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Boo Hack

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Boo started off the year so proud that she could already write her name…..and that her A’s had a ponytail:

She dropped the “girl face” she had been drawing in the “a” all summer……since she was now a serious Kindergartner:

But she had to prove that she could write her name correctly…including an “A” without a tail. I asked her why she couldn’t seem to finish her writing her name exercises in class……and she explained to great lengths how it was so  boring.

At home she would rebel and just use a capital A.

Me: You forgot to cross your H.
Boo: No I didn’t…..there was a line already there.

Hey, at least she’s efficient:

Then…

Boo: I wish you and Daddy gave me a shorter name.
Me: Well, you can change it when you turn 18.
Boo: We could change our last name to Hack.
Me: But we won’t. In 13 years you can change your name to Lu Li….that’s 4 letters.
Boo: Lu Li….. (smiles)

And THEN…she started secretly erasing “shaw” from the end of Mr. LBB’s name when she turned in her homework…..maybe in an effort to convince her teacher that as a family we had indeed decided to change our last name to Hack…..

 

And then….the inevitable occurred:  (note: I love that she clearly wrote S-i-e-n-n……before deciding to erase it and wrote Boo instead)

I pulled out her papers last night and it’s apparent that she has finally convinced her teacher that her name is now Boo. She’s even erased “Sienna” on papers and rewritten her new name. And not just Boo…..but it’s morphed into Boo with a PERIOD. Like “end of story”…..

What's in a Name via lilblueboo.com

 

And I told her I thought it was cool……and that it kind of reminded me of Boo Radley.

Boo: Who’s Boo Radley?
Me: He’s a character in the book To Kill A Mockingbird.  He was misunderstood but ended up being a hero.
Boo: What’s “misunderstood”?
Me: That people always aren’t as they first appear to be…..


It kind of has a cool ring to it……Boo Hackshaw.

Or better yet:

Boo Hack.

 

 

He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.  But neighbors give in return.  We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad. -Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird)

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view –until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. -Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.

About Ashley Hackshaw

Living a simple, creative life in #smalltownusa Bryson City, NC. Renovating a 1960s ranch house and an old train depot. Thank you for reading! Read more in my about section. 

Comments

  1. Zoe says

    She IS a VERY smart and resourceful young lady! Dare I state the obvious, You are going to have your hands full, momma. 🙂 You are not alone in that boat…. I have two that keep me on my toes. 😀

  5. Kris says

    Dear Boo,
    I feel your pain. My name, Kristie Hackbart,is just as long as yours! I remember wishing it was shorter when I was in school.

    My dear daughter’s name is Miriam Hackbart-Morlock, so it’s even longer than yours! She is just as proud of being able to write as you can. Her brother keeps shortening his name to just Morlock, because he doesn’t like to write as much.

    I have often smiled that our names start the same. I read that it means Hedge, which is a pretty sort of fence made out of bushes!

    Keep up the good work, Boo Hedge!

  7. Kori says

    Just send a lil post it with your blog on it to the teacher and she will see what we all see the cutest smartest lil Boo around LOL – Then you will never have to explain a thing she can just read along with us and smile 🙂

  13. Candace Bertalan Horner says

    Sooo sweet, brings back memories of those homework papers and the early handwriting, precious! That Boo of yours is something else! an original for sure, that apple isn’t falling far from the tree. Enjoyed it, and Love Love Mockingbird…!

  14. Skooks says

    Every couple of years I re-read that book and fall in love with it all over again. Creative use of eraser there, Boo. Love it. So funny . . .

  15. allie burns says

    You write much better than I do.. but with my kindergartner and yours, we could have chapters and chapters to fill! 🙂 I have a Mackenzie.. and she tried all sorts of varieties of it last year. Her preschool teacher was not having it and made her write it out properly.

    They sure are funny at this age! 🙂 Enjoy every minute of it!

    allie

  16. Amber L says

    Oh my, you have myself and my children cracking up here! Boo Hack! OMG! I would have keeled over! My son especially loved the Boo, Boo who? Boo period. I have to say you are one cool mom!

  17. Alison says

    Your post reminded me of Ramona Quimby drawing her capital Q with a cat in it. It went over well with her kindergarten teacher but then not so much with her grade 1 teacher from what a remember. I’ve always loved the Ramona books.

  18. tessa says

    Hahaha. I laughed so hard at this post. I love the way children’s minds work. She is really smart, and funny too.

  19. Heidi Ferguson says

    Oh boy! That one’s using her brain! “BOO for President”! Or should I say ” BOO for Pres”?

  20. amy says

    oh my word…this is the funniest story ever. i hope Boo’s teacher allows her to keep writing “Boo” on her papers. So sweet!

  23. shelbi says

    I love it!! You go boo hack!!…this totally reminds me of my older brother hating his name. He came home from elementary school one day very upset and demanded to know ” why did you have to give me a stupid name like Brandon why couldn’t you name me something cool, like dick!” Lol He was a big dick Tracy fan at the time but at 28 still wishes my parents let him change it to dick

  24. deb says

    Loved reading this post. I miss those school days and the surprises my two would come up with. My son never wanted to write his name in preschool until my sister took him outside and let him write it in the dirt with a stick….he loved it! She has been teaching 1st grade for about 35 years now…guess she knows how to motivate. Good luck with school….Boo. is a doll!

