Ava has been friends with Cosette Hurtubise since they met in Kindergarten class at Murdock.
Last week, Cosette's family moved back to Ohio, where her Mom Kate will be starting work as a Honda employee again. They originally moved down so Jean could attend Life University to obtain his degree in Chirpractic medicine. He finishes up in the next month.
We first met them when they participated in the East Cobber Parade, walking with us and Mrs. Mckenzie, as part of the Teacher of the Year float.
One day, around February of 2012, I got a call while I was our car was in the shop. Kate, Cosette's Mom, called and said "Hi, is this Ava's mom?" My heart sank, upon hearing that. I thought something was wrong. She told me she was Cosette's Mom and saw a note in Cosette's backpack that had my phone number on it. She said that Cosette had mentioned wanting to have a play date with Ava. I had to laugh. The girls were definitely planning their own social lives, obviously! We decided to meet the following Saturday at the East Cobb Park and have a picnic together. She mentioned it was her birthday, but that it shouldn't matter. I picked up some balloons, an African violet plant and threw some homemade jelly jars in a bag, to give to her as a birthday present. We spent forever at the park that day, getting to know each other. I found a kindred spirit in her. And they were from Michigan! They both grew up in the Midland area, although Jean's family is from Canada. Fellow Northerners. Yay!
Ava and Cosette got along famously. The girls ended up being Girl Scout Daisies together. Cosette's little brother (Rejean = son of Jean) is nicknamed "Bear". Bear and Liam got along so well, too! They all took gymnastics together at Modern Gymnastics. We had many a play date over at their house, and had them over to our house, as well. Their littlest sister, Elise, was born New Years Eve of 2012, rounding out the Hurtubise bunch. She is adorable.
Jean's schooling will be concluding soon, so Kate and the kids made their way up to Ohio, to settle in before the school year started there.
I told Kate that it's hard to find people who seem to have their priorities straight in life. She is an amazing mom, wife, friend, engineer and just plain cool. She wins bonus points for being from Michigan, too!
Ironically, our "goodbye" to them was meeting at the park for a picnic, where we first spent hours getting to know each other. I was a little teary, thinking about how our friendship has come full circle. We gave Ava's e-mail address to Kate, to let the girls e-mail each other back and forth. Hopefully they will stay in touch over the years. They are a sweet family.
Hurtubise family, you will be so missed!
Peace, love and penpals,
Shelly Carey
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Waaaay Too Long!
So I realize it has been (ahem) way too long since I've written a blog entry. This is the baby book that never was, it seems!
So now, where to begin?
Ava and Liam both started school on Wednesday, August 7th. It's Liam's first year in Kindergarten! Our baby! It's cray-cray to think he is old enough to be attending "big kid" school now. He is in Mrs. Mckenzie's Macintosh class. Mrs. Mckenzie was Ava's kindergarten teacher, as well. She was also teacher of the year a few years back, as well. We LOVE Mrs. Mckenzie and were hoping Liam would have the benefit of going through her class as a kindergartener. Score!
Ava is in Ms. Beggs' class for 2nd grade. Ms. Beggs is a brand-spankin'
new teacher, having just graduated last year from Kennesaw State. I was a little apprehensive, knowing she was a green bean, but so far, so good. She has all of the newest organizational teaching ideas down pat. She also LOVES penguins. I think she has the added motivation of having to prove herself as a teacher, so hopefully she bolts out of the starting gates! I just hope Ava learns a lot!
Ava continues in the Advanced Learning Program (aka ALP) at Murdock. She took the COGAT test last year (and another test, as well), and qualified for the ALP program in three of the four test areas. Only one area is needed to qualify, or a referral / suggestion by the teacher. Mrs. Lane (Ava's first grade teacher) said she highly recommended Ava for this program. I am so thankful she is able to attend. She goes every week, on Wednesdays, to this special class, where advanced learners go to further bolster their skills. She was doing algebra last year!!! Crazy. She does love learning. She is still an avid fan of art, puzzles and reading. She will have to test again in third grade, to see if she qualifies, to continue from 3rd grade through the end of elementary school.
We started out the summer going to Destin with Andy, Alyson and Keagan White. It was only the seven of us, compared to the 18 we had there last year. The Flanigans welcomed baby Oliver in April, so it was a little to early for them to head to the beach. We plan on going with them in October, during the kids fall break. Ava, Keagan and Liam all played really well together! Pretty neat that Ava and Keagan are just a few weeks apart.
During the summer, the kids attended "camp" at their old day care. Ava took a break for three separate weeks, attending other camps. She also participated in the East Cobb Titans swim team. Liam wasn't old enough to go to the other camps this year (or be part of swim team0, but we're hoping he can attend next year, if old enough. Ava attended Camp Broadway at Mt. Bethel for two weeks; the first week included practice and a production of Alice in Wonderland. She attended another week and was part of the Wizard of Oz production. She also attended Camp Winshape, sponsored by Chick Fil-A. I think of all of them, she would say she liked Camp Winshape the best. I was really impressed with all of the camps!
We also headed up to Michigan for a week and a half, at the beginning of July. Liam was able to celebrate turning five with a party at Jeeper's. All of his grandparents and Grammy were able to attend. How blessed we are. Joe and his family flew in from Arizona a few days later. We were able to attend Kady's first birthday party, part of Log-stock, head to Eastwood Beach at Stoney Creek Metropark. It was a super fun week.
At the end of the summer, I took a few days off work just to hang out with the kids and do a few fun things. We had play dates at the park, ate ice cream, had crepes with Nutella and strawberries and went to see Smurfs2 in 3D.
As of August 7, we were thankful to ditch the day care payments! Wa-hoo! Instead of thinking of it as a pay raise, we're going to throw extra toward the mortgage and work diligently on paying off this house! We're hoping to be done paying a mortgage by the end of 2015. We'll see!
So, house construction-wise, we finished up with our retaining wall, which was pretty brutal. I've never dug deeper holes in my life! (Six feet deep by eight feet long by two feet wide!) I think we output some serious calories during that time. The wall is built to last, though, that is for sure! Doug saw another retaining wall that was under construction when he started working on our wall. He said the other wall is failing already! :\ I have to give him major credit; everything he does is solid.
