Teacher Meeting accomplished

Well, we had our meeting with the teacher last week. It went well, I think. She did admit that because Son is so quiet she often won't notice that he isn't doing his desk work until the time is up and she sees his empty or doodled worksheet. She said she will be making an effort to check in on him sooner and not let herself be distracted so much by the louder rowdy kids. She now realizes that Son is just as frustrated as they are, just showing it in a different way. We talked about different ways that Son shows his frustration and how we deal with it at home, hopefully she will remember to look for those signs. His situation will be mentioned at the next meeting she has with the teacher resources to get more ideas on how to help him succeed.

She admitted that he had gone into the cloakroom that day a few times and she hadn't noticed until one of the other kids told her. She seemed embarrassed about that, and she should be. We told her that he uses 'hiding' as a way to avoid things he doesn't want to do. She will keep an eye on that and use similar language as what we are using at home when talking him out of the cloakroom. The good thing is that the kids in the class aren't making fun of him, they were concerned as to why he was in there and tried to help him themselves before going to get the teacher. This seems like a very supportive group of 6 & 7 year olds.

I really hope something comes out of all of this. I don't want him to be left behind or forgotten because he is quiet and well behaved. I won't accept 'he so young' as a reason for him not doing the work in class. I won't let him be left behind.

Something a little concerning that I discovered during the meeting is that he tested into the lowest possible levels in both reading areas that he was assessed for. This is the kid who can read 'early reader' books from the library and is sounding out words so wonderfully when working on the Set 3 "Word Families" Bob Books. It just goes to show how different things are in the classroom vs home. I think the more confident he gets at school the better he will do. In theory he should 'progress' very quickly once he learns what they want to hear. :)

I got some good news today around these issues. While talking to the teacher, after taking Son to school, she mentioned that since our meeting he has been listening more and not resisting going for 'floor time' or other activities as much. He isn't asking "why" he has to leave his current activity right then; he's getting into the routine of the class. He seems to be more aware that we talk and all want him to participate in the class work so that he can learn. This makes me very happy.

I'm still planning to sign him up for Time4Learning, it will give him some extra reading and math practice. He enjoys doing educational games on the computer so I think this will be a good compromise for those days when he wants to watch a movie instead of playing with his toys. Considering they have a special on until November 30th where you get full access for $20 over 2 months instead of $20/month, this is a good time to try it out. We will be able to see how he deals with it over the Christmas break too.

"Fun" with School

Son has been in school for 2 months now and I feel like I've failed him already.

He is reading phonetically really well, he can sound out most words he sees if I break them down into syllables for him. But he doesn't have a huge vocabulary of words he can read quickly. He also has extreme issues with printing, namely he doesn't want to do it. (He seems to feel that if he can't do something perfectly that he shouldn't do it at all.) These 2 things make it hard for him to complete the worksheets in class. He can't read the instructions so by the time he gets to his desk he's forgotten which answers go where on the sheet based on the class discussions. I'm also wondering why he is being given worksheets that ask him to pick the correct spelling for irregular words when he is just learning to read. An example would be:

Circle the word that is spelled correctly
1. da dae day dai
2. bok book buk bouk

Since Son reads phonetically most of these words would 'sound' the same when sounded out. The task assumes he has had enough exposure to the correct spelling to be able to pick the correct spelling out; "day" and "book" don't follow "standard" phonetic rules. *sigh* I feel like these questions would be better suited for a Grade 1 student who came from full day Kindergarten and learned to read and print well in that class. The 1/2 day Kindergarten he had didn't really prepare him for reading instructions on a worksheet.

I feel like I have let him down, or kindergarten did. Last year they were focusing on letter sounds and just starting to write letters, not words. This year by the first Parent/Teacher meeting the Teacher showed us a page of printing copy work she had the class do. He managed to do 1/2 a page and finished 16/20 in the class. Since he wasn't writing sentences last year I thought he had done well until she told me about the other kids doing so much more. Some of the students were able to get to the 2nd side of the page. His teacher last year kept telling us not to worry that he was "very young" and would get it. But now it seems like he is already behind and it's only 2 months into the year.

I started him on the BOB books in the summer and he is already in Set 3 "word families" and doing well. I began doing printing practice with him 5 days a week after the meeting and continued with reading every night. I feel like I now have to start doing the "Language Review" worksheets as well so that he knows what to expect when he sees them in class. I guess that will be extra reading and writing practice. Why does it seem like I'm Homeschooling my son who goes to Public School? The only things I'm not doing at home are Math and Science, I hope he's doing well in those because I just don't have time to do more after school and on weekends. The last 2 weeks he hasn't done his optional homework sheet for class because I've felt that it was more important to learn how to correctly print the numbers and letters than to fill in the blanks for 1-100. There is only so much time I can get him to do work at home before he starts to hate school work and rebel against my help. As it is Hubby and I take turns helping him with printing so that I'm not always the "homework" person.

