Brag Post-Be Warned!

I'm bursting with pride at the moment. At school pick-up today, I was informed that Caitlin scored the highest in her class (of 29) on the state's math test that was administered today. She also placed among the highest in the school and in the district for her grade-level (1st grade)! This is my child who is always asking how to do one math problem or another, did summer bridging workbooks in 2nd grade math and is now working on multiplication and division. Since the math gene is kind of...umm...dormant on my side of the family, it is quite obvious where the skills come from. I fear that by the time Caitlin is in 4th grade, we may have to rely on her father or a tutor to help her with her math, if she has questions, because it will be out of my realm.

While my head was spinning from this awesome information, I further learned that Caitlin just finished the 1B math book ahead of her class and is moving onto the next level. She plowed through the book in about two months' time! What a challenge it must be for her wonderful teacher to keep up with a class of 29 students, all at different levels. In the reading department, our brainiac is soon to be moving up to the highest reading level, along with another of her classmates. Contrary to the math gene, I know exactlywhere the love of reading comes from! From the time she was born, Caitlin has had shelves filled with books, weekly trips to the library and nightly reading sessions. What is so wonderful now, is that Caitlin can read to herself (chapter books) and also enjoys reading to her sister. She gets quite animated and uses different voices and tones. You can often find her with her iPod on and a book in her lap on car rides or just relaxing. I know that her love for reading has helped develop her advanced vocabulary, quest for knowledge and general love of learning. It just tickles me that at times, she'd rather read than do anything else.

That's my (our) girl! Okay, I'm done bragging but sometimes, you just have to!

Opposite ends of the spectrum

I have discovered that a great deal of the time spent parenting is spent being an advocate for one's children. While we fight for Cara's IEP to be honored, on one end of the spectrum, we push Caitlin's school and teachers to challenge her academically, on the other.

We've always known, since Caitlin uttered her first words and drew her first scribble, that she was academically advanced. This is the child who knew her ABC's and could count to 50 by the time she was 2. She asks to do math, workbooks and to read chapter books. The questions that she asks us lead us to a Google search in the quest for answers. Her knowledge base and vocabulary are just astounding. Just the other day, she was telling me how people get different skin colors and freckles.

It has been a challenge, faced by her teachers and ourselves, as parents, to keep up with her quest and hunger for knowledge. Her Kindergarten teacher recognized Caitlin's enthusiasm and met it by advancing her in both reading and math throughout the school year. By the end of the school year, Caitlin was doing 2nd semester 1st grade math with ease and reading chapter books fluently. Her standardized test scores showed that she was at the level of the average 3rd grader in most subject areas. We were blown away and so very proud!

Over the summer, instead of dreaming away her days, Caitlin was doing a Summer Bridge workbook and learning more and more interesting facts as we explored the area where we lived. We checked out about 100 books a month from the library and discovered more wonderful learning websites. Her quest for knowledge did not ebb over the summer. In fact, she went into 1st grade knowing more than she did at the end of Kindergarten, which according to her 1st grade teacher, is very rare.

So, imagine, if you will, how bored our poor child must have been when, at the start of first grade, she found herself reviewing the very basics of mathematics and reading. She was coming home from school every day saying how bored she was and even pretended to be sick on a few occasions to escape the boredom. Now, I want to say, that I know that Caitlin is just one of 28 students in the class and that her teacher has to figure out, after a summer away, where each student in the class was, academically. That said, I had a talk with her wonderful teacher (Mr. H, we'll call him) and we agreed to work together to keep Caitlin interested and challenged while he got her classmates up to par.

Mr. H has since divided the class into groups based on their academic ability and Caitlin is in a group with like-minded peers. Within the group, she is able to work at her own pace using the current math book and activities. She is soon to start the second half of the 1B math workbook that she started on in Kindergarten. At home, we are working on carrying and borrowing, addition and subtraction with money, basic multiplication and story problems.

I'm not going to lie, at one point, we were considering trying to find a school better equipped to handle Caitlin's educational needs. I went and toured 4 different schools only to learn that they are all full for this school year. Coming to terms with the fact that we needed to make the best out of the situation at her current school (and the fact that Caitlin genuinely liked her school, teacher and peers), I approached her principal, who was not very supportive, and asked me what exactly I wanted her to do. Did I want her to promote Caitlin to the 2nd grade? No, what I wanted the school to do was to teach my child at a level which best fits her needs, within her current classroom. My argument being that each child learns at their own pace.

