Kaitlyn's sleepover

I am so behind on things on this blog.  I have a few family activities we have done over the last two weeks with pictures that I have not shared with you.  So we are starting out with Kaitlyn's sleepover at school.

The last Saturday in March Kaitlyn's school did a sleepover for the children who participated in the summer reading program at the public library.  Her school had read the most and as a reward for that they let them have a fun evening of crafts, a movie, and a sleepover for those children who wanted to.  Since last year Joe was the honored parent who got to sleep over (or rather not sleep) because I was 9 months pregnant this year was my turn.  I almost dodged a bullet too because they weren't going to do the sleepover since too many children participated.  But the 5th graders petitioned the principal and convinced her to do it.  Honestly, I can't say I blame them.  These kids are told every year that if they win (they win every year) then that's their prize.  So good for those kids for standing up for what they believe in.

I have to say the whole thing wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.  I didn't sleep great of course because I was on the floor, but I slept.  And it was nice to get some time with just Kaitlyn and see her interact with her friends without any of her siblings around.  She had fun and is already looking forward to next year when her brother will get to join her and Daddy gets to go back.

Getting all set up with her friends in the gym

Reading a magazine before the fun begins

Waiting for a story and some popcorn

Listening intently to the "Man Team"!

Getting ready to make slime

Stirring her slime

Kneading her slime!

Stretching her slime

That's some stretchy slime!

4th and 5th grade dance party before the movie

We watched Dolphin Tale for a movie after all the story telling, slime making, and dancing was done.  And then it was lights out.  Kaitlyn and her friends stayed up pretty late.  We got up early the next morning, had a lovely donut breakfast, and went home to see her siblings before we had to go back out for the Easter Gala.  Pictures to come of that!

Teddy Bear PJ Day

I know this blog has turned into a little of the Alyssa show lately. That wasn't really my intentional. The big kids haven't been up to too much and there hasn't been much to update on. But today CJ was very excited because it was teddy bear PJ day at school. He got to wear pajamas and bring a stuffed animal to school today. He was up and at 'em this morning and running out the door before I was even ready. I did manage to grab a couple of pictures of him though.

CJ's PJ's

Doggy!

So CJ got to dance and stretch today with his puppy dog. He drew a picture of a fishy too. He asked Joe if everyone at work wore their PJ's today too. Awww, if only there was a national PJ day. Or if only everyday was PJ day. So much fun!

Out with the old and in with the new

As we say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 like everyone I have been looking back on the year. I have to say 2011 wasn't a bad year for us. Of course the birth of Alyssa made it extra special, but we had a lot of change in our family.

Adding a 4th child to the mix was of course the biggest change. But having three kids in three different schools. CJ started riding the school bus this year. Natalie got into the Avid program. Kaitlyn thrived in school. It was a great year and I'm a little sad to see it go.

I am looking forward to 2012 though. Alyssa's 1st birthday to start the year. Then after Natalie, Kaitlyn, and CJ make it through this school year they will start some important school year milestones. Natalie will begin her final year of middle school, Kaitlyn will start her final year of elementary school, and CJ will start his first truly official year of school with Kindergarten. This time next year I figure I'll be looking into different options for what we'll do for Kaitlyn for middle school. At this point in time I'm not entirely convinced that public middle school is the place for her and she might be better suited in a Montessori school for middle school. The last half of this school year for her is going to be crucial.

We hope to take a trip to Florida this year too to see family we haven't seen in way too long. So it's going to be an exciting year in 2012. We're sorry to see you go 2011, but looking forward to seeing what 2012 will bring The Barnes Bunch!

Fifty Nifty United States

On Friday Kaitlyn came home from school and begged us to come to her schools Stafford Showcase Monday afternoon. And all weekend long she kept talking about it and talking about it. It actually got to the point where we were like Kaitlyn if you don't stop we're not going. Of course we were going. Joe had the day off from work thankfully. So we were able to go. It was on the calendar. So yesterday afternoon we arrived at her school a little before 1:30 when the performance was scheduled to start. We waited outside with the other parents who were invited until we could go in. We went in and sat and all of the children began filing in. The principal kicked things off with a little music. "Celebration" to be exact. The kids danced around and then we sat through kids reading stories and poems and a little guess that number stuff. Finally it was the 4th grades turn. They went up there and sang a song called Fifty Nifty United States. I am going to warn you this song gets stuck in your heads. Kaitlyn should never forget how to say all 50 of her states in alphabetical order from this tune...

