Your second quarter report card

Your report card for second quarter of first grade showed some marked improvement! I was very proud of you for your accomplishments.

If you did not stay the same with an already good grade, work habit, or conduct, you improved. You improved in Christ-Light, Memory Treasures, Language Arts, Spelling, Math, Art and P.E. as well as following directions, attentiveness, class participation, completing assignments, showing love to others, respecting authority and following classroom/school rules.

You received A's in math, memory treasures, and Christ-light, a B+ in language arts, and a C in spelling. You also received an E (for excellent) in class participation!

I have kept your report card so that one later you may look back upon it!

Pictures of us when we were 6 years old

On my Facebook page I recently posted a retro photo of myself - my first grade picture, taken in autumn 1972 for my elementary school picture. I was 6-3/4 years old.

I posted the retro picture because my cover photo is of you ... from autumn 2013 during our visits, when you were 6-1/2 years old.

We look a lot alike - even have the same early Beatles mop top hair cuts, don't we?

When I was six, I lived on a small farm east of Elmwood, Wis. I attended Elmwood Elementary School. My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Rhiel. I shared a room with my brother, and the room was turquoise,. My favorite football teams were the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers! I loved to watch Star Trek, and would catch each weekday after school from 4 to 5 pm on WKBT-TV out of La Crosse, Wis. My best friend in school was Ronald Wolfe. When my parents went out for the evening, usually our next door neighbor, whose name was Hazel, babysat us.

I am very proud of you and love you more than anything, Kieran!

My email/letter to you for Sept. 28, 2013

Here is my email/letter that I sent Sept. 28, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I sure wish we could get together this weekend. The good news is that we will be getting together next weekend – either Friday, Oct. 4 or Saturday, Oct. 5.

Are you enjoying first grade? I bet you are. You always have been very curious about the world and are very intelligent, so I’m sure you enjoy school. What are you learning about in reading, math and music class (That was three questions in one, wasn’t it?). My favorite classes in school were reading and social studies. I liked reading stories and learning about different places in the world. Interestingly, that’s what I do for a living today – I read and edit other people’s stories and write about neat places that I hike.

September is almost over, and that means we’re into football season! Have you watched many of the NFL games on TV? They last a long time, don’t they? I usually read a book during commercials and between plays because the games last so long! Unfortunately, my favorite teams, the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers, are not doing so well so far – they each have 1-2 records, meaning they won a game but lost two. But the games they lost were very close.

My old high school’s football team has been having a really good season, though – they’ve won six straight games, and no one has scored any points against them. That’s unheard of! Does your school have a high school football team? If they do, have you gone to their games yet? I always enjoyed going to high school football and basketball games with my father when I was your age.

Halloween will be here in just four or so weeks! What kind of costume do you want to wear this year for Halloween?

Do you remember all of the Halloween costumes you've worn through the years? I've made a list of them for you:

 >2007 (8 months old) - Pumpkin

 >2008 (1 year old) - Elmo

 >2009 (2 years old) - Doctor

 >2010 (3 years old) - Luke Skywalker

 >2011 (4 years old) - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

 >2012 (5 years old) - Fireman

 >2013 (6 years old) - ?

Sometimes you wore different costumes in a year as we attended different Halloween celebrations during October. What's listed above is what you wore on Halloween itself while going trick or treating.

I’m sure where we’ll meet next weekend – either at the family center on Friday or somewhere else on Saturday. If we can meet on Saturday and the weather is good, we’ll go to Como Park Zoo like you had asked.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much. You have a great week at school, and I’ll see you in just a few days!

Love,

Dad

My time as a first grader

I'm so proud of you that you're in first grade! You've just started a great adventure in your education. Though it doesn't seem that way now (And won't for a long time!), this time in school will go very fast, so make the most of it.

I went to first grade at Elmwood Elementary School in Elmwood, Wis. My first grade teacher was Mrs. Rheil. We had about 60 kids in my class, so there were two classrooms of first graders. My best friend, Ronald Wolfe, was in my class!

