Tuesday, June 1, 2010
More books
We haven't been to the library in quite some time. J decided to read the Chronicles of Narnia. He's on The Horse and his Boy right now. He says that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is still his favorite.
More Books
J seems to have left Magic Treehouse behind. He doesn't seem so interested in finishing the few he hasn't read. He's on to much bigger books!
At the end of April, Z had a seizure in the car as I was pulling to pick J up from school. There was lots of drama. I left J in the car with little L (the baby) and carried a non-responsive Z in to the school nurse. I didn't know what was wrong with him at the time. While the school nurse called 911, I ran back out to the car to get J and L. I found that J had grabbed a book to read while he waited for me. And the book he'd grabbed was the book I'd just finished reading, and was planning to return to the library on the way home (yeah, that didn't happen. We went to the ER instead).
He read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. It's quite a good book, although an easy read for me. J loves to claim that he has read a grown-up book. Technically, it was in the Young Adult section. But that's pretty grown-up to him. I just looked up the grade equivalent. Here are the stats on the book.
At the end of April, Z had a seizure in the car as I was pulling to pick J up from school. There was lots of drama. I left J in the car with little L (the baby) and carried a non-responsive Z in to the school nurse. I didn't know what was wrong with him at the time. While the school nurse called 911, I ran back out to the car to get J and L. I found that J had grabbed a book to read while he waited for me. And the book he'd grabbed was the book I'd just finished reading, and was planning to return to the library on the way home (yeah, that didn't happen. We went to the ER instead).
He read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. It's quite a good book, although an easy read for me. J loves to claim that he has read a grown-up book. Technically, it was in the Young Adult section. But that's pretty grown-up to him. I just looked up the grade equivalent. Here are the stats on the book.
- Grade Level: from 7
- Pages: 306
- Age Level: 12-17
Handwriting?
Today was J's kindergarten end-of-the-year "celebration." It was cute, with all the kindergarten kids (all four classes) getting up on choir stands and singing some fun songs. One was to the tune of "New York, New York," only the words New York were replaced with "First Grade."
Then the teachers handed out awards. Each child got one, of course, and I wondered what J would get. Some kids got awards for being able to sound out any word put in front of them. Some were for being good at math. Some were for building with Legos. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he'd get an award for "Heavenly Handwriting!"
I think his handwriting is pretty good for a kindergartner, but it's his teacher's previous comments that have me stymied. In our last parent-teacher conference (here's the blog post about it), she referenced his poor hand-writing to prove that he still needed to work on things. As if I thought that 6 months of school would have him ready for the working world ;)
I got the email address of the lady in charge of all things gifted at J's school. I'm trying to figure out the best way to ask for J to be tested early. I'm not too optimistic about that. But in his school district, they don't test until the end of first grade! A friend of mine paid to have her daughter tested after HUGE problems with her in a regular first grade class room. They switched her to a different district, which tests at the end of kindergarten. Oh, I wish I'd known all of this before we bought a house! The other district is only a mile or so East of here!
Then the teachers handed out awards. Each child got one, of course, and I wondered what J would get. Some kids got awards for being able to sound out any word put in front of them. Some were for being good at math. Some were for building with Legos. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he'd get an award for "Heavenly Handwriting!"
I think his handwriting is pretty good for a kindergartner, but it's his teacher's previous comments that have me stymied. In our last parent-teacher conference (here's the blog post about it), she referenced his poor hand-writing to prove that he still needed to work on things. As if I thought that 6 months of school would have him ready for the working world ;)
I got the email address of the lady in charge of all things gifted at J's school. I'm trying to figure out the best way to ask for J to be tested early. I'm not too optimistic about that. But in his school district, they don't test until the end of first grade! A friend of mine paid to have her daughter tested after HUGE problems with her in a regular first grade class room. They switched her to a different district, which tests at the end of kindergarten. Oh, I wish I'd known all of this before we bought a house! The other district is only a mile or so East of here!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Z's Reading
Z, who turned 4 a week and a half ago, is doing quite well with the books his big brother, J, brings home from kindergarten. About once a week, he brings home a photocopied half-sheet "book" that he's supposed to read to his parents. Ha. Once he asked me if he could read to me, please, because if he does, he gets to raise his hand and get a Skittle. But even a Skittle isn't enough motivation to get him to read these books to me. He currently has his nose stuck in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
But Z is eating them up. They are even better than the Bob books I mentioned in an earlier post. They're simple, with simple words. His favorite one, which we must read every night, is titled We Can Fix.
I'm rather sick of it, but he flies through it now, so I don't suffer too long.
Tonight, it was upside-down when I pulled it out of the special folder marked, "J's special books." (These were given out by the teacher.) I decided to tease him, and left it upside-down. He hardly looked at the cover page, but said, "We Can Fix!" Then I opened it and kept it upside-down.
"Mom! I can't read it upside-down!"
"Sure you can," I said, pointing to the first word. "What does that say?" It was simply the letter I.
"I, but the n's look like u's!" he giggled.
