In Limbo....

When I went to pick up Jonathan from preschool this afternoon, his teacher told me he had been a little "off" all day... low-energy, easily frustrated. She said two kids in the class were out sick. One has a stomach bug, the other has a cold/fever thing. She wondered if maybe he was getting sick too. GAHHHHH... I hope not.

I brought him home and he honestly seems completely fine. I took his temperature. We snuggled and watched Super Why, which is what we usually do right after school so he can kind of decompress a little. He said he was hungry and asked for noodles, which he wolfed down in no time flat.

I guess if I had to choose, I'd go with the cough/fever bug. But who knows what, if anything it will turn into. Hoping he was just having an off day for no reason whatsoever. LOL.

Oddly, I was also in Simon's library class today and he seemed SUPER spacey, quiet, and out of it. I asked him if he was feeling okay and he said he was. I hope he's not like that all the time at school.... this was actually the first time I have actually seen him in a class. It was a little disturbing, to be honest!
They had a sub for library and I'm hoping that just threw him off or something.... he's always pretty shy/anxious/quiet in new situations or with new people... so maybe that was it.

I asked his teacher at pickup how he was today and she volunteered that he was, in fact, a little quiet and isn't always like that. She added that the kids in her class are dropping like flies from both the stomach bug and the cough/fever thing.

Sigh. He seemed okay when I picked HIM up too....

Ah well.... all I can do it wait and see!

Oh, in other news, Jonathan's teacher did tell me that he read "Goodnight Moon" to his class today and they all high-fived him. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that. So sweet. :)

Where Do I Begin?

Simon and first grade… so, as I have mentioned in previous posts, Simon is having some school struggles. He has been having a lot of trouble getting work completed, staying focused, organized, on task. His teacher and I have been communicating regularly since the second week or so of school. In addition to the focus concerns, we both had some concerns about his handwriting, which has been slow to come along and is fraught with reversals, mixed capitals, weird spacing and poorly formed letters. 

Ultimately, we ended up getting him tested, all the same testing Ben had.  Just like Ben, it showed high iq but VERY low processing speed. And, the ultimate result was not particularly surprising, ADHD (inattentive type... meaning no actual "H").  I cringe just writing that because I feel the collective eye roll. But I will tell you, if you saw the numbers and graphs that reflect my kids' abilities and how they process things, the incredible impact TRUE honest to goodness clinically documented ADHD would be clear.  On paper like that, it's kind of astounding. 

In addition to the ADHD, Simon also seems to have dysgraphia, which is a learning disorder with regard to writing and the ability (or inability, rather) to jump through all the mental hoops requires to get a letter from his head onto a piece of paper. 

Looking back, I actually think Ben had this issue as well, but he worked more of it out in Kindergarten than Simon did. The curriculum at our old school had the kindergarteners writing sentences almost from day one. Ben's K work mirrors Simon's current work in its progression. And, now that Simon is being pushed to write more and being pushed to do it correctly and practice, practice, practice, we are seeing HUGE improvements already. 

The special education people at school want me to start letting Simon dictate, but Tom and I both feel strongly that he needs to learn to write and form letters correctly right now, even if it's 100 times harder for him than the other children. What we saw with Ben was that once that part was down and committed to muscle memory, though his handwriting still wasn't fabulous (never will be), it freed up his brain to focus more on WHAT he was writing and by third grade, it all came together. At this point, his accommodations say he can dictate or type if he wants to, but he never chooses to!

Simon was given an IEP based on a "cognitive processing disorder affecting written expression"....  not the ADHD. (for which they basically don't give IEP's… sigh)  Thankfully, this means he will now get some accommodations with regard to both issues and he will have specific goals that the school is required to help him meet.  This means extra help in the classroom will be available to him through the first grade assistants, the special educator…etc…. a little more one-on-one attention will go a LONG way, so we are thrilled!  Also thrilled this gives his teacher some support because she really has a lot on her plate with him when you figure in the 19 other children vying for her attention. 

We are currently working to get him help from the school OT, but the guidelines there are kind of ridiculous. They consider him as meeting the standards for "average" with his writing (insane) and therefore probably can't qualify him. Not going to go down without a fight on that one though…. 