The teacher seems encouraging, says that he is in a class where he can excel because the students are so caring and helpful. She says that he is happy and fun to have in the class. Then she mentions that she has to take his supplies box away sometimes so that he can focus on his work, or that he needs 1-on-1 attention to do the work that other students are doing by themselves, and that he sometimes draws random marks on his worksheet instead of filling it in.

I have to wonder how prepared he is for Gr 1 and if maybe I should have held him back, do they even let you do that in BC anymore? I know they do a "social pass" for kids that are behind so that they stay with their classmates instead of having to do a grade over again with younger students. I don't think I agree with that. Son was born in August, so he is one of the youngest kids in the class, I hope that doesn't mean he will always be 'behind' his classmates and start feeling like he's no good at school.

I guess all I can do is offer support at home and hope that he picks up the skills he needs to do well in class. Hopefully this happens before he decides that school is where he goes to play with his friends and that class time is a waste of time. He's only in Gr. 1, he shouldn't have that attitude for years yet. ;)

1st Grade and Cast Free Arm

Son has spent a few weeks in 1st Grade now. As far as he is concerned the first week doesn't count, he thinks he was in Kindergarten for that week. He wasn't really but he was in last years classroom with last years teacher, so you can see where the confusion comes in. After 1.5 weeks in his new class with his new Grade 1 teacher he feels like he has finally arrived. He is getting use to the routine of the class and managed to bring home his 'homework bag' 6 out of 7 days. I'm not sure if he's remembering to pass on all our messages to the teacher but at least we are getting the notices from the school. Sooo many notices! I feel like I'm the one back in school with all the forms I have had to fill out and organizing at home to keep him on track. Hopefully that will settle down over time, I'm not ready for Grade 1 plus my regular work!

Son's teacher has started a Parent Reading time 3 days a week. From 9:00am-9:15am each Mon/Wed/Fri the parents can go into the classroom and read stories to their child and any other children who want to listen in. This is a Wonderful Idea and I love it. Too bad my work day starts at 8:30am. *sigh* I made an effort and did go into his class today for the first reading day, it seemed very important to him that one of us be there. Thankfully we live a 5 min walk from the school so it really only takes 1/2 hr out of my day. I don't know how often I will be able to participate though, a lot of my meetings start at 8am and run for an hour or so. He will just have to listen to other parents read. He won't be the only one listening in, I can't be the only one who has to work during the week.

Son's cast finally came off on Thursday Sept 17th after being on for about 3 weeks. I booked a 7:30am appointment so that he wouldn't miss much school. This went well, hubby took him to the Cast Clinic at our local hospital and was back home by 9am to pick up Son's stuff for school. The only piece of information I didn't have when making the appointment was the fact that after removing a full arm cast the individual could be prone to dizzy spells and might even faint. It was suggested that Son stay home for the rest of the day. Had I known that I would have booked a 2pm or 3pm appointment for him so that he could spend the morning and at least part of the afternoon in class instead of missing the entire day. Best laid plans, 20/20 hindsight and all that.

Hubby dropped Son off at school the next day and had a nice chat with his teacher. He passed on the Doctors orders that Son not play on the climbing equipment or swings and the suggestion that he stay inside during recess and lunch so that he wouldn't be tempted. As I'm sure you've guessed, Son reported that he did go out with the rest of his class and played with his friends. At least he survived and didn't re-break his arm in a fall from the equipment. When I picked Son up from daycare I let his After school Care teachers know that he wasn't allowed to climb as well; they aren't set up to keep him inside if the rest of the group goes out. I think they listened as I made sure to mention that the Doctor was worried about the arm re-breaking. No daycare wants to have a child break an arm while under their watch.

It's been almost a week since the cast came off and he is now able to fully extend his arm and no longer complains if we touch it or pull on it a bit. This is great news and I feel like I can stop worrying about him while he is at school and daycare. He will have his first Karate class without his cast tonight. I'm looking forward to hearing how that goes. I made him go to Karate last week even with his cast because he was doing everything he would normally do and had so much energy. He was a little embarrassed because he couldn't extend the arm with the cast but otherwise did well. I'm sure everything will go well now that he can extend his arm and fully participate again.

Reliving my Childhood and Great Bookstore

I may have mentioned before that my son *loves* books. He will bring me book after book after book to read to him for as long as my voice holds out for. I have encouraged this as it is suppose to help improve his vocabulary and indicates that he might be a big reader himself when he gets older. Also, I love reading all the books I read and had read to me as a child; Dr. Seuss, Robert Munch, Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, all those good books!

