Six Grader of the Year

Natalie and Mr Fife with her award 

Look at the surprised face! 

May 15 I got a call from Mr. Fife, Natalie's sixth grade teacher. He asked me if I was somewhere where Natalie wouldn't be able to overhear us speaking. I took my phone into the bedroom and said yes. Quickly, he told me that Natalie had been chosen to be the sixth grader of the year. During the call he listed off all the reasons they had picked her. Told me they still wanted to present her with a certificate, even if it couldn't be during the traditional graduation like a "normal" year (stupid COVID-19!)

Together we set a date for me to bring her to school to "get lunch" and he would be there with Mr Forrey and they would bring out her award and let her know.  

I asked her teachers to write her letters on why she was chosen and what they would remember about her. This is what I got back. 

Letter from Mr. Fife and Mr. Forrey (your 6th grade teachers)

Natalie, 

Well, the end of this year didn't go how any of us had hoped! And with report card comments being so short this time, I wanted to write you a letter that allowed me some more space to say what I truly wanted to say. 

You, Miss Natalie, are one of a kind! I don't know that I've ever met someone who worked harder and was more intent on improving every part of their education. I have had a lot of students in my 14 years as a youth leader and teacher, but I have not had a harder working student. This will take you SO FAR in your life! An here's the best part - no matter what struggle you were facing, no matter the assignment, n matter the task given, you approached it all with a smile on your face! It's amazing to see how much better you make everyone else's lives around you. The respect you have earned from other students and teachers is truly unmatched. You inspire ME to work harder every day. There were times where I just simply wanted to sit back, look at my phone for 10 to 15 minutes during lunch and just say "Ugh, I need a break!" Then, you'd walk in, sit down and get right to work and I'd think to myself... Wow, if Natalie can do this, so can I! 

You just keep on doing your thing. Your determination to do well on your assignments, your mindset to push yourself to do your best in everything that's in front of you, and the dignity and respect you treat everyone with has truly been an honor to be a part of. I know that you are going to do some great things in your life Natalie! Keep on being you, don't ever let anyone change you! You deserved this year's Sixth Grader of the Year award, no doubt about it! I am so happy to have had you in my class this year, and I really hope you will stay in touch as you get older and move into bigger and better things! Keep on working hard, keep on treating people the way you always do, and you will have the most amazing life! Thank you for letting me be a part of it Natalie! Have a fantastic summer and good luck in 7th grade. You are a superstar among rockstars! 

Your sixth grade teachers, 

Mr. Fife and Mr Forrey :)

Letter from Mrs G. (your 5th grade teacher)

Dear Natalie,

I heard you were named 6th Grader of the Year! That is so, so amazing, kiddo. You are so deserving. That title goes to kids who are kind to their very core, work hard, and help others. You embody all of those things. I remember from 5th grade the kindness you showed everyone, your infectious smile, and the hard work you put into every project. You were in 5th grade, and still are, an outstanding kid.

Thank you for being an up-stander, showing kindness and advocacy to those around you. Thank you for having a positive attitude, especially when it’s hard. Thank you for trying your best, even when the work is challenging. Some of my favorite moments in 5th grade were when you’d come up and read with me, one-on-one. You didn’t let the challenging texts stop you….and you and I got to have a little reading moment together. I looked forward to it every time we did novels.

I know the end of 6th grade didn’t go the way we wanted it to. I just bought my son a t-shirt (because he’s a senior this year) that says “Senior Year 2020- Worst. Ending. Ever.” and then has 1 out of 5 stars shaded in. I feel the same for you and your class. So many fun things cancelled and a terrible finish to your elementary school career. HOWEVER, we are blessed and lucky to be healthy, have each other, have food and shelter and parents with jobs. While it wasn’t the ending we wanted, our perspective and attitude helps shape how we handle it. I’ve always appreciated your positive attitude. Keep your chin up, kiddo.

Again, congratulations on a most-deserved recognition of 6th Grader of the Year. You rock my socks. Keep doing what you’re doing next year. Be good, do good, and seek out the good whenever possible. I will miss you like crazy. Please come visit your ol’ 5th grade teacher next year. I’m so proud of the young lady you are becoming and feel incredibly blessed to be a small part of your journey.

Much love,
Ms. G

Letter from Mrs F (school counselor) 

I am so happy your mom asked us to write a personal note to you since we can't honor you in person, in front of your friends, family and classmates. Actually all of your classmates ARE your friends. You are truly an amazing young lady who walks through this world being happy, kind, compassionate and forgiving to everyone in any situation. As the counselor of an elementary school, I have certainly seen my share of drama, tears, negative behavior, hurtful behavior and a lot in between. You are an individual who holds your head high and does not get involved in other's issues, unless it effects you in a hurtful way - and then you speak up (quietly). We need more Natalies in the world, for sure! :) I am so sorry you didn't get to go to EFT or celebrate the end of your years at Garfield. I will sadly not be able to be at school when Mr. Fife gives you your certificate but I am most definitely there in spirit, whistling and clapping :)! Congratulations - you made it easy this year to choose the most outstanding 6th grader. 

