Santa Memories

Photo: howcheng on Flickr

"Come here, Maggie," said my dad while patting his lap. My five or six-year-old self crawled up into the recliner and looked out the window while my dad pointed into the sky. "Do you see that?" he asked, indicating a bright, red light high in the air, "that's Rudolph's nose."

My much older siblings giggled a bit at the awed expression on my face. I couldn't understand why. This was Rudolph for heaven's sake. He had his own song. He was a movie star. He was the Brad Pitt of the reindeer set. The sighting of his nose-so-bright was irrefutable proof that Santa was on his way to our house.

To my siblings, that shining bit of red was merely the safety light on top of the nearby power plant. To me, it was sheer magic. For my dad, it was a chance to create joy for his youngest child... and that's a bit of magic, too.

I adopted my son when he was ten. Small for his age, he looked no more like a 10-year-old than a guppy looks like a whale, but in many ways he was older than his years. So when our first Christmas together rolled around I just didn't know what to expect. Did he believe in Santa? Or had he already stopped believing? With the broken childhood he had experienced, maybe he had never believed at all.

While writing and revising and editing his many Christmas lists, he alternately gave hints that he believed along with indications that he didn't. I decided to quietly play along -- not making a big deal about Santa (I didn't want him to think he HAD to believe), but also not destroying the myth.

As Christmas day drew near, I asked my son if he wanted to go see Santa. He looked a tiny bit embarrassed -- as if he were too old and too cool for something like that -- but he shyly said yes. We went to a local Santa house... so much more authentic than a mall Santa. The house is decorated with moving trains and toys and there are interesting things to see from floor to ceiling. We stood in line and, all embarrassment a thing of the past, my son thought and thought about what he wanted to ask Santa for. When it was his turn, my gangly boy climbed on Santa's lap. He told Santa (who was probably quite confused) that he was living with a new mom this year. Hey, my boy is smart -- he probably wanted to verify that Santa knew about his change of address.

After asking for an iPod and a pool table, we left. My son was grinning from ear to ear. So was I for that matter. I had adopted an older child, so I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be able to share that Christmas magic with my son. But that night was as magical as the power plant light that mysteriously turned into Rudolph's nose all those years ago.

Before Christmas my son admitted that he didn't really believe in Santa. And that was okay. Maybe he didn't believe in the magic itself, but he understood the importance of it... and that was magic enough for me.

What is your favorite Santa story? Share your story in the comments.

Black Friday Bliss

Photo: avlxyz on Flickr

For the past few days, headlines on every news site have read "Get Your Black Friday Game Plan Ready" or "Best Deals for Black Friday." Ugh. Just the thought of it is enough to make me want to crawl back into bed.

I know that the jingling of cash registers on Black Friday is pretty critical for retailers... especially in our gimpy economy. But the thought of battling crowds for that last discounted item on the shelf... well, that's right on my not-to-do list along with things like water torture and wearing skinny jeans. Besides, unless you're a shopper with laser-like focus and an iron-clad willpower, you're pretty likely to come home with items that looked good under the huge sale banners, but don't look so great in the light of your own living room.

Most of the items on my shopping list are toys for my son. Even though he's swayed by every sale flier in the newspaper and every commercial he sees on TV, I want to make sure the toys I purchase for him are safe and made with quality. We all remember the scare a few years back when toys imported from China had dangerously high lead levels. Even though new laws are in effect to protect from that, toys with illegal levels of lead are still showing up in stores. There's no fool-proof way to know which toys are safe and which are not when you're a just a small fish in a crowded school of Black Friday shoppers.

That's why I'm sticking with American-made toys this year. Though I'm a little concerned about the concoctions my son is going to create with his Soda-Pop Science Kit, I'll gladly drink the nastiest mix of soda flavors rather than worry about things like carcinogens and brain development issues from lead exposure.

So this Friday I'm going to sleep in. I'm going to wear my pajamas for much longer than I should. I'm going to sip a cup of tea and play a board game with my son. It's going to be blissful... and there won't be anything black about it.

How about you? Are you planning to battle the crowds this Black Friday?

