Starfish of the Week

K's 2nd grade teacher has a cute project for the class. Each week a different student is chosen to be "Starfish of the Week". That child gets a bulletin board in the class that they get to decorate however they want. They can also bring in any kind of props. Then each day they get 5-10 minutes of "circle time" to talk about themselves or their family and answer questions about the stuff in their display.

K has been DYING for her turn since September. Well, it is finally her week. She decorated the bulletin board with pictures of her and family vacations and pictures of our house and her room. She also made a book with pictures of important family/friends. For props she also included the little books I have been making for her and her siblings using their pics to make up silly stories. She is so excited to be sharing it with her class.

Kudos to her teacher for spotlighting each kid during the year!

First Day of School, First Day of School!

The bags are packed. The lunches are nearly ready. The checks are written. The school supplies are at the front door. Hair has been cut, nails have been painted, and dresses are hanging and ready. Let the first day of Kindergarten (for B) and 2nd grade (for K) come!


(edited to add pics!)

B is off to kindergarten, K will be in 2nd grade!!

Big Man isn't actually going to school, but really wanted to be in the pictures!!

Pomp & Circumstance

B graduated from pre-school on Friday. The whole group two songs (I'm ready to go off to kindergarten{sung to the Oscar Meyer Hot Dog Tune} and Its a Small World) and she and 3 of her friends read a poem. She was very excited and looked beautiful in her cap and gown. She has this one last week of preschool, and after our beach trip (NEXT WEEK!!!!) she goes to daycamp with K the rest of the summer. I can't believe she is about to be a kindergartener!!!

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

<- everyone's favorite part, the water mister!!

I joined K's 1st grade class on a trip to the zoo last week. It was actually pretty cool, as they had the kids do a scavenger hunt of sorts. The kids had a "passport" with the 7 continents in it. They had to find animals from at least six of them (we have no Antarctic animals at our zoo). Then they would write the name of the animal, check off the continent, and draw pictures of the animals. It was really a great time.

That's My Girl

This is an email I received yesterday from K's teacher:

True story! : )
While giving the DRA test to first graders, one girl (gee, I wonder who : ] ) was reading "The Giant in the Forest". The gist of the story is a boy who lives near a lake and a giant who is afraid of water. The mother has the boy take a bath during the daytime to avoid the giant. Of course, one day the boy gets distracted, night falls and he must take his bath in the dark lake. The giant is waiting for him when he emerges and starts to chase him. Being very clever, the boy drops his soap on the ground, the giant slips and falls and the boy is saved! (Didn't see that coming did you?!)
The comprehension question was, "What do you think the author is trying to tell you in this story?"
Our smart girl answered, without pause, "Always carry a bar of soap with you."

hee hee..that's my girl!

Report Card Riddles

So K got her report card from First Grade this week. It was all good. "K a joy to have in class" blah blah blah.

DH and I have been a bit concerned about her reading - which she is still struggling with. When I asked her teacher for the name of the Reading Specialist - she told me that K was doing great - right at grade level and I shouldn't be concerned. DH and I also know that K is doing really well with math. At home she adds multiple digit numbers using columns and carrying, etc. Advanced stuff for first grade.

So we get the report card which says "reading at grade level, comprehension excellent." It goes on to say "Her only weakness is recalling details and key facts about the story." Ummm..isn't that what comprehension is??? I think her comprehension is awful cuz she is too busy concentrating on sounding out the words.

Teacher also says she is at level for math. Really? She can add five-digit numbers in columns, using carrying. Given what I have seen from her homework - that is way ahead.

I am just concerned that maybe her teacher doesn't know her so well. Thoughts? I already emailed and reiterated our desire to talk to the reading specialist. Maybe I should talk to the math specialist too? Or am I getting worked up over nothing?

Once in a Blue Moon

Once in a while I do something and think "I'm so glad we did that". One came this Thanksgiving while we were in MA visiting my Dad. On Thanksgiving day, K started to spout out all she had learned about the first Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims, etc. When she finished talking, I turned to her and said, "you know, Plymouth Rock is only about 40 minutes from here." She said, "IT IS??!!! CAN WE GO??" So we did. The next morning we all hoped in the car and headed out to Plymouth Rock. We saw the rock, the Mayflower II, and the exhibits. And we took pictures and saved brochures and stuff for K's teacher. On the Monday after Thanksgiving she brought everything in. Her teacher let her do an impromptu show and tell to all her classmates about Plymouth Rock AND let her make a display on a bulletin board for the whole class. (How cool a teacher is that?!!)




