On Friday Feb 3rd (which also happens to be my husband's birthday) my youngest was outside during preschool and got stung by a bee. We watched for the usual signs of an allergic reation (given this was his first sting) and saw nothing unusual. The following week he came home on Thursday telling me he complained to his teacher about the same finger. I took a look at it without noticing anything different.
My oldest son has been having "issues" with his attention span in school. It is due in part to the fact that he has had THREE teachers since the beginning of the year. His original teacher applied over the summer for a position closer to his home and the district offered him a different job 3 months into the school year. Given he lived close to Apple Hill and drove over an hour to get to work each day he said yes to the offer. This left my son with a long-term substitute and total lack of accountability in the classroom. Over the course of the intermediate months we were given an official diagnosis for ADHD for him. The new teacher has been VERY understanding and it has been a continuing effort of open communication to establish a system that works to manage his behavior in class. We had one REALLY bad day and I took almost every toy he owns out of his room to make him earn them back one at a time. He has been making positive strides toward impulse control and re-directing, but it's been a long process. The week after the beesting, in an effort to motivate him further, we tried offering a movie excursion as a trade-off to improved behavior. He worked very hard and last Friday afternoon I logged onto Fandago and bought 2 adult and 3 children's tickets to "The Phantom Menace" in 3D.
Friday afternoon when I returned home from working at the charter school my mom mentioned Jason's finger. She said that she watched him complain to the teacher about it and the teacher said something to the effect of "oh the same finger he's been complaining about for a few days? He's fine" (I'm paraphrasing of course). When I looked at his finger it was pretty far from "fine". His entire digit was swollen down to the knuckle. I immediately got on the phone and left a message for his Pediatrician. I was called back toward the end of the day and told "If this was my child I would be in the car on my way to the ER" o_O
SO, instead of spending Friday night at the movie theater shoving my piehole with popcorn, I was sitting in the ER waiting room for someone to check out this poor kid's finger. The wait was mercifully short, but the doctor made no qualms spelling out the severity of his finger. Apparently the bee sting was now infected and the entire finger had cellulitis. The danger of having it in the hand is if it travels up the tendon it could spread very quickly. My poor little guy had to have TWO shots, one in each leg. The nurse told me that they actually had to put lidocaine in the shots because they would be so painful to him. I think the most heartbreaking part of the whole ordeal was watching him do the "silent cry" for a full minute before actually screaming in pain from these shots. He was unable (or unwilling) to walk after the shots, so here's mom trying to comfort him, pull out her wallet to pay the co-pay and carry him to the car with my horrible back.
On a side note I'd like to mention that the Ped told me to go to a Kaiser office with NO emergency service, so I drove to a different one (I should say I drove AROUND a different one for 15 min trying to negotiate the labyrinth that is the parking areas).
After getting him back into the car and realizing that he had yet to EAT DINNER, I spent the entire car ride bribing him out of a tantrum that resulted from missing the damn movie.
Then end of this story is a happy one: Fandango refunded our money, I took Jason to see the movie the next morning and he is happily bounding around like nothing happened. Gotta love the short-term memory of a 4 year old.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday, November 25, 2011
Life after Facebook.
Apparently I shocked the world the day I deleted not only my facebook, but my ridiculously time-consuming Zynga Farm. Initially the "cold turkey" (excuse the Thanksgiving pun) way of quitting was an adjustment. I never realized how much time I wasted on either/both of those activities until I counted how many times I sat down during the day expecting to log onto....nothing. I quickly assessed that I would have to fill the "wasted" time with this bizarre concept other people call "productivity". I have compiled a small list of things I now do instead of turning my brain into a rotting pile of mush:
* I CLEAN- Yes, I actually took some of my "free time" and cleaned some areas of the house I would hauntingly look at and think "I will just look at facebook/check my farm and THEN clean that clutter". Instead I just get off my lazy ass and clean it.
* I RUN- I signed up to run a 5k at my kids' school. Training for this gave me something to do and discipline to stick with a schedule for keeping myself healthy. Sunday November 13th I ran my first 5k and made my best time yet.