The good news is that, though we were concerned for awhile about it, his reading actually is just fine! He's reading about a mid-first-grade level right now and progressing steadily. His teacher said his reading comprehension is AMAZING, something you wouldn't think would be true seeing as how he is completely distracted half the time.  She also told us anytime he presents something or speaks for his group, she is blown away. So he has a LOT to offer and tons of potential we just have to figure out how to maximize and unlock! 

Anyway, so we are well on our way to setting things right. SO thankful for a wonderful teacher this year who is so fully invested in helping him and helping us figure him out!  :) 

Rick Roll....

Somewhere along the way, Simon learned about Rick Rolling. I think it was a combination of his Uncle Brandon and Just Dance 4 for the Wii. Either way, he is obsessed. And so when "Rock Star Day" rolled around at school this year, he knew exactly who he wanted to be.

You may remember that last year, he dressed up at Psy ... the Gangnam Style guy.

It's weird because Simon is not exactly a ham... he does not like to be laughed at or the center of attention as SIMON.... but, and I'm quoting the school guidance counselor's words from yesterday, "You put a costume on him and he just comes to life!" She asked me for weeks before the rock concert what he was going do this year because he had been so hilariously funny the year before.  Several teachers did, including Ben's teacher from last year, who put a picture of him in his Psy getup right in the middle of the yearbook. LOL!

So this year, he was Rick Astley, pop star from about 1987. He picked out his outfit and tried to match it to the official video on YouTube. Then he asked me to make his hair "straight and brownish red". I nixed the brownish red because the hair color was a MESS last year. I did my best on the straight.... but ... yeah... not so easy. We blow dried it backwards and used a TON of product. He went out of here smelling like an over cologned teenager. But it did the job!

I'd guess about half the school population MAYBE knew what he was. But apparently the teachers googled it... and he sang. And then they got it.

The guidance counselor made him sing in her office and sent me a video.... though I can't seem to get it off of my phone... will try to post later. ;)


And then there was his dance performance yesterday morning before he left for school. I hear he did this during the rock concert too...

Ah this kid.... he is an interesting one, for sure!!! LOL!  What WILL he be?!

Simon's School Pic....

Love! :) Three for three on good school pics this year! Unheard of...

Updates....

Ben --

Ben is kicking school's butt this year and actually enjoying it. Last year, he had this odd aversion to "seeming smart". (he actually articulated it that way... as in.... something to the effect of "Some people like to walk around school with their nose in a book looking smart but I don't want to seem that way... like a book nerd." ) THAT was like a knife to the heart....

Thankfully, it was just a passing thing because this year, he seems to have embraced being a "smart kid". Unfortunately, this also means he now talks out of his backside sometimes like his daddy does because he thinks he knows everything. But, I am enjoying every other aspect of it.

He LOVES doing well on his schoolwork now. He takes pride in the fact that he is understanding the ridiculous math they are doing up, down, and sideways. (seriously? Supposedly he's doing 5th grade math in 4th grade, which is fine and all... except I feel particularly stupid because it's math I didn't do until 6th and 7th, I'm fairly sure.... it's ridiculous... thank GOODNESS he understands it, that's all I can say.... there are x's and y's and the word algebra all over the place. I'm actually thinking about relearning it all with him so I can finally master it and not feel like a math idiot.)  

He is blossoming into a really great little writer too and must be getting positive reinforcement from the teachers on that because he writes CONSTANTLY now and really works hard at crafting his words thoughtfully and carefully. Even his handwriting is nice these days!!


Simon:

Simon has made some great strides. When assisted with his focusing, he does REALLY well. I have been "boot camping" the handwriting situation lately since homework now includes writing ten words on Mondays and three sentences on Tuesdays. We don't stop until it looks perfect and I'm not letting him get away with writing the letters wrong, doing the strokes in the wrong order, or not touching the lines. This, coupled with the teacher giving varying degrees of marks on homework papers (usually "Good", "Very Good", "Excellent, or "Perfect") has been working well. He REALLY wants the "Perfect", though he has yet to get it. Glad he wants it!

He took a math test last week and flaked out after problem #3 because he couldn't focus. Literally skipped half the rest of the problems and doodled on the other half. The teacher had him retake it one-on-one with an assistant because she knew he understood the concepts. He ended up getting a 100%.