When I finally flipped the book right-side-up, he surprised me by reading the sentences backwards. To be silly, of course. He started off reading, "bed a fix can I." (I can fix a bed.) But as he got further into the book, he got more crafty and read, "tep a fix nac I." (I can fix a pet.) He never could wrap his little brain around the word "xif" because, really, it makes no sense. But almost everything else, he read completely backwards.
Because, you know, he's got to keep this reading thing challenging.
But Z is eating them up. They are even better than the Bob books I mentioned in an earlier post. They're simple, with simple words. His favorite one, which we must read every night, is titled We Can Fix.
I'm rather sick of it, but he flies through it now, so I don't suffer too long.
Tonight, it was upside-down when I pulled it out of the special folder marked, "J's special books." (These were given out by the teacher.) I decided to tease him, and left it upside-down. He hardly looked at the cover page, but said, "We Can Fix!" Then I opened it and kept it upside-down.
"Mom! I can't read it upside-down!"
"Sure you can," I said, pointing to the first word. "What does that say?" It was simply the letter I.
"I, but the n's look like u's!" he giggled.
When I finally flipped the book right-side-up, he surprised me by reading the sentences backwards. To be silly, of course. He started off reading, "bed a fix can I." (I can fix a bed.) But as he got further into the book, he got more crafty and read, "tep a fix nac I." (I can fix a pet.) He never could wrap his little brain around the word "xif" because, really, it makes no sense. But almost everything else, he read completely backwards.
Because, you know, he's got to keep this reading thing challenging.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
End-of-the-year IRI
End-of-the-year IRI testing was last week. In this test, kids rattle off as many letter sounds as they can in one minute. The goal (grade-level) was 30 sounds. The teacher asked that we practice the test at home, but J didn't feel like it. Even so, J managed 45.
Of course, there's no reward or even mention of a score higher than 30. I wonder what the other kids' scores were?
Of course, there's no reward or even mention of a score higher than 30. I wonder what the other kids' scores were?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
This morning at breakfast, Z brought over a small MagnaDoodle and poised the magnetic pen to write. I love that he's suddenly decided to draw letters, and he loves that he's rather good at it.
"Mom, how do you spell 'dude?'"
"D....." I started to reply.
"Is it d-o-o-d?" he ventured.
"Wow," I thought. "Not bad for a kid who hasn't had his 4th birthday yet."
And I love his word choice. It's so him!
"Mom, how do you spell 'dude?'"
"D....." I started to reply.
"Is it d-o-o-d?" he ventured.
"Wow," I thought. "Not bad for a kid who hasn't had his 4th birthday yet."
And I love his word choice. It's so him!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Research Project
Finally, J is taking an interest in his kindergarten homework!
This month, Mrs. G didn't send home a 1st grade challenge packet. She's crazy busy incubating chicken eggs in her classroom, among other things. And something magical happened; it was J week! The regular homework assignment was to draw 5 things that started with J. Of course, J was very excited to draw himself, so he decided to actually do his homework.
Thankfully, the problem of writing has been overcome. He hated homework because he had to write. But it's easier for him now, after getting so much practice at school, and having several more months of school under his belt. Now he has no problem labeling his drawings.
That was last week. This week, it's letter E. He's supposed to draw 5 things that hatch from eggs. I said, "Oooh, I bet we can come up with a lot of weird things that hatch out of eggs, instead of easy ones like chickens." He said, "Like a peregrine falcon!" I didn't know he knew what that was! Then he suggested a red-eyed tree frog, too.
We talked about even more animals that lay eggs, then stopped by the library. He said he wants to do 10 or 15 drawings, not just 5! And he's practically turning this into a research project, checking out books about different animals. He's learning about each animal as he draws them. So far, he's drawn a secretary bird (because they stomp on their prey), a platypus (Mom! Did you know they're poisonous?) a German cockroach, an echidna, and a manta ray. Technically manta rays are ovoviviparous, which I explained to Jared, but I say close enough for kindergarten.
Tonight, he said, "this homework is fun!"
This month, Mrs. G didn't send home a 1st grade challenge packet. She's crazy busy incubating chicken eggs in her classroom, among other things. And something magical happened; it was J week! The regular homework assignment was to draw 5 things that started with J. Of course, J was very excited to draw himself, so he decided to actually do his homework.
Thankfully, the problem of writing has been overcome. He hated homework because he had to write. But it's easier for him now, after getting so much practice at school, and having several more months of school under his belt. Now he has no problem labeling his drawings.
That was last week. This week, it's letter E. He's supposed to draw 5 things that hatch from eggs. I said, "Oooh, I bet we can come up with a lot of weird things that hatch out of eggs, instead of easy ones like chickens." He said, "Like a peregrine falcon!" I didn't know he knew what that was! Then he suggested a red-eyed tree frog, too.
We talked about even more animals that lay eggs, then stopped by the library. He said he wants to do 10 or 15 drawings, not just 5! And he's practically turning this into a research project, checking out books about different animals. He's learning about each animal as he draws them. So far, he's drawn a secretary bird (because they stomp on their prey), a platypus (Mom! Did you know they're poisonous?) a German cockroach, an echidna, and a manta ray. Technically manta rays are ovoviviparous, which I explained to Jared, but I say close enough for kindergarten.
Tonight, he said, "this homework is fun!"
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