She was so proud. And I was so psyched we just did it - instead of thinking "uh..its 40 minutes away, and its cold, and I don't feel like going, etc". We just did it and it was so worth it.

I love when sometimes we are spontaneous and just DO IT!

First Day of School

Look at my big girl -- off to 1st grade!

Its More Than Just Camp

So K is at day camp this summer. We decided to send her to the just-have-fun and be a kid kind of camp as opposed to educational or sport-oriented or any other kind of camp. This is camp where they do crafts and go to the pool and run around. She is loving it.

But the first week, I was totally surprised (and pleased) by what was going on. I have mentioned before that K is good at math. Well, at her first week of camp they had one section of the day called "train your brain" and they could chose what kind of activity to do. K, of course, picked math. The worksheet they gave her had addition in columns like this:

42

+11

We have tried to teach K addition in columns like this, but she never understood the whole carrying concept. They weren't doing this in Kindergarten, so we didn't spend much time on it at home. But in one day at camp they explained it to her and she can add huge numbers now. Basically all they did was draw a line down the center of the numbers, separating the columns. Somehow that made it click for her. She can even do 3-4 digit numbers now! She is so excited, and so am I.

Who knew that even fun camp can be educational!

Last Day of School!

So today is the first day of summer, and the last day of K's year of Kindergarten. This morning that made me sad. I know how much she loves her teachers and how much fun she has had. I am sorry for her that it is over. Also, the school kind of protects the Kinders (as K calls them) by keeping much of their day separate from the older kids. They don't have lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else (they eat in their classroom) and for extended day, the Kinders and Preschoolers are in their own room. Next year she will be in the mix with everyone else. She has been very anxious about it, and we have been trying to work that out. She was very comfortable in kindergarten, and I'm sure she will be in 1st grade too.

The worst part is - she is missing the last day of school! Last night she was complaining of a sore throat and by bedtime had a fever. Given that her siblings both had strep last week - we assume she has too. She is at the dr now, but we started her on antibiotics last night (left over from her brother).

DH went to school this morning to drop off gifts for her teachers and pick up her remaining stuff. The teachers had awards they were giving all the students in the class. My guess would be that K would have won "Most Likely to Answer a Question Without Raising Her Hand". Her teachers were much nicer. She got "Future President"!!! So awesome.

Luckily to celebrate summer, we were planning on having lots of messy Popsicles with dinner - should be good for the sore throat!

Public School ROCKS!

So my oldest, K, goes to the local public school. And by local, I mean 2 doors away. I have to say that we are lucky to live in an area that has some of the best public schools in the country. That said, I know a bunch of people that send their kids to private school. That just kills me. You pay all this extra money in property taxes and other fees to live in an area with high quality schools - and you send your kid to private school. I just don't get it. But anyway...

In our County we have options for school - we can go to the neighborhood joint, or we can select other options- like Montessori or Spanish-immersion. But we really wanted her to go to the local school, and I am so glad we made that choice.

First, at the Kindergarten orientation last year the Principal said we could schedule an appointment to come meet with her individually. So, I did. And at that meeting, she suggested I take an hour and visit the three kindergarten classes to get a feel for them, and offer my advice on which one would be best for my child. And so I did, and we love the teacher we selected that K got.

Now, as we approach 1st grade, I asked the Principal if I could do the same thing and for first grade. She welcomed my input, so I went and observed the three 1st grade classrooms. They were all great, but I definitely had a preference, which I emailed the principal.

I know that not all public schools are as welcoming, or helpful, or high quality. But I am so grateful for ours!

Lazy days of summer....maybe not!