So obviously, some interventional things are going to have to happen here for him to be successful... working on that.  I'm very happy with the progress he has made though.... the higher expectations of first grade have been good for him!

He is playing a LOT less Minecraft lately and is getting into CHESS, of all things. He found it on Tom's old computer and has been teaching himself to play. Ben has a little set and he sets up games and plays against Tom and Ben and even tries to teach Jonathan.

He has also gotten VERY into making movies lately. He makes movies on his phone (one of our old cell phones) and on the laptop. He desperately wants to know how to edit them and put them on YouTube. OMG... it's like I am raising my brother!!! Last weekend, he came down and asked me "Mommy, how do people make make believe movies? I want to do that." (face palm)  Actually considering getting him a little video camera for Christmas. I just hope this doesn't end with him becoming a YouTube star and moving to California when he's 20. LOL!

Jonathan:

Still crying when I drop him off at school, but it's quick and he is always happy when I pick him up. I do wish he'd stop it altogether, but that will come in time. I'm just happy he has good days now. He loves art, I'm told and music, of course. I think his interactions with the other kids are okay, although he did come home the other day and told me that Mrs. Poe told him he couldn't say, "NO!" to his friends. LOL.  He's also not allowed to yell at them for doing the Gangnam Style dance wrong, which apparently he was also doing.  I'm just happy he's not biting them, honestly, because he has been biting Ben and Simon here and there lately. SO scared he's going to chomp on a friend.... :\

He loves his teacher and quotes her often. Mrs. Poe says this, Mrs. Poe says that.... Mrs. Poe told me this... Mrs. Poe told me that. So cute and sweet. :)

He also adores his little friend Lillian, who he was with last year in the twos class. They seem to really click and enjoy one another's company. We have yet to set up a playdate, but it's on the to-do list.

I need to get better about setting up playdates for all the kids. It always seems like life gets in the way. Ben is constantly asking to have friends over and now Simon is too. Gah. It's just so hard to do it on school afternoons and the weekends are packed with swimming and family time.... gotta sacrifice something somewhere for the sake of their social well being, I guess! LOL!

Self Portrait, by Simon. ;)

Currently on exhibition in the first grade hallway at school. Makes me laugh every single time I walk by it. The hair!!! OMG! 

Picture Day....

Picture day was Wednesday. This is how they looked when I sent them to school. I'm sure the photos will look nothing like this, especially since i forgot to send in the photo forms and by the time I ran them up to school, Simon had just eaten lunch and was covered in pizza. (he had to be retaken WITH the form... they had already done his class)

Sigh.

Simon's Four Commandments....

Unearthed from Simon's backpack.... I believe (but am not entirely sure) that these are rules for his bedroom:

Here is the translation for those who can not interpret first grade boy handwriting/spelling...
1) Please beat up my brother. (I asked him which one and he just shrugged... I think it applies to both, but possibly more so to Ben, who often kicks Simon out of his room)

2) Do not play on the computer.

3) Do not toot.

4) Do not say bad words.

First Tooth! :)

The boys ran out of the parent pickup line yesterday and as Simon was talking, I noticed he was missing a bottom tooth!   I knew it was loose, but didn't think it was THAT loose.

"You lost your tooth!" 

"Oh! Yeah... I lost it at lunch. I couldn't find it!" Oh my... he was so casual about the whole thing. I guess I'm still traumatized about Ben's reaction to losing his first few teeth because I was bracing myself for craziness.  

So he actually LOST the tooth. Boo! 

He says it just fell out of his mouth onto the floor and went missing. SImon was very nonchalant about it all.  He came home and wrote a quick explanation to the tooth fairy that said, "I lost my tooth at lunch." 

The tooth fairy was NOT quite ready for that tooth to come out, but she was able to scrounge together some quarters! ;)

She better stock up though because the other bottom one is, apparently, also an "any day now" situation and he says the top ones are loose now too. OMG! WHen it rains, it pours with the loose teeth around here! 

Red....

So, Simon got on "red" at school yesterday... (this is, btw, our first experience EVER with "red" or the equivalent in our family... at least, as far as I know...)