I will make sure you get your trophy and your picture will be put in the glass case on the 2nd floor, above the water fountain. You'll have to stop by with your mom and dad to see it next fall. East Jr. High is lucky to be getting you! 

Happy summer!

Mrs. F. 

Letter from Mr. DeForest (special education teacher, worked with Natalie for four years!) 

Dear Natalie, 

I feel sad I can not deliver this to you in person. I am very excited to congratulate you for being chosen sixth grade student of the year. I can't think of a more deserving student then you. 

There are many things I will miss about you as you leave Garfield. One, how hard you've worked, never gave up even when things were difficult and your smile on your face each day when you entered my classroom. Two, your willingness to assist other students in need with compassion and encouraging comments. And thirdly, your presences as a role model for other students. All these qualities will help you be successful all throughout your life, so continue to be the amazing person you are. As you move on to your next adventure, keep hold of your desire to learn and know you can achieve anything. I am so very proud to have been able to know you and witness the tremendous growth in your abilities. Always keep that Grizzly Pride

L. DeForest

Back To School Again

McKayla is turning 14 in October and started her 8th grade year this year. Boise does Junior High so she is in her second year at East Junior High school. Thus far she is happier with her schedule then she was last year. In fact, on her first day, she even texted me a SIX LINE MESSAGE when I asked her how her day was! That is quite the accomplishment when my usual reply from her is one or two words!! She was quite excited to see a friend from her early elementary years join her this year. Cannot wait to see what the rest of the school year brings her.

McKaya in front of the East Junior High rock.
We forgot the pic last year, so this one is special! 

Natalie is in her final year at Garfield, 6th grade! I can hardly believe she will be 12 next month. Her teacher this year is Mr Fife and he seems really nice. I guess that his wife comes in and helps with math which should be perfect for Natalie since she was just transitioned back into mainstream last year. The best I can get from her on her favorite parts are "lunch and breakfast" so you know what the girl likes, food! In November/December we have her regular IEP update meeting and then in the spring we have her transition meeting with the East Junior high staff to make sure she is set for next year at junior high (I'm not nervous, you're nervous!). To say that I'm stressing is an understatement. Having my little fish in the giant ocean with the possibility of getting lost and left behind is a GIANT worry. For now I am going to try and embrace her sixth grade year and enjoy it. 

Natalie and Mr. Fife

Alivia, 10, is starting 5th grade. Harry Potter is her absolute favorite and she will talk to anyone who will listen about the books or the movies. Her teacher this year is the same as the one Natalie had last year, Mrs. Galaviz. I absolutely love this woman. It is going to be a great year for Miss Liv. We are excited to see Alivia grow in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas that Mrs. Galaviz specializes in. She has always loved school but seems to be most excited about reading and writing. I hope to see her get excited about other things as well.

Alivia and Mrs. Galaviz

Natalie and Alivia on the first day of school in front of the Garfield rock

Quarter One

It is the end of the first quarter for my girls and that means we just had parent teacher conferences. I love the time I get to spend talking to my children's teachers about them. For posterity sake, I like to record some notes here as well.

Alivia

Report Card:
English/Language Arts - B
Math - B
Social Studies - C (mostly due to a group project done while she was out)
Science - B
Health - A
PE - M (Meets grade level standard)
Music - M
Traits of successful learners - M

Notes from her teacher: I love having Alivia in my class again this year She is an enthusiastic learner who arrives at school with a smile each day and embraces new challenges with a positive attitude. Alivia is a kind and caring student who is always willing to participate and share her wonderful ideas. The enthusiasm she shows for school, friends and life in general energizes our whole room. Alivia puts a lot of effort into her assignments and tries her best through out the day. Keep up all the great work you are doing! You are a third grader who truly shines!

Conference notes: Fantastic conference! Alivia is doing amazing and her teacher loves her. Since this is her second year in Mrs. Dallas' class, that helps. We love Mrs. Dallas, she's known the girls' dad's family for generations. Anyway, Liv doesn't have much to work on. She's really got nothing to work on and not a lot of habits she needs to change.

Natalie

English/Language Arts - B
Math - C
Social Studies - B
Science - A
Health - A
PE - M (Meets grade level standard)
Music - M

Traits of successful learners - M

Notes from her teacher: Natalie is a bright light who makes our classroom is a better place! She has had an amazing amount of growth as a reader this year. She also continues to show growth in math. Natalie should continue reading every night, for at least twenty minutes. If she could read with an adult a few times a week, it would benefit Natalie's comprehension. I am so proud of Natalie. She is a compassionate and friendly student who perseveres in her daily work. Natalie, than you for being a shining example of what it means to be a hard and dedicated worker. You are a magical unicorn!