Natalie's open house

Last night we went to Natalie's school to meet her teachers and find out what is expected of her this year. And because she made it into the AVID program they started out the evening for those 50 students and their families with a BBQ. They even had a raffle drawing which Kaitlyn ended up winning a $5 Target gift card. How cool is that?

So we learned a little more about the AVID program and met some of the other families that are involved and then we went to the auditorium to listen to the principal speak. Because of the percentage of students who did so well on the state testing last year they are raising the expectations of the students. So they are going to be pushed this year.

Also the principal had to address the new laws on bullying and cyber-bullying. If a student partakes in cyber-bullying even if it's at home, then the school by law has to take action. They have been talking to the children about how to become the person in the circle of bullies who stands up and tells someone. It's so good to hear them taking a huge proactive stance against bullying. Especially considering just yesterday on my Monica's Mom Musings' blog Natalie shared a personal story there.

Then we got to go meet her team teachers. They seem so young. They all seem nice so far though. I did not really talk to them. After that we went back to the auditorium to hear from the Unified Arts teachers. And finally it was done.

Kaitlyn and CJ went to childcare. CJ was a huge hit there. As a matter of fact so much so that one of the middle school kids that was watching them took a picture of him with her phone and said she was going to have it as her screen saver. Hmmm, that seems a little creepy. Some girl I don't know has a picture of my son on her phone. Wonder what she'll tell people about who he is? Sounds like he had fun though and so did Kaitlyn.

It was a super late night for all. When we got home at nearly 9 we had to send Kaitlyn and CJ to bed right away. Natalie had stayed after at school yesterday to make cupcakes for the BBQ and hadn't come home. We ended up meeting her at the school last night. She did do most of her homework, but still had stuff to do when we got home. So she had to finish that and then I had to type something out for her so she could get to bed at a semi decent time last night.

Thankfully the morning didn't go too bad this morning. Although, I did send Natalie to school without breakfast because we had to stretch her paper some to make it the length her teacher wanted it to be. So she was going to get breakfast at school, but apparently her bus was too late for her to do that. Poor thing must have been starving all day. I think this is going to be a very challenging year for Natalie, but a good one. Lots of new stuff for her. Including getting to march in a parade on Sunday carrying a banner that shows her school as ranked #1 middle school in the state. What an awesome opportunity for her to get to do that and so great that she's a part of the #1 middle school in the state.

Kaitlyn's Open House

With the start of the school year comes a chance for us to get into the schools and the classrooms and meet our child's teacher and see their class and how their day goes. Last night was that night at Kaitlyn's school. Next week we have one for Natalie and I am hoping that CJ's doesn't end up being the same night as Natalie's. That would of course be the way it goes though since I can't be two places at once.

But anyways, we met Kaitlyn's teacher for the first time last night. I think he'll be great with Kaitlyn. He wanted to know how we got Kaitlyn to behave so well. Raving about her the same way her teacher did last year. I have to say I don't think I've ever experienced this where the teachers have been so impressed with my child's behavior. Let alone two in a row. Now don't get me wrong, I always get compliments about my children and how they behave. It has just been very different these past two years with Kaitlyn. I did want to make sure that Kaitlyn is not trying to play her teacher though so I talked to him about pushing her. She has this thing where she gets to a point where she says okay that's all I can do, but if you nudge her just slightly (and this is the rub with her because you can't push too hard) then she will really shine. I think her teacher this year will do okay with it. Probably not as well as her teacher from last year. He had such an amazing understanding of her from day one. Kaitlyn actually considers him her hero. I think that's so sweet.

Speaking of her teacher from last year, we got to see him last night too. He moved up to teaching 5th grade and we told him we hope Kaitlyn gets him next year. He told us to talk to her teacher this year. So I will definitely be doing that probably around spring conferences. I truly think he will be the perfect teacher to help prepare Kaitlyn for middle school.

We spoke with Kaitlyn's special reading teacher. She's changing her schedule up a bit this year. Instead of seeing her twice a week for one hour blocks she's going to do it 4 times a week in half hour blocks. This way she can push a little harder and they'll know there's an end in site. Sounds good to me. She said Kaitlyn is picking up right where they left off last year so I think things should go well.

Finally we got to hear from all of the grade level teachers. They will rotate into the other classrooms this year again for some lessons. They are pushing the CMT's and preparing for that already even though it's not until March. The band teacher came in to talk about the kids starting band this year too. That starts up for Kaitlyn on Thursday. She should be getting a clarinet from the school.

And that's how we're starting out the school year. Very excited to see what's going to come for her this year. She made such great improvement in her reading last year and I hope she has the same success.

School's out!