The story went like this:

Simon: Mommy, I got on RED today because someone LIED.

Me: What happened?

Simon: Someone LIED and said I was pushing people in the boys' bathroom. He said I PUSHED him! I didn't!

Me: (restraining my inner mama bear) Well why did he lie?

Simon: I don't KNOW.

Me: Is there a reason he may have thought you were pushing?

Simon: NO. I don't know. Well, maybe I might have been standing next to him.

Me: (starting to get the picture) Okay... and what happened when you were standing next to him?

SImon: Well maybe I was standing next to him and what always happens when you are standing next to someone happened.

Me: And what's that?

Simon: Well, you move your hips back and forth and bump.

Me: So you pushed him with your hips.

SImon: I was just shaking my hips but that's what you do when you stand next to someone! You bump hips!

D'oh.

Where To Begin?

Sorry for break. I'd like to say I was busy doing whatever people do when they get a little free time from 100% of their children, but alas, that was not the case. Instead, I spent the last week:

- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to pick up Jonathan from preschool early
- devising ways to get him excited, or at least tolerant and not screaming, about school
- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to get Simon from school early (three-day tummy ache)
- devising ways to help him understand he needs to poop more often and also eat things that are green
- waiting around for Jonathan to pee
- devising ways to make Jonathan understand that peeing on the potty is worth his time

That about sums it up.

But, a week of good, solid, honest work has paid off. Jonathan went to school yesterday with ZERO tears and had a great day, much to everyone's relief. He also pee peed in the potty more times than he didn't and, for the first time ever, told me he needed to go and made it on time.  Crossing my fingers to have this done in a couple weeks so he can start wearing underwear to school instead of a PullUp.

Simon worked things out on his end, though apparently spent some time laying down in the nurse's office on Tuesday.  He was still irked to have to go to school yesterday because he had gym class and apparently he hates gym class now. He also had a substitute. Rough day for him!  It's always something.

In other news, we've been faithfully plugging away at his reading at night and he is really, REALLY getting it. He's reading at a really good pace! Remembering words, sounding things out really well. I'm super proud of him. :)

Not much to say about Ben lately.... they always take turns with being challenging and its his month off. He's doing well in school, is really enjoying it, though complains that he never gets free time to talk to his friends. I need to get better about setting up playdates outside of school. :( It's hard when everyone has sports commitments! If only he liked soccer, he could see all of his friends every Saturday morning! LOL!  He also reports they have ruined his parent pickup line time by assigning them spots next to their siblings, not with friends, and also making them sit "shoulder to wall" so they can't really talk. What can I say? Elementary school is a dictatorship. I feel sort of bad for him... he really did like that last bit of his day....

He did start fall swim team... we actually moved him down to pre-team where we thought he'd be more comfortable, plus, it's less of a family commitment (only an hour on Saturdays and no swim meets) so really much better for us right now. It took two weeks, but he's back to loving it. Tom has been taking him and said he's so fast, he caught up with a 13-year-old girl he was sharing a lane with the other day. The coach had to tell him to slow down. LOL.

Oh! And Jonathan started swim lessons Tuesday with a new teacher. Our previous teacher left the gym to do other things. (though she still babysits for us... so yay!) He took to "Miss Tara's friend" (that's what I called her so hopefully some of the love for Tara would transfer) quickly and had his first ever lesson all to himself. After it was over, she came over and told me he's such a little fish! She had him swimming a little less than halfway across the pool and working on his back float. Oh, and she tried to teach him to dive, which was pretty hilarious.... I love that he just went with it. ;)

I've been spending lots of time in the library at the elementary school. I love it there! I like to get the kids' books checked in and out and then get to work making the shelves look pretty. I get a little obsessive about it... my years of working retail are all coming back to me. Yesterday, I made it all the way from A-M in fiction. Personal best! I also located some misplaced 39 Clues and Narnia books and took great pleasure in getting them back where they belonged.  Whew. Those poor books would have been misplaced for who knows how long if I hadn't found them! ;) LOL. I try not to think about the fact that four classes come in after I leave and mess it all up again. HA!