Conference Notes: Natalie's reading 64 words per minute, very close to the 70 wpm goal set in her IEP. She is doing great in school. Natalie seems to have a love of writing like her mommy and is showing a knack for it already. Even though her spelling is phonetic she still tries and does amazingly. Her teacher loves that she gets in there and works hard. She only asks for help when she really needs it. We will have an IEP update meeting in December to see where she is sitting for her goals this last year.

McKayla

English/Language Arts - B
Math - B
Social Studies - A
Science - A
Health - A
PE - M (Meets grade level standard)
Music - M
Instrumental Music - A (Pleasure to have in class. )

Traits of successful learners - M

Notes from her teacher: It has been lovely getting to know McKayla this quarter. McKayla is a sweet, hard working individual. She constantly has a bright smile on her face and she tries her best at each assignment that she is given. She is excellent at following directions, completing tasks and helping her classmates on anything that they need. I would encourage McKayla to voice her opinions more and share her ideas with her peers. Communicating her understanding will only help McKaya's confidence and knowledge base grow. McKayla shows a strong interest in writing, especially when she is able to create her own story. However, I have noticed frequent misspellings and grammatical errors. I look forward to seeing McKayla's growth throughout the remainder of the year.

Conference Notes: McKayla is doing well overall. She is quiet in class but does well in groups. There is one concern though: her spelling and grammar errors may not be random. Her teacher is concerned there may be an underlying cause. Before we jump to conclusions, she is having a nearly certified teacher work with M for 15 minutes every day until Christmas break. The teacher will document what she's doing and M's progress. If there hasn't been a lot of progress, we will move into testing to see if testing is necessary for an IEP (Individualized Education Plan - what Natalie has) or possibly a 504 to accommodate to her personal needs (for example, she might require a computer to be successful at writing, just an example). 

First Day of School 2017-18

Day 1 Complete!
not sure why Natalie is always flashing peace signs for pictures now...

Today was the first day back to school for my kiddos. I am still in shock that I have a sixth grader. Since they go to a k-6 school, I still have one more year with all three girls at Garfield. We were completely blessed this year to get two teachers that we have had before. Alivia has the same teacher as last year (she is now a 3rd grader in the 2-3 combo class). Natalie has the teacher who M had last year.

Since I totally forgot this morning, their other mom was willing to ask them my questions! Thanks again Frances!!

Alivia

3rd grade with Mrs Dallas
8 years old

Favorite color: Magenta, black, red and white

What do you want to be when you grow up? can't choose between veterinarian or teacher

This year I want to learn about: EVERYTHING 

My favorite summer activity was: going to camp pinewood and roaring springs and seeing Mady (their sister) again.

My favorite food is: I don't even know (McKayla: your favorite food is tacos! Liv: No it's not! I have way more favorite foods!)

Natalie 

4th grade with Mrs. Salzseider 

9 years old 

Favorite color? purple

What do you want to be when you grow up? veterinarian

This year I want to learn about: uh um uh uh uh BACON

My favorite summer activity was: uhhhhh I don't know

My favorite food is:  Chicken alfredo, duh it's my favorite

McKayla 

6th grade with Mrs. Pilato & student teacher, Ms. Kaile

Favorite color: blue, light blue, cyan

What do you want to be when you grow up?  *shrugs shoulders* not answering

This year I want to learn about: pickles (while giggling)

My favorite summer activity was: drawing, swimming at roaring springs

My favorite food is: baked beans

another one from after day one. Better smile from Alivia this time
weirder face from Natalie

WW: Funny Girls

Linking up with Mama Kat again this week for writers workshop. If you want to learn more about it, click the link at the bottom of this post. The prompt I chose this week is: Something your kids said that made you laugh.

My girls always seem to have something funny to say. Of course, when given the chance to talk about it, I can't seem to think of anything off the top of my head. To add some length to the post, I will just add their school pictures.

Lately it's been a lot of attitude from Natalie. The other morning Stephen was talking to them about cereal portions. He was explaining that if they used the regular size bowls, they didn't need to be full. To emphasize his point, he reminded them about the day before, when a half bowl full had gone in the trash. Natalie promptly told him "don't look at me, I finished mine!" Just so freaking fast that it made us both laugh at her.

Alivia has been frequently using the word "hangry." I finally asked her if she even knew what that meant. She looked at me like I was crazy and said "uh, it is hungry angry mom."

Then there is Miss McKayla. She hasn't been as much funny lately as she has been hormonal. Pre-teens! The other day she had a huge breakdown because she was sure her sisters were lying to us about something she "hadn't" done. After I had finished talking to her about her behavior, she went outside. Not three minutes later, she was back inside crying that her sisters were lying. I thought the conversation was completely over already. Apparently not. She continued to be mad at me for the next hour before she was back to "normal." I am so not looking forward to the next few years. Pray for me! I have three girls that need to make it through puberty.

This post inspired by:

Updates

Good afternoon readers. I thought it would be a good idea for me to hop on here and write out what's been going on in my life. There has been some "radio silence" on the blog lately and for that I'm sorry. Life gets busy though and lately I haven't been in the mood to write.

