Listening: J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 on WWFN, the classical music station. This version is by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and I've decided I like it much better than English Concert recording I have.

Parental Bribery

This morning before lunch, the boys and I took our customary late-morning walk. In front of Miss Jean's house I found three $20 bills! Unfortunately it was only Monopoly money. Still I thought about what I would do with $60 of found money. I quickly dismissed the obvious answer--pay bills--and allowed myself to daydream about buying things completely frivolous and unnecessary. Maybe my imagination is too limited: I couldn't think of much else besides a webcam or perhaps a wild spending spree at the bookstore. Sixty dollars doesn't go that far these days.

Daniel starts first grade next Tuesday. I find myself more affected by this prospect than I was by his starting kindergarten last year. Somehow, first grade seems more like "real school." This year, he'll have homework most days, and his teacher told us he'll need a five-subject notebook.

I am glad we decided to keep him at his current school for one more year. I like the fact that the classes are small. There were only six kids in his kindergarten class, and there will only be four in his first grade class, which will also be taught by the kindergarten teacher. Since his school only goes up to first grade, however, we will have to make alternative arrangements for next year. I hope that we will be able to move out of the city this year to a district with good public schools...but that is a topic for a whole other entry.

I am a great believer in the judicious use of bribes in parenting. We don't rely on them all the time, but the prospect of a special treat for success helped motivate the boys when we toilet trained them. Since this is the last weekday before Daniel starts school, I decided to take the boys to a movie this afternoon, provided they behaved themselves this morning. The twins by themselves are easy to mind, and Daniel is a joy when he's by himself: the three of them together can be a bad combination, however. Stephen and Daniel, in particular, often clash because Stephen wants to do whatever it is that Daniel is doing.

The promise of a movie today did elicit better than usual behavior from the three of them, so after the twins napped, I took the boys to see the animated film The Iron Giant. This was the first time I'd ever taken all three boys to a movie by myself, and I'm glad to say that they behaved themselves in the theater.

The boys liked The Iron Giant, an animated movie that is as entertaining for adults as for kids. I thought it was a wonderful fable about friendship and understanding in the face of xenophobia and Cold War paranoia. Warner Brothers doesn't have the marketing clout of Disney, but this movie deserves more attention than it has received. No calculatedly poignant songs to catch at the heartstrings, no cutesy sidekicks--just a great story, wonderful writing, and, by golly, even a worthy moral: You can choose to be what you want to be.

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