We have gotten through September, October and November since our last update. Happy December everyone! The kids have had a few changes around here...Namely Jackson and Taylor switched schools and Emelia learned how to walk...to well!
In September, Immaculate Heart had their annual Curriculum Night for the school. This event sets to the tone, outline and expectations for the Teachers and Parents for the school year. We already knew the expectations from Jackson's 2nd Grade class since Anthony had the same teacher a few years earlier. For Taylor in Kindergarten we were dealing with a whole new teacher but our expectations were high that it was going to be a great year for the kids educationally. Unfortunately, those expectations were not met after listening to the 15 minute presentations for each classroom. So I started looking at our other options available to us. Of course we couldn't send the kids to BASIS where Anthony is attending because they don't start until 5th Grade. And I wasn't going to pull them out of school and send them to Public School close to our home. Our options came to Open Enrollment, Another Private School or Charter. It didn't take me long to find a school that met our expectations! In October, we left Immaculate Heart and the kids enrolled in Legacy Traditional School which is a brand new Charter school on the Northwest Side of town. It's closer to Nana and Papa's house which also advantageous and being that it's Charter...No Tuition!
The kids transitioned very well. Taylor went from all day Kindergarten at IHS to afternoon half day Kindergarten at LTS. And it's amazing the amount of work the kids do in the half day Kindergarten Program. I was shocked. Both kids have homework Monday-Thursday and it's actual work! For example, Taylor has to do phonograms, read, spell, and in Math she is learning single digit addition, subtraction and working through simple word problems. The Math program that Legacy uses is Saxon Math and each grade is working one grade level ahead. So Taylor is learning First Grade Concepts while Jackson is learning Third Grade Concepts. They also have to do book reports each grading period as well as poem recitations. Taylor's penmanship has really come a long way and she writes like a little adult. She is definitely writing better than the boys!
Jackson is completely challenged in school now. He spent all of August and September in a funk and kind of grumpy when he was at Immaculate Heart because he "wasn't learning anything new". In Math he is doing speed tests in Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication. He has learned how to tell time as well as add and subtract time (a valuable skill that Anthony still hasn't mastered) and he's learned the concept of fractions. His spelling tests consists of 30 words each week and he has to learn his phonograms also. His reading has improved and so has his pronunciation and parts of speech. He's more articulate and definitely clearer when he speaks. He is making A's and B's which is so different for him because at IHS, he breezed through 1st Grade with Straight A's. His class size is larger but he comes home so happy at the end of the day and he wants to share how his day was with the family. Again, another huge change from the beginning of this school year!
Anthony is doing FABULOUS at BASIS! I cannot say enough good things about the school and their curriculum. Believe me though, all of us adults (Tony, Me, Nana and Papa) are getting a 5th Grade education all over again. In order to help Anthony succeed Nana has taken the responsibility to create sample quizzes and exams for him. She has also taken to helping him write out notecards. Tony has pulled up all of the Math and is working every lesson ahead of time and providing us with the solution keys so Anthony can "check his homework" when Tony is away on travel. I'm the organizer/Personal Assistant of the bunch reviewing Anthony's Communication Journal (daily planner) and from his notations setting forth the schedule and calendar of exams and quizzes as well as helping him figure out which order he needs to study for his classes every night. Papa, is the moral support for us all. Hahaha, believe it or not, he's the one that tells me and Nana when we're being too hard and harsh on the kids (specifically Anthony) and when we should push him harder. It definitely takes a family to raise our family! Anthony is studying/reviewing/doing homework 7 days a week but he still maintains a positive attitude and hasn't seemed to burn out yet. He's definitely experiencing and seeing how the hard work is paying off by way of grades and strokes from his teachers at school. He's a B+ student with a huge number of A's mixed into his overall GPA! This is a HUGE change and huge boost for him from when he was at Immaculate Heart. I've definitely seen that he's grown up a lot this year but he's also retaining so much more material and seems to have a handle on his subjects and knowing when his deadlines are.
Emelia...so many changes occurred for her! She turned 1 on August 20, 2011. We had a birthday party for her at New Town Buffet and most of our family and friends were there to celebrate the event with us. About the middle of September, she got up and started walking everywhere and hasn't stopped since. She had been practicing a lot with Nana and Papa and Tony and would take a few steps here and there and then crawl towards the rest of her destination. And then just all of a sudden something clicked and she was GONE! Now we can barely stop her. Her best playmate in the family is Jackson. He dotes on her and gives her everything! She's learning more words in sign language as well as she's babbling and trying to speak more. The clearest, loudest word she has in her vocabulary is...EAT! And does she ever love to eat! She can sign milk, more, and all done. We are working on please, thank you, and water. She knows that Ruby is "doggie" (although she also calls her stuffed Mickey Mouse "doggie" go figure). She knows who Daddy, Nana, Papa, Mama, Tay-or, Jaxa, and Bo (Anthony) are and knows when she's ready for a diaper change. Occasionally, I can get a "Diaper Mama" out of her but definitely the word diaper is in her vocabulary. For now, she's hanging out with Nana and Papa everyday either at the Store or running errands.
These past months the kids balanced their time between school, sports, and being kids. Anthony played Flag Football for BASIS, takes tennis lessons and has taken to online gaming with Tony and his classmates on the XBox 360. He has taken time off from TaeKwonDo and unfortunately I don't think he misses it. Jackson is now a recommended Black Belt in TaeKwonDo, he plays golf, and just finished his soccer season with his old classmates from IHS. Both boys have now taken my place in the stands cheering and attending UofA football games with Tony. It's a wonderful bonding experience for the 3 of them and I think they have a new found appreciation for football. Taylor is a Yellow Belt in TaeKwonDo and is Dancing. She will be Dancing in The Studio's performance of The Nutcracker in a few weeks. I can't wait to see her! It's amazing because she has learned so much and has gotten so much better in her technique at this dance studio. I'm secretly bummed that she's not 7 yet so we could see her perform in Disneyland. But we have 2 years for that and believe me, I'm saving my pennies for it now!
Our Thanksgiving was great, uneventful and no complaints, even though I did turn a year older. :) December looks to be equally as wonderful. Tony has one more work trip this year and then he's going to take a good chunk of time off. I am also going to do something different and take a week long vacation from work this year while the kids are on Winter Break. I think this will be a great change for all of us. Of course I do have high hopes that we'll be able organize and straighten up the house a bit, but let's not hold our breath for that to occur. :)
13 years ago