Yesterday was the last day of school for the two big girls. I now have a 7th grader and a 4th grader. Here's my new 4th grader with her teacher from this year. He was a complete God send to her. It was an emotional day. Kaitlyn does not want school to be over. She misses her teacher already. It's probably going to be a very long summer of her talking about Mr. T until she goes back and sees him again next school year.

So, report cards! I don't have one from Natalie yet. However, based on her grades on the computer she should have 3 A's and 3 B's. Pretty good way to end the year of accelerated classes. I see great things for her next year too with the Avid program.

Kaitlyn's report card was her best EVER! She doesn't get letter grades yet, but it was all 3's and 4's except for two 2's in things that they had just started learning though. This has been an exceptional year for her. While she is still below grade level in reading she made huge leaps and bounds there and if she keeps that up then she shouldn't have any trouble at all catching up.

Just to give you an idea of the level of understanding and respect Kaitlyn's teacher had for her here are the comments he gave:

Kaitlyn has had a fabulous year in third grade. She has made major gains in reading, which is a testament to her hard work and determination. Kaitlyn is eager, ambitious, and demonstrates a true love of learning. As the year comes to an end she has taken pride in showing me just how neat her written work can be as well. I have so much respect for Kaitlyn, as I have seen her diligently work through this entire school year always with a smile on her face. She is a truly wonderful child, and I will greatly miss having her in class.

That's my girl. So proud of them both. I'd share more about Natalie, but there is nothing to share. She just continues to push through and do well in school.

CJ's End of Pre-K 3 Ceremony

Today was CJ's last day of his first experience with preschool. I was told they were going to have a party today to celebrate the summer birthdays and just it being the last day of school. I wasn't really expecting any sort of performance or ceremony. So I brought him to school, but needed to feed Alyssa. So I told his teacher I would be back in about 15 minutes figuring we were just going to be hanging around mostly anyways. Well, I walked back into the classroom and there were chairs set up for the adults and the kids were all standing in the front of the class. A bunch of parents were snapping pictures. So I grabbed my camera and then the kids started to sing. So I had to quickly switch to video mode. But not being entirely prepared I hadn't cleared my memory card. So I ran out of room partly through recording. However, my son quickly lost interest in actually participating in the song so you didn't miss much I promise. I worked on getting some pictures off my memory card though so I could get more video and pictures. They sang one more song, but I couldn't get a good angle on that one. Then they gave each of the kids a certificate and three books and crayons. Then the eating began. For your viewing pleasure though here is my Pre-K 3 year old graduate...


Now tomorrow we go to have him evaluated for the 4 year old program. It's a little easier to get into this program because there's more than one of them in the district. I'm pretty confident he'll get in.

CJ's Spirit Week

This week at CJ's school they had spirit week. We missed Mondays because the paper didn't come home with him until Monday, but he participated in the rest of them.

Tuesday was red white and blue day!

Wednesday was field day. This completely wiped him out and he fell asleep at the table after eating lunch...


Thursday was favorite character t-shirt day. CJ's favorite character is Handy Manny...

And finally on Friday was mismatched day. He could wear anything, mismatched socks, sneakers, clothes. Backwards. Inside out. Whatever. So he picked out his clothes and he got himself completely dressed. In all honesty he didn't do a terrible job. It's kind of hard for him to mismatch though because his drawers mostly consist of blues, reds, and denim. But this is how CJ would dress if left to his own devices...


And that was spirit week at CJ's school.

Bronx Zoo

Last Monday Natalie went with her class to the Bronx Zoo. She had a good time until she was almost home. She brought my camera with her and ended up taking some pictures and video so I put it all together in a little movie for you.

Natalie the Country Music Star

So here is Natalie all dressed up as a country music singer. She had a project for her music class today. She had to write a report on a genre of music. She chose country music. She had a lot of fun with it I think too. She wanted to dress the part as well so I put her hair in braids this morning to help her out. Her hair is so pretty. Mine used to be like that, sigh.

Anyways, she missed most of class today because I had a meeting with her regular class teachers and the guidance counselor. I had wanted to talk about her struggles with keeping organized and keeping her grades up. It took a little longer than I expected because the guidance counselor wasn't ready for me. There isn't too much that can be done at this point for this year. I mean her grades are good. As her Social Studies teacher said she's a solid B student. Which is great, I'm happy with that. She's in accelerated classes after all. What I am not happy with is when she brings home 50's. Not acceptable. Because that means she has to work that much harder to increase her grades. So mostly her teachers just spoke to her about finding a way to come to them when she's not getting something or when there's a test grade she's not happy with. Whether it's coming to them after school, after class, or slipping them a note about it. We then spoke to the guidance counselor. I wanted to get more information about the Avid program she got into for next year. It is really going to help her with organization because she has a huge notebook that gets graded every week. So maybe that will help her out. Since we know what team she is going to be on since they put all of the Avid kids on a certain team I wanted her to hopefully get to know next years teachers a little. She will have that opportunity too with a field trip coming up for Avid that she gets to go on and her guidance counselor is going to set something up too.