So that's what has been going on our world. Now that Jonathan is comfortable with school, I feel like I can start getting some things done on those mornings... I have some painting I want to do. And next week, I need to go get some fall flowers and clean up what's left of the vegetable garden. (Didn't have such a great year with that, but I learned a lot, so there's always next year! My herbs are still doing great though!) :)

First Grade...

First grade this time around may be the death of me. SImon is a toughy.

He LOVES first grade, don't get me wrong. LOVES it. Yesterday, he told me the day went "so fast! I still thought it was morning and it was time to go home!" So it's going REALLY well.

His teacher is fabulous and sweet.

The kids seem to be nice, though the verdict is still out on this one boy he comes home talking about.

But the homework. The homework is what is going to do me in.

His reading isn't going badly. It's still a laborious process sometimes and if he's tired, he gets cranky about having to do it... but he's reading much faster, without stopping to sound things out as much or guessing at words based on what's in the picture.  Truly. I'm not that concerned about his reading at this point. He may not be a great reader yet, but he has made progress. Progress, I'll take.

The handwriting, on the other hand. Lordy day. I can't decide whether he's just lazy and needs to practice a ton more or if this is really a problem. It just doesn't seem to be improving.

After last night's homework, I broke down and emailed the teacher. I have refrained thus far, trying to hide my brand of crazy from a fresh new teacher who doesn't know anything about how often I can email when I'm freaking out. But I'm SURE she has noticed the writing issues and I wanted her to know I'm concerned about it (though I told her I'm perfectly willing to wait to discuss it at conference time and see how he does until then... that's reasonable, right? Not totally crazy?)  I also wanted to know how much to push him... do I stand over him and make him erase and start over when he doesn't form the letters right? When he writes caps instead of lowercase? When he doesn't use the lines? I feel like he needs the practice and needs to know he is not going to get to go play (Minecraft) until the homework is done and correctly so he shouldn't bother rushing.

But on the other hand, if he's really struggling with it, I don't want to frustrate him further or make him HATE it more than he already does.

What to do... what to do... Sigh.

Ben's handwriting was pretty dreadful in kindergarten and well into first grade and even second grade too... (truth be told, it's still pretty bad).  Early on, he whined and complained and didn't use the lines and mixed in capitals. He hated to write and it wasn't easy for him either. The difference is that I saw steady improvement. Maybe I just need to figure out how to fit in more practice. THey really didn't get much sentence-writing practice in Kindergarten at ALL, whereas, at our old school in K, Ben DID... I wonder if that was the difference?

Parenting is hard. Knowing when to push and when to back off is hard.

I feel like I'm getting better at not freaking out and letting things play out... I THINK. I don't want to be a helicopter parent. Not at all... but I also don't want to miss a problem I could help correct early on... don't want to get to January and have him still be struggling so much with this.

Here's last night's homework. Am I worried for nothing? I don't think I am. The Title and Author lines I stood over him and erased a hundred times and coached him through ever letter. "Sky to ground... touch the lines.... stick... touch the midline..."  He also copied the words from the book sitting in front of him.

The sentence part though, was kind of a free for all and about the time when I wanted to just be done with it.   This is what his writing looks like when I just let him go.

Oh and that sentence? It says, "This story is about a boy who needs his monster."  :\   The picture is of his favorite part, which was, apparently... "drool".

On a more positive note... he knocked the math homework out of the park and with no complaints. :)

One of Those Catch-all Posts...

This is that weird week that happens at the beginning of every school year where the kids just are starting to get in their routines and then, bam, two days off.  Thanks labor unions and the Jewish calendar!

Ben handled it well this year. (years past have not been so wonderful). Simon, on the other hand, misunderstood which day I told him they had off and when I said, "Okay, time to get shoes on!" yesterday morning, looked up from his Minecraft came and said, "Why?" In that moment, I knew this wasn't going to be pretty. Despite me having put him through his normal school morning routine, and reminding him it was corn dog day in the cafeteria, he somehow missed the small detail that it was, in fact a school day.

Cue the freakout.

I had to chase him up the stairs, grab him and carry him to the mudroom. No easy feat. He's not small anymore. He alternated between crying and whining all the way to school. I told him if I had to carry him into school, we'd have a problem and also, if that happened, Minecraft was gone for the foreseeable future.

