Random Fodder

The "I Did It!" Dance

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I had hoped for Sebastian to complete the Hooked on Phonics program before school starts. Mission accomplished!

As we normally do, Sebastian placed the last sticker on his Level 5 map, and then we did the "I Did It!" dance. I have included an animated picture here as a reference so that you can dance along at home.

Hooked on Phonics time can just be "reading time" from now on. I have selected 28 books for reading time that Sebastian should be able to read with minimal help. Sebastian is really interested in most of these books, and I think he is impressed with himself that he can read books that aren't part of the Hooked on Phonics program.

It's nice to know that school starts in less than a week, and Sebastian already has a solid set of reading skills.

Hooked on Phonics worked for Sebastian!

Loner

What's my high school stereotype? I took the What's My High School Stereotype? quiz, and here are the four stereotypes that scored 50% or higher:

1. Loner: 63%
2. Drama nerd: 56%
3. Geek: 50%
   Goth: 50%

Loner: I cannot disagree with being called a Loner. Without a doubt, I limited the number of friends I had in my own high school because I spent most of my time and energy with my church's youth group instead.

Drama nerd: I was in all (four) of my high school's plays, so I certainly would fit into the drama nerd group to some degree. As far as I can remember, however, none of us regular actors were a stereotypical drama "nerd" at all. We were all different types of nerds instead — my school just wasn't big enough to be that diverse.

Geek: Any way you slice it, "geek" fits me just fine. To tell you the truth, I was surprised that it only ranked third. I guess I just wasn't motivated enough scholastically to be a Geek over a Loser in this quiz's opinion.

Goth: Goth certainly did not describe me in school, nor does it describe me now. I think this option is the quiz's Achilles' heel. The closest I ever got to goth was wearing a black t-shirt with a witty saying on it.

I know by now you're asking yourself, "What's My High School Stereotype?" Find out!

You can view many more personality quizzes on the Personality Tests page.

Jerry, the fish out of water

My wife noticed yesterday that Sebastian's one-and-only pet, a fish named Jerry, was not in his tank. She explained to him that Jerry was probably on the floor somewhere, but Sebastian posited that he might also be in the sink or toilet (on the other side of the house).

Thus, yesterday morning I awoke to Sebastian yelling at me that Jerry had gone missing. This is rarely a relaxing way to start your day, unless perhaps you sleep on a bed made from shards of glass. Luckily, my wife was on the case already, so I earned the job of fighting through that "why-am-I-awake-already?" haze while trying to console my quivering-lipped son.

Luckily, my wife found Jerry on the floor. She took him for dead when she picked up the dry fish, but then Jerry blinked a bit and moved slightly. She put him back in the tank, and hours later, he seems to be doing fine, though I'm sure there must be some damage.

Apparently, Jerry had decided to end it all. Somehow, he made his way out of the fish tank, which requires a jump of at least two inches out of the water. Moreover, the only openings in the tank were a six-inch opening in the front for feeding purposes and a couple two-inch gaps in the back on either side of the filter.

Not coincidentally, Jerry's owners (Sebastian and my wife) neglected him for several weeks as a horrible amount of algae and other various gook covered his tank. He couldn't see out, and we couldn't see in. It is my belief that this neglect and psychological trauma caused Jerry to carry out this suicidal cry for help.

In order to keep Jerry from jumping out again, she replaced the lid on the feeding section on the front of the tank. The back, however, is permanently open on either side of the filter. I'm guessing that my wife chose the most convenient item on hand to cover these openings, but her choice was hilarious: The back of the tank is now covered by an army man's parachute. I'm clearly more pessimistic than my wife. If the fish gets suicidal and jumps again, I don't think he's going to grab the parachute and ride it down to the floor.

4 levels down, 1 to go!

Yesterday, Sebastian finished Level 4 of Hooked on Phonics! Just one more level to go until Sebastian becomes a HOP graduate!

If you'll remember, Sebastian finished Level 3 of Hooked on Phonics in the morning of July 30 during Blogathon. That means he finished Level 4 off in just 18 days.

I'm encouraging Sebastian to finish Hooked on Phonics completely before school starts. As of this posting, there's about 18 1/2 days until school starts, so he could, in theory, accomplish this goal without much trouble.

Level 5 seems to be relatively short, and if I try my best to work with him each and every day, it's certainly a possibility. I'm hoping that if he can complete the program before school starts, he will have a confidence boost for his first day of school.

Perhaps I'll get into the habit of posting movie reviews based on comments from my family . . .

Last night, we watched The Family Stone, another holiday family get-together movie. In general, I enjoy this genre of movie because they show the quirks, embarrassments, and fights that are inherent in most families, but they also show the love that inextricably binds them together.

This is my mother's one-line review of The Family Stone:

I didn't like the beginning when they were all being mean, but it got better when they started fighting.

So, there you have it. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has surely been waiting for my mom's review of this one.

Sebastian at 5 years

On his birthday, Sebastian got to pick the meals of the day. For breakfast, the family went to IHOP and Sebastian feasted on strawberry waffles with maple syrup and whipped cream. The IHOP staff came out and sang Sebastian a birthday song and delivered a free bowl of ice cream. At the time, he seemed a bit embarrassed by the surprise, but he later said that it was fun.

Sebastian went to Toys'R'Us and picked out his gifts. His favorite gifts were a Star Wars Storm Troopers gun and a snow leopard stuffed animal named "Snowy."

Sebastian's dino-cake

Back at home, the whole family enjoyed hot dogs for Sebastian's lunch request. For dessert, we enjoyed an ice cream cake with a stegosaurus on it, just the way Sebastian wanted it. He was very impressed with the cake.

Later in the night, Sebastian played a game of his new favorite card game, War, against his father. Sebastian took an early lead, but his dad came back to even it up. Sebastian came through and won the game in the end.