Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Next Stop, Second Grade
I am so darn proud of Gavin! Friday, May 27th, was his last day of school. I met him for lunch for the school cook out and ate lunch with him, and said good-bye to all the kids (I've been helping in the classroom almost every Friday all year). Before we even left the building, he pulled out his report card.
It was awesome! At this age, they are on a 1-4 scale, 4 being ahead of expectations, 3 meeting expectations, 2 progressing towards goal, and 1 meaning needs quite a bit of help. At the end of Kindergarten we still had quite a few 2's, but given th progress he made throughout the year, it wasn't concerning. At the end of 1st grade, he had very few 2's, and a fair amount of 4's! I was particularly happy to see progress made in the non scholastic areas, such as being responsible for his work, getting his work done, etc. Thos types of general skills that are necessary for being successful in that kind of structured school setting. He's always been smart, no issue there, but being focused, knowing what he needs to do, etc, have been lagging. He scored a 2 the first two trimesters and ended with a 3!
The areas that we will work on this summer are comprehension. Hearing or reading information, being able to pick out the relevant facts. This obviously is a literacy skill, but his trouble in this area affects his score on things like problem solving and also his science units. While he is great with memorized math facts, pulling out the relevant pieces of a story problem in order to create a solve the equation requires that comprehension piece.
All in all, it was a great year. I really enjoyed his teacher, Mrs. Rolfes. She takes a pretty stern approach, but was always very open to discussing Gavin's issues or progress with me, and I think her disciplined approach to teaching was something that Gavin really needed this year. While I am thrilled with his scores, I'm even more impressed with the progress that he's made.
Way to go Gavin! I can't believe how far you've come. I know it doesn't always come easy for you, but you have worked really hard this year, and it's paying off.
It was awesome! At this age, they are on a 1-4 scale, 4 being ahead of expectations, 3 meeting expectations, 2 progressing towards goal, and 1 meaning needs quite a bit of help. At the end of Kindergarten we still had quite a few 2's, but given th progress he made throughout the year, it wasn't concerning. At the end of 1st grade, he had very few 2's, and a fair amount of 4's! I was particularly happy to see progress made in the non scholastic areas, such as being responsible for his work, getting his work done, etc. Thos types of general skills that are necessary for being successful in that kind of structured school setting. He's always been smart, no issue there, but being focused, knowing what he needs to do, etc, have been lagging. He scored a 2 the first two trimesters and ended with a 3!
The areas that we will work on this summer are comprehension. Hearing or reading information, being able to pick out the relevant facts. This obviously is a literacy skill, but his trouble in this area affects his score on things like problem solving and also his science units. While he is great with memorized math facts, pulling out the relevant pieces of a story problem in order to create a solve the equation requires that comprehension piece.
All in all, it was a great year. I really enjoyed his teacher, Mrs. Rolfes. She takes a pretty stern approach, but was always very open to discussing Gavin's issues or progress with me, and I think her disciplined approach to teaching was something that Gavin really needed this year. While I am thrilled with his scores, I'm even more impressed with the progress that he's made.
Way to go Gavin! I can't believe how far you've come. I know it doesn't always come easy for you, but you have worked really hard this year, and it's paying off.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Samsonism's
I kid you not, Sam had this conversation with me the other day. The kid can put together a logical thought and articulate it well!
Mommy, I need a TV in my room.
I need a little TV!
I can buy it.
I can get money out of my piggy bank!
Mommy, I need a TV in my room.
I need a little TV!
I can buy it.
I can get money out of my piggy bank!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
He was Running!
I know....I need to post some pictures! Life has been incredibly hectic lately. Work has picked up for me, which is a good thing, and Gavin's schedule is packed.
Someone at work gasped when I talked about all the things Gavin is involved in. "he's only SIX?? kids need time to be kids! they are so overscheduled these days!"
Lest you think I am some sort of lunatic stage mom (or whatever the term would be for boys in sports!) - yes, I agree this may be too much for some kids. Gavin thrives on the activity though. He does much better when we have structured activities, and he loves being involved in all of them. The minute he tells me he doesn't want to participate in some sport, that's totally his call.
I digress. Our weeks look like this:
Monday - track practice
Tuesday - soccer practice
Wednesday - track practice
Thursday - baseball practice
Saturday - soccer game, baseball game, and possibly a track meet
He has been doing SO well at track! The progress he has made having regular practices is just amazing. Last week they had a brutal practice. He is the youngest kid on the team. He has buddied up with a boy that is a year or so older than him, so that is nice. The coach had them running the bleachers for 20 minutes. Then they ran 200m dashes (halfway around the track) - they probably ran about a mile of those. Then they had the choice of long jump or high jump, but Gavin had new spikes and wanted to run. So he and his buddy ran 400m's. They ran four of them! Another mile! His first run, he ran a time of 1:48 - which is kicking it pretty hard for a little guy. I was running the track and was about 100m behind them when they took off so I sped up to catch up with him to encourage him around. At one point I looked at my watch and he was running a 5 min/mile pace.
Someone at work gasped when I talked about all the things Gavin is involved in. "he's only SIX?? kids need time to be kids! they are so overscheduled these days!"
Lest you think I am some sort of lunatic stage mom (or whatever the term would be for boys in sports!) - yes, I agree this may be too much for some kids. Gavin thrives on the activity though. He does much better when we have structured activities, and he loves being involved in all of them. The minute he tells me he doesn't want to participate in some sport, that's totally his call.
I digress. Our weeks look like this:
Monday - track practice
Tuesday - soccer practice
Wednesday - track practice
Thursday - baseball practice
Saturday - soccer game, baseball game, and possibly a track meet
He has been doing SO well at track! The progress he has made having regular practices is just amazing. Last week they had a brutal practice. He is the youngest kid on the team. He has buddied up with a boy that is a year or so older than him, so that is nice. The coach had them running the bleachers for 20 minutes. Then they ran 200m dashes (halfway around the track) - they probably ran about a mile of those. Then they had the choice of long jump or high jump, but Gavin had new spikes and wanted to run. So he and his buddy ran 400m's. They ran four of them! Another mile! His first run, he ran a time of 1:48 - which is kicking it pretty hard for a little guy. I was running the track and was about 100m behind them when they took off so I sped up to catch up with him to encourage him around. At one point I looked at my watch and he was running a 5 min/mile pace.
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