Speaking of building things "solid"... We had a tree fall on our house and the deck he built onto the front of our house. The tree was right next to our creek. We knew it needed to come out. Since we built the retaining wall, the flow of the creek has been pushed more toward this particular tree's root system. The tree was a "two-fer" (two trees that merged into one trunk at the base). Only one of the trunks fell. When it fell, it fell DIRECTLY onto our deck. Poor Doug. He was planning on painting the deck that weekend and beingg done with it. When the tree fell, it only clipped the corner of our house and dented some of the deckboards. I think it may have compromised one of the joists (barely). The tree hung over our deck, over the stairway, over the driveway (above our mini van!) and over the grass between our house and Paul Wright's house.
As soon as the storm was over, we moved the mini van, in hopes of avoiding payment of TWO deductibles. Fortunately the mini van was okay AND everyone was safe. I think the storm spooked Ava quite a bit. Sadly, I haven't taken ANY storms seriously down here... I was gathering everyone up and moving into our bedroom / bathroom when the tree hit. I saw the trees outside blowing in the wind pretty violently. (It's only so far a tree can bend!)
The good thing about all of this??? We have a deck that INSURANCE paid for! :) And the insurance company felt like the other trunk that was left was compromised, so they took it out... to the tune of $6,000 we didn't have to pay for! Doug is working on patching everything up, but, as everything is with this house, he has to peel back the onion layers to get to a point where he can built onto something solid. He had to place quite a bit of blocking in the overhang area, to have something flat enough into which he could nail the fascia board. Last weekend he finished up adding the fascia board and new plywood for the soffits. Now, we're paint-ready on the house, after which we'll need to price out gutter installation. He will be working on fixing the deck, once the gutters are installed.
Work has been ridiculously crazy for me lately. I moved from the wireless space back into wireline. As of this past July 31, I have worked for Sprint for 15 years! Hard to believe. I'm thankful to have snuck in the door when Sprint still offered a pension. So, for a few years up through 2003, I think, I earned a pension. My pension will be based on the salary I earned from 1998 through 2003. I'll take it! So, as I said, work is crazy. I've never stayed up until 5:30 in the morning, to get a work project done. I can check that off the bucket list now and hope to never repeat... I now support an account - the largest in the Southeast, I'm told. My predecessor didn't exactly have the account in ship-shape status, so I'm doing the janitorial work on the account, trying to get it up to snuff. Everyone seems very thankful for the work I've done on the account so far. I think work will slow down some, once the account has been maintained for a while.
As for extra curriculars, I realized we bit off more than we could chew this fall, so I cut back some. Ava is involved in cheerleading on Tuesday / Thursdays. She will be cheering at varisty games one weekend night, once the football game season starts. She has Chess Club after school on Thursdays, as well. She is also in Brownies, although we haven't yet met this year. I originally had her enrolled in soccer, but I think she has enough going on and I didn't want her to get too worn out for schoolwork. Liam is in karate on Tuesdays after school. He is also in Upwards Soccer, although I'm not sure what days yet.
Liam really seems to be acclimating to kindergarten so well! I was a little worried, being that his birthday is so late in the year. It seems like EVERYONE in this area of Cobb County hold their sons back, if their son's birthday is anywhere from early spring on... I think Liam is completely ready for kindergarten. He wasn't really embracing reading much, but since we've officially started school, he is interested in reading with us every night. He doesn't really sound words out yet when reading, but I'm sure that will come with time. He can look at things and sound them out phoenetically, but I think it frustrates him a little bit yet.
When Liam was assessed for kindergarten, they were impressed with his counting skills. They asked him to build something with five blocks. He did. They then asked him to build something with nine blocks. He added four more blocks onto the existing five blocks, to total nine blocks. So they were impressed that he didn't have to start from scratch and that he could just add onto the existing blocks. He knew all of his letters, could write his name, cut a triangle using scissors, knew his colors and shapes. We had no doubt he would do well!
I guess you could say I have an extra curricular now... Ha. Amanda Strumminger invited me to a Zumba class early last fall. I went the first time and felt like I had two left feet for the first month. I love it now. It definitely seems to strengthen core muscles AND you don't even realize you're getting exercise... Music and dancing! Pretty fun. So Amanda is my Zumba buddy, although I am hit or miss with attendance, due to the kids' extra-curriculars.
Well, I'd say that's enough for now. I will try to do a better job and get this thing off the ground again. :)
Peace, love and busy bees!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam (aka Big Man On Campus)
So now, where to begin?
Ava and Liam both started school on Wednesday, August 7th. It's Liam's first year in Kindergarten! Our baby! It's cray-cray to think he is old enough to be attending "big kid" school now. He is in Mrs. Mckenzie's Macintosh class. Mrs. Mckenzie was Ava's kindergarten teacher, as well. She was also teacher of the year a few years back, as well. We LOVE Mrs. Mckenzie and were hoping Liam would have the benefit of going through her class as a kindergartener. Score!
Ava is in Ms. Beggs' class for 2nd grade. Ms. Beggs is a brand-spankin'
new teacher, having just graduated last year from Kennesaw State. I was a little apprehensive, knowing she was a green bean, but so far, so good. She has all of the newest organizational teaching ideas down pat. She also LOVES penguins. I think she has the added motivation of having to prove herself as a teacher, so hopefully she bolts out of the starting gates! I just hope Ava learns a lot!
Ava continues in the Advanced Learning Program (aka ALP) at Murdock. She took the COGAT test last year (and another test, as well), and qualified for the ALP program in three of the four test areas. Only one area is needed to qualify, or a referral / suggestion by the teacher. Mrs. Lane (Ava's first grade teacher) said she highly recommended Ava for this program. I am so thankful she is able to attend. She goes every week, on Wednesdays, to this special class, where advanced learners go to further bolster their skills. She was doing algebra last year!!! Crazy. She does love learning. She is still an avid fan of art, puzzles and reading. She will have to test again in third grade, to see if she qualifies, to continue from 3rd grade through the end of elementary school.
We started out the summer going to Destin with Andy, Alyson and Keagan White. It was only the seven of us, compared to the 18 we had there last year. The Flanigans welcomed baby Oliver in April, so it was a little to early for them to head to the beach. We plan on going with them in October, during the kids fall break. Ava, Keagan and Liam all played really well together! Pretty neat that Ava and Keagan are just a few weeks apart.
During the summer, the kids attended "camp" at their old day care. Ava took a break for three separate weeks, attending other camps. She also participated in the East Cobb Titans swim team. Liam wasn't old enough to go to the other camps this year (or be part of swim team0, but we're hoping he can attend next year, if old enough. Ava attended Camp Broadway at Mt. Bethel for two weeks; the first week included practice and a production of Alice in Wonderland. She attended another week and was part of the Wizard of Oz production. She also attended Camp Winshape, sponsored by Chick Fil-A. I think of all of them, she would say she liked Camp Winshape the best. I was really impressed with all of the camps!