Somewhere in there, he got it together, but mentioned not wanting to go to recess because some girls wanted him to play a game he didn't want to play.

I know better than to delve too deeply into school drama issues right before dropoff... it only winds them up and I have been seriously burned in the past by the "Even though you've asked me 47 times what's wrong, I'll wait and tearfully spill my guts right before you need me to get out of the car and you'll feel so sorry for me you'll give up and park" scheme.  I'm not heartless, I've just wised up. (makes me glad my parents didn't have three kids... I never would have gotten away with the stuff like this I put them through!)  So I said, "Talk to your teacher about it. It will be fine." and sent him on his way.  Defeated, he scowled at me, slammed the door, and kicked the side of the car before stomping off. I considered it a victory because I didn't have to lug him into school kicking and screaming.

Sometime in the mid-afternoon, I thought perhaps I should at least send the teacher an email and see if he was okay when he got to her that morning. She replied quickly, thanking me for the explanation because he he apparently stomped into class and put his head down on his desk.  She talked to him about the recess thing and said she checked on him at recess and he was happy. All is well with that one now.

Ben came home talking of trilobites and Cretaceious periods. Dinosaurs and fossils is one topic he hasn't obsessed about during his nine years on earth. I waited for it and it never came. It seems fourth grade science class has triggered an interest.  Here we go! I love that he is loving science this year! 

Jonathan -- I had a meeting yesterday with his soon-to-be 3s preschool teacher and Ms. Cindy. (his Infants and Toddlers teacher) Cindy wanted to brief Mrs. P about what to expect with him and what she has been working on with him. As I expected, Mrs. P was completely unfazed by everything we threw at her, which is what I love so much about her. Cindy started by saying "Well, he'll get fixated on things... dvd players, cd players... so don't ever let him touch the one in the classroom or he'll want to do it all the time." Before she even finished the thought, Mrs. P looked over at me and said, "This is all sounding REALLY familiar... Ben?" LOL.  TOO funny. That was almost seven years ago. "Yeeeeeeah."I said. I explained he's a "Ben-lite" in many ways, but way more challenging in others. She talked about all her memories of Ben and told Cindy about how he once came up and pointed to her watch and explained that it was analog, not digital... and how she once had to cover up the clock so he'd stop obsessing  about it. I LOVE that she remembers that...and not just remembers it... remembers it fondly.  

So it's going to be a great year for Jonathan, I think. He couldn't possibly be in better hands than Mrs. P. :) She can handle anything he throws at her! 

The night before last was back to school night. It was the usual chaos, but I have the chaos down to a science. Park at 5:30 before the hoards of other parents arrive. It starts at 6... but if you don't want to park six miles away, you arrive at 5:30.  Head to Ben's grade for the first session, buy a t-shirt from the PTA before they run out (seriously, why do they not order enough shirts ever?!), head to Simon's class for the second session... text and FB through the mandatory and painful PTA meeting and volunteer training.

Fourth grade was interesting. I finally was able to put a face to the Ben's reading/writing teacher's name.  Lots happening this year , including a trip to the Air and Space Museum which is going to be awesome!!   :) All the teachers seem great... can't say a bad thing about a single one of them. It's a good team and Ben has all but one of them at some point during the day!

First grade was great too. I like Simon's teacher more and more every time I talk to her. I went into school not knowing a single thing about her, which I never like... but we got lucky.  I can tell she is very kind and honestly, that's one of my top "must haves" with teachers. The kids are already in a great classroom routine with her and Simon is enjoying first grade so far, so I'm thrilled!

Eager to be done with this week of weird days off so we can really get into the swing of things...

First Week....

We all survived the first week of school. We fell back into our routine pretty quickly!

So, Ben... he started out the week super anxious about switching classes. As I predicted, after actually doing it on Tuesday, he was totally fine.

This year, he has the benefit of four different teachers, including the only two male classroom teachers at the school. (there is also an instrumental music teacher who is a man)

One of them is Mr. H. Every kid in the school from 2nd grade up knows Mr. H.. He's definitely one of those "cool" teachers who gets fourth graders, especially fourth grade boys. (he has four boys of his own) He wears funny ties sometimes and is big into sports and I always see the kids in the bus lines yelling things to him or high-fiving him.  He reminds me of the kind of teacher I know my dad is.

