You Gotta be a Football Hero.

Number One Son just finished taking a Community Ed. Football class. This class taught the basics of football. No pads, no helmets, no end zone dances. Lady Di and I were very nervous about signing him up for the class. N1S has had trouble with team sports in the past. It takes him awhile to grasp the concept of playing with teammates against another team. He usually is busy concentrating on what he is supposed to do so much that he loses sight of what the team is doing or even whose team he is on. We didn't want him to feel self conscious and we didn't want him to get teased. It's a class after school and I wouldn't be able to watch because of work.
But we took the plunge anyway in the hopes that he would learn more about the sport and maybe fit in better with his peers.

A few days before his first class, I thought it would be a good idea to get the football out and play catch. We tossed the ball back and forth trying see how many times we could catch it without dropping it. I think we got up to twelve or so.

N1S struggles a little with throwing a baseball. He isn't able to coordinate his feet to step forward as he throws. He usually has to think about which foot to step forward each time. Throwing the football is a different matter. He still has to think a little about his feet, but he can throw a tight, accurate spiral almost every time. For some reason his herky-jerky throwing style is very conducive to throwing a football. Score one for N1S.

With this success, I decided to go to the next level. I showed N1S how to run a football play. We got into a huddle. I traced the passing route on my hand for him to run. We lined up. I said 'hut' and off he ran. We ran the 'down and out' play. We ran 'the post'. We ran 'the fly'. I had to tell N1S how many steps to take before looking back for the ball. Otherwise, he would've run all the way to the neighbor's yard before looking back. Playing catch while standing still is hard enough. Now I was asking him to catch a ball while running and looking back over his shoulder. He tried very hard, but catching and running is difficult for anybody. He got a little frustrated and fell down a lot. But ,overall, it was a pretty positive day.

On the day before his football class, N1s was nervous and didn't want to go. I think he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to catch the ball well enough. It about broke my heart. We found out who his coach was going to be and, luckily, it was N1S's old gym teacher from first grade. It made a world of difference for N1S to know someone at the class.
He went to the class and was excited to go to the next one. He found out that there was a former baseball teammate in the class. He is definitely more excited about football now. He said he learned some more pass routes, and he's learned how to pass block. I know a certain 'purple' team who could use some training in that area.

His class then moved on to learning how to play as a team. He said that his team beat the other team, one touchdown to none. I said, "Great, how did you do?" He said he blocked on that play. He also said he almost scored a touchdown, but ran out of bounds. I guess the coach, who is the quarterback, faked a pass and then handed the ball to him. I would have loved to see that.

He is also learning a little football discipline. N1S said that one of the boys in his class didn't listen to the coach. Because of that, everyone had to run an extra lap around the field. "If one is punished, we all get punished.", he stated. Although, running a lap around the field may not really be punishment for a bunch of nine year boys. They are usually running everywhere anyway. I guess it's punishment if you tell them it is.

Overall, his experience was very positive. He is learning. His coordination is improving. And he is making friends and building confidence. Plus, we actually watched an entire football game together last Sunday. I'm glad that we actually had a good game to watch. He followed the play pretty well and cheered at the right time. He got excited when the Vikings did well and asked a lot of questions. There were a few times he accidentally booed at the Vikings. I think they were accidents anyway. Anyway, it was just nice to interact with him and enjoy something together. Adrian Peterson is now his favorite player.

Reading Is Fundamental

Now that school is in session, I get to enjoy something on a monthly basis that I always miss during the summer vacation. No, I'm not talking about anything amorous. I'm talking about the Scholastic Book Orders. Those three or four page catalogs that the kids bring home from school that offer to sell you discounted books. I love these catalogs! These offers appeal to me at two levels. First, I love to read and second, I am very cheap. Where else can you get a Harry Potter set for $50? I just like looking through them, even if I don't buy anything. Our catalogs usually have many classics of children's literature. Authors, E. B. White, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Roald Dahl are regulars. I'm sorry to say that I don't care for about half of the books in the flier. The Spongebob, Dora and other cartoon based books usually don't rise to the challenge of children's literature. There seems to be a lot more Barbie, Bratz and any other Nickelodeon show books too. But, whatever gets kids to read is OK with me. In the past, we have enjoyed a few Scooby Doo chapter books. The pictures were few and the mystery was entertaining. Even though I knew the monster was going to be a guy or girl in a costume, like it always is. And yes, the bad guys would have gotten away with it, if weren't for those meddling kids.

We have used Scholastic to build the kids library quite extensively. Children's book companies, lately, like to get you hooked on a series. That way, every time a new book is published in the series, you have to buy it or else. That also sets you up to buy their 'boxed sets' if your child likes the first book in the series. This isn't so bad when the grandparents start sniffing around for Christmas list ideas. Number One Son's favorite book sets include 'Magic Treehouse', 'Jack Sparrow' and 'Magic School Bus'. Sweet Pea likes 'Clifford', 'Curious George' and 'Frog and Toad'.

I enjoy reading these books as much as the kids do. I don't always get a lot of time for real reading. Reading the Sears ad in the bathroom doesn't count. N1S's books usually have some history or science lesson hidden in the story. I usually learn as much as he does. SP's books often have wonderful artwork and a good moral. Along with the good read, I get to enjoy time with my children teaching and entertaining.

I also like how these book orders mark the change of seasons. There are Halloween and leaf books in the fall, and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa books in the winter. They also give me a timely 'heads up' for when Valentine's Day is approaching. We keep our seasonal books in a separate basket and bring them out during the appropriate season. We have to read 'Skeleton Hiccups' every fall, and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' every winter.

If your school offers Scholastic book orders, I advise you to take advantage of it. If you don't like a book you buy, you're only out a couple bucks. The only down side is that your kids' rooms will overflow with books. We have donated a couple laundry baskets full back to the school already. I know we probably buy too many, but how can you say no?

I am hoping that the children enjoy their books enough to revisit them when they are older. When they get old enough to actually read for pleasure, maybe they will pick a book from their shelf at random and be reminded of the first time it was read to them. Hopefully, their memories will be strong enough to enjoy the same books with their own kids. When that day comes, I will be ready to play the role of 'the Grampa who reads to us'.

I would, hopefully, like to be known to my grand kids as 'the Grampa with hair' too.