We also headed up to Michigan for a week and a half, at the beginning of July. Liam was able to celebrate turning five with a party at Jeeper's. All of his grandparents and Grammy were able to attend. How blessed we are. Joe and his family flew in from Arizona a few days later. We were able to attend Kady's first birthday party, part of Log-stock, head to Eastwood Beach at Stoney Creek Metropark. It was a super fun week.
At the end of the summer, I took a few days off work just to hang out with the kids and do a few fun things. We had play dates at the park, ate ice cream, had crepes with Nutella and strawberries and went to see Smurfs2 in 3D.
As of August 7, we were thankful to ditch the day care payments! Wa-hoo! Instead of thinking of it as a pay raise, we're going to throw extra toward the mortgage and work diligently on paying off this house! We're hoping to be done paying a mortgage by the end of 2015. We'll see!
So, house construction-wise, we finished up with our retaining wall, which was pretty brutal. I've never dug deeper holes in my life! (Six feet deep by eight feet long by two feet wide!) I think we output some serious calories during that time. The wall is built to last, though, that is for sure! Doug saw another retaining wall that was under construction when he started working on our wall. He said the other wall is failing already! :\ I have to give him major credit; everything he does is solid.
Speaking of building things "solid"... We had a tree fall on our house and the deck he built onto the front of our house. The tree was right next to our creek. We knew it needed to come out. Since we built the retaining wall, the flow of the creek has been pushed more toward this particular tree's root system. The tree was a "two-fer" (two trees that merged into one trunk at the base). Only one of the trunks fell. When it fell, it fell DIRECTLY onto our deck. Poor Doug. He was planning on painting the deck that weekend and beingg done with it. When the tree fell, it only clipped the corner of our house and dented some of the deckboards. I think it may have compromised one of the joists (barely). The tree hung over our deck, over the stairway, over the driveway (above our mini van!) and over the grass between our house and Paul Wright's house.
As soon as the storm was over, we moved the mini van, in hopes of avoiding payment of TWO deductibles. Fortunately the mini van was okay AND everyone was safe. I think the storm spooked Ava quite a bit. Sadly, I haven't taken ANY storms seriously down here... I was gathering everyone up and moving into our bedroom / bathroom when the tree hit. I saw the trees outside blowing in the wind pretty violently. (It's only so far a tree can bend!)
The good thing about all of this??? We have a deck that INSURANCE paid for! :) And the insurance company felt like the other trunk that was left was compromised, so they took it out... to the tune of $6,000 we didn't have to pay for! Doug is working on patching everything up, but, as everything is with this house, he has to peel back the onion layers to get to a point where he can built onto something solid. He had to place quite a bit of blocking in the overhang area, to have something flat enough into which he could nail the fascia board. Last weekend he finished up adding the fascia board and new plywood for the soffits. Now, we're paint-ready on the house, after which we'll need to price out gutter installation. He will be working on fixing the deck, once the gutters are installed.
Work has been ridiculously crazy for me lately. I moved from the wireless space back into wireline. As of this past July 31, I have worked for Sprint for 15 years! Hard to believe. I'm thankful to have snuck in the door when Sprint still offered a pension. So, for a few years up through 2003, I think, I earned a pension. My pension will be based on the salary I earned from 1998 through 2003. I'll take it! So, as I said, work is crazy. I've never stayed up until 5:30 in the morning, to get a work project done. I can check that off the bucket list now and hope to never repeat... I now support an account - the largest in the Southeast, I'm told. My predecessor didn't exactly have the account in ship-shape status, so I'm doing the janitorial work on the account, trying to get it up to snuff. Everyone seems very thankful for the work I've done on the account so far. I think work will slow down some, once the account has been maintained for a while.
As for extra curriculars, I realized we bit off more than we could chew this fall, so I cut back some. Ava is involved in cheerleading on Tuesday / Thursdays. She will be cheering at varisty games one weekend night, once the football game season starts. She has Chess Club after school on Thursdays, as well. She is also in Brownies, although we haven't yet met this year. I originally had her enrolled in soccer, but I think she has enough going on and I didn't want her to get too worn out for schoolwork. Liam is in karate on Tuesdays after school. He is also in Upwards Soccer, although I'm not sure what days yet.
Liam really seems to be acclimating to kindergarten so well! I was a little worried, being that his birthday is so late in the year. It seems like EVERYONE in this area of Cobb County hold their sons back, if their son's birthday is anywhere from early spring on... I think Liam is completely ready for kindergarten. He wasn't really embracing reading much, but since we've officially started school, he is interested in reading with us every night. He doesn't really sound words out yet when reading, but I'm sure that will come with time. He can look at things and sound them out phoenetically, but I think it frustrates him a little bit yet.
When Liam was assessed for kindergarten, they were impressed with his counting skills. They asked him to build something with five blocks. He did. They then asked him to build something with nine blocks. He added four more blocks onto the existing five blocks, to total nine blocks. So they were impressed that he didn't have to start from scratch and that he could just add onto the existing blocks. He knew all of his letters, could write his name, cut a triangle using scissors, knew his colors and shapes. We had no doubt he would do well!
I guess you could say I have an extra curricular now... Ha. Amanda Strumminger invited me to a Zumba class early last fall. I went the first time and felt like I had two left feet for the first month. I love it now. It definitely seems to strengthen core muscles AND you don't even realize you're getting exercise... Music and dancing! Pretty fun. So Amanda is my Zumba buddy, although I am hit or miss with attendance, due to the kids' extra-curriculars.
Well, I'd say that's enough for now. I will try to do a better job and get this thing off the ground again. :)
Peace, love and busy bees!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam (aka Big Man On Campus)
Friday, May 10, 2013
Where has the time gone? And where to start?
We've finally arrived at SPRING around here. Atlanta is just bursting with color right now. I think the pollen count was somewhere around 4,000 last week. Ca-razy.
I can't believe how fast the kids are growing.
Ava turned eight on March 28th. Liam is finishing up his kindergarten year.
Some things I hope to post about:
- The Barber of Seville
- R5
- Liam's seriously sweet heart
- Work
- Documentation, please?
- Home updates and mojo
- Living purposefully
As I type this, Ava and Liam are both watching cartoons. Ava got home from school two hours ago. Liam has been sick with a bug. We've been helping in the clubhouse at church this quarter. Without fail, we ALWAYS end up sick whenever we help in the clubhouse. One of the little girls vomited in the hallway before heading into the clubhouse yesterday. :/ Fortunately Liam made it through Easter Sunday without being sick, but this morning from 3-5 a.m. he was up vomiting most of the night. I think I counted 5 rounds when I was camping out with him on his bedroom floor. Doug was up with him prior to that.
