When 1 is not Best

We had the kids parent-teacher conferences a few weeks ago.  Overall, they went fine.  I should put conferences in quotes because the teachers really talk to us for about 13 of the 15 minutes and then ask at the end if we have any questions. 

We learned Jacob is still very good at math, his reading is improving (he has discovered Magic Tree House books and others that he likes).  He is still working on the mechanics of the classroom - lining up properly, getting his assignments in his notebook, etc.  Second grade a big shift from "teacher-done" tasks to "student-done" tasks - like the assignment notebooks.

We learned that Allison needs to be kept away from pens (she has an OCD need to smear the ink), she passed her math test and is really doing well in the social skills group.  They also said they were impressed with her work this year, that they'd seen great (but still inconsistent) gains in handwriting, and that she was working much more diligently this year than past years.

Apparently that diligence and hard work did not spread to her achievement test.  The teacher pushed a paper with her "score" on it and said "don't be alarmed - we don't think this is representative of her ability at all."  The autism teacher said that she had noticed Allison going through the computer test "very quickly."  We believe that she may done the equivalent of a pretty randomized selection of bubbles on a scantron test.  When the test score came home - we could see that the raw score they'd given us at the conference aligned with the 1% of AASD students in her grade.  She scored - raw score - lower than she had at the start of second grade.  So from second grade on her scores had trended upward (in sort of a sinusoidal pattern - they take it three times per year) only to plummet in 4th grade back to square one.  Good grief.

When asked - why - of course Allison says she "didn't want to take the test."  Clearly.  How do you convince a kid that it's important when there is no immediate feedback , no positive benefit, and that child doesn't have an inherent desire to please those around her or a desire to try her hardest if there is no benefit to her?  It's the definition of "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink."

Oh well.  We all know that she can read at a fourth grade level.  She pounds out an Ivy&Bean book in an hour or so, and tells jokes about it so I know she comprehends the story rather than just the words.  In fact, she reads over an hour a day.  I don't know how to convince her to demonstrate that knowledge - or to demonstrate it on passages that are less appealing to her (subject-wise). 

But she was recommended, and I signed her up, for Club Read, which is an after-school computer based reading program for kids in 3-6th grade.  They get treats and snacks and earn a party by passing a certain number of levels. Some of her friends have done it in the past and hopefully it'll be at least a good experience to get used to reading off the computer screen.

It should be interesting to see the results of the state-mandated testing which begins next Monday at 8:45am.  You know - after the kids have been off for 5 days.  Also, they test in the morning on November 1st - the morning after Halloween.  Good planning!

Flu shots

The kids had a half day today.... so naturally it was the perfect time for flu shots. 

We were greeted by a cadre of nurses.  Like - 6.  I thought maybe they'd seen the notes from past years and just sent in extras.  Actually, it was a class of nursing assistants from the tech college.

Allison pipes up "I'll go first!" and up she goes.  She said she was a little nervous, but she handled it well.  Until they gave her the shot - and then she couldn't stop talking about how much it hurt.  Especially to Jacob.  "Jacob, that really, really hurt." (she says as she bounces around the room with her new pencil and sticker.)

Mom went next.  I had mine in the arm, which according to the nursing assistants is the most painful place to get it (leg is better, butt is best).  After a short discussion upon which I decided no one wanted to view my rear end - I went for arm.  Wow - it did hurt.  And I felt a little lightheaded.  But I knew there would absolutely no shot for Jacob ever again if I passed out.  So, deep breaths and holding in the tears of pain.  Wow - it HURT.

Then Jacob's turn.  He shimmies up onto the table, and then back into the corner.  Repeating "No, no, no, no."  Try to convince.  No go.  Ok - go for the forcible route.  I pick him and position him down on the table - a maneuver which will NOT be easy to do next year, that kid is strong - another two nurse assistants hold his legs and the regular nurse pops in the shot.  Clearly not the learning opportunity it could have been. 

He lays on the table pouting and crying for a good 10 more minutes.  As we're getting ready to leave the one assistant says we should go to the lobby and wait a few minutes; when another one says "na, I think they've been in here long enough to check for a reaction."

We went home to get ice cream for our troubles (and tylenol - did I mention that it hurt?).  And Allison and I had a collision when she was getting out of the car at the same time I was opening the door.  It was a door-v-face collision and dare I say the door won.  So, ice on the face (there is really only a small mark now).  It was a great afternoon for our kids.  Heaven forbid only one of them be mad at me!!

slacker blogger

Man, it's been two months since I've really posted anything.  Sometimes it seems like adding stupid daily things on a daily basis is easy.  When the blog slips for a while then I feel like I need to have big profound things to say.  I don't have any big profound things to say.  Otherwise I might have had a career as a famous writer or philosopher.  Are there famous philosophers anymore?  I heard someone call Michael Pollan a food philosopher.  That's as close as I can come.

So, I might just skip August and September and most of October.  Instead, I will move on to blogging daily stuff.  Like, right now our house is clean and we have 100 servings of panne cotta in the fridge.  This would be the PERFECT time for someone to drop by out of the blue.  But let's face it - nobody drops by anyone's house out of the blue anymore.  I should post something on facebook.  But then it would seem like an invitation and the clean house and panne cotta would appear to be planned for the purpose of having people over - not the interesting coincidence they are.

I guess instead, I'll eat panna cotta for dinner and enjoy the clean house myself.  Nice.