Today though, I am forcing myself to write. I have zero excuses. There is a quiet room, my computer and a cold soda. What else could I ask for? So, here are updates on each of our family members.

Stephen - since his hospitalization we have found a different psychiatrist. She is tweaking his medications a bit to try and maximize the benefits of a few of them and maybe discontinue some of the others. Apparently he was on lower doses of lots of medications that can do the same things. So far she seems to be a good fit for him and I think they will get things straightened out for him. The other bit of news on the health front is that he was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Hopefully soon he will be seeing a sleep medicine specialist and they will determine what needs to be done to help him get the right sleep. This could mean he uses a cpap, but we really aren't sure. I am just praying for it to be soon because sleep can really aggravate all the other problems he has. One last thing to update you on for Stephen. When he went in the hospital, he was dropped from his program at school. Since the school will be closing, there was no way for him to make it up and get back in. Thankfully, he was able (all on his own!) to find another school that took most of the credits and he is now enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in computer sciences. He hopes to get a job as a network architect, building and maintaining networks for businesses.

McKayla has got an attitude to rival a teenager already. Her feelings get hurt quite easy (like her momma) and she is quick to tears. But as fast as they come on, they are gone. McKayla seems to have lots of friends at school. There is always a story or two about one kid or another. You can read more about how she is doing at school here, in my post about the parent teacher conferences. In her free time, M's favorite thing is her tablet. They watch a lot of "funny youtube" videos and play roadblox. Keeps them busy and warm inside when the weather is cruddy.

Natalie is slowly warming up to reading. She still doesn't love it, but if it is the right book, she will read. This morning, Alivia was reading to her, see:

So stinking cute! Plus, it helps them both. Being read to and reading both help with those skills. Mr Odin couldn't help but listen! Natalie loves writing stories. Give her a pen and paper or a blank word document and she will fill the page. I loved helping her with her Thanksgiving break homework. She got to write about what she did each day. For most of the days I was able to help with the spelling and make sure it made sense, but the last day we missed it. Here is what she wrote for the week, just for memory's sake:

Day 1. I ate my favorite dinner chicken alfredo. I love chicken alfredo. I read a book. 

Day 2. We had to get wywy (her brother) from school. After we get wywy, we got in the car. We had to go to Utah. It is five hours got there. When we got there we had to go to bed I slept with Clara and Tiffany. 

Day 3. On thanksgiving we ate turkey with Auntie Amanda. I love her turkey. I love her jello, it has whip-cream. Then we got pie after we watched finding dory. 

Day 4. We had to go home. When we were going home I got sick. We got to my mom`s work and I got to color. I got to draw a cat. I love it. I sat on the couch all day. We invited Kaya and her sister Cali and we watched two movies. 

Day 5. We got to go to kaya`s house we ate pizza. We ate cake and ice-cream. 

Day 6. (The day I didn't help with, "edits" are in (parenthesis)) I had a dinner i did not like. it is btaetoses coockt carits and coockt selrey (potatoes, cooked carrots and cooked celery). I had suthing i like stack (???). Kaya and Cali came ofer (over) we played a game.

 Alivia is a child after my own heart right now. She is reading so much and I love it! So glad to have at least one kid to share my love of reading with. Alivia also loves to play her tablet and draw all kinds of pictures. She has lots of friends at school and we get to hear all about them as well. I have been told that even at church she is like a mother hen, making sure all the kids are staying safe and following the rules.

That's about all the updates I have for today. Hopefully I can get my writing mojo back and this blog will be normal again.

Wordless Wednesday

November 15, 2016

November 15, 2016

Parent Teacher Conferences!

Yesterday I had the joy of attending all three of my girls' parent/teacher conferences. I thought I would share some of the things we are dealing with right now.

McKayla is now in fifth grade. Things are starting to get tougher for her. Her fall Curriculum Based Measurement for reading shows that she is reading about 101 words per minute. This puts her right near grade level. This is about where she has been hovering most of her schooling. She is only 13 words from the benchmark, so not bad at all. The rest of her reading were all "M" which means she is meeting expectations.

In language arts, she got an I (is developing) in using correct word and sentence form and correct punctuation and capitalization. She got an N (needs improvement) on her handwriting legibility. To me this makes sense because until third grade she was still using both hands to write. I figure now that she is firmly a lefty, she will continue to improve.

Most of the rest of her report card she was meeting expectations. She did get one E (exceeds expectations) and that is being cooperative and respectful. Makes me feel like we are doing something right!

Here are the comments from her teacher: During the first nine weeks of school, McKayla has worked diligently and set a wonderful example for her peers. McKayla gets right to work every day and is polite and respectful to those around her. In fact, she has earned the character trait award for October, which is respect and responsibility. McKayla displays both of these traits daily. I encourage McKayla to take her time with her penmanship and ask for help when she needs it. Overall, McKayla is doing a wonderful job in 5th grade. Thank you for being so awesome, McKayla! You are amazing.