We've finally arrived at SPRING around here. Atlanta is just bursting with color right now. I think the pollen count was somewhere around 4,000 last week. Ca-razy.
I can't believe how fast the kids are growing.
Ava turned eight on March 28th. Liam is finishing up his kindergarten year.
Some things I hope to post about:
- The Barber of Seville
- R5
- Liam's seriously sweet heart
- Work
- Documentation, please?
- Home updates and mojo
- Living purposefully
As I type this, Ava and Liam are both watching cartoons. Ava got home from school two hours ago. Liam has been sick with a bug. We've been helping in the clubhouse at church this quarter. Without fail, we ALWAYS end up sick whenever we help in the clubhouse. One of the little girls vomited in the hallway before heading into the clubhouse yesterday. :/ Fortunately Liam made it through Easter Sunday without being sick, but this morning from 3-5 a.m. he was up vomiting most of the night. I think I counted 5 rounds when I was camping out with him on his bedroom floor. Doug was up with him prior to that.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Ava Loves School!
Ava really seems to be thriving in school!
It's kind of funny... some days I won't hear much about what went on at school. Yesterday, she commented on "Wow, we've talked a lot about what happened at school today!" I told her I really like when she tells me everything that goes on at school.
Ava took COGAT testing in October, as do all 1st graders (and 3rd graders), I believe, in Cobb County. After the first round of testing, those students who excelled went on to additional testing. Ava made the second round. Of those students, they determined which could participate in her school's TARGET program, for gifted students. Ava made it in! Because the school only tests in 1st and 3rd grades, she will be part of this program until at least third grade, where all third graders will again be tested to determine future participation.
Because of her scores and her teacher's recommendation to the board, Ava will be participating for one full school day, every week, in a TARGET program. Out of 24 kids in her class, 17 kids will be part of the program. At first glance, that sounds like a very large percentage. Most other 1st grade classes do have fewer students in them (from 15 students up); I have a feeling Mrs. Lane's class may have included a larger number of students because they felt the students would be able to keep up with the material covered, based on kindergarten teacher input. I will be curious to see how many students, total, will participate in the TARGET program in 1st grade. (There are SIX 1st grade classes at Murdock!)
So this information alone had us on cloud nine, excited for such an amazing opportunity for her.
The day Christmas vacation started, Ava came home with the results of a "TOPS" tests. She takes these tests (quizzes) after reading a book on the computer. The test results relayed that the book she read was grade level 4.2 (FOURTH GRADE!). She received an 80% on it (4/5 questions right). The results relayed that her average reading level is grade 3.5 (mid 3rd grade). Crazy! She IS a little reader. Grandma and Grandpa Carey got her "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" for Christmas. She is really enjoying reading it. I asked if she would read it to me, and she read it as fast as I would have read it to her. I had to stop at a few different words, to be sure she understood what she was reading. She did understand what she was reading, and the context.
When we returned from Hawaii, Ava presented a handmade card each to Doug and me, which told us how much she missed us and loved us. Grandma Carey said "She was not prompted. She did this totally on her own." That sounds very much like Ava. She is very crafty and continues to enjoy making things / drawing things.
The TARGET gifted program starts on January 15th. We had to buy new school supplies specifically for her to use in that class. I bought some super fun folders and supplies she should really enjoy. I am really excited to hear how her day goes that day! Hoping this is the start of a really fun time in school for her.
Peace, love and smarties,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
It's kind of funny... some days I won't hear much about what went on at school. Yesterday, she commented on "Wow, we've talked a lot about what happened at school today!" I told her I really like when she tells me everything that goes on at school.
Ava took COGAT testing in October, as do all 1st graders (and 3rd graders), I believe, in Cobb County. After the first round of testing, those students who excelled went on to additional testing. Ava made the second round. Of those students, they determined which could participate in her school's TARGET program, for gifted students. Ava made it in! Because the school only tests in 1st and 3rd grades, she will be part of this program until at least third grade, where all third graders will again be tested to determine future participation.
Because of her scores and her teacher's recommendation to the board, Ava will be participating for one full school day, every week, in a TARGET program. Out of 24 kids in her class, 17 kids will be part of the program. At first glance, that sounds like a very large percentage. Most other 1st grade classes do have fewer students in them (from 15 students up); I have a feeling Mrs. Lane's class may have included a larger number of students because they felt the students would be able to keep up with the material covered, based on kindergarten teacher input. I will be curious to see how many students, total, will participate in the TARGET program in 1st grade. (There are SIX 1st grade classes at Murdock!)
So this information alone had us on cloud nine, excited for such an amazing opportunity for her.
The day Christmas vacation started, Ava came home with the results of a "TOPS" tests. She takes these tests (quizzes) after reading a book on the computer. The test results relayed that the book she read was grade level 4.2 (FOURTH GRADE!). She received an 80% on it (4/5 questions right). The results relayed that her average reading level is grade 3.5 (mid 3rd grade). Crazy! She IS a little reader. Grandma and Grandpa Carey got her "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" for Christmas. She is really enjoying reading it. I asked if she would read it to me, and she read it as fast as I would have read it to her. I had to stop at a few different words, to be sure she understood what she was reading. She did understand what she was reading, and the context.
When we returned from Hawaii, Ava presented a handmade card each to Doug and me, which told us how much she missed us and loved us. Grandma Carey said "She was not prompted. She did this totally on her own." That sounds very much like Ava. She is very crafty and continues to enjoy making things / drawing things.
The TARGET gifted program starts on January 15th. We had to buy new school supplies specifically for her to use in that class. I bought some super fun folders and supplies she should really enjoy. I am really excited to hear how her day goes that day! Hoping this is the start of a really fun time in school for her.
Peace, love and smarties,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
2013: Here We Come!
Okay, so I haven't been able to come up with a super-rhymey, cutesy "2013" phrase. Stay tuned. I will try to do a better job blogging this year.. I will try to do a better job blogging this year... I will try to do a better job blogging this year...How crazy the last year has been. Between Daisy Girl Scouts, swimming lessons, gymnastics lessons, homework, working on the deck outside, finishing up the retaining wall, laying sod, you name it, 2012 it has been a full year! So full, blogging got squeezed right on out of it!
