Conference Time

It's that time of year again where I sit back and assess the girls, their learning environments, their academic achievements and feelings toward learning.  It would be much easier if I didn't do this every three or four months but. . . it's who I am.

Let me just start this by saying, Alex and I have been going back and forth for months now on whether or not to pull Lila Grace out of Kindergarten.  We held off to see if she got admitted to West Chester Friends School.  If she didn't, repeating the same Kindergarten next year was not a good solution to our problem.  Luckily, she was admitted and she is officially doing Kindergarten at the Friends School.

Lately, Lila hasn't wanted to go to school.  She is stressed, still not understanding the math instruction, and, in general, not driven to be there.  She begs to stay home with me.  We have been doing a lot of schooling at home and she has made great progress.  Her Kindergarten classroom moves at a very rapid pace, rarely revisits topics and does not have a writing program.  Their goal is to get the kids to read and prepare them to do all sorts of math in First Grade.  Well, Lila can read and the math is frustrating her to no end.  Alex and I figured we could pull her out of Kindergarten, continue our writing and reading program at home and work on the math in a way that makes sense to Lila and doesn't stress her.  She gets what she wants - to spend time with me, and I get what I want - a kid who is happy, writes and reads well and is confident in her math skills.  Lila doesn't seem to have great emotional ties to her class so it seemed pretty clear that we should pull her.

Long story short, we sat around a table that hosted a variety of people;  Lila's therapists, teacher, principal, guidance counselor, and district officials.  We stated our plan and they went along with it nicely.  We, however, were not prepared for what they told us.  Lila seems to be emerging from her shell.  She is voluntarily talking to her teachers now and making stronger connections with classmates.  Her handwriting has taken off, and her reading is great.  Math is still a struggle but we know this.  There is talk of a writing program and her teacher is excited to see her excel in this area. She seems happy and well adjusted.

Yep.  You guessed it.  We didn't pull her out.

It became difficult to do so.  I would have to sign up as a home school entity to continue her services.  That wasn't a deal breaker but this, combined with the above, led me to think that I should leave her in and let her grow and mature.  My goal was to fill her with love and build her confidence for the next five months at home.   We do this anyway but it gets tricky when we are pushing her out the door in tears and begging us not to send her to school.  She just wants to stay with me and I WANT her to stay with me.  School is a pain in the neck.  It is a fight many mornings and takes away the flexibility of our day.  But, we couldn't deny the fact that she is doing well.   There were no academic indicators that have her flagged for instructional support.  She is doing exactly what she should be doing for a Kindergartener. 

In the end, we broke it down like this. Lila's report card was great.  She struggles in math but has mastered the concepts she needs for the second trimester of Kindergarten.  We are in a district that pushes the kids far beyond that point. She isn't ready to be pushed.  She struggles with instructions and still needs a variety of vocabulary when they are given.  Lila is a slow worker and will most likely struggle with this for years to come.  She is immature and we know this.  That being said, she is on grade level in ALL areas.  Her teacher mentioned that she doesn't even progress monitor Lila with reading.  She is doing great and presents no concerns.

I still think there are issues.  I think she needs extra support in math.  I don't feel in my heart that she is doing as well as her teacher reports but, I am not the teacher.  It is FAKE Kindergarten.  If she is learning and happy (she sure puts on an act at home that would point to the contrary) what will 60 more days of school hurt?  Actually, it hurts something.  It hurts my heart.  I was very much looking forward to spending this time with my girl and not shoving her in the car every morning until June 8th. 

I have love having this girl to myself in the afternoons.  I will miss her so much next year.  We have turned into splendid buddies.  I will feel lost without her.
 

Adeline's Conference

I called a conference with Adeline's teacher because we are having a hard time placing her in an appropriate learning environment for Kindergarten.

Adeline's conference was on the heels of her admissions visit to West Chester Friends School. We have decided to put her through the process in hopes that they accept her. The public Kindergarten program is just too crazy. Fast and chaotic. It is center based and the kids are moving through the classroom and racing through their center projects as fast as they can. This will not be good for Adeline.

