kindergarten teachers are angels

Teaching any age is challenging, I think. But I've decided that teaching kinder (or preschool) would be beyond my patience quotient. I went and volunteered in Michelle's class for an hour on Friday. There are lots of cute kids and they mostly seem pretty nice and good. But they talk and talk and get out of their seats every 10 seconds. Mrs. Pereira seems like a very good teacher and very patient. But boy, spending an hour in kinder made 3rd grade look very good. Most kids can stay in their seats and can do most of their work. So, thank you to all the great kinder and preschool teachers out there. You are amazing!

**Side note: Michelle is very into writing names right now. She writes down all our family and friend's names, some independently and some with help. She has written her friend's name down several times: Iree. I thought she was writing Irene and missing the n. I listened to her and realized she was pronouncing it "Iree" but thought she was pronouncing it wrong too. But when I went to her class yesterday, I found I was wrong. The girl's name is Iree.

no spending

I read an article in this month's Reader's Digest that I've been thinking about all week. Some family decided to go a whole month without spending any money. Here were their rules. First, of course, they paid their obligatory bills (mortgage, utilities, car, etc.) Then they could spend $100 on groceries that are perishable (bread, milk, fresh fruit/veggies). But they could not spend money on anything else... no gas, no babysitters, no fast food, movies, shopping, etc.

Could you do it? They explained what parts were hard and how they got around them. They explained why they wanted to do it and how it changed their attitudes about money and our American need to have more, more, more. Sounds like an interesting experiment. Don't know if I'm up to it, though.

First, I couldn't stop buying gas. There is no way I can get two kids to Nene's, Michelle to school and myself to work (Monday is the big day when I return to the world of the working) on a bike or by riding the bus. I'd have to leave on the bus at who knows, probably 6 in the morning.

I guess we could go a month with no shopping (I have several meals frozen and enough food in my food storage that we could go a month or two, but it wouldn't be fun; and we really don't NEED any clothes, shoes, etc.) But Halloween is coming and I don't have the time, talent or inclination to make costumes. Then Christmas is not too far off either, and ditto the time, talents, thing when it comes to gifts. Plus, especially when working full time, it is nice to ocassionally just stop and buy dinner rather than cooking. I could go a month with no fast food or take out, but I don't know if I'd want to. We don't eat out a lot, usually, but at least a couple times a month.

Interestingly, Alfredo read the article. I thought he would scoff and say no way. He said, "I think we should try it." Even though he likes to shop more than I do, he was the one who was excited about trying it out.

So I'll ask you, could you go for a month without spending any money (other than bills and minimal groceries)? What would be hardest for you to give up? What do you think you might learn from this experiment?

addictions

i have a new addiction... moose munch popcorn by harry and david's. i've heard it is good and saw it at costco and bought some. i had to go back a week later for more. mmm, it is so good. i could eat it all day, oh yeah, i do. no one else really seems to like it in my house which is just fine by me. i'll eat it all by myself.

my computer is having problemos. no se, por que. (i don't know why.)... anyway, that's why i have not been blogging much or reading anyone else's. today i'm at the library trying to catch up while michelle is at school and ella is at preschool. i need my computer back.

10, 20, 30...

It is amazing how much kids can learn when info is put to music. I've known this for quite some time, but was reminded once again yesterday. Michelle can easily count to 40. She can go on to 100, if we help her with the tens (50, 60, 70, etc). I've tried a couple of times to teach her to skip count by tens with little success. Yesterday she said she learned a new song. She then proceeded to sing to me, several times, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. She can now skip count by 10's. I didn't ask her to count to 100, but I bet she probably can or will be able to soon. Amazing.

Last Thursday, she had to come hang out with me for the last 3 hours of parent conferences. She was very good at playing quietly and not disturbing me during conferences. Such a good girl. Anyway, she was drawing and writing on my white board. I looked up and saw this: Gabirele. I was pretty impressed. We've never tried to spell Gabrielle's name and I thought she did quite well to spell it that close on her own.