Doug and I just got back from a trip to Hawaii, to celebrate our 15 year anniversary a few weeks early. We kicked around the idea of going somewhere over Christmas break, since the kids would have a host of grandparents who could help watch them while we were gone. Originally we thought about going to Greece, but they had zero cruises available and we know their economy is in the toilet right now. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Hawaii. Grandfather got to go to 48 states, and came 500 miles from Hawai'i while in the Navy. I decided I'd like to round out his list for him. ;-)
Hawaii it was. Once we decided in LATE NOVEMBER, Doug THREW together a trip. How lucky we were that it all worked out... Normally people would have booked vacations like this by, oh, say AUGUST????? Fortunately everything was still "bookable" and flights were available. I appreciate his hard work in planning it all. It worked out so well! It sounds like everyone had a great time back here on the "mainland" while we were gone. The kids enjoyed Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Sherry snuggles, lots of snow and just plain "getting spoiled" by family. :) I think it was good for them to be apart from us.
In Hawaii, we tried to fit so many things into such a short trip, I think we exhausted ourselves! I don't think we slept more than 5 hours a night. On our drive back from Michigan to Georgia, I started getting the chills, so I knew I had met my "Waterloo." The next day I had a fever and flu symptoms, even after having the flu shot in early December. I digress.
Cliff notes version of our trip?
12/20 - Ava's holiday party at school. Drove from there to Aunt Jean's house in Rockholds, KY.
12/21 - Continued driving to Michigan.
CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!
12/27 - Flew from Detroit Metro to Phoenix, from Phoenix to Maui.
12/29 - Flew from Maui to Lihue, Kaua'i.
01/03 - Flew from Lihue, Kaua'i to Honolulu.
01/04 - Flew from Honolulu to Phoenix, from Phoenix to Detroit Metro.
I will post more pictures and detail later. For now, we officially have a blog entry on the books for 2013. Woo-hoo!
:)
Peace, love and ALOHA,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Doug and I just got back from a trip to Hawaii, to celebrate our 15 year anniversary a few weeks early. We kicked around the idea of going somewhere over Christmas break, since the kids would have a host of grandparents who could help watch them while we were gone. Originally we thought about going to Greece, but they had zero cruises available and we know their economy is in the toilet right now. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Hawaii. Grandfather got to go to 48 states, and came 500 miles from Hawai'i while in the Navy. I decided I'd like to round out his list for him. ;-)
Hawaii it was. Once we decided in LATE NOVEMBER, Doug THREW together a trip. How lucky we were that it all worked out... Normally people would have booked vacations like this by, oh, say AUGUST????? Fortunately everything was still "bookable" and flights were available. I appreciate his hard work in planning it all. It worked out so well! It sounds like everyone had a great time back here on the "mainland" while we were gone. The kids enjoyed Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Sherry snuggles, lots of snow and just plain "getting spoiled" by family. :) I think it was good for them to be apart from us.
In Hawaii, we tried to fit so many things into such a short trip, I think we exhausted ourselves! I don't think we slept more than 5 hours a night. On our drive back from Michigan to Georgia, I started getting the chills, so I knew I had met my "Waterloo." The next day I had a fever and flu symptoms, even after having the flu shot in early December. I digress.
Cliff notes version of our trip?
12/20 - Ava's holiday party at school. Drove from there to Aunt Jean's house in Rockholds, KY.
12/21 - Continued driving to Michigan.
CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!
12/27 - Flew from Detroit Metro to Phoenix, from Phoenix to Maui.
12/29 - Flew from Maui to Lihue, Kaua'i.
01/03 - Flew from Lihue, Kaua'i to Honolulu.
01/04 - Flew from Honolulu to Phoenix, from Phoenix to Detroit Metro.
I will post more pictures and detail later. For now, we officially have a blog entry on the books for 2013. Woo-hoo!
:)
Peace, love and ALOHA,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A Good Example
Today on the way to school, I had a conversation with Liam.
Liam: "Mom, Frankie was crying because he had to sit on the bench."
Me: "Wow, Liam. Did he get hurt or did he do something he wasn't supposed to do?"
Liam: "He did something he wasn't supposed to do. I told him that he shouldn't do it, but he did it anyway. I don't do bad things anymore."
Me: "Good job, Liam. I know you are very sweet. Sometimes it takes other people a few more times of sitting on the bench before they figure out it isn't fun, and to just follow directions the first time they are told."
Liam: "I gave some of my Batman rings to my friends. I gave three to Adeline, two to Riley and one to Frankie."
Me: "That's great, Liam! That is so fun that you wanted to share with your friends and see them happy with the rings, too."
I then broke out into the "Love is something if you give it away" song. Complete cheesefest, I know. We loved it. We walked into school singing the song. A good start to the day. I smile when I think about Liam's super sweet heart.
And I'm amazed at how well he is able to sit and listen during class. I've heard that boys struggle with this more than girls, but honestly he doesn't seem to have any problem sitting and listening! They get stickers throughout the day for good behavior. As they get different stickers on their wings, they can turn them in to become a different animal, higher up the ranks. He is about to become a peacock. :) Two of the teachers yesterday commented to me that he had a really good day. Loves me some Liam.
Peace, love and good boy behavior,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Liam: "Mom, Frankie was crying because he had to sit on the bench."
Me: "Wow, Liam. Did he get hurt or did he do something he wasn't supposed to do?"
Liam: "He did something he wasn't supposed to do. I told him that he shouldn't do it, but he did it anyway. I don't do bad things anymore."
Me: "Good job, Liam. I know you are very sweet. Sometimes it takes other people a few more times of sitting on the bench before they figure out it isn't fun, and to just follow directions the first time they are told."
Liam: "I gave some of my Batman rings to my friends. I gave three to Adeline, two to Riley and one to Frankie."
Me: "That's great, Liam! That is so fun that you wanted to share with your friends and see them happy with the rings, too."
I then broke out into the "Love is something if you give it away" song. Complete cheesefest, I know. We loved it. We walked into school singing the song. A good start to the day. I smile when I think about Liam's super sweet heart.
And I'm amazed at how well he is able to sit and listen during class. I've heard that boys struggle with this more than girls, but honestly he doesn't seem to have any problem sitting and listening! They get stickers throughout the day for good behavior. As they get different stickers on their wings, they can turn them in to become a different animal, higher up the ranks. He is about to become a peacock. :) Two of the teachers yesterday commented to me that he had a really good day. Loves me some Liam.