Natalie is in third grade. She continues to get special education for her reading. She is making adequate progress on her IEP goals. There will be a meeting sometime before winter break to see in more detail how things are going. Due to her reading problems, some of the other areas she is graded on were a bit lower. She is developing her word identification skills and new vocabulary skills. She needs improvement reading orally (which we knew!).

In Language Arts she is developing her skills in expressing her ideas well in writing, using correct word and sentence form and legibly writing. The part of her report card I loved seeing was the "work habits and conduct" section. There are a bunch of exceeds in there. The areas she got exceeds on are: is cooperative and respectful, follows directions, uses time wisely, participates in group activities and follow school and classroom rules.

Here are the comments from her teacher: Third grade is off to a great start! I appreciate the way Natalie has been working to help develop a strong classroom community during this first quarter. I am very impressed with her ability to persevere through her assignments even though they may be challenging to her. Natalie would benefit from basic math fact practice at home to help reinforce number sense. Natalie receives reading support in the resource room where the curriculum has been modified to meet her instructional needs. She is a great student who is well liked by all. Keep up the great work Natalie! 

Alivia is now in a second grade but is in a second and third grade combo class. She is totally rocking the reading (takes after her mommy!) She is reading at 70 words per minute (benchmark is 54+). Alivia is getting nearly all M's on her report card. She doesn't have any areas that need improvement. There is one area where she is developing and that is in her math, being able to calculate correctly. Her teacher thinks part of this is that she rushes through things a bit, sometimes without completely reading directions. Alivia also got a couple E's. Her areas where she exceeded expectations were: being cooperative and respectful and participating in group activities. Overall the teacher was super impressed with Alivia. The only concern we got from her is that Liv can be a bit of a "mother hen" and actually stopped a boy in the hallway bu grabbing his sweater when he was running. Both kids got a talking to, both were in tears. This is something we see at home too, so we will be more aware of when to correct her with this. Mrs. D just doesn't' want this attitude to affect her friendships.

Here are the comments from her teacher on this report card: It has been a pleasure getting to know Alivia this quarter. She arrives at school each day with a positive attitude. Alivia is an independent, self-motivated worker who enthusiastically participates in class discussion. Her positive, energetic and respectful nature makes her a role model for her classmates. Alivia seems to have a solid understanding of the math concepts taught so far this quarter. I would like her to practice basic addition and subtraction facts for more automatic recall. Keep up the great work Alivia! 

I am quite happy with this quarter's reports. Thanks for letting me share them with you!

Wordless Wednesday

 Met the teachers yesterday

Schools Out For Summer!

So, the girls had their last day of school on Thursday. I still can't believe how much they have changed in just nine months. Just looking at them makes me a little teary eyed. They are all getting so big.

Alivia is on her way to becoming a great second grader! She has learned a lot this quarter including beginning contractions, telling time to the hour and half hour, adding three numbers together, and lots and lots of spelling and sight words. Currently she is reading 87 words correctly in one minute and knows 343/360 sight words. She is a great reader! Her writing has improved significantly and is starting to mature in sentence complexity. Just keep practicing handwriting and letter and number reversals over the summer. Alivia has a very strong number sense and can manipulate numbers in complex ways to solve more difficult problems. Thank you for supporting her at home. Make sure to keep reading over the summer. Alivia, I have been so lucky to be your teacher this year! Keep working hard and come back to visit me. 

Notes from her report card: McKayla has been such a pleasure to have in our fourth grade class this year. McKayla has shown growth in her leadership abilities throughout fourth grade. McKayla has journeyed across the Oregon Trail in Idaho History and learned about the history, importance, and dangers of wildfires in Idaho in science. In Match class, McKayla has learned about geometry and decimals. McKayla has shown growth on both STAR assessment, see the great trend line on the graphs. Please read and practice math concepts over the summer in order to stay ahead for fifth grade. As McKayla begins fifth grade in the fall, remember to continue to ask great questions and remain focused. I have enjoyed having you in class this year McKayla. You are a wonderful young woman with a love for learning and live. 

It was such a joy having Natalie in our classroom! She's a kind, sensitive, and thoughtful student. She's a good friend to others inside and outside of our classroom. Natalie has good work/study skills. She starts her work promptly and stays on task finishing it accurately, neatly and on time when its on her educational level. Natalie is working hard on reading in Mr. DeForrest's group. She read 6 words per minute on the fall IRI and she read 24 wpm on the spring IRI. She's still significantly below grade level but she's excited to read anything on her level. Natalie had a 92% average on her modified spelling tests for this last nine weeks. Super job, Natalie! Math is more doable for Natalie. She's mastering her math facts to 18. She's working on mastering money and problem solving strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems within 1000. She's enjoying fractions and multiplication. Natalie's positive, hardworking attitude, friendly personality and bright sunny smiles made our room a great place to be! 

