Elijah's family planning exercise in the backseat on the way to daycare this morning, with a little help from Josephine...
I'm not sure how this subject got started, but Elijah decided that the 3:3 ratio of boys to girls in our family (including Mom and Dad) is no good. He thinks it should be 4 boys to 3 girls, so that there are more boys.
Josephine joined in and decided that idea would work well, since there are 3 beds in the boys' room (bunk beds + toddler bed), and only 2 beds in the girls' room.
Elijah then forgot that he had included Dad in the total of 4 boys, and told me he wants to have 4 boys to share the room instead of just two like there are now.
So I asked him where everyone would sleep, and he said he could move up to the top bunk and then there'd still one bed available.
I then questioned where the 4th boy would sleep -- wondering if maybe he hadn't forgotten that Daddy was the 4th one. Nope! Josephine volunteered that one could sleep on the floor, to which Elijah agreed.
Oh, boys!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Fishing Trip
Jock decided at some point this week that he was going to take the kids fishing. He's been talking about it for a while, but he went and got a couple kids' fishing poles, another full-size pole, and a fishing license this week, and he was ready!
There was no way he could have taken James while helping the other three learn how to fish, and I knew that James wouldn't have been happy being left at home with me. Fishing isn't really my thing, but I went to help with James and take photos - no baiting the hooks! It ended up being more fun than I thought. If the venti chai is involved again, I could easily be persuaded to go again! ;)
There was no way he could have taken James while helping the other three learn how to fish, and I knew that James wouldn't have been happy being left at home with me. Fishing isn't really my thing, but I went to help with James and take photos - no baiting the hooks! It ended up being more fun than I thought. If the venti chai is involved again, I could easily be persuaded to go again! ;)
It also happened to be a beautiful morning to take photos. Bright and sunny, but we were in a nicely shaded location along the riverbank.
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| Donuts, OJ, and venti chai before we got started |
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| Just climbing down the rocks to the river's edge was quite the feat -- and it helped James stay put too - actually worked quite well, despite my anxiety at the beginning about the current being strong and the bank being too steep. |
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| Jock caught a fish right off-the-bat, while he was demonstrating fishing techniques for Elijah. |
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| Checking the reference to see what kind of fish it was - a large-mouth bass. |
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| Jock showed Elijah how to cast and reel it in first. Then he moved a little ways off to the side. He lost his bait several times trying to cast too hard, but was very quiet and patient, taking in all the instructions, and really just enjoying watching the water and trying hard, over and over, until he was doing VERY well! He never once complained about not catching any fish or it being boring! I tapped on Jock's shoulder, whispered to him, pointing to Elijah, "There's your new fishing partner!" :) |
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| Kaylen casting. She did very well towards the end, but she got quite impatient a couple times, and frustrated that we weren't catching anything while people around us were. :( |
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| Josephine didn't quite get how it was all supposed to work, but she did pretty well for her first time out. She was fairly patient, but could tell she was nervous and not quite understanding how to cast and reel in. |
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| None of the kids caught anything, but with a little practice, this one'll be a pro in no time! |
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| Such a ham this morning! Me taking photos of him kept him occupied this morning! I was afraid he'd be really bored and get cranky, but he did a great job. We didn't even make it down to the playground!  |
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| I wasn't even fishing, and I caught a good one! ;) |
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| And then he was done! Back up the rocks to take a walk! |
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| She'd hit a wall of boredom and frustration, but after this, she just sat down and kept at it, and apparently did better then. |
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| Elijah still going, Josephine still sitting by Dad for frequent help casting. |
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| James learned about blowing dandelion seeds today. He picked a yellow one, but I reached down and picked up a white one and showed him how. |
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| After he figured it out, he must have blown out at least 50 more. So cute! |
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| I always find the spillway to be terrifying to be up so close to it. He didn't really think anything of it. |
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| Waiting for the others to finish up. |
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| This was a white bass that Jock caught. Elijah was intrigued, but kind of disgusted as well. Jock grilled up a few pieces, and they all tried it for lunch. Unfortunately (maybe?), James and I had already eaten lunch so he could have a nap before the tee-ball games. They said it was good, but I also heard lots of uncertainty over us killing and eating such a poor helpless fish. Hmmmm... |
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
School Stuff
The big kids’ last day of school for this school year is May 29th. They’re looking forward to summer break – although Josephine keeps calling it spring break. She doesn’t understand the timing of it, or that she’ll be at daycare for 2 1/2 months, and will get to go on field trips to the pool and other fun spots throughout the summer.
Josephine and Elijah are also both confused about the fact that she’ll be in first grade after summer break is over. I told Josephine, “Yup, after summer break, you’ll be in a different class, in 1st grade, and Kaylen will be in 5th grade.” Then Kaylen piped up that when Josephine goes to 2nd grade, then Kaylen will be in a different school. Well that was REALLY information overload for her, because a couple days later, she told me that she heard that there were 5th graders at her school, so why does Kaylen have to go to a different school? Back up, that’s another step down the line yet! I think they’re starting to get it, though. But I still need to get a calendar out and go through the months of the year (which they know) with them. Maybe they’ll understand better if they can see it on a calendar, that the last day of school is May 29th, and then they have summer break, before they start 1st grade (and Kaylen starts 5th grade) on August 15th.
