First To Last

We did it!

We survived the craziest school year in history (I fact checked and we for sure won the title).

Homeschool to hybrid school to public school.  Throw in a cross country move and a couple of house changes and, whambam thank you ma'am, here we are.

Could I be prouder of Josie?

The answer is a really loud no.  She met each change and challenge head on and surpassed every goal we set for her.  Her new school has been a perfect fit for her.  Watching her become a tiny Lady Girl was beyond fun.  I met with her teacher on Wednesday and smiled from ear to ear (and teared up, which is becoming the norm for me) as she showed me the results of her reading and math testing.  The curve from January to May was a steady upswing.

Get ready 3rd Grade, Josie is coming for you.

Well, after her first real Summer break.

First, let's all take a minute to admire how flipping adorable Gabe is.

He also had major schooling changes and is doing awesome.  After some soul searching (dramatic interpretation of a 10 minute discussion with Andrew) we decided that he will keep going to Pre-K 2 or 3 days each week through the Summer.  It took 4 weeks of hard crying at drop off for him to adjust to going to school.  We don't want to undo that before Kindergarten.  He love, love, loves his teachers and is learning a ton, so we see no reason to pull him.  

And me?

I love where this past year took us.  It was humbling and challenging and, ultimately, entirely life altering.  Handing over teaching duties and putting on a working girl's hat (wait, that doesn't sound right...) has been the best choice I've made in a long time.  I love my job and feel like the schools we found have been exactly right for each child.  

I am looking forward to having Josie and Gabe home more (and no homework, whoop whoop!) for a few months.   We are starting the Summer out with an end of the year hoorah and a week long family fest.  It's going to be good.

Happy Summer Y'all!

My Favorite Butterfly

First School Play.

Another milestone for our family.  Another way she's braver than me.

* 1000 pardons for the upskirt shot of the music teacher.  Trying to control 

Gabe while shooting wasn't all that easy.

Adventures With The Class Pet

On Josie's first day of school, she came home unhappy about most of her new lot.

The only thing about it that brought a smile to her face was Mocha, the class guinea pig.

Thankfully, her opinion on school changed within that first week.  And her love for all things guinea pig has grown too.  The librarian even found a series of books about Fluffy the Guinea Pig that got her to read 14 books in two weeks.  Unheard of for my reluctant reader.

Josie's been waiting for weeks for her turn to bring the class pet home for the weekend.

And when that weekend finally rolled around, Mocha was given the royal treatment.

It was a fun weekend that almost, almost, made me consider getting the kids a pet.  Then she wouldn't get in her carrying case Monday morning and made us late for everything and I quickly snapped back to my senses.  I'm just not a pet person.  I think we will stick to weekend visits.

gabe begged to hold mocha, but since i refused to touch it, i told him he had to wait until 

andrew was here to catch it if gabe let it go.  when he finally got his turn, 

he screamed, "get it off!!! get it off!!!" as soon as it was in his arms.

sidenote: guinea pigs don't run away and are actually pretty mellow pets.

Homeschool To Public School & Embracing The Change

How about an update on how our new school plan is working out?

It's only been three weeks, but it feels like we've been doing this public school thing for a whole lot longer than that. 

I had the whole transition laid out in my mind.  She was going to be a little nervous the night before.  We would talk about it, read some first day of school books, and snuggle in tight for a full night's rest before her big day.

Reality was nothing like that.

The night before her first day she bawled.  Hard.  Girlfriend was scared, for real.  And it was nearly unbearable for me since, ya know, it was totally our fault she was having those feelings at all.  She didn't fall asleep until really late and waking her up the next day was comical (that part was very much how I expected it to be).

She didn't get in the class with her neighbor friend which only added to her anxiety.  Andrew and I walked her to class and met her teacher (who is awesome) and left our baby at school.  The day dragged by and I was the first parent at pickup that afternoon.

That night she cried more.  Begged us to not send her back.

Math was hard, she didn't get the spelling work, she felt rushed all day.  It was hard, but we talked about how it would take a bit of time to get used to it and how proud we were and after lots of pizza and ice cream, she agreed to try a few more days.

her awesome diorama project that was presented in the library

Tuesday she came home crying.  She hadn't understood the math directions and had gotten every problem wrong, tough stuff for a girl who likes to be right at all times.

That night, I sat down with her to explain why she'd missed the answers and made sure she understood how to do it.  Reassured her that she'd get them right the next day.  Well, most of them.  The word problems gave me a run for my money.  Then again, math and I aren't really good friends.  When Andrew walked in, she lost it again.  Big old tears, saying she wanted to be homeschooled again.

Then she woke up Wednesday and I guess just decided she was going to like school.

It really was like she just made up her mind and that was that.  Since then, everyday has been better than the one before.  She gets herself up and ready to go, she marches in to class like a lady boss, she's playing and laughing everyday when I get there to pick her up.  

