Elvis, Goodbye Spectrum Academy & Hello 3-day Weekends!

Today Sophia & I watched the re-runs of the Ed Sullivan show while Gerritt took a nap. This American classic is not something I would watch willingly on my day off, however, the reason we did was to see some of the first performances of Elvis Presley (September 9th & October 28th in 1956, to be exact). I didn't expect myself to get goose bumps watching a show from 1956, but I did. It's like I was one of the screaming adoring girls in the crowd. :-) Elvis has been dead for many years, but his star power continues to shine brightly & his performances are as captivating as ever. I happen to be an Elvis fan & need my Elvis fill about twice a year. Sometimes I listen to his music; sometimes I watch movies about Elvis ("Elvis & Me" (1988) or "Elvis: The Miniseries" (2005, with one of my favorite actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis)); & sometimes I read the Elvis & Me book by Priscilla Presley. I really enjoyed watching Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show today. He was a bit coy on his 1st show, famously moved his hips on the 2nd, & was shot only from the waist up by his 3rd performance (January 6th, 1957). :-) The beginnings of the Rock'n'Roll... Perhaps some day I will visit the Graceland.


"I am going to freeze you, Mommy!" (Gerritt wearing his Mr. Freeze outfit - purple hat & a bulb syringe which serves as a gun)


The kids at lunch today :-)

Earlier in the day Gerritt & I wrapped a few Christmas presents. I've done most of my shopping on line on December 2nd when my husband & the kids were away at grandma's house (overstock.com & walmart.com), & some of the presents have already arrived.
Sophia had her 1st dental visit today with Dr. Thomas. Her teeth looked great, but the dentist told me no more formula drinking at night. He suggested we do "cry it out" to train her not to wake up at night & if she wakes up, give her only water. Easier said than done. Dr. Thomas suggested to do it over the Christmas break. Hmmm... Gerritt was a good support person for Sophia. She cried during the exam, but stopped as soon as it was over. Gerritt missed the attention from Dr. Thomas & announced he was "sick" & needed a doctor too in the car on our way back. Of course, only Dr. Thomas could make him feel better. :-)
On November 30th we gave our 1-month notice at the Spectrum Academy. I've decided to pull Gerritt out after all. I have many reasons. First, most of the time he doesn't want to separate from me & if he knows I am going to be home for the day, he'd rather stay home. I just hate those mornings where I have to deal with his crying & drag him to school when he doesn't want to go. Second, there is too much pressure on the kids in America to excel academically & the earlier, the better. The Academy's director even told me that her kids started reading at age 3 (!). Really? As far as I am concerned it doesn't prove anything. Reading & writing at an early age is not a predictor of child's future academic success. In fact, the research is clear that teaching reading before age 6 greatly increases the possibility of later learning problems & underachievement (thanks to the Earlier Isn't Better When It Comes To Reading article Chris sent to me recently). I didn't know how to read prior to my enrollment in an elementary school & learned to read at age 7 & still managed to graduate high school in 1995 with a gold medal (the highest academic honor in Russian schools). Generations of preschool kids were kept at home & thrived on nothing, but unstructured play. In fact, there is an unschooling movement among some American parents. Gerritt brings home various school projects (mostly letters & numbers) regularly, but I know he didn't do them by himself. All of the handouts are a show for parents to justify an expensive school. :-) Third, I am so tired of driving to pick Gerritt up from school at noon at my lunch hour. Instead of sitting down & surfing the net or reading an interesting book for 1 hour, I rush to pick him up at noon & not a minute later (there is a late fee of $1/minute after 12 pm), drop him off at home, deal with him crying or whining ("Mommy don't go!") again. Fourth, we are pretty involved parents. We take Gerritt places (zoo, museums, parks, library), read, do crafts, study flash cards (our favorite are the Brain Quest ones), just to name a few. Going to the Academy is not the only education he gets. Fifth, spending $450/month (3 half-days/week) all before age 5 is not the money I consider well spent with college expenses down the road. We will probably have 3 kids & hope for all of them to go to college, so you do the math.


Gerritt's tricycle outing (Santa will be bringing a bigger bike with training wheels this Christmas :-))

I have only 2 more Saturdays to work as a Nurse Practitioner at the clinic, so starting in January I will have every Saturday off. The upper management decided to eliminate Saturdays for budgetary reasons (there wasn't enough revenue to make them worthwhile). In addition, I have decided not to work at the hospital on Sundays anymore. My schedule starting in January will consist of working Tuesday through Friday with 3 (!) days off in a row (Saturday - Monday). Ever since my husband & I got married I have always worked on weekends, so I am really excited about this chance to spend more family time together.
We got married in June of 2005 & I've started graduate school in August. I had to work many weekends since my classes were usually scheduled during the week. Once Gerritt was born in 2007, it was also convenient to work weekends in order to save on daycare costs. Then Sophia came along in 2009 & again, it made sense to work on the weekends. I was just thinking recently how annoying it was to go somewhere every Saturday & Sunday. My husband & kids both want me home. Also many interesting things are happening on Saturdays (birthday parties, festivals, the Lakeshore Learning Store free craft hour, theater performances, etc.). It just didn't make sense to work weekends anymore. I am going to be "normal" again & spend time with my family just like everyone else does!