At any rate, the kids are all doing great in school. Elijah probably has had the biggest challenges, with his behavior issues. He’s improved greatly since the beginning of the school year, but still has his days. We saw great improvements in his reading since January. At his parent-teacher conference in February, his assessments at the end of the 2nd trimester, showed that he was progressing, but still behind grade level. About a month ago, after spring-break, they sent home another progress sheet, and his counting and number recognition, letter and sound recognition, and sight-words were as expected for the end of the year in kindergarten. He also is doing better with sounding out words and then thinking about the possibilities if the word doesn’t quite come out right the first time he pronounces it. He’s also starting to understand the flow of the sentences and how to stress words when there’s a question mark or an explanation point at the end of the sentence. His writing pages are starting to show some words that make sense or that relate to the topic assigned rather than just random words and letters. It’s so fun to start seeing these light bulbs click!
Josephine is doing well in school. We’re seeing her reading continually improve. She does a great job reading her books, so long as she’s not too tired - when she gives up easily when she sees a big word coming. She’s writing quite well – it’s fun to try to read her stories and how she’s sounded out her own words on the paper to tell the story of the picture she drew. She’s had her number recognition down for quite a while. We worked at home a few times on writing the numbers 0-120, and mostly had them all down. She’s even starting to do simple math problems, and can write out the number problem and draw a picture of it. She likes having us quiz her on addition problems as well. It’s so neat to see them starting to love learning!
Kaylen has rarely had any problems in school. She’s a bright student, and has had few behavior issues. I think her teacher’s personality this year has helped things go really smoothly, but also helps challenge her without her feeling too burdened by the challenges. She’s been in the extended learning program for humanities (reading and social studies), and this winter she started in a monitoring program for the STEM extended learning program (science, technology, engineering and math). She was nervous to start that, but I think she has really enjoyed the challenge. Her math test scores on the annual assessments given to 3rd graders and up, were great, and allowed her the opportunity to take the two additional tests that will be used for math placement classes for next year. It made me a little nervous when she came home one day and told us they’d taken one of the placement tests. She said her friend was in there testing for 80 minutes and it only took her 45 minutes. She’s an excellent student, but her testing doesn’t always reflect her best work, because she rushes through things. I hope that her speed wasn’t detrimental to her scores. She assured me that she didn’t rush through it, and that she was faster because, "the tests were all different because they were on the computer." Somehow, I don’t think they were THAT different, but we shall see. I don’t know when we’ll find out the results of those tests and what her math placement will be next year. I imagine we'll be getting a letter in the mail this month.
The fourth graders recently did a famous-person project. They each had to choose a different famous person to research, and write about. They made a display board, to show photos and their writing. They could use props for their presentation, and then on presentation, all the 4th graders set up their display boards in the lunch room of their school, and dressed up as their famous person. They had to present themselves as that person to all the parents/visitors that attend the “Famous People Fair”. It was a pretty fun project for Kaylen. She was one of the last kids in her class to choose her famous person, so she didn’t her first or second choice, but she ended up with Judy Blume. I think she did a great job with her project!
Just a few days after the Famous People Fair, the fourth graders also had their music concert. They did a couple little dances, demonstrated tone and rhythm skills, sang, and played their recorders. It was a cute little concert. Kaylen had told us where to sit, because during the dancing part, her class would be in the back right corner of the gym. But then when they went up on stage, we couldn't even see her. I wasn't impressed with how the risers were set up. All kids were on the risers - I thought they could have omitted a section, and had a row of kids on the floor in front of the risers, but so be it. One of Kaylen's friend's moms had a good view of her and shared some photos with me. They all did a great job, and looked like they were having fun too!
I usually plan activities in the summer for the kids, but I think this summer it is going to be especially key for Elijah and Josephine, so they don’t lose ground on the progress they’ve made this winter/spring. I guess I have some home-school type planning to do to get ready in the next month! I think I’ll be printing lots of number/math worksheets. I’ll also have to come up with some ideas and/or worksheets for writing practice as well. I already have a few books ordered from Scholastic, but I have a feeling we’ll be making lots of trips to the library this summer as well. Kaylen can read so fast, and is way beyond her grade reading level, so I’ll have to get stacks of books for her every week or two – probably even some fun non-fictions. Elijah and Josephine just need new and different easy readers to keep them occupied. I’d like to continue having them each read a book to us each evening, to keep those skills up to speed.