And her report from Mr. Deforrest: Natalie's reading comprehension has shown a lot of improvement this quarter. She is returning to the story to help her with answering comprehension questions. Natalie is averaging between 70% and 80% accuracy on comprehension assessments. Natalie is averaging between 25 and 30 words per minute on fluency assessments. She is becoming more efficient with her phonics skills. 

McKayla, McKayla and her teacher, Natalie

One last thing, Natalie and McKayla both received the courage award for their classes. Each month, Garfield does a character trait of the month. Then, they pick one or two students who display that character trait and they get an award. Both my older girls got courage this time. I love how the school encourages them to learn about good behavior and reinforces it by rewarding when they see it in action.

Girls School Update

We just finished up the 3rd quarter of this school year and the report cards came home. I thought I would share here how things went. Each report card has the teacher comments on them. To me, that is the part that shows best how they are doing. I will share those here:

McKayla: McKayla has shown leadership and responsibility as her biggest strengths during the third quarter. In mat class, she worked on becoming fluent with the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers. She also began working on geometry. In language arts, McKayla learned the elements of poetry and spent time building a poetry portfolio in google classroom. In Idaho history, McKayla learned about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Mountain Men. In science, she learned about changes in the earth's surface and magnetism. McKayla has shown growth on the STAR assessments. A goal for McKayla as she begins the fourth quarter is to continue to work hard everyday in and out of the classroom. I am very proud of the positive leader you have become! Keep up the good work. Mrs. Schneider appreciates your hard work.

Natalie: We are so fortunate to have Natalie in our classroom! She is a kind, sensitive and thoughtful student. She's a good friend to others inside and outside of our classroom. Natalie has wonderful work/study skills. She begins her work promptly and stays on task finishing it neatly, accurately and on time. She's enjoying working with Mr. DeForest (special education teacher) for reading. It is so fun to watch her grow in her self-confidence in reading out loud. I* means she's improving at her reading level. Natalie had a 95% average on her spelling tests this nine weeks. Super job, Natalie! She's doing really well with the differentiated spelling list. Natalie is working in math as well. She has a good understanding of place values in the thousands. She is learning problem solving strategies and is able to add three digit numbers using those strategies. She is doing well telling time to the hour and half hour and is working on telling time to the quarter hour and five minutes. Natalie's positive, hardworking attitude, friendly personality and beautiful smiles make our room a wonderful place to be.

This is the first quarter that we also got a progress report from her special education teacher, Mr. DeForest. The progress report from him gives the goals we set for her and the progress she is making.

Goal one: Natalie will demonstrate her understanding of the reading selection by answering who, what, where, or when questions with support from the text with 80% accuracy on five trials. Natalie's reading comprehension continues to improve as her reading fluency increases. She is averaging 70% accuracy on comprehension questions.

Goal two: When given a grade level reading probe, Natalie will read 35 words per minute with 95% accuracy on three trials. Natalie read 31 words per minute on her last assessment.

Alivia: Quarter three had been full of hard work and learning for Alivia. We have increased our expectations and she is striving to keep up with them. She is reading around 63 words per minute! The end of the year goal is 54. She knows 163/180 sight words. Her writing is improving and we are working on writing longer sentences with more detail. Alivia can count to 100 and write the numbers to 100 by 1s, 10s, and 5s with just a few reversals. This quarter we will keep working on counting by 2s and counting and writing all numbers to 120. We have stated learning how to add double digit numbers and will continue to expand on this in quarter four. Alivia, I can hardly wait to see how you impress me this next quarter.

Seems to this momma that my girls are doing pretty well in school. Working out a plan to help them more at home with the areas they need more help in.

Special Education??

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Natalie was going to be undergoing some testing at school to see if she was eligible for special education through the school district. You can click the link above to read my first post about our initial meeting.

Yesterday, we had another meeting to discuss her results and the plan. Her testing was quite extensive and it is honestly a lot to process. I am going to copy part of her assessment here because it describes her problem in a way I can't: 

Testing using the KABC-II and CTOPP2 suggest long-term retrieval is an area of deficit for Natalie. The narrow ability of associative memory falls within the "below average" range and measures the ability to remember previously unrelated information as being paired. (the example that explained this best for me is that she has trouble pairing a letter with it's sound or symbol with a name.) Individuals with deficits within this area may have a difficult time being able to associate a letter shape to its name and sound. The narrow ability of Naming Facility is the ability to rapidly produce accepted names for concepts or things when presented with the thing itself or a picture of it (or cued in some other appropriate way). Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) is highly related to reading automaticity and accuracy. 

According to the report:

Phonological processing and long-term retrieval deficits adversely impacts Natalie's ability to fluently read and understand grade level material across all academic content areas.  

Processing deficits in long-term retrieval and phonological processing impact Natalie's ability to make use of phonological information when processing written or oral language, associate letter sounds with symbols and efficiently store and retrieve phonological information from memory. This impacts her fluency, basic reading skills and comprehension in the area of reading. 

After this testing it has been determined that Natalie has a specific learning disability and is eligible for special education.

