And we're looking good! Jayna made all A's and Barrett didn't receive 'number' grades, but he received all good marks for mastering content objectives. They both received E's in conduct and what they call "specials" (Music, PE, etc.).
With these report cards were letters from each of the teachers (directed at the class, not our kids specifically) stating that things are about to get tough! Haha! Everyone knows the rules and what is expected, so now they will crack down. I hope my chatter-box children can control themselves. :)
Jayna's teacher wrote a letter that stated the first 6 weeks was a 'review' period and that grades are expected to be higher during this time. She didn't come out an say it, but that makes me think grades will be lower on the next report card. Isn't that what you would think? Fortunately, Jayna's teacher reached out to us very early on to share her concerns where Jayna is lacking and we have been actively and aggressively working with her. Jayna loves math, science, art, and music, but she really hasn't enjoyed reading and anything involving phonics for several years now.
Kind of ironic, because I read to her religiously in-utero, because I was told that is makes babies smarter and that they will have a passion for reading. I'm going to go ahead and call Bull on that! I hardly ever read to Barrett in-utero, because I was the exhausted working mother of a toddler and that boy loves phonics and loves to read! It's funny the differences in our children. We read to George off and on, so now we have a 50/50 chance on this one! I love these little science experiments... I mean children! I love these children! ;)
So with Jayna, we printed some flash cards with sight words on all levels and we review them several times a week. She actually enjoys it more than I thought she would. I don't know if its the challenge or what, but I am starting to see a turn in her love of reading. Yay Jayna!
Her teacher told me that with Jayna's reading level and her age, that we don't have to stress phonetic rules; that we can tell her the words and have her memorize them. Jayna has a GREAT memory. She always has, so this is working well. I kind of wish that I would have taught her this way from the beginning. She is also able to bring home books from the school library and she enjoys reading them to us and her brothers.
Barrett on the other hand has been good at letter recognition and phonics since a very, very young age. He can read some small words and seems to be advanced for his age and grade level. Now, does he like math? No :(
I'll admit it... I just thought my children would all love school and learning (all subjects) as much as I do/did. I don't remember if I loved school as a young child or even into my junior high and high school years, but I LOVED college courses... everything from registering for classes and buying books to doing flash cards and projects. Tests were the only thing I didn't like. I always freaked out when I received a syllabus that stated only test dates! Yikes! I digress... This post is about the children; not their nerdy mother!
With all of that being said, I have a good feeling about this school year and what the kids will do. This was a big step for us to move them from the private school to a public school. I don't know that I had even mentioned it on Facebook or here on the blog... mainly because I don't want to offend anyone on either side of the private vs. public argument. I will have to elaborate on our decision in another blog post, because this one is getting too long!
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