Ben has Mr. H for science. Now, Ben has always been a science-loving kid... he has studied (quite in-depth, I might add) everything from the solar system, to volcanoes, oceans, bugs, sharks/ fish on his own over the years. In the first few years of school, science and math kind of take a backseat to literacy, which makes sense. It's crucial the kids learn to read and write well first and foremost. But I knew Ben would really embrace school when REAL science came on the scene. And it appears it has. He came home the first day talking about fossils. The third day, he came home with a journal from reading class saying this:

Before school yesterday, he wanted to know more about electricity... where it comes from, where it goes... (OMG kid... I'm packing lunches...  here's the internet... ask Google!!)

Last night at dinner, he asked at least a hundred questions about DNA and genetics. He wanted to know what would happen if you just took DNA from one person and DNA from another person and put them together in a dish. I explained that that's called a "test tube baby" and we ended up having a little "facts of life" refresher. LOL.  Then he wondered what would happen if you took DNA from two different animals... "depends on the animal... sometimes you end up with a donkey." "Well how do you extract DNA? I want to do that!"  I told him I once took a genetics class in high school and we extracted DNA from fruit flies and made it so you could actually see it.  That blew his mind.

 (and, just FYI, that class was so over my head it wasn't even funny... Turns out, I somehow managed to accidentally take an AP class a year ahead of my own just because I thought genetics was cool... one of my classmates ended up becoming an actual brain surgeon... another became, no lie, a rocket scientist....)

Anyway, so I always knew he'd be into science class once it really got going and it seems I was right. And it also appears he has a teacher who already inspires him. So this is going to be a really awesome year for him!!!

He hasn't said much about Math, but I know he loves that teacher too and he's doing okay so far. They are learning about decimals and I've already been confused. THanks, math. I still hate you.

He has the same teacher for reading and writing and I've heard through the grapevine that she is a phenomenal writing teacher. When he feels inspired, Ben actually REALLY enjoys writing, and I think she'll be really great for him to really hone something i know he enjoys even though he doesn't always think he does.   In reading, they are getting ready to read the book "Wonder" and he's excited about that. Oh, and in case he needed an extra reason to love that class, he is seated next to his best friend. One of the positives of them shaking up the class levels this year meant this was a actually a possibility... never in a million years did I think they'd actually be seated together. But for now, they are... with a girl between them... who happens to be Georgia, a little girl who Ben went to preschool with and was BFFs with during their time there. How fun is that?

For homeroom, he has his reading teacher from last year. While I would have loved for him to have had her for reading/writing, I'm thrilled she is part of his fourth grade year even just for homeroom. She's a wonderful teacher and knows Ben well from last year. I love that he starts and ends the day with her and I think of it as his "safe place to land".

Really just seems like it will be a good year all around for him and he really seems to be finding his footing academically.



Simon ....

I was initially worried about how things would go. Simon can be a tough kid in the classroom... not with behavior... but in quiet ways. I knew he needed just the right teacher to make this a successful year.   I don't know any of the first grade teachers, so I didn't know what to expect; but as soon as he came home on the first day and said, "I think I have the nicest teacher in the whole entire school!!!" I knew it was going to be okay. He continued to talk all week about how nice his teacher is and how much he loves her.  :) Makes a mom's heart happy...

He is SO happy, loves going every day and has found friends in his class. He only has good things to say when he comes home! The little bit of classwork that has come home looks like he is putting forth his best effort too.

They haven't split into reading groups yet, according to him, but he did bring home two little take-home books "Cat Sat on the Mat"... that sort of thing... and he read them easily.. so the reading is definitely improving.

I haven't communicated with his teacher at all.  My teacher friends all told me to let her figure him out for herself. I was pleasantly surprised when she came up to me yesterday at pickup. She told me he's doing really well and that particular day had been FANTASTIC.... and to ask him about getting on "purple". Purple means he was a role model for other students. :) He reports it was because he was standing in line so nicely. So sweet....

She added that he is warming up to her, smiling at her now sometimes and just really doing a nice job in general. They had a little assignment where they had to come home and ask about where their names came from. She said he got right up front yesterday and explained everything we had told him about his name! Proud of him... I was praying for a really good classroom/teacher fit this year and it seems we may have gotten it.