With K in Kindergarten, we needed to figure out what to do with her all summer. You would think there would be some simple solution - but really, there isn't. We are lucky that our county offers a number of summer camps - but you have to sign up by the week. There is a basic camp offered right down the street. It is available most weeks - but not all. So you pretty much need a spreadsheet and matrix to figure out what to do. There are 11 weeks of summer (after school ends and before it starts again), and we are going on vacation for 2 weeks. That leaves 9 weeks.
Last week was the sign up day, and thank goodness, that part was not hard. They had suggested we have at least 2 choices for each week, in case certain ones were full. We got into all our first choices. The hardest part was figuring out what to sign her up for. She is going to the basic camp for 6 weeks, another "regular" camp for 1 week, a softball camp for 1 week (that should be interesting!) and a general sports camp for one week. I fear I will need a rigid list to remember where to drive her each week (and the different hours for each one). I can't imagine what it will be like when I have more than one kid in camp!

oh yeah, and by the way, you had to pay for all the summer camps NOW! At one time. nice.

wow

So Harvard University has started this cool thing with tuition. If you make less than $60k..you can send your kid to Harvard for FREE. FREE! They still have to get in (good luck with that), but the tuition will be free. If you make less than $180,000 you won't have to pay more than 10% of your income. The number decrease from 10% to ZERO as you move down the income scale. That is HUGE people. $18k or less for a Harvard education?! I know people who pay nearly that much for private elementary school. (I think they are nuts, but that is another matter altogether). I am hugely impressed by this move. You can read all about it here. Lets pray some other schools start doing similar things (not that my darling children won't be going to Harvard, but just in case they prefer a different school! ;) )

You Want the Good News or the Bad News?

So..the Good News is that K is really LOVING kindergarten - even before and aftercare now. In fact, this weekend she made a point of telling me that she did not want to go back to her old school. I asked her why and she said because she liked her new school so much better. I was so happy that she was happy.

Complete diversion - I was also grateful, because we are in a fight with our daycare/preschool about drop-in rates. Our school allows drop-ins for kids up to age 6, meaning that when K's elementary school was closed, she could go to school with her siblings, for a reasonable price. Well, they just nearly doubled the price, and we think its crazy. When we asked where they got that number (it was $75/day) they appeared to have few data points. When we asked why they would price themselves out of the market (for comparison, our school does day camp when it is closed for $46/day) - they said that they think it is reasonable. I pointed out that drop-ins were just free money - they don't allow drop-ins if it puts them out of ratio - , and they were like, well we only made $1000 last year on drop-ins anyway. That made me so mad. Do they know how much time I spent baking cookies for countless days of bake sales that make about $500 a shot. But $1000 is all of a sudden nothing. I was so pissed. So its good she doesn't want to go back, I'll take vacation days before sending her. Although it makes me sad, cuz I know her old friends - and her teachers who have told me they can't wait to see her - want to see her.

Anywho -- as I was saying. The good news is K loves school. The bad news is, apparently she has become a discipline problem. Yesterday DH got a call from her teacher saying the K was having trouble listening and following directions and would he talk to her (as the phone is handed to K, who of course, was sobbing). I was mortified. And, we had a regularly scheduled meeting with her teacher that evening. So, where I had been expecting a wondering meeting about how amazing my dd is, I am now dreading hearing about her behavior, and frankly am SHOCKED. She is actually a pretty good listener, and certainly doesn't pull this crap with us. So, we go to the meeting, and it was actually pretty positive. It seems only in the last few days has K acted like this. So I'm thinking that maybe in her new comfort zone she is just testing the limits. Not that it justifies her behavior, but maybe she was just trying it out??!! I don't really know. We have talked to her and came up with a solution where her teacher will make a chart and it will come home each day so we can monitor if she is behaving. The teacher thinks it will be resolved in 1-2 weeks. I sure hope so, or K will be mighty sorry.

Not to end on a sour note, it also turns out K is really good at math. On Sunday when we were coming home from the Nats game, she said she wanted to play the "adding game". I asked her how, and she said to give her numbers and she would add them in her head. So I started with small numbers like 2 + 3 and 4+1 and she was like, c'mon mom. So I started with 9 + 6 and 8+7, and she's getting them all. Then I try 12 + 7 - no problem. Then DH starts with 4+6+3 and 7+5+4. And she's doing great. I'm surprised, and so glad they have started adding already in Kindergarten. So last night I ask her teacher about it, and she says, "NO!" - they haven't been doing that - but she has noticed it too. K has counted backwards and once asked if they could just count by "3s". Weird. Maybe they did it in preschool??!! Not sure. But I can guarantee that along with their looks this did NOT come from me!