After laying out all of my concerns to Adeline's teacher, we worked down a list of Adeline's strengths and weaknesses so that I could make an informed decision about next year.

Adeline's teacher thinks she is bright. She retains information and gives it back to you with full understanding and detail. She GETS IT! She is sweet and well behaved. Adeline loves to learn. She LOVES school. Her determination deserves a medal. It really does. I could go on and on. . .

Adeline has two areas of weakness - attention and fine motor skills. She is a quite kid who doesn't move around a lot so she can fool you and make you think that she is completing whatever is asked of her. Often, she is looking at her work but processing the noise or activity around her. Adeline often needs LOTS prompting to complete her tasks. This will not work well in a centers based classroom; centers that are manned by parents! Adeline's fine motor skills are very behind. She is incredibly weak in this department. This slows her down and will hold her far behind the pace of her peers in Kindergarten. Hopefully, WCFS will accept her.  So far the class only has eight kids enrolled. Instruction can be individualized! Public school sends Lila home with loads of worksheets each day. WCFS rarely sent Savannah home with worksheets. They DO when they learn. Adeline has a greater chance of success if she is grouping popsicle sticks as opposed to cutting and pasting the right number by the right number of objects on a worksheet.

Adeline's fine motor skills have me concerned. Her brain is so far ahead of her hands that I wonder if they will ever align. She has a hard time counting objects because her eyes and her brain have moved passed where her fingers are pointing. Her letters are still two to three inches high and some letters she just can't make. I worry about her writing when she is in First and Second grade. Will her hands still be so slow? There is no chance that typing will be better. Adeline can't isolate all of her fingers. She still can't make a peace sign. Typing is a loooong way out.

The silver lining. . . all of her teachers adore her. They admire her smiling face and happy spirit. I was told that she will try anything they ask of her, and what they ask her to do is hard and tiring. She gladly takes on the challenge. Adeline is smart. She reads--without having gone to Kindergarten and is already identifying problems and solutions in stories and which stories are fact and fiction (she can support her answers too - the teacher in me loves it!). Adeline willingly writes and has recently written a wonderful story about an astronaut (we do all of this at home, her school is not an academic setting). My little girl is kind, fun, and seems to draw people to her. Those people quickly become Adeline fans. Miss Adeline has quite a large cheering section. As well she should. If you spend large amounts of time with this girl, you can't help be inspired by all that she is and how far she has come.

Lets just hope that she lands in the right Kindergarten classroom next year and that her teacher joins her fan club.

This girl makes my heart so happy!  What a gift it is to be her "Mama."  

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny made my kids pretty happy. It seemed he knew just what they loved.

Hunting eggs with friends made them even more excited!

Astronaut Jet sure looks pretty cute with her girly dress and pink "purse."

Durham Bulls

Adeline is playing T-ball this spring.  It is something she requested.  We have never mentioned baseball in this house.  While down in Durham, we had to opportunity to go to a Durham Bulls game.  It seemed like a great opportunity to introduce Adeline to baseball since she has only had one practice and her first game is on Saturday!

Boy did we have tons of explaining to do.

What is out?  Where does he go?  Does he have to go home?
What is a strike?
Where are the bases?
Who is the pitcher?
Can I hit the ball? - Miss Adeline of course.

Clearly, we aren't a big baseball family.  We tried our best to answer their questions and were quickly exhausted by all the details that needed explaining to answer the original question.  The playground, balloon man and snacks quickly got them focused on other things!

Puppet

Lila had to make a puppet for her class play.  She was assigned the role of a cat.  I can't sew on a button without it falling back off so the thought of making a puppet was daunting.  I didn't want to make a paper bag puppet because I feared she would rip it and reduce to tears.  My focus was a sturdy puppet for my not so sturdy girl!  She likes to live life on the jump before you think side which results in broken objects or a hurt girl. 

Off to the craft store we went.  I was determined to make a puppet on a stick that would stand the test of time in a Kindergarten classroom.  Here is what we came up with--in all of her favorite colors of course.  That cat head is sewn so tight to the hole in the dowel that it would take some serious muscle to get it off.   Just perfect for my Lila!