Snaggle Tooth

hmmm. Blogger is making this picture look funny. Anyway, so as you can see, Jake lost his first tooth! Actually, this was taken on Friday and he lost the second one on Monday. So now he's snaggle X two! He got me a little choked up the other day. He said: "Now I'm becoming human!" As opposed too???? what?, I said. You already are human! ( i hope) "No Mommy! I'm becoming a grown up human!!", he said. And for a split second time just seemed to stop. My heart fluttered a little bit because what he said was absolutely true. Even though he's only 6 and even though it was just one tiny little tooth. That one event changed him. Even if ever so slightly. Do I sound over dramatic? Well maybe a little. But like I said, it was just one fleeting moment in time and then we went back to celebrating. As my mom used to always tell me, you have to be an adult for a very long time. Hold on to being a kid for as long as you can. She was so right.
Besides playing tooth fairy, we have been busy, busy, busy around here. Last week we went to the pumpkin patch, had to get the truck smogged, it failed (TIP: if your check engine light is on...it won't pass smog no matter what) so we had to get that fixed {$383 dollars later for a $10 part} then back to the smog check place, Jake started After School Club on Thursday and then we headed out for our Halloween camping trip Friday.
I would upload some pics of our activities, but I'm feeling lazy and they're already on Facebook anyway :) But the camping trip....Oh my goodness. It was just so much fun. A lot of work, but FUN. I'm not generally a fan of camping in an RV park. I mean, having a camping trailer or an RV is great (I'd love to have one of my own!), but I'm not a huge fan of the RV park experience. Usually (the times I've been anyway) it's a bunch of old people who sit in their trailers all day and only come out to smoke or walk their dog. This trip was not like that. At all. There were tons and tons of people. And lots and lots of kids. There was always something going on and always something to do. They had contests for the best decorated rig/campsite, pumpkin carving contests, costume contests, crafts for the kids, free popcorn and caramel apples and apple cider. The kids went trick or treating. The adults dressed up and went walking around too. It was like one giant party with every one there for the same reason. It wasn't just for kids. It was fun to see everyone out and talking to each other and walking around the park and seeing just how creative some people can be. Definitely want to go again next year!
I mentioned up there also about Jake starting After School Club. He's been doing much, much better at school than the last time I had written about it. He seems to be the kind of kid that starts of a little slow and then excels up the mountain in the end. Kind of like the tortoise in The Tortoise and the Hare. The after school club was formed after several of the parents complained that their kids weren't getting the foundation of the things they needed to be learning. (me being one of those parents) So they came up with this 'club' to get some extra help. So far it seems great. It's with another teacher that is tenured in elementary education, has been teaching 1st grade for several years and is extremely structured. Which I think is exactly what Jake needs. I found out that up until last week, all the first graders in his class were being given 2nd grade work. Except for math, she really hadn't been 'splitting' the class like she should have. So no wonder they were struggling so much. We are already seeing a huge improvement from him at home and at school with his work. I'm all for giving kids a bit of a challenge, but it's nice to know that they are actually being given something that is within their own means and seeing them be able to excel and progress. These first years of school are an important foundation. If they have to struggle so hard now (to the point where they just want to give up) what does that do for their self esteem? What does that do for the challenges they'll face later? Building self confidence is so important! Wow, I'm rambling. Anyway I'm just so glad that the school listened to what the parents had to say and that we're seeing an effort made to change it. I don't expect Jake to be an A student. But I do expect that he try his hardest and that he be given the tools he needs to succeed. I think we're finally on the right track now. :)