our week with zeeke

For the second week in a row, Zeeke managed to rack up four good days at school!  He's still struggling with Mondays; making that transition from weekend to school is hard.  

Overall, school is going well.  His teacher has started giving them homework and he loves it, especially the math which is a lot like his beloved activity books.  We turned it in on Friday and he already had stars in his eyes thinking about how she'd be giving them more to do on Monday.  He's also starting to cast off a bit of of his shyness with the new kids in his class, slowly learning their names and responding to them when the initiate conversations.

Thursday, he got a haircut after school.  He was quite fascinated with the mechanism that made the chair go up and down.

Friday was his first day at aftercare.  One day a week, he'll be picked up from school (along with his three best friends) and taken to the rec center.  He was having such a great time playing there, that when Steve swung by to check on him, he insisted on staying longer.  

Saturday morning, we had visits from Karen's mom, who brought him a great 50 States jigsaw puzzle, and Tara & Moira, who brought him a Pokemon watch.  Zeeke introduced Moira to his Tsum Tsums.  He made wooden sculptures in his art class .  

Sunday, all three of us headed up to the Wissahickon for a Family Nature Walk.  We enjoyed the fall foliage, ate smores, played by the water, and saw some excellent critters (a tiny salamander and a large millipede).  When we got back to South Philly, we headed over to the Bok for a block party, which turned out to be a mistake.  The loudness of the live music frightened Zeeke so much that Karen had to carry him and in their rush she stepped on a piece of sidewalk chalk and they took a tumble.  Zeeke got a nasty scrape on his back where he hit the street.  After we had recovered, we headed back to check out the bouncy castle, but Zeeke deemed it to be too crowded and we headed home.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Daddy, did you know that one time I went to deepest, darkest part of the way down ocean and it was full of sea monsters?"
"No way! Really?"
"Yes, and I saw the legendary Saber-Toothed Tiger Shark!"
"Whoa! Cool!"
"I didn't see the Kraken, but down in the inner ring, I saw the Ghost Whale!"

"You have such a good memory, Zeeke."
"That's because I have a little creature in my head that tells me what to say when I don't know."

"Daddy, how many ghosts do you see in my hand?"
"None."
"Well, that's wrong because there's about forty-seven."
"Wow, do they talk to you?"
"They talk to you, Daddy. They ask you questions all the time and they don't understand why you don't answer them."

Zeeke managed to have four good days at school this week!  He's still getting sent to the first grade class as punishment some days but the infractions are getting less severe and his teacher reports that she often sees him catching himself before he does something wrong.  In addition to cracking down on disobedient behavior at home, we're also stooping to bribery, offering rewards for good days, such tv, ipad time, and treats.  He's very proud of having good days and frequently forgets to ask for his reward.  Plus he's having a lot more fun at school now, learning more Spanish and math.  

Monday, we had our first session with a family therapist, as suggested by his teacher.  It was really just a getting to know us session.

Tuesday, Zeeke's pal Zoe came over for a play date after school.  

Saturday, Steve and Zeeke did some work on his Halloween costume, then went to his art lesson at Fleisher.    Other than that, Zeeke really just wanted a lazy day to relax from the exhausting stress of trying to be good at school.

Sunday, Karen & Zeeke had an epic day out.  They went to the art museum, took the tour, made some art, ate lunch at the cafe, and raided a sale at the gift shop.  After that, they took a trip to the library so that Zeeke could play on the computer.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Daddy, did you know that I invented a new superhero called Rocketman?"
"5...4...3...2...1... Blast off for another exciting adventure with Rocketman!"
"And did you know that he used to be a rock star and folks were so in love with his singing that he gained the power of a rocket ship and became Rocketman and blasted off to outer space forever?"

Zeeke had two good days at school this week!  

He was very proud of the accomplishment, bragging about it over the phone to his grandparents.  Of course, two days of not needing to be punished led to false expectation for the rest of the week.  Thursday was bad and Friday was worse.    Still two days out of twelve is better than nothing and hopefully it's the beginning of a new trend.

Thursday, his friend Zoe came over after school for a play date.

Friday, we picked Zeeke up from school and headed to the Brigantine, NJ for a chilly beach weekend with Pop-pop & Gigi.