In her three weeks at school she's already gotten to do a very crafty school project (right up her alley) and go on a field trip which also meant she got to go on her very first bus ride.  She's made quite a few new friends and learned all about which days are pizza day and which days are ice cream days.  

 first field trip to the pioneer museum

Our weeks are going so smoothly it's almost a dream.

School doesn't start until 8:45 and is only 5 minutes away, so our mornings are super laid back.  She wakes up around 7:30, takes a shower and gets ready, then usually has time to watch a show before we go.  When I pick her up we head home for a snack and then she bikes off to play with friends for an hour or so before coming home for homework, dinner, and bed.  It's working out great.

Oh, and speaking of homework, after hearing all the hublub about it I was a bit nervous about what we were signing up for.  But so far, 2nd grade homework is simple.  Once she got in the routine she has no trouble.  She gets math each night and has a nightly journal entry to do.  Then there are 10-15 spelling words to learn by Friday and she reads for about 20 minutes a night.  All of it but reading is done in under 30 minutes and she reads before bed.

She is getting pulled out of class each day for Reading Club, which is basically a very small group at a time for extra reading help.  Her teacher thinks she's reading great, but wants to help her with her comprehension.  She's also taken a huge interest in guinea pigs since that's the class pet.  In the past week she has copied over three entire books on them and had them posted on the board in class.  Big stuff for my girl who "hates to write." 

I'm adjusting slower than she is, but I am getting used to it.

It's strange to not have her here during the day and it is still hard for me to let another person critique her.  I know how she learns and, at first, was concerned her teacher wasn't going to be able to give her that.  I also realized I had a bit of a pride issue when it came to her school.  How on Earth would she ever learn anything if I wasn't teaching her?!?!

Turns out, while I am still needed in a supporting role, I do not need to be the headmaster for learning to happen.  Who knew?

It's fun watching her bloom and I really couldn't be happier with our choice.  I'm so glad we stuck with it and went with our gut about it being time for the transition.  I'll be sure to keep you updated as we continue to find our feet in this new world.  Our next adventure includes the class pet spending the weekend with us!  I'll let you guess who is most excited about that one.

Books For Emerging Readers

Now that Josie is in school, all my teacher energy is needing a place to be focused.

It's hard to transition from being the master and creator of your child's education to a less active role.  Poor Gabe is getting a whole lot more instruction, but Josie is still getting her fair share.  One area I am honing in on is reading.

Josie was a late starter when it comes to reading.

Man.  Do I ever hate saying that.  Because, hello, she's seven.  And reading earlier than that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a genius.  I know that, really, I do.  However, it is so easy to fall into the comparison trap when your friends children are reading chapter books while your precious offspring is struggling through Henry and Mudge.

*side note, we love Henry and Mudge and that series is what helped Josie break into real reading.

Just this past Summer, Josie had some major reading breakthroughs.

It was like a light bulb switched on and the girl could read.  It was such an exciting time.  Since than, I've held fast to having her read for 20 minutes each day.  The book choice never mattered to me as long as she was reading.  Although I knew she had the tools she needed to read chapter books like so many of her peers, she was just more drawn to easy readers.  After the rough start she had, I really think those books gave her the confidence she needed to want to keep reading.

Just recently, Josie has started to show some interest in chapter books.

Trouble was, most chapter books are just too long and she is seriously intimidated by the length of each book.  I had the hardest time finding books that were in that were indeed chapter books, but still gentle enough to not break her new found love of reading.

So rather than have you need to do all the hunting that I did, I thought I would share a few of the books that have been hits around here.

(See my list of book recommendations over on the East Valley Moms Blog by clicking here)

First Day of School

We did it.

We survived our first day of school.

It was harder than I expected it to be.  When we decided to enroll Josie, I figured I'd be anxious about what it would be like for her, worried about her making friends and finding her spot among a group of kids that had already been together for five months.  I didn't put much thought into what it would feel like for me.  For the last six years we have spent nearly every day together.  That's a lot of hours spent side by side.  The closer we got to today, the more my heart started to ache.  I knew I was going to miss her so much.

Last night she cried a lot.

She was scared and really didn't want to go.  I was pretty dang close to calling the whole thing off.  After promising that I would stay with her until she was ready for me to leave and telling her we would talk about it more in the morning, she finally settled in enough to fall asleep.

This morning she woke up ready to go.

It was like all her nerves had melted away with the bright desert sun.  She talked incessantly as she got ready, changing outfits three times before settling on one of her favorite dresses, complete with fancy pearls.

Andrew and I walked her to class.  She had on a brave face, but we know her well enough to know she was still anxious.  We met her teacher and watched her make a couple new friends before she gave us a tiny wave, letting me know she was OK for me to go.

When I picked her up, she was exhausted.

I can't believe she didn't pass out on the way home.  She didn't love it the way I had hoped, but her concerns were totally normal; she didn't know how to do the review game, she didn't get in the class with her neighbor friend.  However, there's a class pet she gets a turn bringing home and they have three recesses, so it all evened out in the end.

