In the last few weeks we had parent-teacher conferences for both Anna and Kate.
Anna first - She has done very well this year under the guidance and assistance of her amazing team. Her academics are on par for fourth grade. Math is her strongest subject, but her reading has continued to improve at a great pace this year. Her writing still needs some help, but she has made much progress this year and we have plans to help her continue to improve this summer. It still takes Anna longer to complete/master the same learning as typical fourth graders, but her work ethic ensures that she does all that she can do.
Friendships seem to be going well, too, for Anna. She has a nice group of friends and lots of acquaintances. Her team did a wonderful job this year creating the right environment for Anna and peers to continue to develop meaningful relationships.
Next Kate - She is also doing very well this year academically, socially, and with regards to her confidence. Many of Kate's teacher's observations mirror our own. Kate has grown greatly this year in her ability to explain her mathematical thinking (a huge thing for this mom who is also a trained math teacher). Her writing samples are again being used this year by her teacher as examples for the general writing curriculum (this happened in both kindergarten and 1st grade). We always LOVE seeing Kate's writing at conferences, but were a bit bummed that we didn't get to take any home this time around. But the best part is that now Kate will tell you that she likes to write!
Kate transitioned this year from just being "part of a group" at recess, to really having a go-to best friend. It's been nice to see Kate enjoy school relationships and we are looking forward to seeing where she goes from here.
In the last few weeks, we also had the second grade and fourth grade music programs.
Kate first - Kate was most nervous this year about "everything going smoothly". Last year one of her classmates threw up in the middle of the performance ... all over the floor in front of the risers. Quite the memorable experience for many people in attendance.
This year, thankfully, everything DID go smoothly. The kids did well and knew their songs by heart.
Next Anna - Oh. My. Goodness. The new music teacher at her school did a phenomenal job with the kids. The previous music teacher was also wonderful, but many of us were honestly impressed with what the new teacher did in his
first year at Waubesa.
I'm guessing that at least 90% of the fourth grade class, which is about 160 students, were in attendance, as well as their families and some extended families. The gym was PACKED.
Not only did all of the kids sing all of the songs, but each child was in a group that came up for a special small-group performance. Anna told us they could choose singing, dancing, instruments, or speaking roles. After they all listed their priorities, the teacher placed each child in a group and then coordinated all of the practices. Wow.
The kids did awesome; they had fun; they knew their roles and responsibilities; and it was an energy filled evening for all.
Side note ... Anna used her walker the whole evening, including standing for the 45 minute performance. As a testament to the school personnel, no less than three teachers checked in with her to make sure she was okay standing, offering her a chair if she needed one :) She declined each time and powered through very well (although the next morning was a rough one in our house).
Moving on.
This winter we have been alternating our Friday evenings as either Family Movie Night or Family Game Night. Since certain people in the family enjoy movies and others enjoy games, we figured this was a good way to give everyone something to look forward to at the end of the week while still trying to make sure no one's preferences were left out.
Early on we told Kate that we were going to be watching
different movies, instead of just the ones we have all watched multiple times. Even last fall she didn't like watching a movie the first time; too much unknown. Slowly, but surely, she is getting past that fear.
Some of the movies we have watched are The Iron Giant, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Life of Pets, Tangled, Annie, one of the Muppet Movies, and a few others I can't remember right now.
Last Friday was a game night. Ethan offered to grab a game from the girls' closet and a moment later came proudly out with Wack-a-Mole. This was not the same caliber of what we usually choose, but turns out it was just the right game for the night. 45 minutes later, everyone wanted to keep playing instead of going to bed :)
The rest of the weekend was spent dealing with the firewood that was piled in the yard. Since the weather was cold enough again that the ground refroze, Matt decided to rent a log-splitter for the day on Saturday so we could deal with all of that firewood without tearing up the yard. He started working at about 8 a.m. and didn't return the equipment until 6 p.m. I helped stack when I could, but the rest of the stacking we did on Sunday afternoon, before a snowstorm came and dumped about 5 inches of snow on everything. Needless to say, we were very sore on Sunday evening, and all day Monday. But, after neglecting to supply our firewood consumption needs for the past few years, we are set again for the next couple.
The kids and I headed out of the house on Saturday evening (while Matt continued working) to go to the BCCN spring art party. The kids all painted on small canvases, ate a tasty dinner, had their faces painted, and then we rounded out the evening with dancing and playing in the DJ room.
Painting, food, music, and dancing ... what more could you want on a Saturday night? We are not heavily involved in the BCCN activities at this point, but some of the events just work very well for our family right now.
Currently, everyone is counting down the days until Spring Break. I think there are enough positive things going on most days to keep each kid going until then, but they are all looking forward to a change of routine. So am I!