I will honestly admit, I had no idea there were different kinds of special education. Every time I thought about special education it was the room with the kids who are physically disabled. This isn't that kind of special education.

Natalie will get focused help in her areas of need. Forty minutes each day will be spent with a special education teacher who will help her in the areas of reading fluency and reading comprehension in the resource room. This comes out to be about ten percent of her day. It was so important to me that she be in her classroom with her peers.

Along with her individualized education plan (IEP) she will have special accommodations made for her in the classroom. When they are doing her state reading test, she will be tested in a familiar place by a familiar person. While she is in the classroom she will have the following accommodations:

• she will have someone who will make sure she understands written directions
• she will have the opportunity to finish assignments and tests in the resource room
• her homework will be in chunks (from what I understand this means she will get parts of what the average student would get) 
• someone will read or re-read directions to her 
• she will have extra time to complete tasks/assignments as she needs

Her IEP includes two SMART goals. For those unfamiliar with the term, this means they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented and Time-bound. 

Goal 1: When given a grade level reading probe, Natalie will read 35 words per minute with 95% accuracy on three trials, as measured by charting by 12/2016. 

Goal 2: When asked to respond to a reading passage at her instructional level, Natalie will demonstrate her understanding of the reading selection by answering who, what, why, where, or when questions with support from the text with 80% accuracy on five trials as measured by work samples and/or tests, using teacher criteria by 12/2016

In December 2016 we will have another meeting to see how she is doing. In three years they will re-test her to see if she still qualifies. 

Natalie starts her work with Mr DeForest after Christmas break. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I will keep you updated on what's going on with her and our family. 

Navigating the System

This past couple weeks have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me.

Last week we had our parent/teacher conferences. During the conference with Natalie's teacher, the special education director was invited in. Natalie's teacher explained that they would like to do an evaluation to see if Natalie was in need of any special help. Her reading problems are really holding her back and starting to effect other areas of her learning.

We agreed to meet with the special education guy and discuss the testing. That meeting was held on Wednesday. Basically, they were just telling us what the testing would involve and making sure we agreed to it. There were forms to be signed and we all talked about how we could best help Natalie.

The testing must be completed in the next sixty days (required by state law). We will have another meeting at that time to discuss if she qualifies and what they are going to do to help her. Not sure what will happen if she doesn't qualify.

I had no idea how involved it was until the meeting. Natalie will be observed in the classroom (without her knowing), a functional assessment will be done by a psychologist, testing done by the special education teacher and a health questionnaire done by myself or her dad. They are checking every possible reason for her problems. They are also trying to find her strengths and weaknesses. This will help them see where she needs help and how they can help her best.

I guess I have been focusing on her being qualified because she is really struggling. It is obvious to anyone who spends time with her in an environment where she is learning that there is a concern. In her classroom, they sometimes use an app for math. That app has a login that parents can use to see how she is doing. When I logged in and looked at some of her work, it was obvious that she isn't able to read the problems. Almost made this momma cry!

Thankfully they have figured out that she does need help, either she will qualify for special education or she won't. If she doesn't, we will cross that bridge when we get there. Hopefully it will be sooner then later!

First Day of School!

1000 Gifts: 3 gifts moving

• it is a gift to have the beautiful water in our city, running though our streams, irrigation canals and rivers. One of my favorite things ever!
• it is a gift to have my three girls who are ever moving and ever changing. Sometimes its bittersweet seeing how much they have grown. 
• it is a gift to have the wind moving. Praying that soon the smoke will blow out of our valley. It's been bad air quality to be in, but I'm sure wind is coming. 

Wordless Wednesday

1000 Gifts: a gift outside, inside, upside down

• it is a gift to have the beautiful sun shining outside. 
• it is a gift to have air conditioning for when it's just too dang hot outside. 
• it is a gift to have had my world turned upside down by these girls. They are what makes my life exciting. 

Wordless Wednesday

Alivia at her  Kinder graduation 6-1-15

Alivia on her first day, 8-24-14

1000 gifts: three gifts from today's conversations

• it is a gift to have appreciative patients on the phone. We all to often talk about the grumps, but I had a couple who were so nice and so grateful for the help. 
• it is a gift to be able to sit and talk to my husband without any distractions. 
• it is a gift to have daily conversations with my sister. We might talk about serious stuff and often talk about nothing important. Every call is ended with a smile on my face. 

Thankful Tuesday

1000 gifts: three gifts acorn-small.

• My beautiful engagement ring and wedding bands. I love them and love the symbol they share. 
• The opportunity isn't, but the jamberries are acorn sized. I am so glad for this gift. Seems God opened this door just at the right time for me. 
• My eyes. They are a constant reminder of my mom, also a reminder that my mom's legacy lives on in the form of someone else's sight. Not sure if I shared on here but we were able to donate her eyes to the Lyons eye bank. Truly a gift to know they are helping someone else. 