Josephine and Elijah are also both confused about the fact that she’ll be in first grade after summer break is over. I told Josephine, “Yup, after summer break, you’ll be in a different class, in 1st grade, and Kaylen will be in 5th grade.” Then Kaylen piped up that when Josephine goes to 2nd grade, then Kaylen will be in a different school. Well that was REALLY information overload for her, because a couple days later, she told me that she heard that there were 5th graders at her school, so why does Kaylen have to go to a different school? Back up, that’s another step down the line yet! I think they’re starting to get it, though. But I still need to get a calendar out and go through the months of the year (which they know) with them. Maybe they’ll understand better if they can see it on a calendar, that the last day of school is May 29th, and then they have summer break, before they start 1st grade (and Kaylen starts 5th grade) on August 15th.
At any rate, the kids are all doing great in school. Elijah probably has had the biggest challenges, with his behavior issues. He’s improved greatly since the beginning of the school year, but still has his days. We saw great improvements in his reading since January. At his parent-teacher conference in February, his assessments at the end of the 2nd trimester, showed that he was progressing, but still behind grade level. About a month ago, after spring-break, they sent home another progress sheet, and his counting and number recognition, letter and sound recognition, and sight-words were as expected for the end of the year in kindergarten. He also is doing better with sounding out words and then thinking about the possibilities if the word doesn’t quite come out right the first time he pronounces it. He’s also starting to understand the flow of the sentences and how to stress words when there’s a question mark or an explanation point at the end of the sentence. His writing pages are starting to show some words that make sense or that relate to the topic assigned rather than just random words and letters. It’s so fun to start seeing these light bulbs click!
Josephine is doing well in school. We’re seeing her reading continually improve. She does a great job reading her books, so long as she’s not too tired - when she gives up easily when she sees a big word coming. She’s writing quite well – it’s fun to try to read her stories and how she’s sounded out her own words on the paper to tell the story of the picture she drew. She’s had her number recognition down for quite a while. We worked at home a few times on writing the numbers 0-120, and mostly had them all down. She’s even starting to do simple math problems, and can write out the number problem and draw a picture of it. She likes having us quiz her on addition problems as well. It’s so neat to see them starting to love learning!
Kaylen has rarely had any problems in school. She’s a bright student, and has had few behavior issues. I think her teacher’s personality this year has helped things go really smoothly, but also helps challenge her without her feeling too burdened by the challenges. She’s been in the extended learning program for humanities (reading and social studies), and this winter she started in a monitoring program for the STEM extended learning program (science, technology, engineering and math). She was nervous to start that, but I think she has really enjoyed the challenge. Her math test scores on the annual assessments given to 3rd graders and up, were great, and allowed her the opportunity to take the two additional tests that will be used for math placement classes for next year. It made me a little nervous when she came home one day and told us they’d taken one of the placement tests. She said her friend was in there testing for 80 minutes and it only took her 45 minutes. She’s an excellent student, but her testing doesn’t always reflect her best work, because she rushes through things. I hope that her speed wasn’t detrimental to her scores. She assured me that she didn’t rush through it, and that she was faster because, "the tests were all different because they were on the computer." Somehow, I don’t think they were THAT different, but we shall see. I don’t know when we’ll find out the results of those tests and what her math placement will be next year. I imagine we'll be getting a letter in the mail this month.
The fourth graders recently did a famous-person project. They each had to choose a different famous person to research, and write about. They made a display board, to show photos and their writing. They could use props for their presentation, and then on presentation, all the 4th graders set up their display boards in the lunch room of their school, and dressed up as their famous person. They had to present themselves as that person to all the parents/visitors that attend the “Famous People Fair”. It was a pretty fun project for Kaylen. She was one of the last kids in her class to choose her famous person, so she didn’t her first or second choice, but she ended up with Judy Blume. I think she did a great job with her project!
Just a few days after the Famous People Fair, the fourth graders also had their music concert. They did a couple little dances, demonstrated tone and rhythm skills, sang, and played their recorders. It was a cute little concert. Kaylen had told us where to sit, because during the dancing part, her class would be in the back right corner of the gym. But then when they went up on stage, we couldn't even see her. I wasn't impressed with how the risers were set up. All kids were on the risers - I thought they could have omitted a section, and had a row of kids on the floor in front of the risers, but so be it. One of Kaylen's friend's moms had a good view of her and shared some photos with me. They all did a great job, and looked like they were having fun too!
I usually plan activities in the summer for the kids, but I think this summer it is going to be especially key for Elijah and Josephine, so they don’t lose ground on the progress they’ve made this winter/spring. I guess I have some home-school type planning to do to get ready in the next month! I think I’ll be printing lots of number/math worksheets. I’ll also have to come up with some ideas and/or worksheets for writing practice as well. I already have a few books ordered from Scholastic, but I have a feeling we’ll be making lots of trips to the library this summer as well. Kaylen can read so fast, and is way beyond her grade reading level, so I’ll have to get stacks of books for her every week or two – probably even some fun non-fictions. Elijah and Josephine just need new and different easy readers to keep them occupied. I’d like to continue having them each read a book to us each evening, to keep those skills up to speed.
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