  26. Heather says

    Hahaha! This makes me think of the story my parents always tell me about when I was about 2 years old… My name is 7 letters long, but my older brother’s nickname is only 4 (Andy)… At they time they were teaching him how to spell his name, and one day found it scratched all over the car. They were so sad that their sweet little 4 year old boy would do such a thing. When they asked him why he did it, he told them, “It wasn’t me!”… They were so diappointed that he lied to them, so they took him out to the car to show him, only to hear me (who wasn’t inside with them I suppose) saying in a sing-songy voice, “A-N-D-Y” and they went over to the side of the car to see me scratching his name on it! Then they taught me how to spell my name, and I was never able to frame my brother the same way again. . . (Although I can copy his handwriting pretty well! ;))

    • Heather says

      And since I hate how long my full name is (18 letters for first, middle, and last) I usually just shorten it to my first and middle initial… hk… SOOO much easier to write! 😉

  27. Linda says

    This post is so funny. I love kids. Love them. She is one fantastic little girl! IT’s funny, but if this was 6 years ago – I would not be able to appreciate it. Now, with children of my own, I do, and I love it.

  29. Ellie says

    Love your story and the book/movie! I also have a nickname..Musch (which is pronounced just like push, except with an “M”). My dad’s fault! It was derived from a German word meaning conch or seashell. All my life I have been stuck with that name! It was even on our wedding invitations because so many people didn’t know my proper name. At least the “y” was dropped as I got older!! It’s sometimes very hard to go thru life with a silly name trying to explain it. Certainly was a conversation opener, lol! But guess what, I’m stuck with it…I’m tooo old to change it!

  31. Kathleen says

    I love the period after Boo – it really makes a statement. My son is in pre-k and is learning to write, too. It is so fun to see the things they come up with, and to see them trying so hard at something.

  34. Adriana M. says

    My daughter’s name is Ana-Lucía but she has always gone by Lucy since I am Ana at home. We taught her to write her name as Lucy. She came home from preschool distraught that the teacher was making her write a really long name that wasn’t hers. When I asked her what name she tossed her papers on the table to show me. I had to explain to her that it was her full name. After a week of her writing it as “A (circle circle) — (really long dash) L (circle heart) í (with a very long accent) (circle) the teacher finally gave in to letting her write Lucy which soon morphed into her nickname Luz because she loves the letter Z. :p

  36. Tausha says

    Way to go Sienn… I mean Boo with a period!

    Sounds like a line from Anne of Green Gables where Anne is spelling her name, Anne with an E.

  37. Tasha says

    I love it! My little guy’s nickname is Boo as well and his name is Beckett so I wonder if he’ll try the same tactic.

  38. Barbara says

    This is fantastic! I was subbing yesterday and a table of boys almost died laughing because one of the boys added some hair to the top of one of his letters in his writing journal–Boo’s ponytail ‘a’ is precious. As is her name change.

  39. amye says

    you are hilarious. seriously. i loved this post and had my husband read it too….we also have “free-thinking” (aka stubborn) children and this story is just classic. anyways, the hubs is out of town right now and his morning text to me just simply said. “Boo Hack”. 🙂

  40. Cara Dube says

    I teach and have a daughter in kinder. They don’t even get real grades!!! It makes no sense. G, S or U. Odd. Here in Alabama we don’t want the kids discouraged. They made need the 64. In our house a smiley does nothing for my strong willed child. She needs a real grade.

  42. KerryQ says

    This is one thing is don’t like about the education system (and before kids I taught!). Who cares if she makes a ponytail/smiley face a?? Why do we discourage this?? It’s great! And we need to let our kids be creative individuals! It’s not like she’s going to write that on a job application! Argh.

  45. Lisa says

    Love her creativity! Had a student years ago, who did not like the fact that her name began with Mad-for Madison. She changed her name to Pixie-at 6 years old!

  46. melle e says

    i’m sorry. why exactly can’t her a’s have pony tails? that’s how *i* learned to make them….

    i really don’t agree with all these darned power grabbing perfectionists my way or it’s wrong teachers.

    like the math teacher my kiddo had in 6th grade (he’s now homeschooled where i can focus on the actually important parts of his education….) anyway, this guy, who teaches NUMBERS would LITERALLY THROW THEIR PAPERS AWAY if they wrote the date as 10/26/12 instead of October 26, 2012.

    And there was no shortening of October to Oct. either with this guy.

    like it MATTERS in ALGEBRA…. *eye roll*

    sorry… tangent.

    this whole stinking post is adorable… Love it.

    TKAM was and remains one of my favorite books…

  47. Cindi says

    That is sweet! My baby (who is 23 now lol) has the nickname “Boo”! Hers is because when she was about 2 she love to jump around corners to scare people by yelling BOO!

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