Saturday, the five of us went to Storybook Land  It was such a great day.  Zeeke really conquered some fears, including the psychedelic Alice in Wonderland cave, and even rode the roller coaster all by himself!  We completed the hay maze scavenger hunt, decorated a pumpkin, and took a hay ride.  When we got back to the condo, there was a double rainbow, so we raced out to the beach in the drizzle to look for pots of gold.

Sunday, after a late breakfast, we went to our favorite playground, Shark Park, and then after an early dinner headed back to the city.  

Conversations with Zeeke:

"I can still feel those little rubber things on my hand."
"Creepy."
"Daddy, did you know that I can make you do things you don't want to do?"
"Yeah, you do it all the freaking time!"
"I can do it because of my creepy little hand!"

The bad behavior at school continues, but at least it was a short week.  Often, a timeout isn't enough and his teacher has to separate Zeeke from the class, so she sends him to the first grade classroom in hopes that being with the older kids will teach him a thing or two.  He says he likes it because they're always doing interesting things.  When asked what he does there, he says, "I turn myself into a rock," then demonstrates by making his head and limbs disappear into his shirt.

Monday, Zeeke went home after school with his friend Colette while we had a meeting with Zeeke's teacher to discuss his classroom behavior and strategies for fixing it.

Thursday & Friday, his school was closed for Rosh Hashanah so we signed up to hang out at the neighborhood rec center with some of his friends.  He had a great time playing all day.  

Saturday, we had his second art class at Fleisher Art Memorial.  This time around they had several guests artists come to visit and talk about their work.  His teacher said that Zeeke asked lots of great questions about what the artwork was of and how they were created.  Steve & Zeeke went to John's Water Ice for their last day of the season, then hit the grocery store and went to the playground at Seger Playground where we ran into Addie & Zephyr and Brad, Lizzie, Zooey, and Ash.  

Sunday, we went to Smith Playground for his pal Cecily's birthday party.  Back at home, Zeeke & Karen put together a jungle-themed croquet set.  That evening, we went to David, Karyn, Zack & Maddie's for Game Night.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"I know what will make her feel better. We need a soft feather."
"Well, that might feel nice but bird feathers are really dirty."
"No, Daddy, I mean a feather that doesn't come from a bird."
"What feather doesn't come from a bird?"
"Ok, Daddy, do you have some baking soda? We need to take the seed from her favorite fruit and cover it with baking soda instead of water, then plant it. A feather will grow from the ground to make her feel better."

"Daddy, did you know that one of my stuffed animals forbid another one to go to the Candy Place because if it eats the candy there it will be become death and die?"

It was a tough week for the House of Zeeke.  We'd been a little worried he'd have some difficulty adjusting to kindergarten, but it turned out to be far worse than expected.  His teacher reports that, though he's sweet and smart, he is a constant disruption in class.  He talks over her and his fellow students all day long, won't sit still, throws himself down on the floor, draws on the desks and erasers, and opposes literally every request she makes of him.  When asked why he does these things, he says, "It's fun."  As much as we would like to leap to his defense and say that he seems like a semi-normal five-year-old when he's with us, we've certainly seen aspects of this behavior at home as well.  The kid's an explosive ball of energy, half chatterbox, half stunt man, and it can sometimes be exhausting and sometimes even maddening to be around him.  

Most importantly, it isn't fair that his classmates are being denied a chance to learn because the teacher has to focus so much of her attention on him.  After having a meeting with her, we're confident that he can be reigned in and that she isn't giving up on him.  So, there's going to be some observation and evaluation by the school's professionals and there's going go be some outside therapy.  

In the meantime, we are trying to fix as much of his behavior at home as possible, in hopes that it will have results elsewhere.  We've started practicing stillness, silence, and engaging in solo play.  He is losing things he loves (books, tv, bath toys) as punishment for talking back, interrupting us, or making us repeat requests and having to do chores to win them back.  We're done with allowing him to endlessly negotiate and we're trying not to let him use his fears to manipulate us.  Obviously this is hard work for the whole family and we've all been pretty stressed.  Fortunately Zeeke, at least, is resilient and we're determined to work through this.

