Cam wanted spiky hair one day before school.

I tried to get Cam to work on his typing skills… because I seriously think he could enjoy contributing to this blog on his own this summer.

Today Cameron went to work with me for a little bit before he interviewed at a local independent school. We decided to look into it… even though at this point, we haven’t found the right funding opportunity. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed. I really think he’d be a perfect fit for the school.

He had fun meeting the third grade teacher. She gave him an assessment test, had me read a book (one he’d read before – the Spiderwick Chronicles Field Guide) and he got quizzed on his Harry Potter knowledge (he’s scary with all the little details he knows). They talked about other things… but I didn’t get all of the details about the experience. Cameron thought the place was cool. I guess we’ll see.

He is wrapping up his school year – and he seems to be a bit more relaxed lately. His class work is going pretty well. He still has his days, but I feel like he’s headed in the right direction.

He and I have come up with a number of projects we’ve planned for the summer:

1) Read Fantastic Mr. Fox and then see the movie (we haven’t seen it yet but I hear it’s awesome)
2) Compose a song on the piano
3) Finish the last two books of Harry Potter

I’m sure we’ll add to the list, but I think these are doable. I have a little side goal of getting Cameron to write more with a keyboard. His three sentences at the top of this blog post had a more fictional and fun group of sentences… but it didn’t make a lot of sense. And he didn’t know how to clarify it. So he started over with a few sentences about our sleepover trip to the Field Museum later in June. I hope we’ll see more and more Cameron writings here soon.

Cam played the "Old Worm" in his class play

Cameron has a short attention span in a classroom full of 25 kids. So most of the school year we’ve struggled with keeping him on task without his teacher needing to remind him every second. When it felt like we reached the last straw, I asked Cam’s teacher for a way so I can find out how Cam did each day.

She came up with a grid idea where there’s a list of what they do each day (it’s doesn’t vary much through the week) and Cameron has to put an X or a check mark for things he completes or doesn’t complete. At the end of the day, Cam has to get his teacher to look through the list to see if he told the truth and then she signs it. (And she leaves a message if needed) Then Cam has to bring it home so I or his Dad can sign it. Since we’ve put him in charge of self-regulating his work, he’s made really big improvements in his academic work.

It’s a relief to have found a key to reaching the boy.

Another awesome development, Cameron’s really gotten interested in reading “boy” books. That’s books like Harry Potter (we’re on book 5), Stink, Magic Treehouse and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I think he’s read so many books with enjoyable dialogue, he’s transitioned that reading into the way he writes in school. He has an incredibly conversational writing style. He doesn’t always write simple descriptive sentences to set the scene. He still needs to remember capital letters and punctuation. But seriously, I’m so thrilled with his writing.

Here’s an example of his take on running in the St. Louis Kids Fun Run:

The Run
By Cameron
4-15-10

“Ready set GO!” Wait. That’s the middle. Ok. Here’s how it started.

“Yawn! Buh boggly bop?” AHH? Yeah horrible but funny start.

1 hour later we were at Forest Park. 1 hour later my sister Jordan was running a 50 yard dash. It only took 30 seconds. 2 more minutes later that guy who says “ready set go” he said the 3 words.

I started a little too fast because in the middle I took a break. Then about 1 minute later I finished. My mom was SO happy.

That was my amazing run.

We went to TelSanta.com and this is what Cam had to say:

If he gets everything he asks for, he’s one heck of a lucky kid. By the way, Cameron is doing really well in school. He had an awesome report sent home on Friday. We’re really happy for him! I’ll leave you with a picture Cam drew on the chalkboard the kids have in the newsly minted “kids room” in the basement. (That’s right, the man cave is over… for now)

I worked all election night helping run a massive webcast/watch party. So I brought a bunch of patriotic balloons back home that night. I took them into Cameron’s room where he was sleeping… Then I crawled into bed with him and whispered: “Cameron, America elected its first black president.” He shot up, giggled and asked, “Barack Obama?” I said yes and he went back to sleep smiling. I just couldn’t wait until the morning to tell him the big news. Watching this election season from his perspective was a joy. I’m proud of him for being civically engaged and I hope I’ll be able to help guide him to use that interest in productive ways as he grows up!

Ohhhhh. Sorry. Apparently you can’t play in the band or the football team if you’re going to be a scientist.

I didn’t know that.