Everybody in our classroom had to put on a sock puppet show, with a classmate, about what our dads did for a living. Ronald and I were partners. He got really nervous when our turn came, as we hadn't written or practiced anything, like some of the other kids had. I told him not to worry and to "just follow my lead"!

We did great! We just each pretended to be our dads and had the class entranced. The teacher even called both of our parents and told them what a great job we did with the sock puppet show!

My email to you for Aug. 24, 2013

Here is the email I sent to you on Aug,. 24, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Dear Kieran,

How are you today? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re doing well and are having lots of fun during this last week of summer.

I so enjoyed our time together on Thursday! You’ve gotten really tall and have quite the powerful swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I really enjoy talking about all of the places we’ve visited and hearing about all of the states you’d still like to see. I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans. While you’ve never been out of the United States, perhaps when you become 18 you’ll want to travel overseas.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. It looked just like some of the cities we saw when visiting the Egyptian section at the Museum of Man in San Diego. I posted pictures of our work online!

How did you like the book about the Titanic that you took home on Thursday? I remember reading to you kids’ books at Barnes and Noble about the Titanic and how much you enjoyed them. I thought you’d like that book!

I am so proud of you that you are about to enter first grade. You will find it a lot of fun. Always do your schoolwork, even if it’s boring or difficult, and you will do fine. In fact, you’ll find that that first grade and school in general gets easier when you do your assignments!

One book I recently read that you might like is about going to first grade. The book was called “First Grade, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson. It tells the story of Henry, who after the first day of first grade, isn’t sure how he feels about it. The teacher isn’t like his kindergarten teacher, and the fifth-graders hog the monkey bars! Will Henry come to like being in first grade? You will have to read the book and find out. When your mom takes you to the city library, I bet you’ll find the book there in the children’s section.

We next get together on Friday, Aug. 30 – just six days from now! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to bring. I see your email “send” button is not working again, as I haven’t received an email from you since Aug. 11. Perhaps you could have your mother help you with that. In any case, I have saved all of my emails for you so that if there are any of mine that you do not receive, you’ll be able to later read them.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much and will see you on Friday!

Love,

Dad

My letter to you for Aug. 4-10, 2013

Here is my letter to you from Aug. 10, 2013, just in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I miss you like crazy!

I want to begin by letting you know that I was as disappointed as you were about not getting together Friday afternoon. I’d also like you to know that I wanted to get together and did not cancel our visit. I actually was driving to the center when I received the call that our visit had been cancelled. I have asked the center to set up a makeup visit, but whether or not we are able to do that is entirely up to the person who cancelled this visit. I love you very much and never would cancel or be late for one of our visits except in the direst of emergencies. If I were allowed to, I would see and talk to you every day.

In addition, I want you to know that your emails to me continue not to be sent. As of this writing, 31 days have passed since your last email was sent to me. That is very unfortunate, as I am now not aware of what you are doing even though I would like to know so we can talk about those things (and perhaps I even can participate in them in some way). I have never missed sending my weekly letter to you in the nearly 11 months since I have been allowed to write to you, and I never will miss a letter except in the direst of emergencies.

Hopefully we will get to see one another again very soon for our make-up visit, and hopefully I will begin receiving your emails during the next day or so. We are next scheduled to meet on Friday, Aug. 23, but there is no reason that we cannot have a makeup visit before then. I always will change my schedule to be there for you and to see you.

You must be getting very excited about a couple of big events that are coming up!

First, the Minnesota State Fair starts in just 12 days, on Aug. 22. It is a lot like the Los Angeles County Fair we used to go to in California, but I’d say the Minnesota State Fair is a wee bit better. When I was a little boy your age, I remember seeing the fair on television. One of the cool carnival rides the TV always showed was a big yellow slide, like what we used to go down on gunny sacks at Legoland and at the Poppy Festival in Lancaster. Hopefully the slide will be there again this year, and you’ll get to go down it!

The other big event is that you’re about to start first grade! I don’t remember much about my first day in first grade except that my friend Ron and I had to go through different doors into the school than we did during kindergarten. The kindergarten room was in a different section of the school than the first through sixth grade classrooms! My first grade teacher’s name was Mrs. Rhiel. Do you yet know the name of your first grade teacher? What day do you start school? Do you know which of your friends will be coming back to school with you this year?

