So, today Jamie and I watched a film on the NFB website called For Angela. It's a short (20 min) film about racism, focusing on a woman and her child in Winnepeg and based on a true story.

Jamie got emotional a couple of times and we had to stop the film a few times to talk about it. At the end, he was very quiet. I got concerned and asked if he was ok. He said yes, but he was thinking. He was trying to figure out if he had ever treated anyone the way the boys had treated Angela and her mum. He decided that he hadn't done it, and was proud of himself. I was rather proud of him too. Oh, and he decided that the boys were "doing verbal violence" which is a type of bullying. He learns good things at school.

I wondered if I was pushing too hard, suggesting that he watch the film with me. On the one hand, I don't want to freak him out about the world. On the other hand, sheltering him isn't going to do him any good. He could have walked away from the film at any point. He could have asked to watch something else. He could have even asked to play video games (which he asks for constantly). But, he chose to watch the film. He also wanted to watch it right through the credits because he liked the music and wanted to see the names.

I really LIKE my son. He's good people.

 I'll catch you up on other things later, but just now...

Jamie has an agenda for school. It's just a notebook in which he records his daily reading and in which the teacher puts class notes etc. Today, he wrote the following, which I've copied out exactly as he wrote:

"Dear (Teacher's Name)

I woud like to start a roots and shoots club to help endangerd anamal species.

WILL YOU HELP ME PUT A STOP TO HUNTING for FUN PLEASE?

from Jamie"


I love my little bear. He's pissed off about Grizzly hunting and he wants to make it stop. He makes me so freaking proud. Oh, on the same note, he informed me that one of his classmates was shaving his head to raise cops for cancer and he (Jamie) was going to give him money from his own savings. This is his toy money - money he got for selling his toys in the UK so he could buy more in Canada. He was debating between $10 and $20 and in the end opted for $11, which I matched for him.

I am proud of my boy on so many fronts just now.

Working backwards from today...

1. After almost a year of swimming lessons, Jamie finally jumped into the pool today, not once but twice. Prior to this he has always climbed cautiously in. His jumps were cautious and controlled, but they were jumps and they demonstrated considerably more confidence than he has shown in the past. Even better? Jump two was in the deep end and when his swimming instructor supported him once he was in, he asked her to let go and swam to the ladder himself with her nearby.  It was awesome.

2. Jamie found a Gormiti toy at school, lying on the floor outside the janitor's office. He collects Gormiti and he doesn't have this one. He wanted to keep it desperately. He didn't say this with words, but it was written all over his face. I pointed out that the janitor was coming back to his office and asked him what he thought he should do. He heaved a big sigh, looked closely at the Gormiti, then ran over to the janitor and turned it in as lost. Later, he told me that he had really wanted to keep it and had thought about putting it in his pocket, but that he didn't want to make another child sad.

3. We went to Ireland on the weekend (Jamie, me and a group of friends). We picked Jamie up after school and got in the car. Long drive and long ferry ride - we got to our destination at about 11. Next morning was an early start and we spent our day doing archery. Jamie shot for most of the day with a short break where he hurt his thumb (no tears, just a break), a break for lunch, and a break to play some board games. This was followed by being patient while the adults did boring adult things and then a long dinner. Whining was minimal and behaviour was good, in spite of temptation. The part I'm really proud of though is the archery. It wasn't easy. He missed the target far more than he hit it. He got frustrated. He got hurt. But, he kept doing it. And then he did a bit more on Sunday. It was awesome!

So, overall... very, very proud of my boy.

So, Will and I got our 10 minute chat with the teacher tonight.

A summary of the key points, as I remember them:( Read more... )

Anyway, she says he sweet and clever and that we should be very proud of him. We are (even without the teacher telling us).

 I'm feeling terribly proud of my boy just now.

( Read more... )

 So, we have a throw that we keep folded up on the back of the sofa because our lounge gets chilly at night. Jamie likes it and is constantly pulling it down, rolling up in it and then leaving it lying around.

Today, I was complaining about it. I said something along the lines of "Jamie, why do you keep leaving the blanket in a mess?"


( His response? )

Conversations with a wee monster:

( Read more... )

He's still muttering to himself now - I can hear him. I bet if I get closer, it'll still be math. He loves his numbers. His teacher gave him a sheet with the numbers from 1-100 on it. He was able to count to 100 two years ago. She wants him to practice counting by twos up to 12. He counts by twos to 100, and by fives and tens. So, we are working on threes. We can make it to 30 pretty consistently.

If only he was as interested in writing.

He's been going to a sports camp all week. He hasn't particularly enjoyed it, mind you, but today was ok, apparently. When his papa came home from work today, Jamie told him about his day.

"We played six games of football. And six games of hockey."

"Field hockey?"

A pause for thought (hockey here usually means field hockey and proper hockey is identified as ice hockey).

"Yeah, field hockey. And we had a water fight. I bet you wish you were me."


Considering Will is working over-time this week and won't have a day off until Thursday, I bet he wishes he was Jamie too!



On another front, Jamie informed me this morning that he wishes he could have Muzzy. It's a BBC language programme for kids and it's currently on special - you can get 5 languages in one package, for only £150. I don't have £150 though, so no go. But, he also wants to learn sign language. He's been remembering some of the baby sign and making up signs of his own. He thinks it would be cool to talk silently. I would love to help him with these goals. At the moment, all I can really do is speak what little French I have with him and get him to watch a few tv programmes. It's a start though, right?

I like Ben 10 Alien Force because it has a whole bunch of neat aliens. My favourite alien is Chromostone because he shoots a whole lot of multi-coloured crystals. Other aliens are Spider-Monkey and Swampfire and AlienX. In every episode it has a bit where it shows you all of the aliens at the beginning. I like to watch the show whenever I can.