Monday, we had one last beach day against Zeeke's wishes.  In protest, he wore his pajamas instead of his bathing suit.  Of course, once there he had a great time and finally changed his into appropriate attire after getting soaked by a wave.

Tuesday was his first day of school.  He was happy to see his friends and marched off to class fairly bravely.  He reported that he had a good time at school, although his pal Zoe reported that "Maestra Ane said Zeeke's name a lot!" when we went out for pizza that night.

Saturday, we went to Odin's birthday party at Smith Playground, then Zeeke crashed hard in the car, so Steve let him nap until it was time for his first art class at Fleisher Art Memorial.  It was hard to wake him up, but he had a great time making a drawing and a Captain America puppet.  His teacher, Mister Storm, said, "he has a really cool drawing style."  When they got home, Zeeke earned some television time by scrubbing the front stoop.

Sunday, we met Jen & the twins for the Family Nature Hike.  This time around, there was a demonstration of how to make a fire without matches or flint.  Zeeke was riveted.  After the hike and some smores, we picked up Kim and went to the Mount Airy Village Fair for lunch.  Zeeke had fun at their toy horse rodeo, then it was back to Jen & Kim's house so that the boys could play.  That night, our friends Maripat, Dudley & Sadie had us over for dinner to commiserate about the tough week of kindergarten.  As we were walking home, we stopped to let a group of teenagers pass by just as Zeeke was delivering a detailed description of some elaborate invention he wants us to build and one of the girls turned, eyes wide, and declared, "He talks fancy!"

Conversations with Zeeke:

A proclamation from the prophet Ezekiel:
"You have to pass through The Land of the Lost before you can get to Heaven."

It was Zeeke's last week of summer vacation before kindergarten starts so we packed in as much fun as we could. 

Monday, we met up with Addie & Zephyr at the Museum of Art, did the tour, made ceramic animals, and wore medieval armor.  Afterward we went to Clark Park for lunch and ran into his pals Maddy & Cecily at the playground.  

Tuesday, we went to the Zoo, where we ran into a family we'd met on last weekend's nature hike.  When asked what his favorite thing to see at the Zoo was, Zeeke launched into an elaborate, step-by-step description of how you get an ice cream from the vending machine.

Wednesday, Steve & Zeeke dropped Karen off at work, then spent all day at the Franklin Institute. It was shaky at first because he found the brain exhibit and the train exhibit too loud and overwhelming, but he adored Space Command, the Air Field, and the Human Body.  They watched all three of the presentations at the Planetarium and then picked up Karen at the end of her day and went home. 

Thursday, we met up with Nick & Zoe and Tanya & Colette at Smith Playground.  It was our first time back there since Zeeke's very rainy birthday party and we enjoyed many trips down the big slide.  

Friday, we drove down to Sea Isle City for a mini-beach vacation.  Zeeke had to be dragged to the beach for a late afternoon stroll but had a great, clothes-drenching time once he was there.

Saturday & Sunday, we were joined by Jen, Kim & the boys.  Zeeke, Jack & William had some good beach time and did lots of Lego building back at the house.  Zeeke made up his own classification system for the rough surf. We couldn't follow all of it, but there was: The Switch Wave, The Undercover Wave, The Whale Wave, The Triple Wave, and The Boat Ride.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Daddy, I need seven of your fingers. Can you give me seven of your fingers?"

"Can I watch tv now?"
"First tell your mother how beautiful she is."
"Mommy, you're as beautiful... as a cute little chipmunk."
"..."
"Mommy, you're as beautiful... as a big hunk of..."
"Dude, don't even finish that sentence."
"... a big hunk of cloth that's decorated really pretty!"

"Who knocked over a cup of water?"
"It was me. I'll tell you how. I cartwheeled off the bed."

This was Zeeke's second (and final) week of art camp at the Art Center.  This time around, he was in the studio with two of his pals, Delano and Beatrice, and made some stellar artwork.   It was such a great experience.  Thank you, Omi!  

He's also discovered a new favorite tv show, Power Rangers.  

Friday, after camp, to earn back his weekend iPad privileges, Zeeke had to pull weeds in the back yard.