I hope that you’ve been having a great summer and have gotten to go to lots of places in the Twin Cities. There are many fun things for kids to do in Minneapolis-St. Paul, from carnivals to museums and from sports to bookstores. I miss and love you very much and look forward to seeing you at our makeup visit!

Love,

Rob

 

My email sent to you Aug. 3, 2013

Here’s my email to you sent Aug. 3, just in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! Hope you’re enjoying your summer. Unfortunately, your email is not working again, because I haven’t received any emails/letters from you during the last three weeks. Hopefully your mother can fix that for you.

The last month of summer, August, has arrived! That means school starts very soon. Are you excited about entering first grade? What day does school begin? Do you know who your teacher will be this autumn? Have you gotten your school supplies yet? Picking out school supplies and getting new school clothes always was one of my favorite parts of going back to school in autumn. Well, that and seeing my friends again after missing them all summer long! Living in town (I lived in the country) and going to summer school, I bet you got to see lots of your friends over the summer.

Next weekend is the Irish Festival in St. Paul. Hopefully you’ll get to go, especially since your name is Celtic! We went to an Irish festival together four years ago in California. You had a great time on the playground as we listened to an Irish band perform. Then ee walked through a medieval Irish village that had knights, and later you got to pet sheep and a border collie. We had fish and chips for lunch! Here’s a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure.

The following weekend, the Renaissance Festival begins. The festival is a huge medieval village, sort of like the castle area at Legoland. The festival lasts for several weeks, and has a couple of special weekends dedicated to the Scottish Highlands and to Ireland. We’ve gone to lots of Renaissance festivals in California; at one of them you got a Robin Hood cap and foam swords that you later pretended were “light sabers.” Here are some photos from one Renaissance festival we went to in 2009. Hopefully you’ll get to go to the festival in the Twin Cities during one of the weekends ahead.

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was called “The Night Before First Grade” by Natasha Wing. It’s all about this girl named Penny on the night before she goes to first grade for the very first time. Why kind of things do you think she does that night to get ready for school the next morning? You will have to read the book and find out! I bet you can find it at your city or school library.

I am very excited. Do you know why? I am excited because I get to see you again next week! We get together again the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 9. Of course, I will bring a tote of fun things for us to do. Is there anything specific that you’d like me to bring? Just let me know in the email that you write during the next week (and be sure to send it from a new address as the old email apparently isn’t working). I miss and love you very much – see you on the 9^th!

Love,

Dad

 

 

 

My email to you for June 1, 2013

Here is my letter from June 1, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I miss you a lot! I have very good news: We will be able to see one another more often – every two weeks in fact. It may take a while to get it all arranged, but soon we will get to visit one another every other week. I’m very excited about getting to spend more time with you and about all of the fun we will have.

How was your first week of first grade? What did you learn about in your first week? Do you like your new teacher? What is your new classroom like? Does your teacher have any fun field trips planned for the summer?

I recall you telling me last fall about learning how to ride a bicycle, but you had to put it off until spring. Have you gotten out the bicycle and mastered pedaling and steering yet? When I was a little boy your age, our local John Deere tractor shop also sold bicycles. While the clerk was helping my dad, I got on one of the bicycles to figure out how it might work. I started pedaling, and the bicycle took off through the store! Zip it went past the shelves of tractor parts. I didn’t know how to stop the bicycle, though, and crashed into the front counter! After that, the store clerk always kept his eye on me whenever I came into the store. By the way, don’t ever do what I did in the John Deere tractor shop. Not only was it very naughty of me but my elbow hurt like heck for the next week because it hit the hard floor.

Do you have any trips planned for the summer, such as the zoo or the fair? I will be traveling around Wisconsin promoting my book and researching hiking trails for my next one. Some of the places I’m going to are: the St. Croix River, which has neat rock formations on it; Big Manitou Falls, which is as tall as 16 houses stacked on top of one another; and Lake Superior, which is one of the largest lakes in the world (It would take days to drive around it!). I’m looking forward to going to all of these new places but sure wish you could come with me to see them.  

