Well, tonight we went to the school to meet with the kids' teachers. I am really involved with my kids schooling, and talk to their teachers on a regular basis. So no surprises, but here's what we chatted about:
*Tyler (5th grade) - Really smart, not turning in all his work and being a total brat in class. This wasn't news to us. Tyler has had a behavior contract every year that he has been in school. Not just being mean, but because he is so annoying. He will walk around (during class) talking to other students, touching their stuff, taking their stuff and playing with it. Just generally being really annoying. To the point that he has had to be sent to another classroom to get away from his classmates and miss recesses. I have told him before that when he acts like that he is not impressing the other kids and making them want to be friend with him. He is making them think, Gad he's so annoying! I wish he'd get away from me! Not a good way to make friends. His teacher told him that when he is acting like that, he is being a bully and that is not acceptable. They are really strict about that there, and he is going to be facing a lot of trouble if he keeps it up. I let her (and him) know that John and I support that 100% because his behavior is just totally unacceptable! The hard thing is that he is one of the very youngest in his class (his birthday is 2 weeks before the cutoff) and extremely immature. However, because he is so much younger, I feel good about our position that if he doesn't start turning in all his work and behaving in class, we are going to hold him back next year. I really think it would be better for everyone if that happens, so we will see how the rest of the year goes. We have discussed this with his teacher and she agrees with us.
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*Hailey (3rd grade) - Nothing really to tell here. She has never been a problem. She turns in all her work, is at the top of her class, and very helpful. The only problems she is having are being a little to chatty (no surprise if you know her) and really needs to work on spelling. Spelling has always been her biggest problem. She spells everything just how it sounds. So that is something that we will continue to work on at home.
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*Austin (3rd grade) - Major problems here. However, I email back and forth with his teacher on a regular basis, so no surprises. He has not turned in one assignment since the beginning of school. Not kidding. He would tell his teacher that he had left it at home and then tell me he left it at school. So once we started emailing, that all stopped. However, the not completing homework continues. I just don't have 3 - 10 hours (NOT exaggerating) to stand over him and keep trying to force him to do his work . So John and I have told him that we are not going to fight him to do his work, but if he doesn't do it and gets an F on his report card he will do 3rd grade again. He is old enough to know what he is supposed to do and do it. The problem is that his whole goal in life is how little can he possibly get away with doing, and he is like that about everything. He is also having problems behaving and not doing things like having crying tantrums and going under his desk when he doesn't want to do something. Um, not acceptable. His teacher is in agreement with us, and like Tyler, he is also one of the youngest in his class. So we shall see how this year goes.
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*Camren (1st grade) - Still fighting the school to get him into speech. The school says that they usually wait til they are older, because they think he will outgrow it. I don't, because I went through the same thing with Tyler and he just graduated speech last year in 4th grade. Camren has had major speech issues since I have known him. When John and I first got married, he was 2 1/2 and could not speak intelligibly. It took me a long time of working with him, to get him to where you could understand what he was saying, but he still has stuff he needs help with. It is really frustrating. Other than that, he is doing ok. He is still behind, but I already knew that last year, so I had them enroll him this year in a program where he is getting extra help with reading and letter recognition and all that. So that is going well, and I am already starting to see improvement. However, he is having behavior issues as well. Is this a boy thing? His teacher said that she has to remind him several times an hour to be quiet, or do his work, or whatever. So we put him on contract. He will bring a chart home every day that is broken down into parts of the day and will tell how he behaved during those times. That way we know how he is behaving and he will have consequences when he's not doing what he should. I don't want his issues to turn into the major problems I have with his brothers.
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*Brooklyn (kindergarten) - She is doing good. Chatty during class, but no surprise as someone who lives with her. She is doing good with her school work and just needs more practice with her sight words. The only problem her teacher has had with her is that it takes several times to get her attention. Like if her teacher is calling her name to do something. I told her that it had been one of my concerns when she started school. Since Brooklyn was a baby, she has been in her own little world. When I tell the kids to pick up or whatever, it seems she thinks I meant everyone but her. It is very hard to get her attention and very hard to get through to her that she really has to do something that she is told to do. So that is something that we will continue working on.
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I was glad to meet with the teachers and glad that they agreed with where John and I are coming from. That is really important to me. I want to know if my kids aren't behaving or doing their work, and know where they are in terms of grade level. That's why I talk to their teachers all the time. I don't want to wait 'til the end of the year, and then have them be all, oh sorry your kid is way behind. Because if we catch it now, we can do something about it. If my kids aren't doing the work or behaving, I don't want them just passed along to the next grade when they shouldn't be. The work is only going to get harder and the expectations higher, so I think that would be a big mistake. So I guess it is just back to the daily struggle, and see how this year goes.
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