* I DO THINGS WITH MY KIDS- I actually sit down and eat meals with them. I play board games and walk to the park with them. I grab stale bread and get on my bike to feed geese with them. I paint my daughter's nails. I play xbox with them. I watch movies with them. I ENGAGE WITH THEM.
* I AVOID DRAMA- I have stifled at least a half a dozen of them with the simple phrase " I don't have a facebook anymore!"
* I SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS- I go shopping, or out to lunch, or just hang out without fear of missing a harvest time and having my strawberries wither.
* I SPEND TIME WITH MY HUSBAND- I shit you not, the words "I just have to harvest these ______" has left my mouth at 10pm before I could hang and watch a movie with my spouse. Unacceptable.
* I LIVE MY LIFE FOR MYSELF- instead of pretending to live an interesting one just so my facebook followers won't be bored.
* I CAN GO A WHOLE DAY WITHOUT TURNING ON MY COMPUTER- The mere thought of this pre-facebook deletion would have sent me into seizing panic attacks. Now if my power goes out my reaction is "meh".
* I SPEND TIME ON A GAME I PURCHASED- instead of wasting time on a supposedly "free" game that is designed to get you to spend actual money.
* I ENJOY LIFE- this one is self explanatory.
* I CLEAN- Yes, I actually took some of my "free time" and cleaned some areas of the house I would hauntingly look at and think "I will just look at facebook/check my farm and THEN clean that clutter". Instead I just get off my lazy ass and clean it.
* I RUN- I signed up to run a 5k at my kids' school. Training for this gave me something to do and discipline to stick with a schedule for keeping myself healthy. Sunday November 13th I ran my first 5k and made my best time yet.
* I DO THINGS WITH MY KIDS- I actually sit down and eat meals with them. I play board games and walk to the park with them. I grab stale bread and get on my bike to feed geese with them. I paint my daughter's nails. I play xbox with them. I watch movies with them. I ENGAGE WITH THEM.
* I AVOID DRAMA- I have stifled at least a half a dozen of them with the simple phrase " I don't have a facebook anymore!"
* I SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS- I go shopping, or out to lunch, or just hang out without fear of missing a harvest time and having my strawberries wither.
* I SPEND TIME WITH MY HUSBAND- I shit you not, the words "I just have to harvest these ______" has left my mouth at 10pm before I could hang and watch a movie with my spouse. Unacceptable.
* I LIVE MY LIFE FOR MYSELF- instead of pretending to live an interesting one just so my facebook followers won't be bored.
* I CAN GO A WHOLE DAY WITHOUT TURNING ON MY COMPUTER- The mere thought of this pre-facebook deletion would have sent me into seizing panic attacks. Now if my power goes out my reaction is "meh".
* I SPEND TIME ON A GAME I PURCHASED- instead of wasting time on a supposedly "free" game that is designed to get you to spend actual money.
* I ENJOY LIFE- this one is self explanatory.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Rantings of an axiety-ridden over-protective parent
Today was the first day in three years that my oldest son stepped foot in a "brick and mortar" school. In order to understand the aforementioned "anxiety" aspect of this post one must first understand my oldest son.
My son was reading before preschool. Yes, you read that correctly. Not "Kinder" but "PRE-school", as in BEFORE school. If you've ever had the pleasure of venturing into a Pre-K classroom it is lovingly and thoughtfully labeled with the word for each object. Imagine the kind of stimulation this would provide to a youngin' who is newly exploring the written world around him. As other children were singing "Old MacDonald" at circle time, my child was standing up in a swirling vortex of vocabulary shouting out "CHAIR! WINDOW! CALENDER!!"