So while all of the changes of this year have been tough for her I think we are getting her set up very nicely to do great next year. She went back to class and I came home after that. Natalie stayed after to retake a math test she did very poorly on and she was very pleased to tell me she got an 80 on it. Much better than the 55 she originally had on it. And she thinks she did really well on her music project too. Her teacher was really pleased with how she had dressed the part and loved the music she chose to play too. So hopefully she ends the year on a good note.

Kaitlyn is a success!

So last year I made no secret of my distaste for Kaitlyn's teacher. She was awful. She broke Kaitlyn's spirit and made 2nd grade a terrible year for her. In all honesty after talking to numerous parents who's child has had her as a teacher I'm surprised she's still teaching. She is definitely not well liked.

Now anyone who knows Kaitlyn knows she is a good kid. Now I'm not some delusional parent who thinks her children are perfect. I am sure they make mistakes at school, but in comparison to some teachers generally wish they had 20 more of my kids in their class. That's the feelings of Kaitlyn's teacher this year. We truly lucked out to leave the school we were in.

I've also made it no secret that the teacher Kaitlyn got in her new school has been superb. In all honesty the man is the best teacher any of my children have had. It's actually sad to see the year come to an end. This year Kaitlyn's teacher took that broken child and transformed her into one with great confidence. In October she announced to me and her teacher that she would like to reach a reading level of 30 by the end of the year. I worried that her goals were too high and she would be so disappointed if she did not achieve this goal. Her teacher and I even had a discussion about it. After all we're talking about a child who only managed to leave the 2nd grade reading at a level 12. She really made no gains to speak of at all in 2nd grade. However, while Kaitlyn did not reach her goal she came very close. Just one level away at a level 28. I asked her if she was upset that she didn't quite make her goal and she said no. She's proud of what she did. I am too. Her teacher is blown away by her. He has never seen anything like it. He attributes it to her work ethic. That is the thing with Kaitlyn, she doesn't give up. She keeps plugging away. She sets her mind on something and she works to get there. She managed to not let what happened last year get her down. She managed to do all of this at a new school with a bunch of children she didn't know. She managed to make better friends this year at this new school than she has ever had too. The entire atmosphere in her new school has just been such a great thing for her.

She came home the other day with a grade of a 95 on a project about kangaroos that she did. She was so excited. Here she is with her project:



A close up of the kangaroos habitat...

She had fun doing this. She had fun doing most things in school this year.

She is still behind where she should be. I will never know had we moved her out of her old school sooner last year if that would have been better for her. There really can be no looking back and playing the what if game. We are where we are now for a reason and she's getting the education that she needs and deserves and that she could not get in her old school.

She will continue with her special arrangements for testing. She will continue to work on the Wilson reading program to continue to build on what she has already learned. I see no reason why she can't possibly be at or even above grade level by the end of next year. Just look at the gains she has made in such a short time after having such an awful experience. To go now from a wonderful experience onto hopefully another wonderful teacher there really is no reason that she can't do it.

And her teacher has already assured me that he will sit down with Kaitlyn's teacher for next year and tell that teacher all about Kaitlyn. Honestly, there really is no better person to do it either. He knows Kaitlyn almost as well as I do. It is going to be so hard to say goodbye, but I know that he will continue to check in on Kaitlyn and I just see so many great things for her. Don't ever count Kaitlyn out of anything because she will work her butt off until she accomplishes what she wants to accomplish. With gentle nudging and a helping hand there for her in case she falls nothing will stop her. I will be forever grateful to the man who got Kaitlyn to increase 8 reading levels in one year! And I couldn't be prouder of what my determined girl has done. She's a true testament to the never give up motto.

Chorus show shenanigans causes a public apology from principal

Natalie had her chorus concert tonight. Someday maybe I'll actually get a good seat so I can take some video of her, but as it is I just really can't usually see her. I got one shot of her as she was walking out onto the risers.



I wasn't entirely planning on blogging about this. I mean my daughter did a great job I'm sure. She got up there and sang. She only sang three songs in this huge group and then we had to sit through the rest of this program even though she was all done singing. Don't get me wrong, it was a good concert, but it just seemed to drag on. There was some excitement of the evening though and it's what prompted me to write about tonight.

