i'm so proud of my kiddos! i had PTC's 2day (parent-teacher conferences) & got some pretty great reports!
jaden's conferences ware 1st...but hold on, let me tell u about something i've been struggling with lately, before we get 2 jaden's conferences...
on the last six week's report card (the 2nd of 6 total), jaden brought home his very first C's...not 1, but 2 - my heart sank...i saw that as the beginning of our very long academic struggle...cause i had also felt it at home - homework & reading had turned into more of a challenge...school work has always been a challenge for jaden - always will be...but now, we were really feeling it...meltdowns during homework were more frequent, "i hate school" was starting 2 become a favorite phrase...he used to excel in math - and now it was THE hated subject! the curriculum was getting harder & jaden was really having 2 work! but we've muscled thru it...& jaden has done well...this 6 weeks, he brought home 4 C's! but he's keeping up in the regular classroom - he got a B in social studies & an A in science for the 3rd time in a row! all of his teachers see how intelligent he is...they recognize that his grades aren't really fair representations of what he's capable of
testing is hard 4 jaden (as with most autistic kiddos)...& because 1 day he might ace a test, & then the next day, completely fail it (1 small thing that upsets jaden, can ruin his entire day - no focus, no motivation after that) - it's not fair that his grades weigh so heavily on his test scores...of course, he still has 2 take the tests...but it's written into his IEP that he b allowed 2 take them 1 on 1 instead of within a group/class, & his teachers haven't always been following through with maintaining that...now they see he needs that - each & every time...and we're going 2 modify it so that if jaden's having a particularly bad day when a test is being given, he b given the chance to reschedule or make up that test
also some of his grades r being effected by the lack of work being turned in...if he isn't able to finish classwork, he then takes that up 2 his resource (special ed) room 2 work on it...it's a group setting there too, only very small (5-7) - but still a group & there's still only 1 teacher...if jaden isn't able to focus & get his work completed that day, well then there's nothing to grade him on...so we're going to start having his grades only be based on the work he's turned in - not on everything being assigned
i guess the hardest part for me was/is the C itself...we weren't allowed 2 get C's when i was young...well, it's not like we were punished or anything - but we certainly weren't rewarded...and we knew it was not an option - if we got a C, something was wrong...& my parents would work with the teachers 2 help us fix it - fast...i was almost always on the honor roll tho & was very proud of my good grades ;0)
i'm learning 2 accept the fact that it's ok if jaden gets a C...or 2...or 6! they're just grades! yeah, he might not get into Harvard...but as long as Jaden is doing his best, that's all that matters...his grades do NOT define who he is...my son is an unbelievably bright young man - a report card full of D's & F's wouldn't change that!
needless 2 say, his teachers adore him! he's funny & sweet & caring...mrs. streett (his 2nd grade teacher) says she loves hearing his stories - her favorites r the "adventures" he tells her when they're out on the playground...she just got her haircut/layered/flipped out...& when jaden saw her the other morning, he screamed...
"AHHHHHHH!"
she said "oh my jaden, what's wrong?!", not really even thinking about her haircut
he looks at her & says, very matter-of-factly,
"it's different...i like it"
then gave her a big grin
;0)
next up, was gabrielle's kindergarten conference...let me start out her report by quoting the note her teacher left on her report card...
"Gabby's responsibility is pretty crucial winin our classroom. Other students recognize that I can rely on her to do anything. She does not get overwhelmed easily. She understands that everyone learns differently & really enjoys taking care of others. When somone right next to her might be struggling in a while group activity, she takes it upon herself to do her work AND help work them through it too, without doing it for them. I have enjoyed watching her mature so much. If she gets overwhelmed with anything, please let me know."