She started after school program yesterday. I figured this week I'd just let her stay for about 25 minutes just to get the hang of it and then next week she'll have to stay about an hour. The first 45 minutes they get a snack and then do their homework. She was only half done when I came to pick her up about 30 minutes after school ended. We went out and I let the girls play on the school playground for about 10 minutes. Just as we were leaving, the after school kids came out to play. This morning, Michelle said, "Mommy, don't come so soon. I want to stay longer at after school program and play with my friends." I've been worried about what a long day she would have and here she is telling me to let her stay longer!! :) I'm glad that she is happy and so well adjusted.

this past week

This has been a busy week... Here's what has gone on.

Monday was Michelle's first day of ALL DAY kinder. Because her school gets out before mine, she will be attending the after school program. I tried to contact them to let them know that she isn't starting yet, but didn't reach them. SO they tried to pick her up at the end of the day. She got very upset and said I was supposed to pick her up and started crying. She was crying and shaking when she came outside and saw that I was there. Poor girl. Hopefully, she'll enjoy the after school program and be okay when she actually does have to go!

We've all been a little sick this week with colds... except Michelle. Somehow she's managed to stay healthy despite the rest of us sneezing, coughing, and having runny, stuffy noses and sore throats.

I had parent teacher conferences. This was somewhat of an adventure since I have been out since the first day of school. SO while I had info from the sub and had all their data, I don't know the kids. I had a couple of families show up at the wrong time, which was okay, except that then I had to ask who they were and what their child's name was. That was embarrassing!! But they were all really nice and I seem to have a nice class this year.

Michelle was student of the week this week. She got a little certificate and a box of crayons. It could be that many students got this award or that she was the only one, but either way, I'm proud of her. :)

Michelle's school has uniforms. The uniform policy says that Friday is free choice day where they don't have to wear uniforms. The policy says that if they are on time to school each day and don't have any behavior problems, then they can wear other clothes on Friday. It says they will get a sticker on Thursday. Well, Michelle had been excited to wear a new outfit all week. She didn't get a sticker that I could find, but I knew she'd been on time and had good behavior. So I let her wear her new outfit. Much to my surprise/dismay, when we arrived Friday morning, she was the only student in the whole kindergarten who was not wearing a uniform. I worried about her all day, hoping she wouldn't get teased or get in trouble. But no one seemed to notice or care and she was happy that she got to wear her outfit. She did ask me why no one else wore "regular" clothes, and I said I didn't know... Guess I'll have to check on this free choice Friday policy. At Mountain View, where I used to work, no one wore uniforms on Friday. Hmmm... I'm just grateful that she was happy and didn't get in trouble.

Michelle is tired at the end of a long day of school, but she really likes her teacher and seems to be doing well so far.

I go back to work a week from Monday. I'm happy to get to know my students, but don't feel ready to leave my girls yet. It's gone way too fast.

bk

(FYI: BK is not Burger King, it is teacher speak for Background Knowledge.)

One thing we learn as teachers is how important background knowledge is to a child's understanding of a new subject, a book they read, etc. I had a cute experience with Ella and BK today. I was thumbing through Creating Keepsakes, a scrapbook magazine. There was a page with pictures of some people diving.

Ella got excited and said, "Look. There's a sea anemone. There's a fish. He lives in the sea anemone. (Surprisingly, she even pronounced anemone correctly and was pointing at a sea anemone.) Then she said, "Oh, there's the bad man who caught Nemo (pointing at a diver.)" I had been surprised at first that she knew what the pictures were of, until she mentioned Nemo. Too cute.

photos-- 4 weeks old

I'm posting some photos of Gabrielle in her blessing dress. Also, my sweet baby will be four weeks old tomorrow... a month old on Thursday. Already time is going too fast. She is so sweet. I feel so blessed to have her in our home and as part of our family.

these photos were taken today after church... sorry this one is sideways...

contradictions

Last night was Michelle's back to school night. We went even though we'd already seen her classroom and met her teacher, because I know that it's a good way to show that you support the teacher/school. I learned that Jackson has adopted a new reading program, which looks okay, but I loved the program they were using (CELL/ExLL...same as my school...hopefully they'll still use some of the teaching methods with the new basal.) We also met Michelle's second teacher, but I don't recall her name. She will be teaching Michelle Spanish. She was just hired at Jackson, but used to teach at Escalante and then Washington. She seems nice.

