The girls had no school on Friday and, by that point, Kate was READY to be done with the school schedule. In fact, she was in tears before her gymnastic class on Thursday night because she just wanted to "stay home and play". Friday morning Anna had therapy, but after that we were on our own. The kids were thrilled; they love their free time.
One of the extra activities of the week was Anna's parent-teacher conference. The kids went over to a friend's house for the after-school time (our three kids + their four kids = lots of fun) while Matt and I met with Anna's team. Using the term "team" in reference to Anna's school experience and academics is very applicable. No less than eight professionals met with us for the conference, and that does not include Anna's aides or the related arts teachers or the variety of people with whom she interacts in the hall every day. It's amazing how much is accomplished and how well Anna is doing when we work together as a team.
At the conference we discussed Anna's current levels of acheivement, both academically as well as in terms of her various therapies. She is still doing as well as can be expected. Math/critical thinking is definitely one of her strengths, but we were pleased to learn that her reading (comprehension, vocabulary, word attack skills) is at grade level. She is continuing to work on her fluency, but reading aloud takes additional time for Anna because it involves speech and language skills in addition to actual reading skills. As with everything, her stamina and endurance is continually increasing (unless she is sick).
We also discussed some of the nitty-gritty details of the next few months (schedule, field trips, projects, testing, etc.). The final part of the conference was about Anna's transition to 3rd grade: what can be done in the next few months, what could/should be done over the summer, and how parts of third grade might look for her.
On a side note, all of the postcards Anna received in the last year or so, in addition to the map with stars, will be used by some of the 2nd grade classrooms in the coming months. Geography is one of the topics covered in the curriculum. When we learned about the upcoming unit, we offered the resources to Anna's teachers. We figured that they would be used more at school than in our storage room in the basement :)
All in all, it was a good conference. Anna has an incredible "team" this year at school.
Along with school and the medical aspects of life, this is the time when the growing cycle starts again. Hooray! Here's my update on our food stocks and this year's garden. (This is more for my future reference than anyone else.)
This past week we finally ran out of green beans, broccoli, and freezer pickles. We used up the last of the corn a month ago or so. We still have shredded zucchini, butternut squash, and loads of pureed pumpkin in the freezer. Our stock of canned tomato products is good. This coming season I plan on canning more diced tomatoes instead of as much spaghetti sauce. Our applesauce supply is running low, but the grape juice is still being enjoyed. We also have plenty of potatoes left.
I started our broccoli plants a few weeks back; they are doing great. We started tomatoes from seed for the first time this year; we'll see how they do.
Monday afternoon the kids helped me transplant the broccoli plants out of the peat pots into little cups; we had a nice assembly line set up outside. Anna filled the cups with dirt; I transplanted the plants; Kate watered them; Ethan played in the water.
Friday morning we stopped at Aldi after therapy and picked up a couple of flats of strawberries that were on sale. In the past when Aldi's has strawberries on sale for $0.99/lb. this time of year, we buy a good supply, freeze them, and use them throughout the year. We've been watching the fliers, but it doesn't look like the sale is going to be quite as good. However, the sale is still better than most prices for strawberries throughout the year.
The girls helped me slice up the strawberries while Ethan was napping. We taught Kate how to slice strawberries when she was 3 1/2. Maybe not every family would choose to teach their 3 year old how to use a knife, but she was very safe and very, very helpful. This year her efficiency was impressive! I hope I can keep her motivated to help with the garden!
This year I got Anna set up in the stander to help. Again, every therapist might not recommend this activity, but she was safe and helpful.
Most importantly, both girls felt very proud about being able to help this way and were looking forward to ways they can help in the future.
Time for Prayers
Thanksgiving
Please give thanks that we are all healthy right now!
Please thank God for Anna's educational team.
Please give thanks for Anna's medical team.
Please thank God for Anna's therapy team.
Please give thanks that we are getting relatively decent sleep in our house these days.
Please thank God that Anna continues to make progress with all of her rehabilitation.
In this Easter season, please give thanks for Jesus' sacrifice and all that this means for us.
Requests
Please continue to pray for peace, patience, wisdom, strength, and rest for all in our family.
Please continue to pray for these same characteristics for those working with Anna and our family.
Please continue to pray that Anna's strength, coordination, and endurance increases in all areas of her rehabilitation.
Thanks, as always, for all of your support and prayers!
No comments:
Post a Comment