Everyone did great in their specials.... no complaints... even from Ben who was dreading instrumental music. LOL.

So a great first week all around!!

End of First Grade!

Ben had his very last day of first grade on Friday. It's so bittersweet... he had a fantastic year this year and a teacher he and I both adored. I was sad to see it end. On the other hand, I was quite ready (as was he) to be finished with having to be somewhere every weekday. The break will be nice, for sure. :o)

He finished off the year with a near-perfect report card (still couldn't budge past that "P" in handwriting and he and the music teacher never quite saw eye-to-eye on how much music should be appreciated, so he got a "2" every quarter in that...but everything else was "CDs"! (the top mark!)

The teacher also included a page about how he had completed the first grade P.A.C.E. program, which is an advanced reading enrichment program. She said they will place him accordingly in his new school next year based on this. I'm SO thrilled about this because I felt like he wasn't bored this year at all, which meant WAY less complaining about school and math was especially great for him. (they were doing multiplication at the end of the year!) and he'll continue with that level next year... so yay!

All in all, a GREAT year and a good end to it. Ready for a long, summer break and a new beginning at a new school for second grade! :)

Love at Firt Sihgt...

Ben's friend Zac has a twin sister, Emily, who is in another first grade class. Ben apparently has a little crush on Emily. I've been finding bits of paper around his room with "I love Emily" written on them and he asked me if, when we have his friend Zac over for a playdate in July if Emily could come too. LOL! Zac and Emily's mom emailed this to me yesterday afternoon. Emily arrived home from school with it and it was given to her by another little girl in Ben and Zac's class. Jen also said Zac told her Ben has been chasing Emily around the playground. GAH!!!

Pics

I made a point to take some pics of all three kids yesterday.... :o) Simon spent much of the day outside, which was fantastic. He was SO happy. He also got new shoes and wanted to try them out. He was so excited!

Ben came home from school all cranky. Homework was like pulling teeth. He eventually finished it, got over the cranky and went to baseball practice in a good mood. We found out at 7:30p.m. why he was cranky earlier, when he started throwing up and didn't stop for 12 hours. Yep. Second time in two weeks. ?!

Jonathan is making me crazy. He's a mobile 7-month-old in a house with approximately zero baby proofing supplies. 'Nuff said.

Love Story II: By Ben

Love Story I: By Ben

WHERE does he GET this stuff?!


Translation: The Ring of Loves
After the red ring story (arrow refers to short story on other page)Trey gave me a ring then he went home and I followed him and I ran into a school friend, Goria my best friend from school. When we looked at each other we fell in love.

Love and Kissing
I ran for Trey and asked him if I could have another ring. He said yes. I took it back to Goria and SMOOOOOCH! She kissed me! The End
Oh, this could have had to be LOVE BUG.

Love Story I
One hot summer day I was playing in my side yard at my new house and then I saw my friend Trey came over and told me a Love Story:

Marege (Marriage)
There were 2 fish getting ready to get married. She was a pink and silver fish (the bride) Can you guess what the groom fish is? A Pout Pout fish. And then SMOOOOOCH they kissed. (reference to page) <--- LOL!

Turns Out, He's a Writer...

So Ben has been hoarding blank books lately like they are going out of style. It seems like for every reward at school (for bringing in box tops or filling in the reading calendar, etc), they give out blank books. Anyway, he loves them! For awhile he just filled them with pictures, but now he's actually writing stories. He won't voluntarily share them with anyone, but he doesn't hide them and hasn't told me not to read them, so of course, I've peeked.

OMG. It's like a different kid from the one reflected in his school writing. It's full of details! And adjectives! And decent spelling! Pages and pages!!!

Tom pointed out that he was the same way as a kid... scratch that, still IS. If he's writing about something HE wants to write about, he can write a beautifully executed, descriptive tome. Otherwise? It's one sentence... maybe.

I have wavered back and forth about sharing his writing. I think I've decided ll scan it in later and share it here later, but not on Facebook. I definitely want to preserve it somewhere. It's too precious not too. Not to mention, some of it is HILARIOUSLY funny.

More later... ;)