Off to School

Picture 004
Originally uploaded by MBooth_98

Isnt' she amazing? This is K charging off to the first day of Kindergarten. She was so excited. Despite the slight downturn after day 1, she was in a great mood this morning - no crying during dropoff, and had great stories and songs from the previous day. SUCCESS!

First day of school, first day of school!

I will have to post pics later, cuz they are adorable. My oldest, K, started Kindergarten yesterday. She was SOOO excited - she literally ran out the door to get there. I couldn't wait to pick her up to hear how it went. She LOVED her class. Loved her teacher, had a blast with all the activities they did, and was very happy. She HATED before/after care. I guess because we did the pre-visit for her class she was ready for that -- but she didn't have any introduction to before/after care, aside from me talking to her about it. Basically, I drop her off in the cafeteria, and she can play games or do puzzles or the like (and eat breakfast) until the bell rings about an hour later. Then in the afternoon the same thing for about 1 1/2 hours til we pick her up. She said she didn't know anyone (there is nobody else in her K class in the before/after care, I think) and didn't like it. My guess is this will pass in a week once she gets the lay of the land. Meanwhile, DH got the bad end of the lollipop, as he dropped off today while she sobbed. Yesterday she was happy as a clam. Oh well.

Oh yeah, and boys SUCK. Even at 6. One of her best friends who she has known since birth and plays with regularly is in the first grade. He's a great kid really - he's my Godson, and his Mom is K's Godmother. They played at our house 4 days ago, and spent the week at the beach together 2 weeks ago. Anyway -- K says that when she waved and said hi to him on the playground he laughed and ran away. She was heartbroken. Her exact words "he doesn't care about me anymore". Arghhh...I hate cooties. And boys suck. I just didn't think I would have to deal with it for a few more years.

Just Stuff

So my DS, in following in the steps of his big sisters, had a Kleenex party yesterday. He was so proud of himself. He followed it up the next day with a wipes party. We have now moved everything to higher shelves.

Oldest daughter (k) starts Kindergarten tomorrow. She is very excited. Last week we were able to go for an hour and meet her teacher and see the classroom and play with other kids who were there. It was a great success. The only thing she is nervous about tomorrow is how to buy her breakfast. I told her we could bring it, but she want to try. Weirdest thing -- turns out her Kindergarten teacher graduated from the same little high school that I went to about 500 miles away from here. What are the chances? Its possible she had my mom as an English teacher. small world.

Not looking forward to the commute tomorrow. Congress is back, school is back, and everyone will be back at work. Oh well...

My kids are going commando. Why am I the only one who finds it funny?

So...my 5 year old dresses herself. In the morning she gets up, goes potty, brushes her teeth and hair and dresses herself. She also helps my 2.5 year old get dressed. This morning I get an angry call from daycare, that my 5 year old doesn't have underwear on, and she has no extras in her cubby. This happened about 2 weeks ago as well. The first time I think I laughed. This time, they were pissed, and said she had to go home. I laughed and said I would bring her some underwear. Frankly, the whole time I am thinking that the chances that the 2.5 year old is also going commando are pretty high. But daycare is not amused. They say I can bring some underwear this time, but next time she has to go home. So..I bail out of work and hurry over there to take her to buy some underwear (there is a dept store about 5 blocks from daycare). When I get there, she has underwear on. They got it from my 2.5 year old's cubby, as well as underwear for the 2.5 year old, who (as I guessed) was also commando. I sat my 5 year old down and told her she had to wear underwear that it was important for health reasons. She said she just forgot (which I totally believe) and said she was sorry. I emphasized that she would need to remember in the future. I had a similar (with less fire and brimstone) talk with my 2.5 year old.

Then we get a note from the director of our daycare stating that if it happened again, the kids would be sent home and could not return until the next day.

I think that is nuts. I mean, what is the big deal. From now on we will check to see if they have underwear in the morning. But, as long as they get underwear, what is the point to send them home? To punish them? To punish me? Seems like overkill. While this has happened 2x in 2 weeks, it never happened before at school (she did the same thing to us on Sunday).

Am I missing something? What is the big deal, seriously. I asked if she was doing anything inappropriate (like playing with herself, or something) and they said no. So c'mon! Make her put on the underwear and get on with the day. Am I under-reacting?