tifi

Next stop: First Grade!

So this school thing is actually work! Imagine that! After being thrown off almost a week due to an error made by the school, I am now playing catch up trying to get two weeks worth of work done before next Tuesday. I will probably be up till O Dark 30 Monday night getting it done, but s’ok. I work best under pressure. Some people pace themselves and do a bit at a time but why would I want to do that? That would make sense!

The kids’ school year is winding down and seems to be drama free, so I’m happy about that. It has gotten stupid Texas hot the past few days and so I spend my time indoors between sun-up and well, bedtime. If I must go out, I scurry from air conditioned car to air conditioned building and back. Like I’ve said before, I am a delicate flower, not made for heat. I had heat stroke last year, and even fainted from the heat as a child.

My kids are currently banned from taking out library books due to the whopping fine I recently had to pay for a lost book. It was either that or go to court as not paying fines is considered a misdemeanor here. I’m not kidding. I bet the library ban goes out the window once school lets out…or maybe remembering those fines will keep the ban in check.
Anyway, I have reading to do, so I better get to it!

• I got all set to start school again. I start an elementary education program tomorrow! All online. I am excited and determined to finish. At first, I thought I would do that, then get my MLS to become a librarian, but now, I am thinking of becoming a teacher after all. I know it’s twee and all, but maybe I’ll end up being someone who can make a difference.
• I took ZB to the neurologist about those headaches he’s had over the past year plus. She doesn’t think anything is seriously wrong, but she wants to do an MRI just to be sure. He also has a prescription for Maxalt now. I don’t know if I’m going to fill it though.
• We went back to the ADHD specialist, and I was pretty disappointed. He felt that meds were the way to go and that anything else wouldn’t work. What? Otay. Totally ignoring his advice and doing things my way (possible dietary changes, lots of exercise as usual, yoga, maybe acupuncture, maybe some other holistic stuff). The best thing to come out of this diagnosis deal has been getting ZB’s teacher to lay off.
• I’ve become a vegetarian. I’ve been “almost” vegetarian for a while now, rarely eating meat, but now I’ve cut it out all together. I don’t miss it at all. I don’t know if I’ll stay vegetarian, but I’m happy for now and trying to make sure I get all the proper nutrients.
• I have been purging more crap from around the house. Why does it feel so good to get rid of things you don’t need? I always tell DH that I don’t want to be one of those people that when I die, my family has to sort through loads of my junk. I am always working towards simplicity.
• I’ve had a lot of fun with my family including a field trip to the zoo with Kindy and 2nd grade. Pics to come, of course.

I wrote this entry a few days ago and didn’t post it. The testing is now complete and the diagnosis is that ZB definitely has ADH/D. We go back soon for a more complete report. It’s not going to change much at home: I am not really bothered by his energy. I try to give him ways to expend it and work with it, but ultimately, it doesn’t bother me much. We’re going to do some behavioral therapy. Things will change things at school though. Do you know his teacher looked me in the eye and told me that the school will do nothing? That it is all medical? That is complete bullshit. I spoke to two friends, one used to work in Special Education (which ADD can be considered) in my school district, and the other has a son two years older than ZB in the same district. They gave me plenty of information about how to proceed.

Also, I am filing a complaint against his assistant principal for violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act last week. She discussed his past suspension with him in front of another student. I talk to my kids, I get details of their days. Did she think I wasn’t going to find out? I’m glad I have my salsa, who is super knowledgeable when it comes to all things public education. She’s the one who schooled me on FERPA, and she is going to make one fine teacher.

–

My friend Tia sent me this link which is so timely and a little heartbreaking too. A little bit from the piece spoke to me:

“The eagle is the child who is turned into a troublemaker because he has his “own style” of doing things. While he is not doing anything “wrong”, his non-conforming is perceived as troublemaking, for which he is punished.” Ding, ding, ding, ladies and gentleman, I present to you, ZB.

I emailed her back and part of the email was about how I thought the stuff we have going on at school would never happen to me. I thought the parent that I am, the mother that I am, could protect him from this. No, our life is not perfect, but the education of my children is one of my top priorities and I just feel like I was so wrong about how I thought that education would happen. We are in the process of becoming statistics. A little black boy who can’t settle down in class and gets a label. But, that’s as far as it goes. My kid is a good student, and a good person. He is kind, outgoing, fun-loving and yes, sometimes a pita. But that doesn’t give Assy P the right to threaten him with suspension for “defiance”b/c he talked during storytime and has trouble standing on line.

On Friday, he will have ADHD testing. Even though I initially cried bs, I have now come to strongly believe that ZB may have ADHD. He seems absolutely incapable of doing things that his peers and siblings can do with ease or just a little prodding. He can not talk and stand still at the same time. He can not sit at a desk for even short periods of time working silently. He can not resist the urge to work ahead of his classmates. He can not clean his room without me sitting there giving him specific directions one thing at a time. About the only things he can do uninterrupted or passive activities like watching tv or playing video games. And those are things I limit.