Peace, love and good boy behavior,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Parents ≠ Swim Instructors
The Atlanta Swim Academy had a spot open up in the "Flounders" class right after Liam's class concludes at 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Although Ava knows how to swim, I thought she could definitely benefit from additional swimming classes. I told her that I thought ANYONE other than Michael Phelps could benefit from knowing how to swim better. She replied "But what about Ryan Lochte?"
Knowing they could both use some time in the water, we decided to go to the South Cobb Aquatic Center on Friday night. They have an indoor play area in the pool, a lazy river, a beach entry swim area that is fairly shallow, a 3 foot swim area, a three-story water slide, a diving board and a deep end! All for the right price. ($3.50 for kids, $4.50 for adults). It is a good 30 minute drive to get there, but well worth it, I think.
Note: These pictures are from the aquatic center's Web site.
We told the kids they would be practicing our swimming in the water before they could head over to the play area. They agreed. Both kids worked with us for 20 minutes or so, but were hesitant to our instruction. Funny, Ava seems to be more open lately to my clothing / style suggestions (i.e. - "That doesn't really match.") and learning shortcuts, etc, but not to my swimming instructions. She didn't want to put her face in the water and told me so. I told her they were going to make her put her face in the water the following day, so I thought she might want to get used to it that night, instead of during swim lessons.
Liam seemed more open to instruction. They did have some serious fun afterward, climbing up the play structure and sliding down again and again. We brought their pajamas to change into after showering, since we knew they would be toast on the way home.
Saturdays are pretty busy for us, currently. Ava's gymnastics lesson is at 11 a.m. We head home, have Liam take a nap, have Ava working on some homework or relaxing before we round up the troops for Liam's 4:30 p.m. swim lesson and Ava's 5:00 lesson, both at the Atlanta Swim Academy. I want them to get the most out of the lessons, so we try to rest in between morning and evening lessons.
This past Saturday, Ava had her first lesson as a Flounder, with Coach Mandy. Coach Mandy quickly assessed Ava's current swimming ability, to see if she needed a backpack floatie. She didn't put a backpack floatie on Ava. The other little boy in class looked older than Ava, but used a floatie for the first half of class.
Ava swam very well. Coach Mandy quickly saw that Ava needed to put her face in the water more, so the rest of her body could work more efficiently when swimming. Ava took her instruction well. Coach Mandy told Ava not to move her head from side to side, but to put her face in the water and come up to breathe. Ava did just that. Coach also noticed Ava coming up panting, so she told Ava she probably isn't breathing out all of her air while underwater. Ava quickly started doing that and did less panting when she came up for air.
Ava swam somewhere around five length of the pool without any floaties, noodles, etc! All this from a girl who was SOOO scared to jump in at last year's first swim meet because she saw "8 FT" on the side of a pool... She was easily jumping into 12 feet of water during this lesson with Coach Mandy. :) Coach Mandy commented that Ava is ready to start "side breathing." I was pretty impressed by that!
I think it was really a good idea for us to enroll her in swim lessons again. It helps that her lesson is right after Liam's, so we don't have to make two trips. Doug commented that she is going to be seriously ready for swim team next June. She came so far with her progress, all within a HALF HOUR of Coach Mandy's instruction. We probably could've spent weeks going to the aquatic center, but wouldn't have seen progress like we've seen when Coach Mandy is instructing!
Peace, love and bubbles,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Knowing they could both use some time in the water, we decided to go to the South Cobb Aquatic Center on Friday night. They have an indoor play area in the pool, a lazy river, a beach entry swim area that is fairly shallow, a 3 foot swim area, a three-story water slide, a diving board and a deep end! All for the right price. ($3.50 for kids, $4.50 for adults). It is a good 30 minute drive to get there, but well worth it, I think.
Note: These pictures are from the aquatic center's Web site.
Liam seemed more open to instruction. They did have some serious fun afterward, climbing up the play structure and sliding down again and again. We brought their pajamas to change into after showering, since we knew they would be toast on the way home.
Saturdays are pretty busy for us, currently. Ava's gymnastics lesson is at 11 a.m. We head home, have Liam take a nap, have Ava working on some homework or relaxing before we round up the troops for Liam's 4:30 p.m. swim lesson and Ava's 5:00 lesson, both at the Atlanta Swim Academy. I want them to get the most out of the lessons, so we try to rest in between morning and evening lessons.
This past Saturday, Ava had her first lesson as a Flounder, with Coach Mandy. Coach Mandy quickly assessed Ava's current swimming ability, to see if she needed a backpack floatie. She didn't put a backpack floatie on Ava. The other little boy in class looked older than Ava, but used a floatie for the first half of class.
Ava swam very well. Coach Mandy quickly saw that Ava needed to put her face in the water more, so the rest of her body could work more efficiently when swimming. Ava took her instruction well. Coach Mandy told Ava not to move her head from side to side, but to put her face in the water and come up to breathe. Ava did just that. Coach also noticed Ava coming up panting, so she told Ava she probably isn't breathing out all of her air while underwater. Ava quickly started doing that and did less panting when she came up for air.
Coach Mandy
Ava swam somewhere around five length of the pool without any floaties, noodles, etc! All this from a girl who was SOOO scared to jump in at last year's first swim meet because she saw "8 FT" on the side of a pool... She was easily jumping into 12 feet of water during this lesson with Coach Mandy. :) Coach Mandy commented that Ava is ready to start "side breathing." I was pretty impressed by that!
I think it was really a good idea for us to enroll her in swim lessons again. It helps that her lesson is right after Liam's, so we don't have to make two trips. Doug commented that she is going to be seriously ready for swim team next June. She came so far with her progress, all within a HALF HOUR of Coach Mandy's instruction. We probably could've spent weeks going to the aquatic center, but wouldn't have seen progress like we've seen when Coach Mandy is instructing!
Peace, love and bubbles,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
"There's No Crying in..." Swimming!
(Note: You have to see "A League Of Their Own," to catch the blog title meaning. ;-)
Liam started swim lessons one month ago. We decided to forego the totally unnecessary swimming classes we did with Ava at 10-months old, and wait until the lessons would have more "sticking power" for Liam :) I called the Atlanta Swim Academy, which is where Ava attended when she was 3/4. We signed up for the Barnacles class with Miss Mandy, on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. And boy, did we talk up the swim lessons! :)
The first week, he was gung-ho to jump into the water. They had a pretty big backpack floatie on him the first week. At the end of the class, they were able to go down the slide, splashing into the water. (The slide is a Little Tikes plastic slide, about 2 1/2 feet tall, at most). The first time Liam slid into the water, he came up with wide eyes. It was so funny to watch. The second time down the slide, he couldn't wait for his turn. There are two other kids in his class (one boy, one girl). The class finished up with them sliding down the slide that last time. He ran over to us, we wrapped him in a towel, as he said "Mom, I blew bubbles!" He was trying to tell us what he did underwater, to get to the top of the water. All in all, he came away from the lesson excited, happy to have been swimming. We video taped it, but don't have any still pictures.