yes, she's practically the teacher's assistant! ;0) miss gunden has insisted i let her know if gabby ever says anything negative about how helpful she is in class - if it is ever too much...that she relies on her 2 help out a LOT - but that gabby seems down for it, she actually thrives off of it! reminds me of when i was in elementary school - back then, the teachers used carbon paper...i would ask my teacher 2 give me the carbon paper when she'd used it all up (of course, i could still get some use out of it)...& i'd ask for extra/leftover worksheets...then i'd go home & play teacher with my "class" (my 3 younger siblings)
gabrielle has every single box on her report card, filled in with an S (satisfactory - the highest grade)...she scored a 98 on the PALS test (out of 102) & the benchmark for the end of the year is 81...& she's not only recognizing each & every one of her sight words - but already acing spelling tests! her teacher said there's nothing she can throw gabby's way, that she can't do
miss gunden also told me about the classes' recent conversation about cancer...she said that she had overheard corinn talking about my cancer quite a bit (the girls' classrooms are in the same "pod" & right across from each other)...apparently, corinn has been quite vocal about it - but gabby hasn't brought it up at all...so miss gunden sat down with just her & read a book about a girl who's mom has cancer...she wanted her 2 know that she didn't have 2 talk about it - but that if she wanted 2, she could! then, miss gunden asked gabby if she thought she should read the book to the whole class...gabby answered yes & walked away...suddenly, she turned back around & ran 2 miss gunden & gave her a huge/tight hug! almost as if she'd been wanting 2 talk about it with the class, but didn't really want 2 (or didn't know how 2) bring it up
after the story was read, the kiddos were playing...miss gunden overheard a boy ask gabby about what cancer was...she said they stopped playing, sat down & had a very grown up conversation about it...that gabby explained it wasn't like a cold - u couldn't catch it...that my hair falls out because of the medicine i have 2 take...but that i have 2 take the medicine 2 get rid of the cancer
yet again, i felt really good about how we've approached this whole thing with the kiddos...i've often wondered if we've been too honest, that maybe they're a little too young 2 take it all in...but now i'm sure we did the right thing - that they "get" it - just enuff ;0)
as for miss corinn, & her preK conference - she's as smart & helpful as ever....all S's on this one's report card too! well, except for knowing that darn birthday! she says "it's after valentine's day" (it's feb. 22nd) ~teehee~ well, she's right! ;0)
her note from mrs. hinkle says...
"Wow! What a great student! Corinn excels in all areas of school. She quickly learns any new skill that is taught. She is a kind & considerate friend. She is a true all around AWESOME young girl. Keep up the great work Corinn."
sometimes corinn gets busy helping others, which then causes her 2 finish last...but that's definitely not a bad thing! she's very kind & caring - but sensitive, & gets her feelings hurt easily (just like her mama - and her sister!)...she has lots of friends & is very outgoing
i've already told u about how corinn gets her own sight words now! & as for her assessment results - she of course knows all the letters & their sounds (still working on ch, th & sh tho)...recognizes all colors, shapes, numbers...but they also have 2 b able 2 count to 20 by the end of the year & b able to touch objects & count them up to 5 (counting w/ 1 to 1 correspondence)...she can already count to 49 & did the 1 to 1 touch thing up to 45 (the teacher only had 45 items out 2 count!)
seriously, how did we get so darn lucky?!?!
jaden's conferences ware 1st...but hold on, let me tell u about something i've been struggling with lately, before we get 2 jaden's conferences...
on the last six week's report card (the 2nd of 6 total), jaden brought home his very first C's...not 1, but 2 - my heart sank...i saw that as the beginning of our very long academic struggle...cause i had also felt it at home - homework & reading had turned into more of a challenge...school work has always been a challenge for jaden - always will be...but now, we were really feeling it...meltdowns during homework were more frequent, "i hate school" was starting 2 become a favorite phrase...he used to excel in math - and now it was THE hated subject! the curriculum was getting harder & jaden was really having 2 work! but we've muscled thru it...& jaden has done well...this 6 weeks, he brought home 4 C's! but he's keeping up in the regular classroom - he got a B in social studies & an A in science for the 3rd time in a row! all of his teachers see how intelligent he is...they recognize that his grades aren't really fair representations of what he's capable of
testing is hard 4 jaden (as with most autistic kiddos)...& because 1 day he might ace a test, & then the next day, completely fail it (1 small thing that upsets jaden, can ruin his entire day - no focus, no motivation after that) - it's not fair that his grades weigh so heavily on his test scores...of course, he still has 2 take the tests...but it's written into his IEP that he b allowed 2 take them 1 on 1 instead of within a group/class, & his teachers haven't always been following through with maintaining that...now they see he needs that - each & every time...and we're going 2 modify it so that if jaden's having a particularly bad day when a test is being given, he b given the chance to reschedule or make up that test
also some of his grades r being effected by the lack of work being turned in...if he isn't able to finish classwork, he then takes that up 2 his resource (special ed) room 2 work on it...it's a group setting there too, only very small (5-7) - but still a group & there's still only 1 teacher...if jaden isn't able to focus & get his work completed that day, well then there's nothing to grade him on...so we're going to start having his grades only be based on the work he's turned in - not on everything being assigned
i guess the hardest part for me was/is the C itself...we weren't allowed 2 get C's when i was young...well, it's not like we were punished or anything - but we certainly weren't rewarded...and we knew it was not an option - if we got a C, something was wrong...& my parents would work with the teachers 2 help us fix it - fast...i was almost always on the honor roll tho & was very proud of my good grades ;0)
i'm learning 2 accept the fact that it's ok if jaden gets a C...or 2...or 6! they're just grades! yeah, he might not get into Harvard...but as long as Jaden is doing his best, that's all that matters...his grades do NOT define who he is...my son is an unbelievably bright young man - a report card full of D's & F's wouldn't change that!
needless 2 say, his teachers adore him! he's funny & sweet & caring...mrs. streett (his 2nd grade teacher) says she loves hearing his stories - her favorites r the "adventures" he tells her when they're out on the playground...she just got her haircut/layered/flipped out...& when jaden saw her the other morning, he screamed...