I don't want to leave it just at that, I still want to keep with my thankful posts, especially this month, the month of Thanksgiving, a time to really reflect on things we are thankful for. Here are five things I am thankful for this week:

1. I am thankful for the jamberry opportunity. I feel successful at something that is all me for the first time in a long time. It's given me a boost of confidence that I missed. I am sure my mom would be proud of how well I am doing. I am still pushing to meet my goal for November. I would love to help you have pretty nails for the holidays or give the gift of jamberry to a special lady or little girl. (yes, shameless plug for my business here). 
2. I am thankful for teachers who care about my girls. We didn't get the best report from our parent teacher conferences. Alivia is doing well, she is a little behind but catching up quickly. McKayla is doing good as well. Still needs to work on slowing down and doing her best work, but she seems to be adapting to third grade. Then there is my Natalie. Oh how I love that child, but she is struggling. Please keep us in your prayers, that we would find the best way to help her with school. It is so important to me and her father that she be successful in school. 
3. I am thankful for my weekend babysitting gig. I love watching Miss Mia and her mom is wonderful. It has been a blessing financially and also keeping my girls a little busier. They played all day Sunday and my girls were asleep less then an hour after she left! 
4. I am thankful for the sound of the rain on the roof. We had quite a bit of rain on Saturday and it was so nice to be able to just listen to it gently (and sometimes not so gently) pattering on the roof. Reminds me of Oregon and makes me extremely glad that I live in a place where it isn't such a frequent occurrence. 
5. I am thankful for my Stephen. He has been so amazing through this whole planning process. I have started getting a little worried about things but he knows just the right words to bring me back. I just want this to be special. I feel pretty helpless all the way over here when all the stuff that needs to be done is in Oregon. But I have no doubts that with Stephen's help that we will make this wedding an amazing night. 

Wordless Wednesday & A Happy Birthday

Alivia - 5 years old

Natalie - 7 years old

**Edited to add a little extra. Just realized that today is M's birthday and I have nothing in here about it. I just can't let that happen!! I thought it would be a good time for me to write her a short letter, that way she can read it in ten years and know how her momma was feeling on her NINTH! birthday.

Dear Monkey,

McKayla - 8 years old

I still can't believe that you are nine today. I remember so vividly the moment I figured out I was pregnant with you. You see, we had suffered a miscarriage before you, so as soon as I got that positive pregnancy test I was calling the doctor. Thankfully she understood my concern and got me right in for blood work. Well, the blood work was concerning to her. My progesterone levels were extremely low, so low that she didn't think my body was going to support you inside of me. She sent me straight over for an ultrasound to make sure your little heart was still beating. Thank God it was and I remember the joy I felt in that moment. Thanks to the first trimester of supplements, I carried you to full term. We induced your birth because of some concerns of preeclampsia, but your delivery went well. Not going to lie, it was not the best delivery though! You showed us from minute one that you were going to do your own thing!

You will always be that baby in my heart. The baby who didn't want to stay on her growth curve and to this day has to have your regularly checked. Your eating habits drive me batty. One day you will love something, the next day hate it. I can very rarely make a dinner that you will eat. It is infuriating. You will even go to the point of not eating dinner because "I don't like that, it's disgusting!"

Besides your eating habits, you are a really good kid. You love school and have lots of friends. Your teachers tell me what a wonderful student you are but we can all tell when you haven't been doing your homework! I love hearing you reading to your sisters. It's a pretty regular thing at this point for you to read them bedtime stories. Sometimes I have to go "mommy stern" and tell you it's lights out, even though I would love to let you just stay up and keep reading! Besides being bossy, you are an amazing sister. You stick up for Natalie and Alivia fiercely. They are so lucky to have you for a big sister. Lately you have really gotten into memorizing scripture and I love that too! You routinely quote a verse at church that was last month's memory verse, makes me laugh!

McKayla you are a joy and I cannot imagine my life without you. You were the first person to make me a mom. I love you more then you can imagine (until you have a daughter of your own!) I pray today, and everyday that God will help me raise you to be the woman He has called you to be. I pray that you will have many more happy years!

Love always,
Your mommy

FIRST DAY

I officially have a first grader, third grader and kindergartner. They grow too fast! I realize that I just posted their teacher pictures yesterday, but you have to have the traditional first day of school picture!

Back to School!

Friday the girls all got to go in and meet their teachers. Everyone seemed pretty happy and they are all excited for the year to begin. Here are the traditional with your teacher pictures. I also thought I would start a new tradition to start off the year. I am going to do a mini interview and see how the answers change through the years.

Alivia and Mrs Redford

1. What is your favorite color? pink
2. What do you want to be when you grow up? cowgirl
3. What are you most excited about this year? to learn spelling

Natalie and Mrs Blackaller

1. What is your favorite color? Purple
2. What do you want to be when you grow up? a farmer
3. What are you most excited about this year? to see my teacher again

McKayla and Mrs Andrews

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What do you want to be when you grow up? vet
3. What are you most excited about this year? spelling tests