She loved her class and made a ton of buddies and all of the sudden I knew we made the right decision.  We celebrated with pizza and frozen yogurt then headed home for our first dose of real homework.

I can't wait to see her bloom in this new environment.  It's going to be a good year.

TOS Review - Middlebury Interactive Languages

What Is It:

Middlebury Interactive Languages is a company that offers online language classes in Spanish, Chinese, French, and German.  Middlebury started as a college language course that used immersion to teach language comprehension and to accelerate the speed that students became fluent.  Now Middlebury has altered this hugely successful method to make it work for students!

For this review, we were given a full semester (6 months worth) access to the Elementary Spanish 1 course.  This course is for students with little to no Spanish exposure, geared mostly towards kids in Kindergarten through 2nd Grade.  The course is fully online and uses pictures, video, text, and real life experiences to help the student fully grasp the language.  The focus of this level was listening, speaking, writing, and reading basic Spanish.

An added bonus is that not only do students learn beginning Spanish, they also learn a lot about the cultures and myths and legends common in these cultures.  

You can either take the course with a teacher or without.  We tried out the option without one.  If you choose this option, there is a teacher section where you can view their progress.  If you do get the option with the teacher, you are able to get credits for the course.

How We Used It:

When I signed up for this review, I intended it to be for Josie.  However, after snooping around the website I decided that I wanted in too.  I took two years of Spanish in high school and only remember how to introduce myself and a few, very basic phrases.  I've wanted to learn more for quite some time and have zero shame sitting in on a second graders class to do it!

The program was simple to use.  On the days we had Spanish on the agenda, Josie would sit at the desk with her headphones and listen to the lesson.  The lessons were short and there wasn't much action required for her.  There is a feature where the student can speak into the microphone to test their pronunciation, but we didn't use this feature.

There are 35 units in the semester.  If you have the teacher option, the teacher sets the schedule.  If you are not using that feature, you can set the order.  Each unit has 6 lessons that cover colors, numbers, family, greetings, school and review.  There are videos in each that repeat to help the student learn the words.  These videos are only in Spanish.  I know that this is part of the immersion style of teaching, but Josie was frustrated by this.  She was able to pick up a couple words she was able to pick up, but for the most part, she couldn't figure out the stories.  There are scripts for the stories, but by the time I figured that out she was already frustrated. 

My Opinion:

I had high hopes for this program and while it was a colorful, user friendly website, it just didn't work for us. 

There wasn't much instruction, but more videos in Spanish repeated a few times.  I think the goal was for the kids to pick up on what the words were by watching (hence, the immersion part of the program).  This frustrated Josie since she couldn't figure out what they were saying.  I had her continue and she did learn a few words, but didn't enjoy it.

I've said this before, but Josie has a hard time with a lot of computer programs.  She just doesn't get into it, which results in opposition.  If you have a student that enjoys computer time, this very well may be a great program for them.  Immersion style learning has a huge success rate.  I think I would try this style again when she is a bit older.

Product Details:

http://www.middleburyinteractive.com/
Spanish Courses - $120
  

Whew!

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow we get the keys to our house and I'm having a hard time waiting.  I can't remember ever being this excited.  

So basically, this week was full of me being totally preoccupied with thinking about life in the new house while trying to keep up with my full calendar.  We had three doctor appointments, the kids started AWANAS, I joined a women's group at church, Josie had school two days, we went to a skating party with her class, and Gabe started T Ball.  Plus we had our normal school work to plow through.

Next week gets to be all about setting up the house and I can't wait!  

Did you know tie dye shirts have to cure for 6-8 hours?  Guess how many times I told them, "not yet!" that day...

PE

Finally hit up Home Depot's kid's workshop.  No fingers were injured and only one shirt was paint covered so I call that a success.

School, school, school.

Josie has fully entered the "My Parents Are So Embarrassing" stage of life.  One, I'm certain I wasn't embarrassed of my parents until at least age 10 (just kidding Mom and Dad, you never embarrassed me).  Two, Andrew and I discussed it and we are most definitely the cool parents so she obviously has no clue what she's talking about.  It was kind of nice to have our own little date this night though.

Tuesday Tradition.  They know his order by heart.

I was feeling awkward and nervous before my women's group.  I never know what I'll get walking into a big group of women that already know each other.  Lucky for me, these gals are some of the nicest I've met!  I'm so glad I went and know I'll make some great friends.

Whoever thought roller skating was a good idea is on my hit list.  Wheels, concrete, and excited kids are not a good combo.  Josie spent most the time talking to BOYS and these pictures of Gabe sum up my two hours.  

Josie, in her element.

Little kids need "coaching"?  She's all up on that.  Never mind that she's never actually played baseball.

For real though, T Ball is going to be the highlight of my Fall.  Gabe is the tiniest dude out there and kept looking at me and giggling behind his fat hands.  He just could not believe he was out there on the big field.  Ugh, this boy slays my heart!

That's a wrap!

Can't wait to share the new house with you next week!