Feeling a bit defeated, I went back to her teacher. I should have approached Mr. H right from the get-go as I found him to be a very wonderful and caring teacher. He had noticed, in just a few weeks of school and very little one-on-one time, that Caitlin soared above most of her peers. He pledged to help me keep her interested and together, we formulated a game plan. It was full steam ahead!

In the short bit of time that has passed since the changes have been made, Caitlin has come home mostly happy after school, enjoys and is even challenged by, her school work and is looking forward to starting a new math book soon as well as moving up to another reading level (she is currently on Level I--the levels start at A and go up. Mos of her peers are at around level D or E--but feels that it's too easy!). I guess I've fostered my love of books onto my children! It is so refreshing to know that a little bit of advocacy has paid off in big dividends.

I have learned that having a positive relationship with your child's teacher is the best tool you can have for making sure that your child is getting the most out of his/her education. It is so helpful when you have your child's teacher on your side, working to do what is in the best interest of your child. I am very blessed, thus far, that Caitlin has had teachers who really do want her to succeed and are willing to go "outside of the box" for that to happen. I have no doubt, that with Mr. H's support, Caitlin will have a great year in 1st grade and continue to learn new things.

Getting Acquainted

Now that we can finally see the floor here at the apartment, time has been freed up to do other, more entertaining things. Take Friday for example. We decided, spur of the moment, that we couldn't miss the premiere of Shrek the Third. However, going to a movie theater with two small kids spells D-I-A-S-T-E-R. Thankfully, there are a few drive-in theaters still operating in the Denver Metro area. Feeling like Speedy Gonzales, we ran around the house gathering up blankets and sweaters, piled in the car and headed to the Cinderella Drive In down the road in Engelwood. We got there with plenty of time to spare and while the girls finished their naps in the car, Ben went off in search of classic drive-in food (corn dogs, nachos, candy). I was amazed and how big this place is. It has two screens and rows upon rows of parking. By the time the movie started, the lot for Shrek was pretty darn full. There was quite a line of people hoping to get in and many who watched it through the slots in the fence. Next to us was a SWEET tan '46 Chevy Impala (kudos to me for identifying the car) and an awesome little family. We enjoyed the movie (well, Ben, Caitlin & I did, Cara slept) and the fact that we could take the whole family to the movies for under $20 without having to worrying about Cara crying or Caitlin sitting still. Shrek the Third gets about 1 1/2 thumbs up from us though, it was good but not "laughing until you throw up" funny.
Fast forward to yesterday, we spent the evening after Ben got home from work, driving around a northern suburb looking at housing. Ben is hopeful that we might be truly house hunting by the end of the summer. We found a couple of really cute townhouses in our price range. This town is not that far from Denver and has good schools. We are working with a mortgage broker to see what can be done. So, keep your fingers crossed for us. Anyway, it was fun to drive around, looking at homes, and talking about what we want or, do not want in a perspective house.
Today, we are planning a trip to Borders so that I can spend my birthday gift card and then to Payless to pick up THE PERFECT pair of shoes to go with Caitlin's flower girl dress for her Uncle Kofi's wedding in June. Then, we'll rendevous back to the "flat" to finish up some house work.
Oh, while we were out yesterday, I came across a table that was set up near the mall's play place that was promoting a new charter school in our area. While we're hoping to move out of Aurora, if we don't this could be a great option for Caitlin. They are teaching multi-culturalism and awareness and will be offering instruction in three foreign languages (Chinese and Spanish to start) with a promise to add a third next school year. Best part, it's a public charter school which = FREE! From what I've heard and read, this place sounds right up Caitlin's alley! The public schools here are not that wonderful, so this would be a great alternative.
One more thing...I may not be going back to work after all. The harsh reality regarding the price of putting two kids in day care has hit home--hard. My salary at the library will only leave me with $200/month after forking over $1500 for childcare. Did I mention that a few days a week, Cara will be in another person's care for 11 hours out of 24? Add that to the fact that we are having a hard time finding licensed people to watch Cara who are willing to be open past 6pm for those of us that do not have the luxury of working early mornings. The final decision hasn't been made yet, as Ben & I need to do some serious number crunching, but I think I know, in my heart, what's the right thing to do.

Okay, okay, I'm done rambling now, I promise!