Now that he is getting a bit older we have been able to broaden our horizons a bit. He is able to imagine the pictures in his head and doesn't always need to see a picture on the page. He won't listen to a story with no pictures for very long, but we have managed to get through "the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" as well as "Prince Caspian." The eBook versions of these stories have 2 or 3 pictures for each chapter and that helps him to connect with the characters and keeps his interest for the parts which don't have pictures. This is a good thing as he can't read or colour in the car without getting an upset tummy. Audiobooks come to the rescue, he will happily listen to Dr. Suess or Narnia or "Magic Treehouse" until we reach our destination, and I still have a voice when we arrive. :)

He constantly brings home non-fiction books from the library, especially ones about dinosaurs, but also likes books about magic and anything about super heros. With this in mind I have just taken possession of 5/8 "Young Wizard" books by Diane Duane. They are currently only available as paper and audio books, but Diane says: "Ebook editions are definitely in the works for this year. Just not sure of what the exact timing's supposed to be." Even though I already own all the YW audiobooks and will soon own all the paperback versions as well, I know I will be purchasing the eBook versions just as soon as they hit the virtual shelves. :D

I must say I am pretty pleased with the price I paid for these books. I found an online shop called "BookCloseOuts.com" and managed to scoop all 5 of these books for $1.74 US each!!! can you believe it? That is practically free! You have to check out this store! They sometimes have free shipping sales which makes it an even better deal.

BookCloseouts.com currently has a big sale on Kids Books. To celebrate summer they have discounted over 5000 popular kids' titles by an additional 50%! Don't have the kids sitting around the television or playing video games. Keep the children entertained all summer long with great reading material. Challenge their minds and let them explore their imaginations with a good book.

Find books for all ages including from baby to teen and over. As well as all grade classifications, from preschool to young adult.

(please use my link as I get a small discount on future purchases)

Camping

If given a choice, going camping would not be my first choice for a vacation; I like hotels with housekeeping and casual dinners. When it was suggested that I go on a multi-family (ours and one other) camping trip 3 yrs ago I was quite sceptical. My memories of camping as a child were not good; cold rivers, cold mornings (Vancouver Island in August), and smoky fires. Most people would say that the smoky fire memory was due to sitting in the wrong spot or using the wrong wood for the fire. This would be an incorrect assumption. No matter where I sit, the smoke will follow. Even my husband tells me to move so that he can have a smoke free spot near the fire. It doesn't seem to matter which way the wind is blowing, the smoke will still find me. Despite these memories I have managed to survive 3 July camping trips.

The first year was a 'trial' camping trip of 4 days which went by fast and was acceptable. We camped on a private lot in Fintry, BC above the provincial campsites. Lovely warm weather with a short drive to the beach. A good time was had by all.

The second year we camped at Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park, this was not so much fun. We checked where the campsite was on the map, but forgot to check the elevation. Therefore we packed for warm weather and found ourselves in the cold and the rain. The nights were so cold that the other Mother and I drove into Kamloops to get sub-zero rated sleeping bags so that we could sleep at night instead of shiver through the night. The boys, then 4, attempted to swim in the lake once but froze in the wind when they got out. They didn't ask to swim for the rest of the trip. Thank goodness for the Play Park across the lane from our campsite. The woman who recommended the campsite was prepared, she brought her winter tent and parka along. She thought it was a wonderful site and a great night sleep. I would have too if I had planned for Winter/Mountain Camping in JULY!!! Oh well, we survived and it only took 2 weeks for my voice to come back. Sitting with your feet almost in the fire and having "Smoke Karma" like mine is not good for vocal chords I've found.

This year we went back to Fintry, this time to the Provincial Campsite. The weather was a bit wild, we had strong winds which threatened to take down our shade canopy. We finally ended up taking it down ourselves so that it could survive to offer shade another day. For the most part the days were warm, even when it rained for 1/2 hr here and there it was still warm. Once again we got a campsite across the lane from the Play Park and the kids loved it. We also brought their bikes along for the first time ever and told them which lanes they could ride down to make up their lap of the campground. It was great to be able to send them over to the play park or off on their bikes while meals were being put together. They would ride by and ask "how much longer" to which we would reply "2 more laps." The water was nice, though I tend to sit on the beach and watch more than anything else. The kids had a blast in the small inflated boat we brought along, Hubby and the other Mother would a rope to the boat and to a floating mattress drag the kids around while they floated in the sun. A large shovel was used as an oar for part of the trip, then real oars were purchased. Great fun to watch. I managed to read 4 books while we were there, gotta love the BeBook. I was able to try out a few books until I found exactly the ones I wanted to read. Who knew that Romances would be the genre I prefer for camping?

