Sea Monkeys - A Slightly Better Pic

Hey!!! You can kinda see something now. They're about 1.5 mm in length, and some of them have long stringy tails. They also appear to have three eyes (three black dots on the front of their heads) although you can't see that in this pic.

They swim like mad, and they're still quite small, which makes them difficult to photograph, but I'll keep trying...

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Sea Monkey Mystery

For the uninitiated, when you get a Sea Monkeys kit, you first purify the water for 24 hours before adding the eggs. Packet 1 is water purifier, Packet 2 is eggs, and Packet 3 is food.

Both kids got a kit for Christmas, and I dutifully followed the instructions and purified the water. Then I put the two little tanks up out of harm's reach, or so I thought.

Lil' J: "Mommy look!'
Me: "What is it, bud?"
Lil' J: "Mommy I washed my nut!" (he meant the kind that you crack open and then eat, before any of you start to wonder).
Me: "Where?"
Lil' J: "In dat. In da monkey tank"

He had washed his hazelnut in his still-being-purified Sea Monkey water, but thankfully hadn't spilled too much on the counter.

Now here's the mystery (hence the post title): I put his eggs in his water maybe an hour before Alyssa's, and yet today, almost two weeks later, his are double the size of hers. His are monster monkeys!!! Hers are wee little girlie things, still barely visible, but his are big enough that you can see their tails wiggling behind them as they swim.

Hmmm. Hazelnut shells for Sea Monkey food? Or little boy finger grime? We may never know ;-)

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Kindergarten Readiness

Ok, Lil' J - you're up next!

Hmm. Is my giggly, silly, march to the beat of his own drummer son really ready for The Big K this fall? His father was expressing doubt last night, which started me thinking about the whole thing.

It's difficult for me to really tell, because at the age that he is now (4 1/2), his sister was reading and writing simple (4-6 word) sentences. I know that's a little ahead of the curve as far as early language skills (btw, to compensate she was behind socially - she had much anxiety and shyness, which thankfully she's outgrown). It leaves me with the inability to judge J's preparedness, because he's not quite as advanced as his sister, so acck! He must not be ready, right?

Wrong!! (yippee).

Here are a couple of handy checklists I found, to which I was able to answer "yes, yes, yes," repeatedly for J. I guess he won't have to repeat preschool after all ;-)

http://www.nvsd44.bc.ca/sites/pdf/12/12-160-1815.pdf

http://www.vbschools.com/kindergarten/checklist.pdf

Phew!!
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Kindergarten Registration

(Reminder to me: pick up French Immersion application from school today for Lil' J.)

Kindergarten registration is in mid February, and the deadline for submitting our F.E. applications is about a week earlier. I know it's only January 5th today, but I have notes all over the house reminding myself to get the little man signed up.

Ah, laugh at me if you will, but check this out: I heard this story of this family with four kids... well known in their school and community, actively involved in their F.E. program at school. The first three kids were in the program, so of course #4 would be as well. Until... they forgot to register him!! Too funny. They took their inclusion so for granted that they forgot about the formality of the application and registration.

I never did hear the outcome, but I'm assuming the Principal squeezed him in, seeing as how he would have been "priority #1" (in catchment with siblings already attending).

Too funny. (or not). I am neurotic enough to worry about forgetting my second child, so.... notes everywhere!!!

lol
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Back To School!!!

Alyssa said to me last night: "Mommy tomorrow I'm going to get up super early and get dressed right away!!!"

I think she might be excited ;-)

Lil J doesn't seem to care one way or the other, but I know once we get to his preschool he'll be happy. My biggest challenge today is getting them there in this, um, weather.

Speaking of which, my timer is ringing - time to wake them up.

Have a great day, everyone!
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