Kindergarten was an amazing but productive struggle. His teacher was amazing and had the patience of Job. She worked tirelessly with me to come up with a system that would set my son up for success. We used a combination of progress charts, weighted pillows and redirection that had him functioning very well in the classroom by year's end. Fast forward to Grade 1: His Kinder teacher put EXTENSIVE notes regarding our communication and system that was established. None of this was looked at by his new teacher. In all honestly, I doubt this woman read anything that didn't involve bright colors and talking dogs. She was a complete space cadet who gave the students no accountability. I visited the classroom early in the year asking what her discipline policy was and was told "The school year just started, I don't know" YOU DON'T KNOW??!! When asked about a pile of incomplete work inside my son's desk the reply was "oh they just finish whatever they can, they don't HAVE to complete it" WTF?? >:(
SO I made the decision to start teaching him at home. By the 2nd grade I was having existential conversations regarding the meaning of life, creation, afterlife and the size of the cosmos. My struggle has always been to provide the best possible answers while still using the appropriate terms a 5/6/7 yr old would comprehend. For example: Rob asked me what radiation is. *I* know what radiation is, *you* know what radiation is, but how does one explain this to a 6 year old in a manner that A) he will grasp and B) won't have him with "my face melted" nightmares I now have to soothe at 3am?
By the end of his 3rd grade year, having watched his sister go to and from school each day, I was being asked "Mom, when do *I* get to go to school?" I had reached the end of my teaching-patience rope by that point (he can be difficult to motivate) and understood that I was fast approaching the point where my knowledge would be exceeded. He already understood concepts of basic algebraic equations and negative numbers. I can't be far off from "OMG HE IS DOING CALCULUS AND MY HEAD EXPLODED ALL OVER THE DESK".
Socially I wanted him to have some of the same experiences I had growing up: Playing and falling on the playground, understand social cues from his peers, getting in trouble, learning how to deal with someone not liking you, etc. I know these can be supplemented with an at-home learning environment, but honestly, I think we were BOTH ready for him to go to school.
I would like to apologize to Mr. Wood in advance for all present and future neurotic behavior. He was VERY gracious today to listen to my concerns and communicate with me about Rob's needs. He said no apologize are necessary but I promise he will take that back by the end of the year. (LOL ok, fine I'm not THAT heinous) I have a really good feeling about this school and specifically this teacher. It might be a bit premature but I really hope that I'm over reacting with my anxiety over the transition of my precious package into the hands of someone else. It's more about ME letting go than Rob. *crosses fingers, toes and cries a little*
My son was reading before preschool. Yes, you read that correctly. Not "Kinder" but "PRE-school", as in BEFORE school. If you've ever had the pleasure of venturing into a Pre-K classroom it is lovingly and thoughtfully labeled with the word for each object. Imagine the kind of stimulation this would provide to a youngin' who is newly exploring the written world around him. As other children were singing "Old MacDonald" at circle time, my child was standing up in a swirling vortex of vocabulary shouting out "CHAIR! WINDOW! CALENDER!!"
Kindergarten was an amazing but productive struggle. His teacher was amazing and had the patience of Job. She worked tirelessly with me to come up with a system that would set my son up for success. We used a combination of progress charts, weighted pillows and redirection that had him functioning very well in the classroom by year's end. Fast forward to Grade 1: His Kinder teacher put EXTENSIVE notes regarding our communication and system that was established. None of this was looked at by his new teacher. In all honestly, I doubt this woman read anything that didn't involve bright colors and talking dogs. She was a complete space cadet who gave the students no accountability. I visited the classroom early in the year asking what her discipline policy was and was told "The school year just started, I don't know" YOU DON'T KNOW??!! When asked about a pile of incomplete work inside my son's desk the reply was "oh they just finish whatever they can, they don't HAVE to complete it" WTF?? >:(
SO I made the decision to start teaching him at home. By the 2nd grade I was having existential conversations regarding the meaning of life, creation, afterlife and the size of the cosmos. My struggle has always been to provide the best possible answers while still using the appropriate terms a 5/6/7 yr old would comprehend. For example: Rob asked me what radiation is. *I* know what radiation is, *you* know what radiation is, but how does one explain this to a 6 year old in a manner that A) he will grasp and B) won't have him with "my face melted" nightmares I now have to soothe at 3am?
