Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What time is it?

Am I the only one who can’t manage to adjust to daylight savings time? I feel like a mole. It’s been so long since I’ve really seen daylight (I won’t even start to talk about sun!) that I feel as though I don’t know what to do with it anymore.

Case #1:
On Monday, I decided to stop in Deer Park (shopping area) on my way home from work to solicit donations from one or two businesses for Mister Man’s preschool fundraiser. I’d left early at 3:45, so I had plenty of time to still pick up the wee ones from daycare before 5pm. Since it was light outside, I went to a third business. When DH called at 4:45, I asked if he’d mind picking up the wee ones since I was still in Deer Park but was almost done, and it’s on his way home anyway. As I got into the car to really head home, I realized it was starting to get dark. I turned the car on and realized that it was somehow 7:20 already and that I was going to just have time to get home and change before I had to leave for yoga.

Case #2:
Tuesday, we ate dinner at our usual time, which is easy to do as we eat as soon as we get home from Mister Man’s Tuesday activity. As we talked and ate, we had quite the nice dinner. Then we read a book. And another one. And suddenly, it was 7:30. While this doesn’t sound at all momentous to many, it’s about an hour and a half past my kids’ bedtime. I know they go to bed early, but they need it and it works for us. The good news with this one is that Mister Man also had a really hard time understanding that it was bedtime. His logical little mind kept trying to understand it.

Mister Man: Mommy, I can’t go to bed now.

Me: Oh, yes. You can. It’s late.

Mister Man: No, it’s not late. It’s still light outside.

Me: Yes, it’s light out. Remember how we talked about how the time changed and you’re going to start going to bed now when it’s still light.

Mister Man: I know that’s what you said, but my body isn’t ready to go to sleep until the sun goes to bed, too. We’re friends you know.

Me: You’re friends with the sun?

Mister Man: Uh-huh.

Me: Do you play games with the sun?

Mister Man: Yes. Of course I do. I play with all my friends.

Me: What kind of … hey, wait a minute. Get in bed, you!

Case #3:
My watch broke back in October, and I haven’t yet replaced it. I’d like to, but somehow it just never makes it to the top of the to-do list. Instead, I just “know” what time it is. Last night after the wee ones were finally in bed, I started my usual nightly routine. You know, a little straightening, a little reading, a minute or two on the computer. Then I noticed DH was turning off his computer. I looked at the clock on my computer, and it was 11pm. I’m still not sure how that happened; it was light out just a little bit ago!

Case #4:
I work from home frequently, and lately, I know it’s time to stop working when it gets too dark to work without the light on. Today, I had the pleasure of working from home. I have quite the productive day, surprisingly. I got a ton done, way more than I thought I would. In fact, I … worked an extra 45 minutes before I finally realized what time it was. Actually, that’s not a bad trick!

Here’s hoping that tonight I get to bed earlier than 11. I’m a wimp and need a lot of sleep. Can’t you already tell that my mind is slipping from this post alone?

4 comments:

Tanya March 12, 2008 at 11:41 PM  

I agree, it seems like everyone is having a hard time changing. Maybe next week it will be better.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Tanya

Anonymous March 13, 2008 at 12:24 PM  

Hi there. I came here from Dawn Meehan's site as I'd noticed in your comment you were looking for feedback on putting your son in kindergarten. I hope you don't mind my ringing in on this as I'm a mom to a now-10-year-old boy who has a January birthday -- the end of February is kindergarten cutoff where I live (Alberta, Canada). So he was on the younger end of the spectrum, and he was four when we put him in kindergarten.

My son was very verbal and in fact had been measured on the gifted side for language acquisition -- we knew this only because we had participated in a university study on babies/toddlers and language acquisition over the course of several years. He was sweet and very smart (still is), but a bit shy. I thought he was ready for kindergarten. And he did great in kindergarten. But if I had to do it over again I would wait that extra year.

Kindergarten is easy and really an extension of preschool. For him the challenge came in Grade One (or first grade as ya say down on your side of the border... lol). He was good with the material and a very enthusiastic learner. He was also reading at a 4th grade level. But he had challenges with written work. He was easily distracted by watching all the other kids all the time and would not get much done as far as math or writing work. I believe his immaturity did affect his ability to focus on the task at hand. He often felt he was not good enough because he would see that other kids produced so much more writing and with such ease, and he would often forget his place or forget to bring his work home, and things of that nature. It was heartbreaking to watch because we knew how very smart he was and he began to get a sense that he wasn't because he wasn't at the same levels as his classmates in some areas.

His teacher was amazing with him though, which helped a great deal. In talking with the school resource counselor and her assessing him and talking with the teacher, we asked (they did not bring it up at all, this was our doing as parents) that he be allowed to repeat Grade One. It worked out well for him because he was in a split grade 1/2 classroom so many of his peers would still be in the room with him.

It was the best thing we could have done. He shone as a student the second go-round. We believe it was just a matter of him being a lot younger than most of his classmates and just not ready to sit and focus at the task at hand at times. We thought that to put him up to grade 2 would just see a continuation of him struggling with the same issues and feeling inadequate and lost. And for such a smart little boy, that just was not a fair way to feel. In my opinion, it is never the wrong thing to wait that extra year. It means they will feel more mastery over their work and more self-assured in their abilities.

Hope that helps you in some way.

Michelle March 13, 2008 at 10:02 PM  

Karos, you left me a lot to digest. Thanks! This will be a post topic in the near future, as I know I have a lot to think about to figure out what will be best for Mister Man in the long run.

Much appreciated -- come visit again!

DeeDee March 13, 2008 at 11:21 PM  

Hi Michelle. I came over from Dawn's blog, too. You do a nice job! Very easy and enjoyable to read. I have also been asking about starting K early. My daughter is very mature, well spoken, smart as a whip, you know, inher pursuit to be like her older brother. And I have talked to a LOT of people I know -- doctors, early educators, other parents -- and they all say the same thing. Wait. As much as I would like to believe that my child would be the exception to the rule, in my heart, I don't want to be wrong and that extra time really will help her feel more confident and able in the long run.

Keep up the great work and keep that baby close one more year.
DeeDee

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