The second week class was canceled due to Labor Day weekend.
The third week / second lesson? Yikes. Coach Mandy put a smaller backpack float on him. They did their routine warm-ups, kicking across the pool with a noodle arched in the water in front of them, then riding it like a seahorse. Then it came time to attempt swimming. Gulp. Liam started crying in the water because he felt himself sinking as he swam (or didn't swim). He couldn't seem to stay on top of the water enough to keep himself comfortable. The teacher got onto him for crying. He hung his head down as she held him, as if he had done something wrong. She didn't give him further instruction, but just told him to stop crying. I felt so bad for him!
He saw other kids jump into the deep end and then swim across the pool (while wearing their back floaties). He was so eager to jump in, he decided to do it before the teacher got to the deep end (12 feet). When he jumped in, he didn't stay on top of the water, so he cried and turned back to swim for the wall. The teacher again told him to stop crying. He looked at her, as if for direction, but she didn't tell him what he should be doing. At the end of the lesson, Liam walked over to us, not smiling. Poor guy. I felt like he was broken by the lesson that week. :( I felt bad, as if I didn't relay how much WORK swimming is! Instead, we had focused on how fun swimming lessons can be. We failed to mention that it really is hard work. Note to self.
Lesson #3: On the way to the lesson, we really talked about how much work it is to stay on top of the water. I told him that he needed "Hulk legs" to keep himself out of the water, and that he probably shouldn't cry, so he could focus on how strong his legs should be. Doug walked him over to Coach Mandy and told him about Liam's experience last week, that Liam was looking to her for guidance, but that she didn't give Liam instructions. I think she realized she needed to be a little easier on him. He was apprehensive, but did well. I think we can only go up from here. :) He used the noodle as a seahorse and is starting to figure out how to efficiently move water behind himself by paddling with his hands. He doesn't kick consistently / fast enough, so I think he will just have to figure that part out for himself. He did swim to Mandy, but didn't spend much time in the water floating on his own. Baby steps. He didn't want to jump into the deep end until Mandy reassured him that she would catch him. He did fine then. At the end of class, he eagerly climbed up the water slide after his first classmate slid down. When he got to the top, he hesitated and shook his head "no." We reassured him and then he slid down. Mandy caught him without him going underwater entirely. He slid down the second time and she caught him again. She had him swim to the side of the pool without wearing his back floatie. He did well. After the lesson, he came out smiling. I was glad to see his usual attitude win out over the intrepidation. :) So, hopefully he will add to his confidence level through experience and then be gung-ho, once again soon.
Peace, love and good water ju-ju,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Liam started swim lessons one month ago. We decided to forego the totally unnecessary swimming classes we did with Ava at 10-months old, and wait until the lessons would have more "sticking power" for Liam :) I called the Atlanta Swim Academy, which is where Ava attended when she was 3/4. We signed up for the Barnacles class with Miss Mandy, on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. And boy, did we talk up the swim lessons! :)
The first week, he was gung-ho to jump into the water. They had a pretty big backpack floatie on him the first week. At the end of the class, they were able to go down the slide, splashing into the water. (The slide is a Little Tikes plastic slide, about 2 1/2 feet tall, at most). The first time Liam slid into the water, he came up with wide eyes. It was so funny to watch. The second time down the slide, he couldn't wait for his turn. There are two other kids in his class (one boy, one girl). The class finished up with them sliding down the slide that last time. He ran over to us, we wrapped him in a towel, as he said "Mom, I blew bubbles!" He was trying to tell us what he did underwater, to get to the top of the water. All in all, he came away from the lesson excited, happy to have been swimming. We video taped it, but don't have any still pictures.
The second week class was canceled due to Labor Day weekend.
The third week / second lesson? Yikes. Coach Mandy put a smaller backpack float on him. They did their routine warm-ups, kicking across the pool with a noodle arched in the water in front of them, then riding it like a seahorse. Then it came time to attempt swimming. Gulp. Liam started crying in the water because he felt himself sinking as he swam (or didn't swim). He couldn't seem to stay on top of the water enough to keep himself comfortable. The teacher got onto him for crying. He hung his head down as she held him, as if he had done something wrong. She didn't give him further instruction, but just told him to stop crying. I felt so bad for him!
He saw other kids jump into the deep end and then swim across the pool (while wearing their back floaties). He was so eager to jump in, he decided to do it before the teacher got to the deep end (12 feet). When he jumped in, he didn't stay on top of the water, so he cried and turned back to swim for the wall. The teacher again told him to stop crying. He looked at her, as if for direction, but she didn't tell him what he should be doing. At the end of the lesson, Liam walked over to us, not smiling. Poor guy. I felt like he was broken by the lesson that week. :( I felt bad, as if I didn't relay how much WORK swimming is! Instead, we had focused on how fun swimming lessons can be. We failed to mention that it really is hard work. Note to self.
Lesson #3: On the way to the lesson, we really talked about how much work it is to stay on top of the water. I told him that he needed "Hulk legs" to keep himself out of the water, and that he probably shouldn't cry, so he could focus on how strong his legs should be. Doug walked him over to Coach Mandy and told him about Liam's experience last week, that Liam was looking to her for guidance, but that she didn't give Liam instructions. I think she realized she needed to be a little easier on him. He was apprehensive, but did well. I think we can only go up from here. :) He used the noodle as a seahorse and is starting to figure out how to efficiently move water behind himself by paddling with his hands. He doesn't kick consistently / fast enough, so I think he will just have to figure that part out for himself. He did swim to Mandy, but didn't spend much time in the water floating on his own. Baby steps. He didn't want to jump into the deep end until Mandy reassured him that she would catch him. He did fine then. At the end of class, he eagerly climbed up the water slide after his first classmate slid down. When he got to the top, he hesitated and shook his head "no." We reassured him and then he slid down. Mandy caught him without him going underwater entirely. He slid down the second time and she caught him again. She had him swim to the side of the pool without wearing his back floatie. He did well. After the lesson, he came out smiling. I was glad to see his usual attitude win out over the intrepidation. :) So, hopefully he will add to his confidence level through experience and then be gung-ho, once again soon.