What did you get to do for Memorial Day? Did you go to any ceremonies? Memorial Day pays honor to soldiers and sailors who died in battle defending our country, and often there are special programs at cemeteries and parks. You’ve had many ancestors and relatives who served in the armed forces. Your Uncle George served in World War II, which was the biggest war the world has ever seen. He fought in France and Germany against the Nazis. Your Grandpa Ed (who you are named after) also served during that war and played a very important role in it; you’ll have to ask your mother to tell all about him.

How are your “Star Trek” Lego toys holding up? Hopefully they haven’t come apart! If they do, maybe you’ll be able to put them back together using the instructions I put in your bag. You always can bring them with you when we get together, and I’ll help you put them back together. I will bring some more character packets when we next get together (June 21 at the latest), and hopefully we will get the Gorn!

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much and can’t wait to see you again!

Love,

Dad

My email to you for week of April 21-27

Here is my weekly letter sent to you on April 27, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I am sad that we were unable to get together on Friday as planned. I want you to know that I was not the one who cancelled our visit and that I was looking very forward to seeing you. I miss you every day, and there’s not an hour that goes by in which I don’t think about you. The good news is that we are scheduled to get together again on Friday, May 26, and that we will see one another again before then, though the exact day has not been worked out yet.

How is school coming along? Have you finished your unit on oceans? What new things are you learning in math? What interesting books are you reading? You are almost done with kindergarten – that must be exciting, knowing that you’ll be in first grade next year! I saw a children’s book at the book store called “First Grade, Here I Come!”, and I think I will pick it up for you so we can read it at one of our visitations during the next month.

The weather finally has turned nice, and I bet the last thing on your mind the past couple of days has been sitting in a classroom. There are lots of exciting outdoor places to go in the Twin Cities that mom and your grandpa and grandma can take you now that the weather is nice. I bet you can’t wait to go back to Como Park Zoo with the penguins. Although I bet the penguins don’t like the warm weather!

Now that the days are warm, I plan to do a lot of hiking, just like we used to do when we were together. I am writing books about the places I’ve hiked. There are many interesting places near the Twin Cities to hike. At one of them, you can walk across basalt (lava rocks) that are 1.1 billion years old! At another one of them, you see an interesting rock formation that looks like an old man’s face. Another park has a waterfall that is 168 feet high! So far, I’ve written four hiking books and three books about being a writer. Each of them are dedicated to you, and you are on the cover of two of the hiking books!

Since the snow is still melting in some spots, I probably will run into mud during my hikes. In fact, I recently read a great book about mud, which I bet you would like as well. The book was called “Mud” (What else would it be called?) by Mary Lyn Ray. It has lots of colorful pictures of people walking through mud. Each of them must avoid stepping on the blades of green grass that increasingly pop up in the mud with each turn of the page. I bet you can find the book at your school or city library.

I am getting very excited not just about hiking but the new “Star Trek’ movie. It comes out May 15. No one knows who the villain is in the movie, but there will be Klingons in it. Of course, with a new “Star Trek” movie means there will be new “Star Trek” toys! I can’t wait to go to Toys ‘R Us and see what the new toys are for us to play with.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much! I hope to see you within a few days.

Love,

Dad

 

Happy Valentine's Day, Kieran!

I hope you're enjoying the day. I bet there's a big Valentine's Day party at school today!

Here's a Valentine's Day memory from when I as close to your age (in first grade). The weekend before our school Valentine's Day party, I was so excited about it that I took the valentine cards I was to hand out to my classmates and started filling them out in secret. My mom wanted so much to do them with me and was so mad - mainly because rather than useing the class list the teacher sent home, I just started writing names, misspelling a bunch of them and not making out cards for some of my classmates (I forgot they were in my class!). So my mom had to go through them, sort them all out against the class list, make me finish filling out cards to some and rewriting the names correctly on others!

I wish we were together for Valentine's Day! I love you!