Art doesn't have to match your sofa

It is almost the end of the school year, and Aidan is bringing home more and more projects. Two weeks ago he proudly brought home a clay pot that he made:


It was made by the coil method, not on a wheel, so the sides were made by adding coils of clay. The pot slumped during firing but that doesn't seem to bother Aidan one bit.

Yesterday he brought home another art project. Aidan's photo was enlarged and three copies were printed, then he embellished the prints in the style of famous artists. I am the first person to admit that I know very little about art in general and about famous artists in particular, so I have no idea if his interpretations are in the style or not.

Here is Picasso Aidan:


Van Gogh:


And Aidan Warhol:


I think it was a very creative project for the students, but I am still glad that Aidan asked for this triptych to be displayed in his room and not in the public part of the house!

Aidan vs. strep

We are fortunate that Aidan is very healthy and is rarely sick. In the past year and a half, he has really only had one cold and minor seasonal allergies. So I was a little concerned when he told me Monday morning that his throat hurt. I took his temperature and it was normal, then peered at his throat; a Maglite, however, is hardly a precision medical device and I could really tell nothing. Other than the sore throat, he felt fine so off to school he went.

The school nurse called me around 2:30 that afternoon, said that he had a temperature of 101 and could I please come and get him. My first thought was strep so I got him an appointment with the pediatrician for later that afternoon. The fast strep test was negative so the PA declined to prescribe antibiotics in case it was viral. She said that an overnight culture would be done and I would be called only if the test was positive.

The call came at 9:30 am and by 11:30, the prescription had been picked up and the first dose administered. In less than two hours, I could tell that he already felt better. But he still spent most of the afternoon resting and even snoozed a bit.

Today he feels almost back to normal but I still had to keep him home; strep is contagious for 24 hours following the first dose of antibiotics. Aidan likes school and with only two weeks to go, there are lots of fun activities going on but he has handled the confinement rather well. Today his class was going to have an afternoon movie and popcorn, so we had our own little matinee. But am I glad that he can return to school tomorrow? Absolutely!