How 'Bout Them Kids

I'm so busy with the children and their lives, I don't have enough time to write about it all!

I had parent teacher conferences yesterday and I was so blessed that they are doing so well.

Victoria is a self motivated academic. I am so blessed by the Lord in this. She is keeping straight A's and is going to be getting the student of the quarter award tomorrow. She got it her first quarter in 5th grade as well. So, I'm glad to see her diligence and character in the classroom is continuing. She is the teachers helper and is very efficient I hear at entering data into the computer. Now if we can just get her to keep her desk (and room for that matter) clean, she will be on a roll!:)

Socially however, this year has been tough. Many of her friends from last year have taken a bad turn down female-pecking-order lane. Some of them have grades that are dropping because they are not focused on their school work. They have been very awful to Victoria and ostracized her. I found out yesterday she has been trying to stay in at recess too. Her teacher and I talked about the situation and she is going to try to encourage her to get outside and also to start mingling with a few other girls in the class headed in the right direction. Rick and I see it as a blessing that these girls won't let her in their social circle because we think God is using that to protect her. That's a hard thing to explain to her though.

Emma Bear is once again shocking us with her performance. Last year her teacher was perfect for her and very laid back. This year we knew she was getting a kind teacher but one who was not so much laid back. The transition has been just what Emma has needed. She is becoming so responsible and is motivated to make sure we check her homework, sign her agenda, and drill her on her multiplication tables. He teacher said she is very bright and has interesting questions and observations as they go along. Emma also comes up with dual ways to solve problems. I am not surprised by that because she has always been the problem solving type. It was good to hear that she is doing so well. Especially since she is in a combo class where most of the students are in 4th grade.

Caedmon is doing excellent on his academics. He has been "zoning out" a great deal in class however and I got a great chance to chat with his teacher about this yesterday. Caedmon has a different kind of attention problem than most boys. With typical boys, they get the tiniest bit distracted or bored and they start to get noisy, fidgety, and disobedient even. Caedmon does the opposite, he secludes inside himself. His brain goes far, far away to who knows where. He is still quiet, so it's hard to tell that he's not with it at the moment. She did have him in the back of the class because he was ahead on an academic level but she has since moved him to the front for a while to make sure he is not spacing. He is still one of the youngest in the class so we also feel that his brain development will help with this phase he is going through. Somehow though, when he is with it, he catches everything he needs to know to do his work. Caedmon would be a great kid for homeschooling in some regards, and the worse for others. His tendency to seclude would be catered to especially because he has no other boys to play with at home. Being at school pushes Caedmon in ways he needs to be pushed. He is rather calm and inactive and would prefer a day of tinkering with his Lego's and toys rather than getting moving. It's great that he can come home and do that but part of the day he really needs more stimulation both academically and socially.

All three of the kids are enjoying Awana this year as well. They did not want to go but we insisted they needed the fellowship and teaching. Caedmon just earned his first jewel and was very excited. Emma is plowing through sections so fast her leader had to tell her she could not listen to them all one night or she would not get to hear the other kids ones. She did about 8 in one week. Victoria just moved on to another book as well in TNT.

So, that's the news from here.