Thursday, June 26, 2014

A Letter to Goofball's Kindergarten Teacher


 

   I think it's very important for people to make it known when they appreciate and adore someone.  Being a teacher myself, I don't think people say it enough.  So far we have been blessed with awesome people in Goofball's life.  This is a letter that I wrote for his kindergarten teacher at the end of the school year.

 

Dear Mrs. S,

               I sent my baby off to you in September - my baby who is imaginative, compassionate, funny, creative, charming and silly. I realize that he is also whiny, highly emotional and stubborn, but you embraced him, all of him, as that is your job.

               I thought that having taught kindergarten myself, I would have been hard to win over, but you made it easy for my son to fall in love with you, and even easier for me to.  You kept the lines of communication way open, answering calls the same day, and responding to notes that didn't even necessitate a response.  You set the bar high, and now all of his future teachers will be compared to you.

               When my son was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check, you didn't dismiss him as being difficult.  Rather, you set him up to succeed, setting up a program for him, pulling in additional resources and encouraging him along the way.

               I remember once, a few months back, I was hanging around a bounce house with all of the other birthday party parents, and another mother and I were chit-chatting about the one thing we all had in common: our child's kindergarten class.  I commented that even in a very large class, I felt like you really truly knew my child: his strengths, his weaknesses, and you knew exactly what tools he needed to be successful.  She sat across from me, nodding in agreement, commenting, "That is exactly how I feel."  I know that if I felt this way, and she felt this way, that all the other parents must be feeling the same way as well.

               I cannot thank you enough for this amazing gift you have given my son.  I sent you a baby and you gave me a confident and mature little boy.

               I am not good with good-byes, so I will just say this:  I only hope that in three years, as I am sending my little one on the bus for the first time, that when I zip up his Spiderman backpack filled with marble notebooks and glue sticks, I'll be putting on a little nametag with your name on it.

                                                      Love Always,

                                                     Heather (and family)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Goofball-isms

Happy Birthday to my Goofball Goose!  Here's some of his wittiest highlights from the past few years!
Age 2 and a half:
The morning after the first night of Chanukah, he was saying good-bye to Daddy.  He said, "Come home soon - open Chanukah presents!"
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One day I was putting papers in the shredder and he inquired about what I was doing.  I explained what  a shredder is and he giggled, saying "Paper goes poopy!"
Age 3:
"I eat vifafin!  (vitamin)  I big and strong!"
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Once he saw Mommy reach for a tissue and asked, "Mommy, do you have an achoo?"
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When leaving for the day I asked Goofball to put his toy away.  He said, "Bye toy!  I'll call you back!"
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"One day I went to the dentist.  He checked my tushie and my knee."
Age 3 and a half:
"I like orange juice.  It tastes really yellow!"
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"I don't live on a farm.  I live on Earth."
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"Robots do not have tushies."
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"When is my birthday?"  "Right after the baby comes."  "Can the baby come today?"
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We were driving home looking at the Christmas lights one day.  We passed the stationary train for the town of Brookhaven which was all lit up.  He said, "Mommy - that train celebrates Christmas!  How silly!"
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"Mommy what was your favorite part of the show?"  "I liked the dancers in their pretty costumes and tutus."  "Toot toots?  That's not a show!  That's what you make when you go poops in the potty!"
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"Mommy, is God a spaceman?"

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"Let's play airport!  I'll be the pilot.  You be the luggage!"
Age 4:
"I love you more than all the famous animals in the world!  Is that the sweetest thing you ever heard, Mommy?"

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"I want water."
"Can you use the magic word?"
"Abracadabra.  I want water."

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After clipping his nails, Goofball asked, "Do you like my hand haircut?"

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"Who was the big brother when I was a baby?"

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"Cheesecake is not a real food.  It does not exist.... unless you are a mouse."
Age 5:
"God is everywhere.  When you die, you live with God.  Dinosaurs dies.  Dinosaurs live with God.  Dinosaurs are everywhere."
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"I understand why you killed that spider.  You didn't want him to bite you and turn you into Spiderman."


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"Mommy - Baby was crying, so I sang a song to him and he stopped!"
"That was really nice of you!"
"I know.  He has a great big brother!"

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I took Goofball to the doctor and told him he'd have to pee in a cup.  He asked, "Doesn't the doctor have a toilet?"

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Goofball got a new magazine in the mail.  He hugged it and said, "I can't wait to read this in the bathroom!"
Age 6:
"I am like a Jedi - When I get angry, I go in the other room and calm down.  My baby brother is like a Sith.  He just hits Mommy when he gets mad."

"When I sing Jewish songs, I feel like I am praying to God."


Age 7:
"I hear crickets cricking.  I hear bugs singing.  At nighttime, the bugs have a music class."

Age 8:
"I put my middle finger up, and I think I cursed myself!"

"I would be really humiliated if I had to go to the bathroom on an airplane" (We were discussing our trip to the Cradle of Aviation museum - there was an airplane bathroom with a plexiglass partition to keep people out.  G thought that there was a see-through door.)

Age 9:
"Here - try this pickle."
"It's like the pickle has angel wings.... and it flies to the moon in a pickle rocket and puts a pickle flag on the moon..."

"People who eat vegetables are vegetarian.  Not me.  I'm a pizzaterian."

Age 12:
"Check out my abs.  I don't have a 6 pack, but I think I have a 1 pack!"