The Steussy Ranch

Camilla received two awards at school last week. One was for perfect attendance. Clearly not something to encourage, since it means you’re likely to go to school sick. So why encourage it? The school is paid by the state (rather poorly) based on daily attendance. So they want to encourage it in their enlightened self-interest.

Camilla also received a Citizenship award, with no explanation. Not sure what this means. Did she receive an award for getting perfect math scores for three months? No. Did she receive an award for reading above and beyond the level of a kindergartener? No. Did she receive an award for knowing her multiplication tables up to 12 and being able to handle multi-digit multiplication? No. I find something wrong with this picture. But I’m proud of her, and you can quote me on that.

Aaron continues to grow and mature. He’s doing a lot of it on his own, while we spend time worrying about Daniel’s homework or Veronica’s new teeth. He went to the garage one day and fished out an old bicycle. He pulled it out himself and started to ride it. Eventually, Gabi set up Camilla’s old bicycle for him, putting the training wheels back on. He loves it.

And a quick note on the neighborhood. Over the past two or three months, two families with small children have moved in. We now have six new kids ready to play, all about our kids’ ages. We had a situation last night when one group of two kids showed up at the door asking to play. Unfortunately, their Mom came moments later, complaining that they had left the house without permission. Oops. No playdate last night!