There is an 8th grade chorus. There last song was a rendition of "Splish Splash". The kids had this cardboard cut out of a bath tub that they brought out with a chair. No one sat in the chair which was placed behind the cut out. They began singing and this kid came running through the audience and jumped up on stage, took off his shirt, and hopped in the "tub". He was very entertaining dancing around in the "tub". Hopping out of the "tub". Running around the auditorium. He really got the audience going and cheering. Everyone seemed amused by him. I sure was. I wish they had ended with that instead of putting it in the middle because after I must admit I was getting a little sleepy sitting there.

Anyways, after this little performance the principal of the school made a "public apology" for this student's shenanigans. She said he'll be dealt with accordingly and that this isn't what she expects of her students and our children. Now maybe I'm just so desensitized to the shaking of the booty or the pelvic thrusts because my potty training toddler does that and much more running around here half naked. Heck, ten years from now he might be that kid up on stage doing just that, who knows. I'm assuming the principal had the issue with the booty shake and the pelvic thrusts. I would hope that she was okay with him splishing and splashing in the "tub".

I found myself wondering about the parents of this boy though. Are they sitting there turning all shades of red hoping no one knows that's their son? Are they proud of what he did? Are they just indifferent and a little disappointed in the principal for ruining all the fun? I think I kind of fall into the latter if it were my kid. I mean they are 8th graders. It's their last year and they just want to have a little fun. I don't know that I'd support a school punishment.

I do see why the principal had to say something I guess. I mean she has to keep some sense of order. And I know there are probably parents who were totally offended by that. So she was probably trying to head off the phone calls and complaints. But you know what I think sometimes schools are way over sensitive to things and think it's their job to do all of the discipline. Yes, this did happen on school grounds at a school function so it is her turf, but it was also a performance and to me it just seemed like this student was trying to make it a most memorable performance for the outgoing 8th graders. And I think he did just that. I wish he didn't have to get in trouble for it.

Maybe I'm in the minority. When I asked Natalie what she thought of it she said it was funny, but she thinks he SHOULD get in trouble for his actions. Huh, go figure. What do you think? Was this just a kid expressing himself or was it a lousy prank that should be punished by the school and the parents?

CJ shows appreciation to his teachers

This week CJ's school has asked that the kids show their appreciation to their teachers in many different ways. Monday they asked the kids to wear their teacher's favorite color and/or sports team. CJ has two teachers. While they had favorite colors like pink and purple (colors I would not put on my son) one of his teachers also said blue was a favorite. Perfect! Even more perfect? The other teacher;s favorite sports team is the Mets. Just so happens to be my favorite too and I also have a hat which CJ borrowed for the day. His teacher was so excited to see him wearing that hat on Monday.

Tuesday they were to write a letter of thanks. I had CJ draw a picture of what he liked to do with them. For one of his teachers it was writing letters and the other was singing songs.

Wednesday was a raffle for the teachers. Nothing for him to really do.

Thursday was bring in a school supply from the teacher's wish list. So today CJ brought in some glue sticks, which were greatly appreciated.

Friday is a special teacher luncheon. I can't help out with that at all because CJ will be out of school by the time they need volunteers and I have Alyssa. Hopefully CJ's teachers are able to enjoy a nice lunch.

Teacher Appreciation Day

Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day. And today I am very appreciative to a very special teacher. Kaitlyn's 3rd grade teacher this year, Mr. T. He by far is the best teacher Kaitlyn has ever had. In all honesty he might be the best teacher any of my children have ever had.

So Mr. T thank you for giving my girl her confidence back. Thank you for seeing her great potential. Thank you for making her love school again. Thank you for pushing her just as much as she needs to be. Thank you for cheering her on for even the littlest of success. Thank you for being the best teacher she's ever had!

I do also want to thank Natalie's teachers and CJ's too. Thank you to Natalie's teachers for helping her make the most out of her school career now and in the future. And thank you to CJ's teachers for just dealing with 15 3 year olds. I just have one I deal with day in and day out I couldn't imagine 15 at once. Thank you also for cleaning up his potty accidents. I'm his mother and I can't stand doing it. Thank you for helping me to catch any potential problems with him developmentally so we can get them addressed.