My brother, who exhibited the same traits as a child was nicknamed “Tigger” and “jumping bean”. I would classify ZB as Tiggerx5. It doesn’t bother me most of the time, the constant energy and movement. I think it’s fine. Run around in circles till you fall down, if that’s what makes you happy and you’re not hurting yourself or anyone else. But in order to attend school, ZB must do thinks that he just can’t right now. He wants to, I can see it in his face when he comes out of school, knowing that his teacher is about to talk to me about his behavior. That bit really eats away at his self esteem which really breaks my heart b/c he is such a fun loving, light hearted child. He sees the school counselor (who was his first grade teacher) as needed. At least once a week, there is a written report that he “can’t sit still and follow directions”. This school year has been a nightmare, and I can’t wait for it to be over.

This morning I have already:

• Filled out all the paperwork for his pedi neuro appt (for his headaches), about 10 pages.
• Called the Family Policy Compliancy Office twice to find out if something that happened to him in school violates the FERPA.
• Called my insurance company since our doctor’s office has not scheduled an appt for ADHD testing after two months of waiting and phone calls. So, I got the number for a specialist.
• Made him snack b/c his approximately two weeks worth of snack disappeared from his locker over the weekend to which his teacher responded, according to him, “Oh well”. (Not the thing I called FPCO about) W.T.F?! I am too through, even my mama is talking about homeschooling, and she is an advocate of public school.

ZB had a small social studies project to do which included writing definitions. When I flipped a little ahead in his textbook, I saw that videos are now considered artifacts. You might want to go on ahead and upgrade to DVD, at the least.

Corpus Christi, can’t our school go paperless?? Is it really necessary that I fill out or sign at least two forms plus throw out 5-10 pieces of paper a day from the school?? At least our student sign in/sign out/volunteer log has gone paperless. The school district just replaced every single computer older than three years old yet they can’t figure out a way to cut the (on average) 1 1/2 bags of garbage I fill a month with school paper? It’s mind boggling, frustrating, and terrifying. Me thinks I should bring this up at the next pta meeting.

So I’m gearing up for the new year by trying to get the house in top shape. I’m a little superstitious when it comes to the new year and follow the bit that says how you ring in the new year is how you’ll spend the rest of the year. I’m trying to start it with a clean house, no dirty laundry…oh, and my family, haha. We’ll see how that works out.

The kids are so ready for school to start. Every day, Girlie asks if today is the day, and ZB keeps asking why the break is so long. We’ve done a couple of fun things: went to the cool park today, library as usual, and they got an easel as a belated gift, so they’ve been “arting” up a storm (Girlie got a painter’s kit with tubes of acrylics, watercolors, etc). They’re a little disappointed that they no longer have a “daily activity“, so I may just use that idea year round. About half the day I love having them home and have homeschooling fantasies in which I also bake bread and live on a farm, heh. The other half, I am whining right along with them for the winter break to be over, lol. Well, it will be over soon enough and I’ll go back to fantasizing about homeschool while they trip over their tongues and call me Mrs. Mommy, blending the way they address me and their teachers.

The kids enjoy Luis teasing them in a way they would never tolerate from me.

Oh, is the camera on?

I made Bebe this hat a few weeks ago but he snatched it as soon as it was off the needles. This was the first chance I got to take a picture of it.

Dana Milena’s birthday was a few weeks ago, and we missed it. So, we threw a belated birthday party with cupcakes and all.

“That’s wasn’t the real Santa, I could tell by his face.” That was the reason Girlie gave for not sitting on the big guy’s lap at the library.

Last Day of school for 2007!

Me, DH, and Bebe crashed Girlie’s Christmas party. OK, it wasn’t crashing, we were invited!

And then we headed over to ZB’s Pajama party. I let him wear his new Christmas Eve Pjs from Grandma early. I love the look on his face here, he makes those kinds of faces all the time now.

Happy Solstice!

• Finished up my Christmas cards in photoshop! Now if I can get them in the mail before Christmas, I’ll be doubly happy.
• ZB moved to a new class and is already doing much better. He’s happy with the move and we both like his new teacher. I have mixed feelings about this whole…thing and every time I see Assy P, I get a little nauseous.
• Bebe is talking so much and understands a lot as well. I mean, I know he’s almost three, but wow. Being a third child has its advantages.
• Girlie is begging to go back to ballet class. For a while there, she had some weird aversion to the school. That reminds me, the two of us may be going to see The Nutcracker if I can get the tickets. It’ll be her first live ballet!
• Have you been watching all the holiday shows that come on this time of year? We have. The kids don’t usually get to watch tv in the evenings, so it’s a treat for them.
• Another treat is having DH home this week. Due to some stuff we have going on, he had to change his vacation time to earlier in the month. I’m a little bummed that he won’t be home when the kids are out of school which is what we’d planned, but it’s nice too. We’ve been playing board games, watching said holiday shows, etc.
• I don’t know what’s going on with my library science program. The communication with the school sucks and I fear their distance learning programs are set up more for people who are taking a few classes at the school and need to take a few online for whatever reason. *sigh* I really wanted to get it done so I could apply for a position with the school district next fall. Now I’m not sure that will happen.
• I have a meeting tomorrow to discuss taking over the presidency of a local mom’s group just getting on its feet. It’s a national organization, that’s why groups have a president, vice, etc. Apparently, there are quite a few people who want the group, but no one wants to lead. I just hope this doesn’t go the way of the Girl Scouts…