Resources: Washington Post, The Huffington Post

Parent Poll: Classroom Competitions

Photo: elginwx on flickr

Each week, my son's sixth grade class has a spelling test. Here's the catch... it's not just a one-test-fits-all kind of thing. The teacher divides the class into three groups based on their past spelling grades.

My son may drag his heels when it comes to doing math homework, but he loves to study his spelling words. Why? We make it a game. I'll call out one of his words and then he gives it a go. Each time he spells a word correctly he gets to take a shot using his foam basketball. After all, what kid isn't going to like studying when it simultaneously involves play time?

Because we study it so heavily, my son has always aced his spelling tests. His good grades put him in the top tier of the spelling groups. Well, the top tier until two weeks ago, anyway. I don't know why, but two weeks ago my son bombed his spelling test. He bombed it so badly that he got knocked down into the lowest level of the three groups his teacher has set up. When he came home with his list of words, I was shocked. He went from having spelling words such as appreciation, scientist, encyclopedia, and contagious to having spelling words like beef, school, and mood.

The discrepancy in the word difficulty was startling. My son was utterly humiliated to be sent down to the "dummy group" as he so inelegantly dubbed it. I told him it was most certainly not a dummy group and I encouraged him to look at it as a challenge -- all the more reason to work hard and get back to the top tier of the spelling groups. Despite my perky mommy shell, I have to admit the whole thing concerned me.

What's your opinion? Do classroom competitions give kids the incentive to work harder? Or do they humiliate and discourage kids? Does sorting kids into groups give the high achievers a chance to excel while giving kids who are struggling a place to feel comfortable? Or does it unfairly separate kids who should be on common ground?

Update: The results are in! 11% of ChatterKid readers thought classroom competitions were a good idea. 23% weren't sure; it probably depends on the circumstances. The majority of readers -- 63% -- were in agreement that competitions have no place in the classroom.

Do you have additional thoughts to share? Please leave your opinion in the comments.

Crafts for Kids: Thanksgiving Fingerpainting

Photo: amybatchelder on flickr

As parents, the answer to "what are you thankful for?" is pretty easy. Just look around at the little ones in your life for the obvious answer. Sure, they may leave sticky fingerprints on cupboard doors and you may step on a toy car from time to time, but smiles and hugs and peals of laughter are the well-deserved payment for the tough job of parenting.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Why not spend some time with your kids and make some Thanksgiving crafts? Washable fingerpaint is one of the easiest craft elements and it provides kids (and adults) with the chance to get a little messy and have a lot of fun.

You can help your kids make a brightly colored turkey by painting their palms brown and painting each finger a different bright color. After they've made their hand print, your kids can add eyes and a beak onto the thumb print (the head) and legs to the bottom of the palm print (the body). Or, paint a tree trunk on to a page and then let your kids dip their thumb into different colors and use their thumbprints to make a technicolor fall tree. For older kids, cut a cornucopia shape out of brown paper and let them paint fruit and other contents for the horn of plenty.

9-Year-Old Basketball Prodigy Really Has Play

For Dakota Simms, basketball isn't just child's play. Simms first started playing hoops when he was seven. Now, at the ripe old age of nine, pro basketball isn't an unlikely dream for Simms' future. He practices daily; making shots that would be challenging even for advanced players. What's more, Simms is reaping the many benefits that sports have to offer.

Childhood obesity is on the rise in our country, but Simms knows first hand how important fitness is for his game. "It takes strength to shoot the ball," says Simms. "It's not something that you can just throw up there that's going to go in." Sports also develops mental acuity. Simms says that basketball is a game of focus. Judging by the 300-500 daily practice shots Simms makes, focus is certainly not something he lacks.

The lessons sports teach go far beyond the court. Simms has learned that even if you fail, you've got to get up, dust yourself off and try again. "You've gotta get your head right," says Simms. "You've gotta fix it. Nobody else is going to do it for you."

Even if your child isn't a sports prodigy like Simms, the right sports equipment can inspire them to play. Participating in sports will help your child build social skills, develop an active lifestyle and -- maybe most importantly -- have fun.

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