By the end of his 3rd grade year, having watched his sister go to and from school each day, I was being asked "Mom, when do *I* get to go to school?" I had reached the end of my teaching-patience rope by that point (he can be difficult to motivate) and understood that I was fast approaching the point where my knowledge would be exceeded. He already understood concepts of basic algebraic equations and negative numbers. I can't be far off from "OMG HE IS DOING CALCULUS AND MY HEAD EXPLODED ALL OVER THE DESK".
Socially I wanted him to have some of the same experiences I had growing up: Playing and falling on the playground, understand social cues from his peers, getting in trouble, learning how to deal with someone not liking you, etc. I know these can be supplemented with an at-home learning environment, but honestly, I think we were BOTH ready for him to go to school.
I would like to apologize to Mr. Wood in advance for all present and future neurotic behavior. He was VERY gracious today to listen to my concerns and communicate with me about Rob's needs. He said no apologize are necessary but I promise he will take that back by the end of the year. (LOL ok, fine I'm not THAT heinous) I have a really good feeling about this school and specifically this teacher. It might be a bit premature but I really hope that I'm over reacting with my anxiety over the transition of my precious package into the hands of someone else. It's more about ME letting go than Rob. *crosses fingers, toes and cries a little*
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sonya's 4 Year Check Up
YES, her birthday was a month ago, cut me some slack will ya?
I had to call at the beginning of the month to schedule this appointment or I knew it would never get done. Two days prior to it I had taken her to the pediatric dentist. Our regular family dentist (who's been seeing my husband since he was Robbie's age) recommended she see a specialist due to the severity of her tooth issues and her possible inability to cope with dental work. The pediatric dentist was very nice, and overall she did well, but the work that needed to be done was too extensive for that office. They recommended we get her seen by a dental surgeon, who would do all her work while she was put completely under.
Jim hears about this and freaks out. He had me ask the pediatrician about the risks of putting a child that young under for dental work. I'm really glad I scheduled the dentist/doctor appointments so close together so I could discuss these issues with her regular doctor.
Knowing Sonya might be a bit stressed out in the latter half of the day, and also knowing my mom was going home that night, I took her to the gym with me that morning. She LOVES the kid's club and I thought it might be nice for her to get out a bit before boring things like doctor's appointments. (In all fairness NOTHING is ever boring when I have her with me).
After a good workout and some kids club quality time for her, I decide there's not enough time in between to go home. I call my mom and ask if she would mind if I took my daughter out to a meal and then head straight over to the appointment. She was fine with it, so we drove to that side of town and had lunch at a coffee shop type restaurant. We colored and looked for hidden pictures, had some funny face pancakes and had a generally good time. At the end of every kids meal apparently the lucky young patron gets their signature "cookie on a stick". I think you can guess how that ended. I'll give you a hint, in the car the cookie DID NOT stay on the stick and you can guess who was unhappy about it.
The pancake had whipped creme and mini chocolate chips, most of which had melted from the heat of the food. The "cookie on a stick" was chocolate. I don't have to draw you a picture of what Sonya's shirt and face looked like afterwards, not to mention her poor teeth. I went into my gym bag and found a travel toothbrush I had never used, and in her goody bag from the dentist was a small tube of crest. YESSSS! Can you say, "Impromptu manic toothbrushing in the car"?
We get to the appointment and they test her hearing and vision. She had to stand on a line and read a chart with one eye covered. They bust out these "picture cards" and start pointing and asking Sonya what it's a picture of. She stands there confused for a minute and I suggest they use the letter cards. The medical assistant says, amazed, "OH she knows her letters?"
ummmm NO I just suggested it because I like to publicly humiliate my children and make them look retarded in public. YES she knows her damn letters!
So the lady replaces the card and asks Sonya "What is this letter?"
"OH this is letter VEEEEE" she says loudly.
LOL
I talk to the Ped about her "going under" and he assures me it's very safe and recommended we proceed with whatever dental work she needs done. We finish up the appointment and he lets me know she's in need of booster shots. Ok, I'm thinking, not a huge deal. He prints out this piece of paper and starts going over the list. Shot after shot after shot after.....
FIVE SHOTS????
