Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Amazing
wow. my kids are rocking the whole school thing lately. i think it's due to grandma's home school preschool. at least that has given them a boost.
e has participated in the school districts young author contest for 3 years. the first year she didn't get an award. but, last year she won at her school and went to the district level (with students from at least 4 grade schools) and won an honorable mention for her story. we are very proud of her. this year she again won at her school! her stories are so fun and i am so glad she enjoys writing.
i've been stressing and praying lately about where e and j were going to go to school next year. e's teacher this year is brand new and i feel he has not taught her to her potential. i was concerned that she would get another "just ok" teacher. at their school they don't take parents requests for teachers. so, with j going there next year i was also concerned about which teacher he would get. there are 4 1st grade teachers at their school and i only think one is really good teacher. i've spent time with them on field trips and such.
well, my prayers were answered for j yesterday when we got a letter in the mail from the district saying he had high academic potential and was invited to participate in the happ program. this is the program that e's kindergarten teacher was sure e would get into for 1st grade. but, because of demographics (the classroom has to be made up of the same percentage of each nationality as the district)she didn't make it. we were concerned that she'd end up with a "just ok" teacher. but, she had mrs. nott who was a great teacher. i was so glad that j was invited to be in the happ program as they do a lot of extra things. the kids are all interested in learning and the teacher doesn't have to teach to such a wide group of skill levels.
and then today the phone rang and it was the director of the happ program. he said he doesn't usually make phone calls to parents, but this was a special instance. he was calling because e had tested into the happ program. and sometimes having children at the same school makes a difference whether the parents send them to there or not. (at the end of 2nd and 4th grades the children are tested again and rearranged based on scores. it's harder to get in though because the kids in happ have a more detailed education). e made it in too!! wow, answered prayers. she won't be too thrilled about leaving her friends, but i think she'll like it once school starts.
i hope i didn't offend anyone with the way i talk about teachers. education for our children is so important. it's so hard to make sure all kids get what they need. revamped somehow.
e has participated in the school districts young author contest for 3 years. the first year she didn't get an award. but, last year she won at her school and went to the district level (with students from at least 4 grade schools) and won an honorable mention for her story. we are very proud of her. this year she again won at her school! her stories are so fun and i am so glad she enjoys writing.
i've been stressing and praying lately about where e and j were going to go to school next year. e's teacher this year is brand new and i feel he has not taught her to her potential. i was concerned that she would get another "just ok" teacher. at their school they don't take parents requests for teachers. so, with j going there next year i was also concerned about which teacher he would get. there are 4 1st grade teachers at their school and i only think one is really good teacher. i've spent time with them on field trips and such.
well, my prayers were answered for j yesterday when we got a letter in the mail from the district saying he had high academic potential and was invited to participate in the happ program. this is the program that e's kindergarten teacher was sure e would get into for 1st grade. but, because of demographics (the classroom has to be made up of the same percentage of each nationality as the district)she didn't make it. we were concerned that she'd end up with a "just ok" teacher. but, she had mrs. nott who was a great teacher. i was so glad that j was invited to be in the happ program as they do a lot of extra things. the kids are all interested in learning and the teacher doesn't have to teach to such a wide group of skill levels.
and then today the phone rang and it was the director of the happ program. he said he doesn't usually make phone calls to parents, but this was a special instance. he was calling because e had tested into the happ program. and sometimes having children at the same school makes a difference whether the parents send them to there or not. (at the end of 2nd and 4th grades the children are tested again and rearranged based on scores. it's harder to get in though because the kids in happ have a more detailed education). e made it in too!! wow, answered prayers. she won't be too thrilled about leaving her friends, but i think she'll like it once school starts.
i hope i didn't offend anyone with the way i talk about teachers. education for our children is so important. it's so hard to make sure all kids get what they need. revamped somehow.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
J's 1st day of Kindergarten
i was really happy with the way this layout turned out. it was fun to find a drawing by J to add. i'm going to submit this one. if you click on it it will show a larger version.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Bedtime
a couple bedtime memories to remember.
E - she loves a quick back rub at bedtime. i started it as a way to stay close as she gets older. hopefully even when she's a teen she'll like a back rub and it will help keep us close. she is afraid of lightening and thunder and will stay awake waiting for the next boom if there's a storm.
J - likes a back rub too. he moans and groans while i do it. he also mumbles to himself, or sighs as he falls asleep.
NL - likes to me to sing a song. he calls it a sing along. last night when i finished "a bushel and a peck" he said "that was beautiful". love him!
NT - he always wants a pacifier and something to snuggle. then he wants to put his hand up my shirt on the same spot on my stomach. he likes it best if i stay until he falls asleep, but lately i'm trying to leave him to fall asleep on his own.
E - she loves a quick back rub at bedtime. i started it as a way to stay close as she gets older. hopefully even when she's a teen she'll like a back rub and it will help keep us close. she is afraid of lightening and thunder and will stay awake waiting for the next boom if there's a storm.
J - likes a back rub too. he moans and groans while i do it. he also mumbles to himself, or sighs as he falls asleep.
NL - likes to me to sing a song. he calls it a sing along. last night when i finished "a bushel and a peck" he said "that was beautiful". love him!
NT - he always wants a pacifier and something to snuggle. then he wants to put his hand up my shirt on the same spot on my stomach. he likes it best if i stay until he falls asleep, but lately i'm trying to leave him to fall asleep on his own.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
AZ
we had another amazing vacation in AZ. two weeks of warm weather and lazy days. perfect. between dave and i we took over 300 photos. there will be tons of scrapbook pages to come!
just like you
we went over to the building where dave's office is after dinner last night to look at the new office space that is being built for him on the third floor. it is much bigger than their "official" space now and dave will have his own office. on the way home J told dave he wanted to do just what dave does and work with him there when he grows up. it was so sweet and dave told him he'd love it if J came to work with him.
62
that was the temperature today here in northern illinois. a balmy 62! it was so nice after the cold days since we've been home. the kids played outside in tshirts. perfect weather for a saturday!
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