I really appreciate all that teachers do because I know it's not an easy job. But I'm so glad that I can say that my children are fortunate this year to have some teachers who will go the extra mile for them. So thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Turn off the TV Night

Last night CJ's school was hosting a Turn off the TV night. A chance for families to get away from computers, tvs, and other electronics and just have fun as a family. We were all supposed to go, but Joe ended up having to work so I ventured out with all four kids by myself. It ended up being a very nice evening. There were four "stations". They split us up into four groups and sent us each different places. Our group started out in the library with a story. It was a story about a penguin. After that and a little song we went to the gym to play musical chairs. I played too even though they told me I could sit out since I had the baby. Natalie didn't want to play, but she did and had a blast. It took CJ a few tries to get the hang of it, but he sure had fun running around the chairs. Kaitlyn took a few pictures...




Then we went to play Bingo. Natalie won once and then CJ and I won at the same time. It was a good time. After that was Arts and Crafts. Kaitlyn couldn't wait to get there. CJ probably couldn't either because his teachers were helping out there. Over to the art room we went to do some arts and crafts. They had to draw a picture of something they like to do that doesn't involve technology.



Kaitlyn drew a picture of a slide and a bike. Natalie drew a picture of a swing. CJ said he drew a picture of a rocket. Hmmm, not sure that he got the purpose. Or maybe he did. He told me last night when I put him to bed that he was Superman and he could fly. So maybe that was why the rocket? He likes to fly??? They also played with some play-dough and then we came home.

Natalie actually seemed to have a pretty good time considering this was an elementary school activity. Kaitlyn probably would have enjoyed it more had it been at her elementary school with her friends. And CJ like usual was along for the ride, but he seemed to have a good time. It was a fun night. We probably won't do it again because CJ most likely won't be at that school again next year, but maybe his new school will do something similar. Or maybe Kaitlyn's school will pick up on it.

Longest Day Ever

All day yesterday I kept thinking it was the 30th. As a matter of face I was so convinced of it I was arguing with Joe about it last night. I literally went through the entire day thinking in my head that it was March 30th. I knew it was Tuesday, but I swore it was the 30th. Sure makes March 30th a long day when it lasts for 48 hours instead of 24.

But today, the actual March 30th I had the last of conferences. Natalie's were last week and I had Kaitlyn and CJ today. So here's how my kids are doing in their school this year.

Natalie has ended the marking period with 5 A's and 2 B's. Her Language Arts class is her best class. Her teacher loves her. She has been a little tougher of a grader this marking period, but Natalie is still maintaining a high A in her class. Social Studies was a huge problem for her last marking period and the beginning of this one. She brought that grade up from an 84 to a 92. Impressive considering the work usually doesn't get easier as the year goes on. Her teacher says she's much more involved in class now too. Her Math grade went down from last marking period, but it's still a B. It's an 82. Her teacher seems to think she's doing well and also said she's more involved in class. I asked him what she's apparently having trouble with and he thinks on tests she's making computation errors and not reading directions. However, she's not apparently rushing through, but he says she has enough time so I guess she needs to do a little better time management. He is recommending her for Pre-Algebra next year. There are 3 basic math classes they fall into in 7th grade; basic, pre Algebra, and Algebra. The Algebra class apparently is high school work and really there are only a handful of kids in that class so she's right on target. Her Science grade was a huge shocker to me at midterm. She had a 62 at midterm. That was actually because of missing work which she wasn't missing, but there were also some low lab grades. So after conferencing with her teacher back in February Natalie had retaken a test and some labs and the missing assignment was found. It was the teacher who had dropped the ball there. So she managed to pull that grade up to an 87! And again her teacher feels that Natalie is asking for help more which is probably a huge reason for the improvement. So now her goal is to get that math and science grade up to an A so she can make high honors next marking period. I am confident she can do it too if she applies herself like she has been.

Next is Kaitlyn. I had spoken to her teacher a month ago so not too much new. He still remains impressed with her. I am too. As a matter of fact her report card is the best I have seen it ever. No letter grades; just numbers. Usually she's got lots of 2's with some 3's thrown in, but this time it was a lot more 3's and even some 4's. So that was good to see. And her reading teacher says she's right on target with the Wilson program she is doing with her. And we're on the same page. She wants Kaitlyn to continue with the program next year so hopefully when we have her PPT in May or June we won't see too many changes to her IEP. Well, hoping for no changes at all except for the goals maybe to be higher. She is responding so well to this teaching method though and I will forever be disappointed in her previous school that they did not listen to me and teach her like this, because this is exactly the kind of teaching method I was looking for them to do with her instead of the whole word memorization process they use to teach reading these days.

