booklet after dinner.
  • Saturday: Harry does a booklet in the afternoon.

Each booklet takes about 10 or 15 minutes depending on Harry’s energy level. Sometimes it is hard in the week, because we are all pretty tired by 7 pm. It is certainly one of the struggles, but so far there have been no issues.

Top Excuses Our Kids Say To Get Out Of Going To Bed

That time the Jays won and we wore the same pjs. #okbluejays

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Recently Netflix launched these new shorts to help parents fight the epidemic of kids trying to prolong bedtime. The whole concept is #5MoreMinutes, so they made 5 minute long TV shows featuring the Dinotrux.

That got me thinking of all the crazy and outlandish excuses our boys use to try to get out of bed time and extend their day just a little longer. Thanks to these Netflix shorts, when we say, just one more show, we now know it won’t cut into our heavenly parenting time where we pass out on the couch or sit in complete and spectacular silence.

Here are just some of the excuses we have heard in our house when it’s time for bed.