"AHHHHHHH!"
she said "oh my jaden, what's wrong?!", not really even thinking about her haircut
he looks at her & says, very matter-of-factly,
"it's different...i like it"
then gave her a big grin
;0)
next up, was gabrielle's kindergarten conference...let me start out her report by quoting the note her teacher left on her report card...
"Gabby's responsibility is pretty crucial winin our classroom. Other students recognize that I can rely on her to do anything. She does not get overwhelmed easily. She understands that everyone learns differently & really enjoys taking care of others. When somone right next to her might be struggling in a while group activity, she takes it upon herself to do her work AND help work them through it too, without doing it for them. I have enjoyed watching her mature so much. If she gets overwhelmed with anything, please let me know."
yes, she's practically the teacher's assistant! ;0) miss gunden has insisted i let her know if gabby ever says anything negative about how helpful she is in class - if it is ever too much...that she relies on her 2 help out a LOT - but that gabby seems down for it, she actually thrives off of it! reminds me of when i was in elementary school - back then, the teachers used carbon paper...i would ask my teacher 2 give me the carbon paper when she'd used it all up (of course, i could still get some use out of it)...& i'd ask for extra/leftover worksheets...then i'd go home & play teacher with my "class" (my 3 younger siblings)
gabrielle has every single box on her report card, filled in with an S (satisfactory - the highest grade)...she scored a 98 on the PALS test (out of 102) & the benchmark for the end of the year is 81...& she's not only recognizing each & every one of her sight words - but already acing spelling tests! her teacher said there's nothing she can throw gabby's way, that she can't do
miss gunden also told me about the classes' recent conversation about cancer...she said that she had overheard corinn talking about my cancer quite a bit (the girls' classrooms are in the same "pod" & right across from each other)...apparently, corinn has been quite vocal about it - but gabby hasn't brought it up at all...so miss gunden sat down with just her & read a book about a girl who's mom has cancer...she wanted her 2 know that she didn't have 2 talk about it - but that if she wanted 2, she could! then, miss gunden asked gabby if she thought she should read the book to the whole class...gabby answered yes & walked away...suddenly, she turned back around & ran 2 miss gunden & gave her a huge/tight hug! almost as if she'd been wanting 2 talk about it with the class, but didn't really want 2 (or didn't know how 2) bring it up
after the story was read, the kiddos were playing...miss gunden overheard a boy ask gabby about what cancer was...she said they stopped playing, sat down & had a very grown up conversation about it...that gabby explained it wasn't like a cold - u couldn't catch it...that my hair falls out because of the medicine i have 2 take...but that i have 2 take the medicine 2 get rid of the cancer
yet again, i felt really good about how we've approached this whole thing with the kiddos...i've often wondered if we've been too honest, that maybe they're a little too young 2 take it all in...but now i'm sure we did the right thing - that they "get" it - just enuff ;0)
as for miss corinn, & her preK conference - she's as smart & helpful as ever....all S's on this one's report card too! well, except for knowing that darn birthday! she says "it's after valentine's day" (it's feb. 22nd) ~teehee~ well, she's right! ;0)
her note from mrs. hinkle says...
"Wow! What a great student! Corinn excels in all areas of school. She quickly learns any new skill that is taught. She is a kind & considerate friend. She is a true all around AWESOME young girl. Keep up the great work Corinn."
sometimes corinn gets busy helping others, which then causes her 2 finish last...but that's definitely not a bad thing! she's very kind & caring - but sensitive, & gets her feelings hurt easily (just like her mama - and her sister!)...she has lots of friends & is very outgoing
i've already told u about how corinn gets her own sight words now! & as for her assessment results - she of course knows all the letters & their sounds (still working on ch, th & sh tho)...recognizes all colors, shapes, numbers...but they also have 2 b able 2 count to 20 by the end of the year & b able to touch objects & count them up to 5 (counting w/ 1 to 1 correspondence)...she can already count to 49 & did the 1 to 1 touch thing up to 45 (the teacher only had 45 items out 2 count!)
seriously, how did we get so darn lucky?!?!
2 comments:
GAH! I can't even see now! Gabby just totally made me cry!! Man, your sweet kiddos get me all choked up:)
I love what you say about Jaden! I hate the way schools grade and I am happy you know they do not make the person. You are such a good mommy!
What GREAT PTCs!!
It's good that the teachers are understanding Jaden and working more to help him succeed in the ways that he can. The grade doesn't matter, it's knowing that he's getting an A in effort that counts.
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