I heard two other parents tell Michelle's teacher that they don't live in the Jackson area, so we're obviously not the only ones driving a distance to take Michelle to Jackson.

And then I heard what should have been no big deal but has bothered me since. One parent said that her son is beginning to read some words on his own. The teacher said that one student is already reading books. Honestly, that's great. It shouldn't be a big deal, and yet it bothered me, because Michelle isn't. Let me explain. I am a teacher. My specialty, my area of training, my passion is literacy. I love to read; I love teaching kids to read; I know a lot about the process of reading. This is both a good and bad thing as a parent. It's mostly good because I understand the developmental process of learning to read and I know the types of things that teachers/parents can do to help children learn to read. But it's bad because it increases my internal desire/drive to have my children be good readers, read early, etc.

I know that reading is a developmental process and that kids develop at their own speed. I know that learning to read early isn't that big of a deal; kids who read at four are rarely much ahead of their peers by the time they reach their middle elementary years. And getting kids to memorize words can backfire... if it leads them to dislike the reading process or if the emphasis is on memorization or gaining skills rather than loving books. I know that the best things parents can do to prepare their child to be a good reader are 1) read themselves and let their child see them reading, 2) read often to their child, 3) talk to their child about books, 4) have books in the home and 5) talk to their children/use a lot of language in the home. I also know that kids develop at different speeds and that Michelle is where she should be at her age. I don't need to worry. In fact, I'm proud of her skills and how she is doing. So why did this comment upset me? I don't want to be a mom who compares her kids to others; but sometimes I do, especially in my head. I don't want to pressure my kids to do better; I just want them to do their best. But sometimes, internally, I feel pressure to have my kids be the best, the smartest, etc. I think maybe that in some way I feel like since I'm so highly trained in literacy I feel like my girls' success reflects on my knowledge and ability. Yet, in some ways at least, I know that I've tried to separate my "teacher" self and "mom" self. Not that I don't teach them; but I haven't formally tried to teach them to read.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm a little bit of a snob. I find myself sometimes thinking that I'm more educated than most of the parents at this school. Driving Michelle across town to school isn't easy (esp. with a newborn) but I'm making that effort to give her the best education I can. Don't get me wrong. I am certain that most of the parents in that neighborhood want their children to get a good education too, but most haven't had the opportunities I've had. I've been blessed (and worked hard too). It's hard to realize that at least in my head, I have some snob-like thoughts. But I work in a very similar neighborhood. And I assumed that Michelle would be ahead of most of the kids. And she probably is ahead of many. And really, it's probably good that there are other kids who are at her level. She'll probably be challenged more that way. I'm not worried about her.... just a little disconcerted at some unrealized prejudices or opinions that I hold. So this post is really about ME, not about Michelle. It's not always pleasant to have moments of self-realization.

Added note: Thanks for your comments. I really am not worried about Michelle. She has the foundations for reading and comes from a literate home. She will learn to read. And in a few years, no one will be able to tell which children started reading at four and which at five and which at six. Also, I appreciated your comments Dawn. (And yes, we did meet at Nathan and Becky's wedding, glad you read my blog sometimes.) I agree that children need time to PLAY and be kids. This is good for their cognitive development and social development and is an important part of being a kid. Their is too much pressure put on kids and parents to do more, to be more at a young age. I don't want to be a part of that which is partly why I was bugged by my own attitude. If you parents haven't read it, I'd really recommend the book Einstein Didn't Use Flashcards by Kathy Hirsch-Pachek (spelling?). It talks about some of the mistaken beliefs we have about how to help our kids get ahead and what is really beneficial for them. Anyway, I also want to say that I'm not putting any child down who does read early (I was reading before I started kdg.) but that it shouldn't bug me that Michelle isn't. She is plenty smart and can do lots of things well. Thanks for listening to me ramble on again everyone!

off to teacher's house

Ella is "off to teacher's house". Today is her first day of preschool for the school year. (She went to preschool summer camp over the summer with Michelle.... Today is her first time without Michelle.) Here are just a few shots before we left.

high fives

my little monkey

Michelle loves swinging on our monkey bars. She has gotten quite good... she can go across them now, hang upside down from them and can almost go across backwords. This morning she wanted to show off her skills for me and I happened to have my camera since we had just dropped Ella off at preschool, so I snapped some shots of her.

