Changing

Boo - She's about to finish Kindergarten. She is doing 1st grade work at home. I found a surplus textbook store, and we do a chapter of math, reading, history, and science every weekend. I also try to take her somewhere like a museum or festival once a week to stimulate her mind. She is still the more difficult child to discipline. My husband said she seems to have just snapped out of it recently. I said, "Ya, after a year of parenting classes, four parenting books, a discipline workshop, a developmental specialist, and child psychologist, she just snapped out of it!"

JJ - I was very excited about the discipline class I took and I wanted to share it with Boo's kindergarten teacher, so I have my book in hand, and then on the way to her class, JJ dropped his pants and urinated in the main hall of the school. Three teachers saw this event, and it made quite a scene, so I quickly tucked my book inside my jacket, and decided that I have nothing to teach the teacher.

What people wouldn't understand about JJ's little stunt is that he was really being compliant. His father takes him golfing frequently, and there are only bathrooms every four holes. Since Dad doesn't like to interrupt his game, he has been trying to get JJ to pee outside. The first thing JJ said was, "Daddy wants me to pee outside. Daddy says it's okay." I of course was livid, so I got Daddy on the phone right away.

JJ graduates from preschool at the end of the month. I hope he's ready to go to kindergarten. He likes reading, but not counting. His preschool teacher said that academically she's not worried about him, but he may not be mature enough yet. He will be a young kindergartner.

Taz - She has lost interest in everything except a boy, and doesn't live here as much as she used to. She claims to hate it here, because her siblings are just too annoying to tolerate. She should try living with a teenager.

As for me - I've been spending a lot of time enforcing that the children pick up their own messes. Also, I volunteer a lot. At the end of the year there are scrapbooks to make and graduations to prepare for, so I'm getting tired. I look forward to next year when both kids are in the same school.