Conferences, Breaks & Pirates

Last night, we had our first parent-teacher conference. Didn't know what to expect, but it went well! The teacher referred Katie to the Firecracker program, which is the Kindergarten version of Spectra - our school district's gifted program. It doesn't mean she's gifted, just that she might get tested for the Spectra program when she turns six. That made my heart swell with pride! Then the teacher gave us her report card, and Katie got 3s in every area except one. (The new report cards grade on a scale of 1 to 3.) She got a 2 in music, under the "behavior and participation" section. Her teacher didn't know why because she didn't ask the music teacher, but she guessed that maybe it's because Katie sometimes has a fear of failure. She has noticed that there are times that if Katie thinks she might not be able to do something well, then she doesn't want to try it at all. (Oh, God! Did I do that to her?! Have I been riding her too hard?) The teacher said the thing is that Katie shouldn't doubt herself at all because she is so advanced already. Dan and I told the teacher we have noticed Katie's fears too, and we discussed ways to encourage her or phrase things to help her believe in herself. She also showed us a reading test she gave Katie with a Level C book, which is first-grade level. Katie got 91% of the words correctly, and would have gotten 98% except she kept substituting didn't for don't. Wow. Our girl is amazing the heck out of us.

Today was the first day of cycle break for our school district. We have year-round school, so the kids go nine weeks on, three weeks off. Today started the first three-week cycle break. I think the best part of my day was sleeping in, since we didn't have to catch the bus. At 7:30, Katie crawled in to bed with me and cuddled while I dozed off and on. It was wonderful. She actually held me, and brought her favorite animal to bed to cuddle with me too. I am in love with her!

Did you know that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day? I took the kids to the carousel, where kids who were dressed like pirates got to ride for free. Jackson wore a shirt with a pirate dog on it, and his pirate doo rag/skull cap. Katie wore a pirate hat and a hook. She enjoyed riding the carousel, but Jackson wasn't so fond of it and clung to me the whole time. Can you see his look of worry in the photo?

After the carousel, we played in the nearby park and I got some good photos of the kids. I'm looking forward to spending the next three weeks of cycle break with Katie and Jackson: together, just like "old" days!