Look at that concentration... it's still challenging for her to go across but she loves that she can do it.


"I did it!!!"

August Reads

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Clementine's Letter (children's chapter book)
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers (very fast, touching)
No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (good story, but too much profanity)
Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter
Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam
The Mislaid Magician by Wrede and Stevermer
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (very interesting, thought provoking, troubling, strange)


****Just a note: Alfredo is not much of a reader. He can read but really doesn't read very often. Yet in just over a week he read all four of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books. Anyone know any other good vampire stories? or books that your husbands really loved?

update

Gabrielle's fever broke in the middle of the night. She seems to be feeling much better. She slept pretty well last night and is back to her happy self this morning. Thank goodness!

the good, the bad and the ugly

The good news: Alfredo found a new job. (I don't think I ever posted that he quit his job at Primary. It's a long story, but he quit about 2 weeks ago.) He didn't really start looking for a new job until last week. His friend Leo told him to apply at his job, Utility Trailer. Alfredo did. They offered him a job running the storeroom there. He'll make almost the exact same wages as he did at Primary Children's after 7 years there. And it's much closer. He started today. He thinks he'll like it. However, it is a 5 day a week job rather than 4 day a week job. Thankfully, Janene is willing and able to watch our girls all 5 days. We love and appreciate her. It's amazing how the Lord takes care of us. The timing on everything just worked out perfectly. His insurance stopped covering us on August 31. I was able to sign up for district insurance that began coverage on Sept. 1. I had really struggled last April/May to decide whether to be half time or full time but felt like being full time was the right decision to make. Even though Alfredo was technically unemployed for only a week, it was reassuring to know that we would be okay since I had my job. Everything has worked out for the best.

The bad: My poor 3 week old Gabrielle is sick. Poor baby girl. She has a fever and has been so fussy and sad last night and today. I took her to the doctor. They couldn't find anything wrong other than the fever. Her fever was 100.3 at first but then 20 minutes later was 99.6. The doctor said that if it went over 100.4, she'd need to go to Primary Children's to have blood tests and stuff done. I feel so bad for her. It's probably some type of infection, and he said probably/hopefully she'd fight it off on her own. but we have to keep an eye on her and take her temp every few hours to see how she's doing.

The ugly: Can't think of much that's ugly. The weather is beautiful. My girls are beautiful. Oh, the dishes piled in my sink are ugly... haven't had the energy or inclination to do them today. Probably my hair too, since I never did it today. :)

Gabrielle's blessing day

On Sunday, we blessed Gabrielle. Alfredo asked my stepdad, Mike, to bless Gabrielle. It was a beautiful blessing. I'm grateful that we were able to do it while my family was here in town. (Even though so many of our friends in the ward were out of town or at other wards. We missed you! :))

Somehow I neglected to take any pictures of Gabrielle by herself in her blessing dress, so I'll do that soon and post them. But here are a couple shots from that day and two of our family.

These first two I had to include because I love the expressions on her face. She looks so inquisitive and alert in this first one. Also, I love how she folds her hands in her lap.
I know that supposedly babies don't smile as newborns... that it's just gas. I don't believe it. Gabrielle will look right at you, make this contented noise and smile. Here she is looking at my mom, with a half smile on her face.
Gabrielle was wiped out after church and slept for almost 2 hours. maybe that's why I didn't get any shots of her... But here we are.

photos of family

While my mom, stepdad and sister Suzy were here visiting, we were able to visit with a lot of my extended family. It was nice to see everyone, and especially to spend time with my mom and Mike and Suzy. This is my great aunt Joan holding Gabrielle and my (paternal) grandma Marj Bills. My dad and grandpa were also there, but I didn't get pictures of them.
My cousins Colton, Tanner, and Ashley and my aunt Diane.
My mom with Gabrielle
Mike, my stepdad, with Gabrielle
The girls: me, Ella, Suzy, Gabrielle, my mom, Michelle

We also visited with my maternal grandparents. And with my uncle Dan, aunt Suzanne, and cousins Melissa and Emily.