Saturday morning, after investigating a possible judo class, we had a quick trip to the playground with Zoe & her parents before the rain got too heavy.  After lunch, we spent the rainy afternoon watching Lilo & Stitch movies (with Karen constantly warning Zeeke not to get any ideas from the mischievous characters). 

Sunday, Steve & Zeeke went on another family nature hike in the Wissahickon.  Zeeke "fished" in the puddles, soaked his feet in the cool creek, and toasted hot dogs and marshmallows over an open fire.  That night, we made Zeeke earn a cookie by drawing a picture of how happy the cookie would make him.

This was Zeeke's first week of Art Camp at the Philly Art Center.  He's been coming home very excited (as well as very messy) every day and the art he's producing is spectacular.  Thursday, after camp we celebrated his good week with a cherry water ice from John's.  

Saturday morning, Zeeke wanted to do a gymnastics class at Nest, but had a little nervous episode when he got there, refusing to go into the room.  It was probably anxiety from all the changes lately, leaving pre-school, changing summer camps, and approaching kindergarten.  After lunch, we met up at the playground with Pam & Cecily, bringing along his bicycle for some much overdue practice.  He did great.

Sunday, Steve & Zeeke joined Nick & Zoe for Superhero Day at the Please Touch Museum (and some more bike riding).  The kids had a blast building together, riding the carousel, launching rockets, and being superheroes.  After a late lunch, Karen & Zeeke went to the South Philly branch of the Free Library and the DiSilvestro Playground.

This was Zeeke's last week of gymnastics camp.  We'll miss how exhausted it left him at the end of the day.  His favorite things were walking the balance beam, doing forward rolls (don't call them somersaults!), learning new games, and watching "the intensive girls" (advanced students).  Karen left work early to catch his final presentation (with hula hoops!) and then we caught an early dinner at Johnny Rockets.

Saturday, Zeeke demanded a lazy day, so after driving Karen to work, he and Steve picked up donuts and spent most of the day making up games for each other to play (Zeeke's overwhelming obsession).  At one point, they took a walk and Zeeke accidentally tossed Cowie Wowie (his mooing cow keychain) under someone's car and they had to concoct a desperate rescue plan before Zeeke's anxiety made his head explode.  Fortunately, someone down the block had left some long pieces of wooden siding in front of their house.

Sunday, Karen & Zeeke went to the library where Zeeke played on the computer and did a great job using the mouse.  They read a Spiderman comic book, played I-Spy, and then went for a walk to the fountain and picked up some brownies.  

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Daddy, let's play tiger and fish."
"I'm guessing you're the tiger."
"No, I'm the fish... but the fish can eat the tiger whenever he wants."
"Gotcha."
"Chomp! I ate you, Daddy."
"Ok."
"Now, you can be the fish and I'll be the tiger."
"Cool! Chomp! I ate you."
"No, you died because you're a fish and you weren't in the water. Sorry, Daddy."

"Daddy, did you know that today at gym camp a lot of people were bleeding?"
"Oh my gosh, what happened?"
"I don't know. They were just bleeding."

"Daddy, can you put my superhero bracelets on me?"
"Wow, these are some wet wrists. Did you stick you hands in the toilet."
"No! Well... I did... Ow, these superhero bracelets hurt my wrists."
"Beauty hurts."
"Oh, I know, Daddy."

Playing one of the games Zeeke made up:
"Ok, Daddy, this airplane takes you from the Art Museum to the apartment building where the girls live."
"All right!"

This was Superheroes week at gym camp, which was perfect for Zeeke.  He created a hero called Flag Man who has laser eyes and the power to make storms and earthquakes.  

Wednesday, Zeeke had a play date with his pal Zoe while Steve & Karen went out for dinner.  

Friday, we met up with Zoe & Nadine again for pizza at Birra.  The kids did a great job of drawing and playing while we ate. 

Saturday, we went to South Jersey for his cousin Jackson's birthday party.  He had a great time playing in the pool and squirting people, then got to ride a horse!

Sunday, we joined Jen, Kim, Jack & William, Mary, Brenna, and Allison at the Zoo.  We did the winter play land again and saw lots of animals.  Zeeke was so worn out, he passed out on the way home.