I do think that 1 week is about as long as I can manage for a multi-family camping trip. By the end of the week every little quirk of the other family was starting to get on my nerves. Things that I can live with the rest of the time cuz it's only a few hrs a week start to niggle after 5 days of 24 hr contact. Hubby didn't notice as much as I did and would probably be happy to go on a 2 week or more camping trip in the future. Perhaps we can bring 2 cars so I can leave earlier... But then I'd miss him too much. Might be better to suck it up and just be sure to get more 'alone time' at the campsite while the others are at the beach. Right now it's a moot point as my yearly vacation time doesn't allow for me to take long breaks in the summer.

Journey to Reading

My son has always been interested in books. He would bring us book after book after book to read as soon as he learned to walk and carry a book at the same time. He loves the idea that we can magically decode the marks on the page to always read the exact same story every time to go with the pictures. When he was 4 almost 5 I started trying to introduce him to reading on his own, using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." This did help him learn letter sounds and how to blend the sounds together into words, but he found doing the same thing over and over boring. Also, the book indicates that the lessons only take 15-20 min with the child, but if the child is resisting or doesn't want to do the writing part it can take over 1/2 hour. The further into the book the longer it takes to do the sounding out and repetitions. This was too much time for my little guy to do, so we eventually agreed to stop with the program at around lesson 10.

I was still interested in teaching him more about reading and looked for fun ideas. He seemed very receptive to the idea of flash cards, loved the ones he had for numbers and alphabet. So I got him "Picture Me Reading" sight word flash cards. One side of the card is a pictograph of the word and the other side is the normal view of the word with a sentence that goes along with it.
See how "n" can run!
These were fun for him for a little while, but again I think I started too early. In the mean time Kindergarten started and they were focusing on letter names and sounds, and counting so I decided to wait a bit before trying teaching him on my own again.

Son had his Kindergarten graduation this week and has been showing a huge interest in what the words say, he will point at any word and ask what it is and is trying to spell words for us to guess. It's very cute! This seemed like the perfect time to start introducing him to the fine art of Reading again. I started reading when I was 5 and seem to have it in my mind that he should read when he's 5 too. I'm sure he'll let me know if that's a false assumption!

A couple of weeks ago I picked up "BOB Books - Collection 1" which I found on Craigslist. I had read about them before and had been thinking of getting them, but $15 for each set seemed a bit much when I didn't know if Son would like them. $7 for the Collection, which includes 18 books from both the "Beginning Readers" and "Advanced Beginners" sets seemed about perfect! All the letters of the alphabet, except "q" are introduced within the first 12 books with no more than 4 new letters in a book. In addition by the time Son has finished the 18 books he will know 33 Sight Words. I dug out his "Picture Me Reading" flash cards and will review the sight words with him before we read his books. I think this will help him a lot! I have also instigated a "Word of the Day" for him, starting with the first Sight Word he is introduced to in the books "on." This has been a hard word for him to "get" since I started showing him the flash cards, hopefully seeing it on the fridge, in his lunch box, and in his books will help.

Son is soooo excited by these books, he even volunteered to read book 1 to his Daddy just for the fun of being able to say he did it! He is so proud that he can read by himself now! I have made it part of our bedtime routine; he reads a BOB book, with help if needed, and then I read one of his bigger books like a Dr. Suess. This way he gets to practice reading and still gets his usual bedtime story. He is very happy with this routine and already reading books 1 - 3 with only a few stumbling blocks and about to start book 4 tonight. At first I thought we would be reading a new book every 1-2 nights, but I have decided to stay with each book until he is comfortable with all the new sounds and words even if that means 4 nights or more with the same book. I also give him a break by having him read the earlier books instead of the new harder one to give him confidence in his abilities.

I figure by the time school starts in September he will have a really good handle on sounding out words. I think that part of his resistance to learning to read in the past was his thought that we would no longer read to him if he could read by himself. By having him read a book and then me read a book I think he has realized that we will always read to him. That him being able to read is just a way for him to tell himself the story when we are busy with something else, like sleeping in on the weekend. :)

BOB Books Collection 1 - Letters and Sight Words in order of introduction in the collection.

Book	New Letters	New Sight Words
1. Mat	M, m, A, a, T, t, S, s	on
2. Sam	C, c, D, d	and
3. Dot	O, o, H, h, G, g, R, r	a, has
4. Mac	B, b	can, got, had, the
5. Dot and Mit	N, n, P, p, I, i	did, hot, is, not, sit
6. Dot and the Dog	? question mark
7. Jig and Mag	J, j, W, w	big, ran
8. Muff and Ruff	U, u, F, f	at, for, in, it, to, up
9. 10 Cut-Ups	Numerals 1 - 10 Plural Endings - s
10. Peg and Ted	E, e	red, went
11. Lad and the Fat Cat	L, l, K, k, X, x	get, six
12. The Vet	V, v, Y, y Z, z	into, yes
13. Fun in the Sun		was
14. Up, Pup
15. Pip and Pog		do, now, saw
16. Bow-wow!
17. The Big Hat		off
18. Sox the Fox		but