tifi

Bring on the Solstice/Christmas season, I’m ready! All four of our trees are up. The “fancy” tree, the small family ornament tree, and the two older kids’ mini trees. I’ve got the stockings hung, the wreath on the door, the windows decorated, etc, etc, etc. I started making a Christmas village. I’ve been baking, and I’m even doing holiday knitting. BUT, I really need to get my house in order. Having the kids home for about a week threw off my housework and so the laundry pile is probably Bebe’s height. Yea, I should get on that. But before I go, pictures!

That’s my favorite ornament. It’s a pop-up paper snowflake ornament by Robert Sabuda for MoMA and was given to me by my stepbrother a few years ago. It was the second snowflake ornament I was ever gifted, and so I decided to start collecting unique ones.

Girlie and I have been working on our little holiday village, this was the first house. What’s more fun than paint and glitter? Not much.

A little hat I’m working on. I couldn’t resist this adorable yarn from Hobby Lobby when it finally went on sale.

The cover of Girlie’s book. Inspired by the ones over at soulemama.

I picked up two of these Japanese mugs at Sally Ann’s for a quarter each. I first saw similar ones on flickr and I have a non Christmas one, too.

Harvest, Thanksgiving, or just plain Day. Have a good one!

Today, we had a conference with ZB’s teacher to find out wth is really going on in there. We talked about a lot including his math work (inconsistent grades), reading comprehension (I mentioned this before on the blog, and his teacher agrees) since they’re soon going to start reading books on a 4th and 5th grade level, and of course, good ‘ol penmanship.

We are trying to learn if his frustration over how hard the work is is causing him to have trouble writing (he’s never expressed this), and if the math and comprehension are just too hard. His teacher would like to keep him in the class, but I’m not so sure. She said he’s not progressing the way he should, and I guess I’m not surprised seeing that I had my doubts about the cluster class from the beginning. So, what DH and I have decided is to have him evaluated for learning disabilities (ok, DH actually wants to skip this part) and depending on the results, get him help, or move him to a regular 2nd grade classroom.

One thing that pissed me off is that during the meeting, the assistant principal popped into the room. She walked by the classroom earlier and said a (fake) hello when she me and DH. I bet she thought we would just see her yesterday, and then go our merry little way. She later came into the room under the guise of having to give something to ZB’s teacher. She interrupted our conversation and made it quite clear without actually saying the words, that she thought he would do better in another room. She went on about the other teacher’s experience, how well the kids in her class did, and blah, blah, blah. Oh, did I mention she’s(ass p) the school’s TAG coordinator, too? Boo!

Anyway, I just really want what’s best for DS. I even considered homeschooling for a bit. Right now, I still think that public school is the best place for ZB, despite the recent (aggravating) snags. That didn’t prevent me from taking The Well Trained Mind, The Unschooling Handbook*, Real-Life Homeschooling**, and a few others out from the library though. I think I’ll put those down and pick The New Public School Parent, Super Simple Origami, and A Child’s Book of Art*** up. I’m glad there’s no school tomorrow. I’m looking forward to just hanging out w/ my kiddos (I say that now…).

*I’ve actually taken this one out before, and like it! So, I won’t put it down.

**I read a few chapters, interesting, I’ll probably pick a few chapters to read.

***For our holiday projects!

I’m surprised how excited I am for Thanksgiving to arrive. The four years past, I cooked a huge meal and the last two years, I even had my mother and brother visiting. This year, it’s just us, and I’m making a smaller meal, but I’m looking forward to it! The kiddos have already decided what they want to help make (they’ve been helping a lot in the kitchen lately) and Girlie even told me she wants to make all my recipes with her kids when she grows up. Awww. Anyway, photos:

Bebe with his itty bitty Hot (warm) Chocolate from Starbucks

We went thrifting in a small town not too far from here that day. It had a tiny one street downtown and this was the side of one of the buildings. There was a door about 15 feet in the air, but no way to access it. There was also an adorably painted library that I didn’t get photos of. Another time.

Little ducks all in a row. I take pictures in this exact spot over and over again. No idea why.

Sure, there are leaves on the ground, but it’s still shorts weather.

Izabiz

ZB made this pencil case himself. Straight out of Martha Stewart Kids magazine.

