Monday, 15 August 2011
Today was Owen’s first day in his Egypt class at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Despite initially being anxious about the class, he appears to totally love it now. He regaled first Jennifer and then me with all sorts of facts about King Tutankhamun (or Toot Uncommon, if you prefer). He also expressed his desire to eat at a local Mediterranean restaurant run by a family from Egypt. A few times, he mentioned that things we were talking about reminded him of something that happened in class today.
All in all, he was calmer and easier to deal with than usual.
Jennifer noted that this is how Owen was back when he was in Kindergarten: the structure and the busyness of the school day made him calmer in the evening. “He likes having structure in his life,” she said.
This gave rise to two interesting conversations this evening (well, I suppose a better word would be ‘blog-worthy,’ because really it’s up to you, the reader, to decide if this is interesting or not but, since I am writing about it, it’s undeniably blog-worthy):
First, did Kindergarten ruin him? That is, now that he’s been exposed to the structured environment of a school setting, he seems unable to find something to do with his time on days that lack structure. He constantly says he’s bored, and we have to remind him about things that should be obvious (“go play in your sandbox” or “get out your Legos”). Maybe ‘ruined’ is a strong word. Maybe it’s more like finally getting a glasses prescription: now that he’s experienced life one way, it’s tougher to back the other way. He also really likes to learn new things, and there’s not as much of that during summer break. He was really excited today to learn new things, so we are considering enrolling him in an exclusively themed Egypt school. So, maybe now that he knows what it’s like to have long days of learning, he goes crazy on days when that doesn’t happen. Good thing first grade is starting soon.
Second, Owen’s grandparents were kind enough to pay for the class, partially due to the fact that I whined about the cost some months ago. Coupled with the fact that we’ve been packing lately and bemoaning our deluge of possessions, Jennifer alighted upon a swell idea: we should encourage people to buy Owen experiences instead of things. I’m not sure how to implement this, but I think it’s an interest (well, certainly blog-worthy) thought. Owen gets an avalanche of toys, games, and books all the time: for Easter, his birthday, Halloween, and Xmas. Besides that, my mom shows up with toys for him every time she visits. Heck, he even got a present at his sister’s birthday party!
I certainly don’t want to downgrade these kind acts in any way, and Owen definitely appreciates them, but here are the facts: Sometimes the toy hardly gets used. Other times, it breaks. Frequently, he outgrows the toy. In some cases, we don’t have room for the toy. And, on very rare occasions, the toy is a duplicate or near duplicate of one he already owns (except with crayons: that happens all the time – please, if you want to give Owen the gift of a coloring book, that’s great, but I assure you: he has ample crayons!).
An experience, on the other hand, is awesome even if it is a duplicate (Owen would probably walk to the Children’s Museum if given a ticket, even though he’s been there five or six times already). An experience won’t break, it won’t take up any space in Owen’s room, and he’ll never outgrow the memory. Well, I suppose he might completely forget a specific experience, but at the very least he’ll have a good experience and a fun memory to last a while.
Now, how to implement this…?
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
For the past several months, when I’ve come home from work, if I had any change in my pocket, I handed the money to Owen and told him to go put it in his piggy bank. Today, I just handed it to him and said, “here you go.”
We’re trying to get Owen used to the idea of saving for things and spending his own money. This has been good so far – when we leave to go to IKEA, for example, Owen inevitably says he wants to buy ice cream when we get there. I then ask, “Do you have some money with you?” and then he runs to get a dollar from his drawer.
So, the other day, we were at the Mall of America, and Owen (as he always does) announces that he would like to visit Underwater World (or whatever it’s called this week). Instead of just saying no, I told him that Underwater World is expensive and that I didn’t have the money to do it right now. I suggested that we save up the money and then set aside a few hours one day to go there.
So now whenever I have change, he squirrels it away in a wallet (he has four wallets – see above) in his nightstand drawer. Part of me feels bad; Underwater World isn’t that expensive so maybe I should just take him this weekend. But part of me thinks this is a good opportunity for him. If he manages to save up enough money for us to all go to the aquarium, good for him! And good for us!
If you’d like to read about our other kid, read my wife’s ridiculously cute blog post on Isla’s 12th month RIGHT HERE.