Finally we have CJ. His teacher says he's doing well. She was a little concerned that some of his things were low, but he has a lot of things that are high too so they average out. Plus, he's a young 3. Actually, the youngest in his class this year so in comparison with his classmates he's really the baby of the group. I did ask his teacher about his climbing. She said they haven't been able to get on the climber really so she hasn't seen him climb much, but she did say she's noticed that he has a hard time getting up from the floor and it's like he's really unsure of himself. So she said we could have OT take a look at him and see if there are any concerns. So I agreed to do that. Can't hurt to get him looked at. I know from experience that stairs are really tough for him. Of course he is so small and our stairs are so big and there are so many of them so it's intimidating and tough. This has always been an area which he has been behind in, but we want to make sure he's not falling further behind. Something he's really good at though (advanced even for his age) is interacting with his peers. Guess that's the benefit of having so many siblings though. He has a clear purpose to his play and makes up scenarios when he's playing with his friends. His teacher seemed impressed with that. Guess that explains why the boy is so popular and everyone screams his name when they see him.

So we ended the conferences with a trip to the book store today and CJ got two books. Natalie had gotten her books last week and we will take Kaitlyn to her book fair on Friday to pick out some books. CJ has already had everyone read his books to him too.

I'm glad to finally see March 30th come to an end though. It is about time.

Box Tops Award Prize

This month I had received notification from Kaitlyn's school that they were having a Box Tops contest. All students who brought in even one Box Top would get a munchkin on this particular day. Then if they brought in 100 Box Tops they'd get a gift certificate to the book fair the end of March and 200 Box Tops would win them some other prizes and the student who brought in the most would get a choice of a $20 gift certificate to any in town store. So we gathered up all of our Box Tops which family and friends have been saving for us and that we've collected over the past year or so and sent them in with Kaitlyn. She brought in a total of 580 Box Tops. She just got her munchkin that day and we didn't hear anything else. Then last Friday I got a phone call asking me what gift certificate she would like because she had brought in the most Box Tops. She wasn't home, but I figured she'd get the most use out of a Walmart gift certificate.

So that day Kaitlyn came home from school with all sorts of goodies. Along with the Walmart gift certificate she also won the gift certificate for the book fair, a school t-shirt, and a Smencil. She also had her name announced to the school as the student who brought in the most Box Tops. She was so excited.

Now ever since then she has been asking on a daily basis if she could go to Walmart. We kept putting her off. She kept talking about how she was going to buy stuff for all of her siblings too with the gift certificate. I kept reminding her that she didn't have to do that, but she had it all figured out, she was spending $4 of it on Alyssa and $3 each on Natalie and CJ and the rest of the $20 was for her.

So today we finally went to Walmart. She was super excited. I again reminded her that she didn't have to get anything for her siblings and told her pick for herself first and we would figure out if there was anything left to get anyone else anything. We walked back and forth up and down the toy aisle of Walmart and seemed to be there forever. Finally Kaitlyn had a puzzle and a book with Tinkerbell paper dolls in it for a total of $7.50 and she said that was it she was done the rest were for her siblings. So CJ got two matchbox cars, Natalie got a book of search a words, and for Alyssa she bought her some pacifiers so she stops sucking on my finger, lol. We were under the $20 limit. Before we left though knowing that CJ was on his first adventure out in underwear I asked him if he had to go potty. He said yes so Joe brought him to the bathroom. So the girls and I were browsing around the girls section and Kaitlyn decided she wanted to add some $2.50 hair things to her stuff. So with that we left. Kaitlyn still has some $.89 left on her gift card so she did some good shopping and everyone left happy. I thought it was very nice of Kaitlyn to share her gift card with her siblings though. She definitely did not have to do that.

The paper dolls ended up being a good purchase too as it entertained the girls for about two hours this afternoon while Joe, CJ, Alyssa, and I took a nap.

Picture Catchup 3

So it appears that I have not been very good about sharing pictures lately. I have a month full of events we have attended and I don't believe I've shared one picture from any of them this month. So as sort of an out with the old and in with the new kind of thing, it being New Years Eve day and all, I thought I would do a few Picture Catchup posts today. So be sure not to miss one. I will have a link to all of these posts at the bottom of them though in case you do miss one.

Every month Kaitlyn's school does a showcase of what some of the children have been reading and learning. This month Kaitlyn got a chance to share and she wanted us to come watch. So we went and took in the show. It was really cute and Kaitlyn did a great job! She is getting so much confidence this year. Might have something to do with that great teacher of hers.



To see more pictures from my Picture Catchup 2010 just click here!

