SSAT

You know what SSAT stands for?   Study Study ALL Times.
It used to be so simple when I was a kid.  I went to elementary, then high school then university.
Now I have to check school ratings, reviews, the catchment area, admissions requirements, is this a feeder school, does the high school allow Catholic school elementary students to apply?

It's crazy complicated and the rules change from year to year.  The Toronto area is complicated.  The schools are old, the areas have a high population density and the schools with the highest ratings are the hardest to get in.  Even the people who live in the area aren't guaranteed a spot.  Which sucks.

And a high school isn't just a high school any more.  There's IB (Inter'l Baccalaureate) schools, there's Arts focused schools, there technical schools, there's AP (Advanced Placement) schools.  I'm not sure if there are regular high schools?  All this confusion along with the desire to provide the best possible environment for your child is creating a super competitive and heavily marketed private school market.

If you say you will provide it, students will come.  And they are.
I didn't go to a private school as a kid.  I went to a catholic school and high school.  My siblings also went to a public school.  We all did okay.  It's hard to say what is right or wrong with the educational system today, but as parents we all want the same thing - the best for our kids.

I'm not an educational expert, but I will help my kid as best I can.  Sometimes that means leaving him alone, sometimes it means sitting for almost 6hrs doing math problems.

For 3-4 months we have doing SSAT practice questions.  It was off and on, early on, doing a bit here and there, but in the last 4 weeks it was full on, every day, every weekend.  It was tough trying to teach him stuff that he wouldn't learn for another 1.5 yrs in school.  I took out math books to get examples of algebra basics and primers, I found YouTube videos.  All in an effort to teach what he hadn't yet learned.  Working for hours, and seeing the gloss in his eyes as he nods indicating he gets it, although i could knowingly tell that the concept hadn't taken root yet in his mind.  And all the while time was ticking down to his scheduled SSAT exam.
He worked very hard.  I sat with him every day.  Doing Math, Verbal, Reading and Essay questions for Middle Level (Gr 7-8) entrance.  I created my own curriculum and questions, often going back to basics to try and help him understand it better. My frustration spilled over many times.  In the end understanding that not every tree or flower blossoms or yields fruit before it's ready.  That's a very Kung Fu Panda like thing to say.  But it's true.  He may not get it now, but the seed has been planted and it'll take a bit of time to root.  But eventually it'll happen.

It was an important life lesson to take the SSAT.  Not to humble him, but to show him what other schools are like and to understand what kind of effort it takes to get into some of those schools and also to understand for himself where he is at and find out not just what he's lacking, but to celebrate what he's excelling in.

The math might not be there, but the other components were pretty good.  That was good to see.  And good for him to see.  It may not be his time now, but he'll get there.  On his terms.

I didn't get him to do questions for 5-6hrs on weekends to break him.  It was to make a 3hr exam seem easier.  Speed was going to be an issue.  But I made a decision not to focus on that, but to focus on understanding.  The speed comes later.  Hurrying only causes mistakes, especially when learning something new.

It didn't matter how he did.  It only mattered that he went through the process.  And tried his best.

So after his exam, we met up with his cousin Maddie, ate at a Ramen place (btw spicy ramen is spicy!) and we took a stroll down past Mirvish Village and had dessert at Baskin & Robbins.

Glad he remembered that we left behind his backpack on the chair at Baskin & Robbins before the subway headed westbound for Runnymede.   I was wondering why he was calling me as we were sprinting down the subway steps at Christie station to catch the subway car as it was already at the platform.  As we were standing there in the car puffing, he asked me "where's my backpack?"
Oh crap.
Well I jumped off the subway car before the doors closed, yanked Kieran partially off the car as the subway doors were closing.  I've never had the doors close on me.  But Kieran now has.

He said it didn't hurt when it closed on him.  It's pretty small those motors.
I've seen it close on an old chinese grandma. If she can take it, so can an 11 year old.

So for dinner we went to a place he'd been asking to go to for months.

Trick or Samosa

It was a chilly start to Halloween.  It was near freezing and I had to scrape the window of our car this morning.
As long as it doesn't get damp, i'm good with that.
The weather held up!  It was crisp but dry.

I can't recall the last time it was a dry halloween for the kids.
It always seemed to be raining.

Kieran wanted to be a creepy clown.  I hadn't even seen them in the news but it was big news.   But lack of planning had me heading to Party City to get something.

Good thing I did too.  It made a big difference.  Otherwise he'd be using Raelen's make up kit and he'd end up looking like Honey Boo Boo at some kid pageant in the good ol' US of A.

There was some big stink about being a clown.  But it was media making big bad news about nothing.

Most of his face was from the clown make up kit.  Turned out pretty good.  Kieran did it, i just helped get it done a bit faster.  Even today he still has some on his face.

When he goes to swimming on Wednesday I'm hoping the rest of it comes off in the chlorine water.

This year he went with a bunch of friends from school to go around trick or treating.  Same as last year but seems like a bigger and bigger group which reminds me of when i was his age.

That's the best way to do it.
In a pack, just like wolves.

A samosa halloween photos.
Here's more photos from the samosa queen.
She handed these out otherwise they'd make their way to the bottom of her belly.
Instead they are making their way to my belly.