Peace, love and good water ju-ju,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Greater Than, Less Than
Ava’s first grade teacher, Mrs. Lane, posts a blog entry with the upcoming week’s schedule and what they will be learning in the upcoming week. I love this! She also sends homework home only on Friday, asking that they turn it in by the following Thursday. I love this, too. Ava didn’t have any homework in kindergarten. Mrs. Lane mentioned at open house that she understands the busy schedule of a family, so that is why she handles homework the way she does. We can definitely appreciate it! (I think we might have a hard time adjusting next year, if / when homework might be due the following day, though!)
When I looked at this week’s schedule, I saw “greater than, less than” math concept. My memory immediately flashed to first grade, to Mrs. Panza drawing an alligator on the board, explaining the concept. I’m not sure if I missed the first day of this concept’s explanation (or if I wasn’t paying attention!) but I didn’t understand it. Yes, I guess it IS possible to not understand “greater than / less than”. Now, keep in mind that I could easily see that one number was larger than another number. What I didn’t understand was the symbol < and >. It might as well have been Greek! Fast-forward a year, to Mrs. Crawford’s second grade class, when I didn’t fill out my paper since I didn’t know which symbol applied to the math work. Mrs. Crawford sent me out in the hall to complete my work, even though I didn’t know the first thing about which symbol was the applicable answer for that particular problem. Nice. I think this must’ve set the course for the rest of my math career, sadly. L So, fast-forward 30 years (exactly), to Mrs. Lane’s blog posting. It looked something like this:
Math: Greater than, less than/ Subtractions-
missing addends
Reading: Focus on retelling beginning, middle
and end; setting
Extended Text: The Magic Tree House #2
Grammar: Synonyms and antonyms
Writing: Narrative- writing 2 or more sequenced
events on a specific topic
Phonics: Words Their Way- word families, at, ad, ag, ap, an,
S.S., Health, Science
Land forms, Where do I live?
Continents and Oceans
As you can imagine, I didn’t want Ava’s lifelong attitude toward math to be the same one I possess. So, Sunday we sat down and I explained “greater than, less than.” I brought out the old “alligator” analogy, telling her that the alligator only wanted to eat the biggest number. The “<”symbol would look like the open jaws of an alligator, eating food (biggest number).
We did 20 or so problems, to solidify her understanding. Ava understood it immediately and did all of the problems like a champ! She drew teeth on the greater than sign, for each of her answers. When I told her she didn’t have to add teeth, she said she wanted to add them. So, we had a paper full of teeth. I had her read the answered problem out loud, so she could “translate” the symbols into words, as well. She understood. I then created some open-ended problems, which I thought would really make sure she got it. One of the problems I gave her looked like this:
9 < __
In the blank, Ava wrote her response as "9 < 1000." I had to chuckle. We only went over the “thousands” place once recently. So obviously that stuck, too. She finished about 20 other problems like this one, each one answered correctly. She actually asks if I will give her more math problems (subtraction, etc).
On Monday, Mrs. Lane e-mailed me, telling me Ava was the only one in class who knew what “greater than , less than” meant. That’s my girl. J I am sure there will be other educational hurdles, but at least she made it past one that tripped me up! J
Peace, love and Ava's understanding > math problems,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Liam Reads!!!
Liam is starting to read!
On August 29, Liam (4 years + 2 months) read aloud his first book by himself! (Not memorized, I promise!) Doug and I were both able to hear him read it out loud. It was one of the Bob books, "Mac." Normally Duog would have been at work, but he was home sick, so he was able to witness the moment. He said he wished we would've captured it on video...
Liam was SOOOO excited that he had read a book! Doug was seriously impressed that Liam was able to read so well. Liam has gone on to read other Bob books from the blue box series (Beginning readers). We are so happy for him, that he is interested in reading.
Miss Ebony (his teacher at Lighthouse Academy in pre-K) has been amazingly instrumental in helping him along. They use the Abeka reading program at the school, which emphasizes a phoenetical approach to reading. Miss Ebony means business, too! The kids were used to more “play time” in their last class (3 year-old class), but in Miss Ebony’s class, it is more like school. They sit at chairs, have assigned seating at tables and do quite a bit of school work. So, thanks to Miss Ebony and Abeka, we’ve been able to sound our way through the Bob books. J
At bedtime lately, Liam brings a stack of books (anywhere from 3 to 9 books!) to us, to start reading. At first he bawked at the idea of reading a Bob book before any of the other fun books in the stack, but now he automatically knows we will be reading a Bob book before any other books, and brings the Bob books with the rest of the stack. ;-) He does so well with it!
When we head upstairs for bed, we also read two Bible stories in the kids’ beds, before prayers and turning out the light. They have a bookmark (a popsicle craft stick) they use to keep track of which story we read the night prior. We finished with the more elementary (simple) Bible story book, so now we’re reading the comic-style version of the Bible that Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly gave to Liam for his birthday.
I’ve told Doug (and I firmly believe) that kids who read the Bible are among the most well-read. (How can you NOT be, if you see words like Nebuchadnezzar? ;-) The kids seem genuinely interested in each of the stories. I love to hear their comments about the stories we read. J
I’m so geeked for Liam! Knowing he can sound words out definitely makes me feel confident he will do well in Kindergarten. He will be “assessed” in May, to see if he is ready to take on kindergarten in the next school year. I have no doubt he will do well with the assessment. With such a late birthday for the Georgia cut-off (September 1), I'm trying to work hard with him, to be sure he is ready for Kindergarten next fall.
Some of Ava’s fellow kindergarteners had summer birthdays and were purposely held back by their parents. I think, given that Liam is already used to day care / a classroom setting, he will do well. There were some kids (two) in Ava’s kindergarten class, who, when I was volunteering in her classroom, I noticed didn’t know very basic words like “the” and “and”. L (After I was finished with basic volunteering tasks, the teacher asked if I would work with one of them directly.) Those two students went on to repeat kindergarten this year. Knowing Liam can sound out words and they couldn’t even in kindergarten, makes me more confident Liam will go on to thrive at Murdock, next school year. We will be focusing on more fine-motor skills in the next month or so, to be sure he can write his name as neatly as possible. He can write his name now, but we’ll work on practicing it more. J Our normal early-morning routine of "playing school" - after big sis Ava heads to the bus - is paying off!
Peace, love and books!
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Sunday, August 19, 2012
"Mom, you are a big woman!"
Liam, while we are eating ice cream at Coldstone's tonight:
"Mom, you are a big woman!"
I won't take it personally, since I know we've been discussing girls growing up to be women, boys to be men. But way to start early with inappropriately manly comments, Liam!
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