DH and I had a conference with the assistant principal this morning. The suspension was not rescinded. The recommendation for disciplinary action came from his teacher. I was really surprised by that. She kept reiterating how she was giving him the minimum punishment since he would only be missing PE, music, and library this morning, and he’d still be able to go on his field trip this afternoon. We told her about the bullying and she assured us that bullying was taken seriously at the school and dealt with appropriately (suspension). ZB told me last night that both he and Mean Girl went to see the guidance counselor when the spitting thing happened.

Um, basically, since the teacher requested disciplinary action and since he had previous “incidents” (even if they were provoked), she had to suspend him (oh, wtfever). She mentioned that ZB had some history of not finishing his classwork in a timely fashion and that that behavior was seen as misconduct as well. I’m not kidding. If your kid can’t sit still and always finish his work on time in Yeehawsville, TX, it’s misconduct. Who the hell comes up with this terminology to describe the behavior of seven year olds? Probably school lawyers. Anyway, this is apparently not going to go on his permanent record. So, that’s good. Too bad I had to kiss my kid goodbye while he was on the verge of tears. OK, I didn’t have to, but I still believe there is more good than bad in (our) public school though I may live to eat my words.

Next up, a conference with his teacher, a visit to the guidance counselor, and a follow up letter. Sure, I can’t get them to take back the suspension, but they will know that my kid has parents who care for him and will stand up for him. I’m probably not going to blog about it anymore, but then again, I’m consistently inconsistent.

ZB was suspended on Friday. A half day in school suspension that he’ll serve on Monday. That’s the end, so let me go back to the beginning.

About 6 weeks ago, a really good friend of ZB’s, one he hangs out with outside of school and sees a fair amount of b/c I am friends with his mom, started bullying ZB (verbally). It was really surprising to me, and hurtful to ZB who had never dealt with something like that before. In the end, all was made better (but I still told ZB to keep his distance and the teacher moved their seats around).

I don’t remember when, but we attended a party for one of ZB’s classmates. I was really struck by the behavior of one of the little girls. She was sophisticated and sassy, what I would call facety when talking to West Indian friends. She made commentary on all the gifts in a snarky future mean girl way, and her father just sat and watched. I think that was the most surprising thing. He purposefully ignored her behavior. Not long after, ZB started to have problems with this child. You see, she had a friend that was always with her and ZB wanted to talk to this other friend. Mean girl would block access and so this upset ZB. Eventually, he ended up kicking her desk and then spitting (!) on her when he got mad (teacher was absent that day). We were really shocked by that as was his teacher since that kind of thing, well, he has never done before. His teacher was supposed to write it up, but didn’t since it hadn’t happen before and as she told me “Mean girl has a personality that is…difficult to mesh with.” This cemented for me that I wasn’t just imagining things, but that the girl really was somewhat annoying, lol. She still chases and annoys ZB and his friends, but I’ve told him to ignore her, or go to the teacher, guidance counselor, or some other adult in charge if she is taunting him.

This past Thursday,  ZB’s teacher was absent. The sub he had was the same one present during the spitting incident. She’s also the parent of a girl in his class. During afternoon snack time, ZB took a snack that fell on the floor (it wasn’t his) and ate it. He also took a lego soldier that wasn’t his and played with it during free time. The sub didn’t notice, but ZB later confessed to her. She told me after school and I said I would talk to him about it. We decided on a punishment and he seemed remorseful, even telling me that I should punish him for a whole week (I did). He didn’t go to school Friday due to an appointment.

Friday morning, I got a call from the assistant principal (who handles student discipline) and was shocked when she told me he was being suspended. She told me that stealing was considered a serious offense and that she was giving him the minimum punishment. (It annoys me that the same rules can apply to second graders that apply to twelfth graders.) I guess that was the point where I was supposed to fall over over myself thanking her? Yea, that didn’t happen, heh. Anyway, I asked her to tell me where I could find this info and she reffered me to the conduct handbook and I agreed that per district rules, suspension was the thing. She went on to semi lecture me about how he is 7 (so old), in second grade (so big), and in the TAG class (so smart), so he should know better. Yada, yada, yada, I’m sure she was a perfect seven year old. By no means do I think my kid is innocent, and yes, he is being punished for his actions, but her tone was really…I don’t know, over the top? She also told me that she had heard about his “academic difficulties” which confused me. I really had to think for a second there. “Ooooh, you mean his penmanship?” Yes, that was it. Now that made me mad. I told her bad handwriting isn’t an academic difficulty, and she sorta backpedaled.

