Mitochondria and MicroTubules

On Saturday afternoon, Hamslice got his wish to go back to the MD Science Center. We bypassed the physics and geology stuff this time, as well as the dinosaur exhibit (his usual favorites) and went straight to the Human Body exhibit.

Here we saw a video about how the lungs work -- we even saw blood cells in the alveola. We also saw how heart valves work. Hamslice watched these videos several times (you can rewind the video by pressing the button on the display).

Then we did a walking tour of a human cell. The display was actually pretty cool because you could walk between the Golgi bodies and see the endoplasmic reticulum and other organelles all working together. We saw a hilarious video about micro tubules 'walking' through cells. That one we watched three or four times.

On the way home, Hamslice started running and said "I'm breaking apart my Mitochondria to make energy!" and that's been a running joke ever since. 

Excessive Indoor Farming

This weekend we had eggs for breakfast, finishing up a carton of eggs. I said to Hambone and Hamslice "Oh good --  now we can plant some seeds for spring." I was, of course, envisioning 12 nice little plants that we could install in our yard in a few weeks when it gets warm.

Hambone went to Lowe's to "get some supplies" for this project, which I should have recognized as a sign of trouble. Four hours later, this is our seed project. If these all sprout, we will have about 150 plants.

Evaluating Hamslice

As you may have noticed over the last few months, Hamslice has been the source of many a fracas at his new school. However, unlike his Montessori school (or possibly because Hamslice is now too old to have a meltdown overlooked) his new school has taken notice.

They broached the topic with us slowly: first a phone call or two, then some additional emails. His parent teacher conference was a mixed review. Then came extra meetings and daily phone calls. Sometimes two phone calls. Then requests to pick him up from school.

Yesterday we had a meeting with Hamslice's two teachers, the student counselor, the student liaison/success counselor (I can't really remember her title, just her name) and the principal. They recommended (and we agree) that it's time to have a professional evaluation of our little guy. Actually two professional evaluations.

So I have set appointments for his testing, including the WISC  using recommended professionals from the school. Hambone and I see this as a positive move, getting to the bottom of what's going on with Hamslice. The outcomes could be very positive in that he could be assessed as gifted, or the outcome could be more mixed, such as high intellect, low physical abilities or maybe a blend of a behavioral issue with physical.

We are optimistic and we believe in our son. We know there's a good guy in there.

But it's time for everyone to get on the same page. We are all ready to just know.

Hamslice Valentine

Yesterday Hamslice and I walked through the Cross Street Market on the way home from the bus stop. All the vendors were decked out in hearts and all the Valentine kerfluffery that comes with this time of the year.

Hamslice liked all the hearts and thought they looked nice. Then he asked me in a very serious voice, "Why are the all red, instead of one half red and one half blue?"

I asked him to explain his question because he asked it like an adult -- and I could tell there was more to the question than aesthetic preference. He said "When the blood comes back from the body, it doesn't have any oxygen, so it's blue. That makes half of the heart blue. The other half is red because the blood is ready to go back into the body."

I said that this was definitely true, and that the hearts he saw in the market were "Marketing Hearts" that are just supposed to make people happy, and that biology hearts (the real hearts in our body) are half red and half blue.

Thinking back, Hamslice just made a heart-shaped thank you card for his grandparents, and I believe he colored it half red and half blue. I didn't think about it at the time.

I don't know exactly where he learned this, but I suspect it was part of our marathon Science Center day during Christmas Break.

But I have to rock back on my heels in amazement, just for a minute. Wow.

Little Bit High... Little Bit Low

There have been lots of ups and downs with Hamslice these days. His behavior issues at school have been both completely resolved and completely out of control, depending on who you talk to and on what day.

For instance, this week he had three FANTASTIC days in a row where he was cooperative and sweet (Yes we celebrate a three day streak. Shoot, we celebrate ONE good day.) and his teachers were happy with his demeanor and performance.

Fast forward to Thursday, and I get a call from the counselor's office that he is out of the classroom because he was punching his teacher and having a world class temper tantrum.

Then Friday was great again.

Today we took Hamslice to a kid's fitness class for something to do. His teachers have observed some issues with coordination and muscle control, so we also wanted to observe him in a more physical setting.

I'm not sure how long it will take to forget the slow-motion horror of realizing that the kid who spit on the most adorable little girl in the class was, indeed, Hamslice. And it wasn't a little pitooie spit, it was a full mouthful of drool that he poured into her lap.

After a frosty car ride home (we decided not to yell at him, instead we waited until he was ready to talk about his little drool trick) he revealed that he had spit on the girl because he felt she was sitting too close, and also he had noticed that the class looked like it was about to get really boring and he knew that making a scene was a sure-fire way to be removed from the class.

*Sigh* I guess it's time to talk about making good choices... again...