One of the good ones

When we moved almost exactly a year ago out of the neighborhood where my daughters had attended school for so very long I couldn't have imagined myself ever wanting to leave there. I knew the teachers, I knew the principal, I knew the parents. I loved that school maybe even more than my girls did. We got permission to finish out the year there so Natalie didn't have to move the middle of her 5th grade year and the whole time I debated do I keep Kaitlyn here next year or do we go to our neighborhood school. As she continued to struggle with school and dislike it more and more I found myself losing confidence in her teacher. I even wrote this letter which got everyone up in arms because it got around the school what I had done. And it caused me to write this letter of apology. And you know I was truly sorry if I had offended anyone in my first letter, but you know what, Kaitlyn's teacher last year broke my daughter. My sweet little girl was not the same fun loving adventure taking girl I had given her teacher at the beginning of the year. She was beaten down and broken. She hated school. She did whatever she could to get out of that class. To this day I still hear her say my teacher last year did this or she did that. She was deeply scarred by this teacher and it's such a shame.

But now we are on to bigger and better things. I made the choice for many reasons to move my children to their home school. I wanted CJ to go to preschool this year and I couldn't get both children to different sides of town at the same time if we had stayed in the old school. Now of course last year was one teacher and one bad experience. There's no telling what 3rd grade at her old school would have brought for her, but I can't imagine that anyone could possibly do a better job with my girl than what has happened this year. I had a 3rd grade teacher in mind when Kaitlyn was starting school there that I wanted her to get. She had one in mind that she wanted to get. I got my way. Kaitlyn was not happy, but I told her it's a new year and a new school and lets be open to all the new possibilities here. So being the trooper that she is she went off to school that first day. I was a nervous wreck. Couldn't wait to hear all about it. She came home glowing! Oh my God, what a difference from last year. She already loved her teacher. He gave her a little note welcoming her to a new school and even sharing a little something about him when he was her age he too went to a new school. Instant connection. I called him up and set up a meeting with him as I tend to do with my kids teachers when I know there are issues to discuss. I wanted to give him a little insight into the Kaitlyn I know. A week into school and he already had my girl down like he's known her and watched her grow like I have for the past 8 years. He could see how that mind of hers works and that drive that she has. Okay good start. Can he keep this up?

I have been in contact with him numerous times so far this year. Asking questions through email and just talking to him. He always replies to me quickly and we always come up with the perfect solution for Kaitlyn. It didn't take long at all for Kaitlyn to love school again. She is actually upset when the weekend gets here and she isn't going to get to be at school for a few days. She comes home most days with a smile on her face (the few she doesn't have a smile on her face usually seems to have something to do with something that happened on the bus). She truly got one of the good ones this year.

There has been a tremendous turn around in her attitude about school. We are fighting less about homework. There are still days, but for the most part she wants to get it done and she wants to get it done right. Her reading has already improved greatly. She is learning some great skills to help her sound out words instead of trying to memorize them. She's always "tapping out" words when she reads. Making connections between home and school.

I went into her classroom yesterday to bring some cookies for her class party. I couldn't stay because I had a very crabby 3 year old with me and Joe needed to be picked up from work. But I did stay for a few and her teacher came up to me to tell me about the math test he had given her that day. One of her provisions in her IEP is that she have questions on tests read to her. This way she's not being graded on her inability to read say a math question and falling behind in something she's good at. So Kaitlyn sits at the table with her teacher along with her special reading notebook to help remind her of the sounds letters make and she taps out those hard to read words. Her teacher was so thrilled to tell me that she literally DOES NOT want him to help her. She wants to do it on her own. She only asked for help on two of the questions. And he said she did really well on the test too (only getting one or two wrong). So he is watching her blossom and he is loving every second of it and is excited to tell me about it.

He is always telling me what a great and sweet child she is. I love that he sees so much in her. I love that she is working so hard and is loving school again. I love that when I write a note to him trying to express my gratitude in all that he has done for my little girl so far this year that I get this back in return:

Monica,
Thank you so much for your kind words. Those things mean a lot to me. I feel that I am the lucky one, to have such a wonderful student and person as Kaitlyn in my class this year. She is truly a fantastic child. Merry Christmas!
alan

Brought tears to this already emotional pregnant ladies eyes and every time I read it I get choked up. He is lucky to have my daughter in his class. I mean is it any wonder that in just a few short months that broken down Kaitlyn is back on track and excited about school and learning again? For a teacher to feel lucky to have a student it's just wonderful. He really is one of the good ones. We are all very lucky to have this chance to work with him this year. Makes me know that I really did do the right thing changing schools when I did. I do wonder what would have happened if we had done it last year. I think this was the right choice though. She ended up with the perfect teacher to rebuild her confidence after being brought down so hard all year last year. And as corny as this may sound I think this note from Kaitlyn's teacher might be my best Christmas present this year. It is going to be very hard to say goodbye to him in June that's for sure.