Keep Your Sneakers ON!!!

Hey Y'all,

Erick's Parent Teacher conference was last week and it was successful. We were already aware that he wasn't doing very well in math and we also know that Erick has issues with focusing, he procrastinates and often doesn't finish his assignments in class. 3rd grade has been an up hill battle but I'm confident that we will get over this hurdle and Erick will be the A student I know he was born to me.

Now going into the conference I was nervous. Not because I thought I would hear any horrific stories about his behavior or that I would be surprised about His difficulties... nope I knew about all of that before we walked in. I was worried about Erick and his sneakers.

Erick does not like to have anything, ANYTHING on his feet! Ever! well let me change that in the summer he doesn't mind wearing his $19.99 Payless sandals. He loves those things and if it were up to him he'd wear them year round. I wrote about his shoe issue a couple weeks ago in this post. The first thing that comes off when Erick gets home from being outside are his shoes then his coat etc.

This is nothing new. My son has always stripped when he's comfortable (literally) first the shoes and socks, then his shirt and finally his pants until he is down to his Hanes underwear. We have to MAKE him keep his clothes on when he gets to his great-grandmother's house. Any who during his parent teacher conference I listened and waited, asked questions about his academics and waited and finally the other shoe dropped. "The only problem we have is that Erick takes his socks and shoes off." says Ms. Powers.... My husband and I apologize profusely and say that it's a sign that he's comfortable in her classroom which she appreciates. We call Erick over and ask him to promise that he'll keep his sneakers on moving forward. He said he would.. Hopefully he keeps his word.

This was the note we received in his homework folder the Friday after the conference.

Parenting is no joke!

Until next time...

MUAH!

First Day of 2012-2013 School Year!

Hey Y'all,

Well we made it to September! The summer was awesome and relaxing (except for when I was rushing off to job interviews). The twins and Erick have grown, gotten smarter and are ready for their Fall adventures. The biggest adventure is Erick entering the 3rd grade!!!!! Where did the time go? I clearly remember his first day of Pre-K and the tears I shed because my baby was going off to school. Now that he's entering the grade that can make or break his elementary school career I am a basket case.

If you are a parent you already know that the 3rd grade is a BIG deal. It's the first year that our children are subjected to state exams. During the summer we were diligent with our bridge school work (summer brain is terrible so we did everything we could to keep Erick's brain learning) but was it enough? Did I help my son prepare for this next level of his education? I don't know but time will tell. I know that Erick is a bright little guy and can adapt to change easily but I still worry if he understands the importance of paying attention and the nuances of test taking.  I am a worry wort and I know that's not good but it's what Mothers do; we worry about our children's health and well-being. I wouldn't have it any other way to be quite honest.

So today as I dropped him off at this 3rd grade line I said and prayer and give him into the hands of God and Ms. Powers.

Here's to a successful 2012-2013 school year. What are you concerned about this year for your little ones?

Until next time,
MUAH!

The Lunchroom Altercation

Hey y'all:

The other day my husband received a call from the nurse at Erick's school stating that he had a bump and scratch on his head. He was told that the Dean would call him and fill him in on the details of the indecent. Needless to say I was a little upset hearing that Erick was hurt, so I immediately called the school myself to find out more details. Turns out that there was a 'altercation' in the lunchroom (well it wasn't really an altercation... Erick was being a typical boy exuding testosterone and playing around in the lunchroom.) The story is that Erick and a little boy named Jayden were not sitting down at the lunch table like they were supposed to but were actually wrestling or something.

Anyhow Erick is MUCH smaller then Jayden. Jayden pushed Erick (on accident - Erick's words), Erick then fell into a table and bumped his head, he was taken to the nurses office where his dad was called and told that he was fine but that the Dean would call him. The Dean never called! I was so upset that they totally dropped the ball that bright and early the next day I was up at the school looking for answers.

The Dean finally spoke to me and explained the above situation, confirmed that he spoke with Erick and Jayden and that he called Jayden's parents to inform them of the situation and to teach Jayden that the lunch room is not for horsing around.

I'm sharing this with you because if you follow me on Facebook; you were among the mom's who gave me encouragement and tips on handling the matter. Although I won't tell Erick to beat people up (Doris) or wait for kids across the street from school with a BB gun (Nicole). I will teach Erick the importance of knowing when to play and when not to. Kids need guidence and as parents it's our duty to teach them right from wrong. This doesn't end when they enter the school system, it's our job for the rest of our childs life (hopefully until 18) as parents we are constantly working ourselves out of a job.

Erick can be a very bossy and then passive child so I have to be sure to coach him in the art of handling confrontation. Wish me luck!

How do you handle these types of issues with your children/school? Do share...

Until next time...
MUAH!

Parent Teacher Confrence 2009

Hey Y'all:

Yesterday was Erick's first kindergarten Parent Teacher conference. Getting there was a struggle as I had to leave work to run home to then run around the corner with all three children and the hubby in tow!

So we get to the school and Erick is elated to show us his classroom K002! We reach the outside of the classroom and a very cute little girl was super excited to see him! He was a perfect gentlemen and introduced her to his family. "Jasmine meet my Mommy, Mommy this is Jasmine." too cute and of course he did this to all of us... Leah and Myles included. His art work and class work were displayed which made me very happy. Hubby had to leave us there so he could go to work and he left me with these parting words "Babe please be nice to her." He had to tell me this because I'm honestly not a fan of hers.

Not that she has done anything to Erick but she's just not that good of a teacher from what I can see. In our minds she has a very high bench mark to meet. Erick's PreK teacher was PERFECT! Mrs Robin and her Para Teacher Mrs Regina were Godsends last year. They were consistent and SEASONED.... Little Ms H (don't want to use her full name) IS NOT. She is inconsistent with just about everything she sends out to us. I don't feel a connection with the person my child spends most of his time with and I don't like it.

So anyway when it's my turn she gets straight to the point about his test scores. When she gave me the numbers I was a little upset because I know Erick knows the stuff he was tested on. I know this because he practices everything he learns on us! So when she said he scored low on his fundations (for those who don't know Wilson Fundations for K-3 is a phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program for the general education classroom. Fundations is based upon the Wilson Reading System® principles and serves as a prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure.) I was a little upset. So being the mother that I am... I called my beautiful and bright child over and had him recite all the letters and their corresponding words and sounds. She was dumb founded

Well I said "so what do you think the problem is" She didn't have an answer so I said, "I think he doesn't test well, as you can see he knows all his letters and all the fundations" dummy. I didn't say dummy but I wanted to ... any who I go on to ask her additional questions about how I can get him to test better so forth and so on. Then then asks me if I want to see his folder of work (which by the way only had like three items in it, aren't we in November shouldn't they have more then three items in their folders?) I'm wondering if any parent would say "nope don't wanna see the folder thanks" ugh... Then she said something else dumb and I said "hey Erick come recite your address and phone number for Ms. H." When he did with perfect precision she was yet again dumb founded. I think this whole ordeal upset me because I was in the classroom when she told a parent before me that her child was one of the brightest in the class and she didn't say that to me. All said I think I was nice to her...

So as we left I didn't bother to pick up all the toys that Leah and Myles scattered around the room (bad right?) or even say thank you for your time...

Getting home was crazy, having to go down steps with 19 month old 20something pound twins is no joke. They then wanted to run around the corner... I lost Myles pacifier and didn't pay attention to Leah when her sneaker fell off her foot. Didn't eat dinner until after 10 but was in bed by 11:15. what an evening!

Well... until next time
MUAH!