To end our conversation, she told me she looked forward to meeting me. What a laugh! That showed me that she had no idea who I was or who my kid was. I volunteer at the school, and even when I’m not doing that, I’m in the school building once or twice a week for something or other. The secretary is my next door neighbor, the guidance counselor taught ZB last year. It’s a small school. My kid has been there four years, two years longer than she’s been working there. So, I smirked, said goodbye, and shook my head again wondering at school administrators.

I know, I know. But we did read another book last night. Madeline. And the kids have added The Best Story Collection EVER! to their holiday wishlist.

Posted this over at my old blog too…

ZB has always had bad handwriting. At best, it’s legible and sorta evenly spaced. At worst, its gobbledy gook. He has never had the best fine motor skills. I always attributed the bad handwriting to that and so we let him do things (play with legos, clay, etc) that would help build them. Today, his teacher expressed concern over the anxiety he now has over writing. It’s to the point that sometimes, he’s paralyzed by it. She says he has good ideas and I know he is doing well academically, he just gets so worked up about the writing thing. She sometimes makes him write things over (and he has a stress ball at his desk that he can squeeze if he feels a block), but only when they’re not readable. She doesn’t want him to feel like it’s this big thing that he has to overcome, but it is a little thing. His handwriting is not improving at all and I feel bad for his poor teacher who thinks that maybe he doesn’t like school (no, he loves it) and was on the verge of tears talking to me about this. She even asked if maybe he would like to move out of the cluster class. Personally, I don’t think handwriting is a big deal (mine is awful too), but I want his to be legible and somewhat evenly spaced. Basically, readable. At home and at school, he practices in handwriting workbooks, and over the summer, we tried to keep up his daily journal. I thought about doing Handwriting Without Tears which I heard about from Yo, but never got around to ordering the books. I haven’t done any googling yet, but I think I’m going to go with a simple reward system if all classwork is completed daily and legibly. DH and I are going to schedule a conference with his teacher once I decide what I’d like to do so we can come up with a plan of action for the classroom. So, what say you? Had this problem before? Have any advice? Think I should just quit my whining? LMK!

Here are some shots of him writing this afternoon. Check out the funky grip.

Tonight we’ll be reading from Time for Fairy Tales compiled by May Hill Arbuthnot. Another one picked up at the school book sale. How can they be getting rid of these gems?? Anyway, what an awesome collection! There are fairy tales, folk tales and myth stories and being a lover of all three, I find it hard to just wait and read it to the children every once in a while. I think I might as well just read through the whole thing, it’s too tempting. Plus, it has adorable illustrations.
And on the subject of folktales, my mom is just back from St. Lucia with some books for the kids. I asked her to try to pick up books with specific St. Lucian folktales but she said they were hard to find. Luckily, I still have a primer full of stories from…Stage 2, 3, or Standard 1, I’m not sure. I just have to find it.

The kids’ school is celebrating Children’s Book Week too, but in the corniest ways. For instance, tomorrow is “Slip off into Dreamland with a good book”-Wear slippers to school. Yea, um, no. Next year, I’m making suggestions.

Today marks the start of Children’s Book Week 2007. In honor of that, I’ll be posting about all the children’s book we read this week that I can remember.

Today, I read:

Little Brown Bear Loses His Clothes - a short and sweet story about keeping one’s room tidy. Funny that Girlie picked this when she has clothes all over her room right now.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish - A classic picked by ZB for bedtime.

and DH read:

Mission to Mars to Bebe - I really don’t like books based on tv shows, but MIL buys them and they are somehow integrated into our collection before I can quietly donate them.

This week in school, ZB will be reading Sarah, Plain and Tall. Since I knew ahead of time and it’s a book we have at home, we started reading it at home last week. I remember my brother reading the book when we were kids, but I didn’t. Based on the two chapters that we read, I think ZB too immature for the story. I felt he was having a hard time with the comprehension. Sure, he can read the book, but it’s important that he understands it as well. Sometimes, I really worry about him being in the cluster class.

ZB and Girlie also read together today a little book about Germany. I mentioned the book on my old blog before. One of ZB’s friends (and classmates) is German (born in Germany, German mom). Not uncommon for military families. Anyway, since they’ve been in school together since Pre-K, ZB has always had a bit of interest in Germany. Now Girlie’s gotten in on the act, and was absolutely thrilled to learn that there are castles there. Hehe.

From yesterday’s Times, a slideshow of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2007.