"Oh, and I've ordered her Iron test four times and it's expired each time. I'll order it again"
*bows head*
So this poor baby had to have FIVE booster shots (including tetanus which hurts like a BIOTCH) and at the end of her pain/cryfest they stuck the nasal flu vaccine up her nose. Nice.
OH but the day wasn't over yet! We walked to the lab and I'm thinking to myself "This poor child has been through it today. If the lab is full and crowded I'll just come back next week."
The lab was practically empty.
Her number gets called and they prick her middle finger. She is sad for a moment and the lady (who was completely taken with how cute she was) tells her to look away. This child proceeds to look AROUND the lady's arm to watch her blood fill up the little vials and says loudly "I think it's working!"
She was SO INTERESTED in watching those little tube fill up i was amazed. Her middle finger starts slowing down and finally closes up mid-way through the second tube. They had to prick her INDEX finger and try again. That one bled for them just fine, and sonya watched in wonder as her blood made the tube look like a little growing red line. They bandaged her up and we were finally leaving that god-forsaken medical building.
The next few days were fun indeed. /sarcasm
It's nothing really terrible, she's just being a bit more whiny and stubborn than usual. Given the amount of crap she had to deal with, and the after-effect to her system, it's understandable. But dammitall if she doesn't still frurstrate the hell out of me sometimes.
Her upper left arm is still red and swollen from the tetnus shot. She's letting me put cold compresses on it, but her brother had already grabbed her twice by that arm yesterday.
*sigh*
Ok I ran out of blog time b/c the baby WAS supposed to be sleeping and didn't. I discovered a cat snuck into his room and was meowing at the door to get out. I couldn't sleep through that either.
:(
I had to call at the beginning of the month to schedule this appointment or I knew it would never get done. Two days prior to it I had taken her to the pediatric dentist. Our regular family dentist (who's been seeing my husband since he was Robbie's age) recommended she see a specialist due to the severity of her tooth issues and her possible inability to cope with dental work. The pediatric dentist was very nice, and overall she did well, but the work that needed to be done was too extensive for that office. They recommended we get her seen by a dental surgeon, who would do all her work while she was put completely under.
Jim hears about this and freaks out. He had me ask the pediatrician about the risks of putting a child that young under for dental work. I'm really glad I scheduled the dentist/doctor appointments so close together so I could discuss these issues with her regular doctor.
Knowing Sonya might be a bit stressed out in the latter half of the day, and also knowing my mom was going home that night, I took her to the gym with me that morning. She LOVES the kid's club and I thought it might be nice for her to get out a bit before boring things like doctor's appointments. (In all fairness NOTHING is ever boring when I have her with me).
After a good workout and some kids club quality time for her, I decide there's not enough time in between to go home. I call my mom and ask if she would mind if I took my daughter out to a meal and then head straight over to the appointment. She was fine with it, so we drove to that side of town and had lunch at a coffee shop type restaurant. We colored and looked for hidden pictures, had some funny face pancakes and had a generally good time. At the end of every kids meal apparently the lucky young patron gets their signature "cookie on a stick". I think you can guess how that ended. I'll give you a hint, in the car the cookie DID NOT stay on the stick and you can guess who was unhappy about it.
The pancake had whipped creme and mini chocolate chips, most of which had melted from the heat of the food. The "cookie on a stick" was chocolate. I don't have to draw you a picture of what Sonya's shirt and face looked like afterwards, not to mention her poor teeth. I went into my gym bag and found a travel toothbrush I had never used, and in her goody bag from the dentist was a small tube of crest. YESSSS! Can you say, "Impromptu manic toothbrushing in the car"?
We get to the appointment and they test her hearing and vision. She had to stand on a line and read a chart with one eye covered. They bust out these "picture cards" and start pointing and asking Sonya what it's a picture of. She stands there confused for a minute and I suggest they use the letter cards. The medical assistant says, amazed, "OH she knows her letters?"
ummmm NO I just suggested it because I like to publicly humiliate my children and make them look retarded in public. YES she knows her damn letters!
So the lady replaces the card and asks Sonya "What is this letter?"
"OH this is letter VEEEEE" she says loudly.
LOL
I talk to the Ped about her "going under" and he assures me it's very safe and recommended we proceed with whatever dental work she needs done. We finish up the appointment and he lets me know she's in need of booster shots. Ok, I'm thinking, not a huge deal. He prints out this piece of paper and starts going over the list. Shot after shot after shot after.....
FIVE SHOTS????
"Oh, and I've ordered her Iron test four times and it's expired each time. I'll order it again"
*bows head*
So this poor baby had to have FIVE booster shots (including tetanus which hurts like a BIOTCH) and at the end of her pain/cryfest they stuck the nasal flu vaccine up her nose. Nice.
OH but the day wasn't over yet! We walked to the lab and I'm thinking to myself "This poor child has been through it today. If the lab is full and crowded I'll just come back next week."
The lab was practically empty.
Her number gets called and they prick her middle finger. She is sad for a moment and the lady (who was completely taken with how cute she was) tells her to look away. This child proceeds to look AROUND the lady's arm to watch her blood fill up the little vials and says loudly "I think it's working!"
She was SO INTERESTED in watching those little tube fill up i was amazed. Her middle finger starts slowing down and finally closes up mid-way through the second tube. They had to prick her INDEX finger and try again. That one bled for them just fine, and sonya watched in wonder as her blood made the tube look like a little growing red line. They bandaged her up and we were finally leaving that god-forsaken medical building.
The next few days were fun indeed. /sarcasm
It's nothing really terrible, she's just being a bit more whiny and stubborn than usual. Given the amount of crap she had to deal with, and the after-effect to her system, it's understandable. But dammitall if she doesn't still frurstrate the hell out of me sometimes.
Her upper left arm is still red and swollen from the tetnus shot. She's letting me put cold compresses on it, but her brother had already grabbed her twice by that arm yesterday.
*sigh*
Ok I ran out of blog time b/c the baby WAS supposed to be sleeping and didn't. I discovered a cat snuck into his room and was meowing at the door to get out. I couldn't sleep through that either.
:(
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Robbie's school drama, take 2:
We toured the new private school and met with the principal. I don't know if they just put on a good face b/c they want my money, but I was VERY impressed with the entire organization. Robbie's entire first grade class is the size of this entire school. One grade level in public school = entire student body at private school.
The principal made me feel like the expectations and concerns I had for Robbie's schooling were completely normal and what every parent should want. The people at Rob's other school looked at me like I had a second head when I wanted to be so involved in his classwork. The actual property and classrooms are phenomenal. They have two pre-K classes, two Kinder classes, two first grade and two second grade. All the children looked engaged and *gasp* INTERESTED in the schoolwork. They have a separate room and teacher JUST for art and music. In a society where arts and music are being cut from public education funding this school that only goes to second grade has a separate teacher for both. I was in heaven. The play structure was completely shaded. Robbie's public school has absolutely NO SHADE whatsoever for any place the students play or eat outdoors. Teacher eat lunch with their students and supervise on the playground for recess. Everything was so far meeting or exceeding my expectations for what I wanted in a school for him.
We finished the tour and they requested that Robbie come for a trial first grade day on Friday. They also insisted (now get this) that MY MOM be the one to bring him and observe. They said b/c she had volunteered in Robbie's Kinder class AND observed in the first grade class that she would have a basis for comparison. If it passes the picky grandma test, I'm confidant in sending Robbie there.
In the meantime I was getting ill at the thought of continuing to send Robbie to this horrible place they call a public school. I kept him home a few days this week and last, and decided to send him yesterday b/c my mom was there to watch out for him. (Plus I wanted to make sure that the bad report she gave me last week was not just a fluke) I was assured it was no fluke. While they were at school I started researching the CA law regarding homeschooling. Since they appealed the law that required you be a certified teacher to homeschool (holy uproar about THAT batman!) I figured I might be able to keep him here until he starts at the private school. From everything I was reading it sounded like that was a viable option, but I called the homeschooling hotline just in case. According to CA law, I have the right to homeschool him and enroll him in a private school w/o filing any paperwork at this time. He has to be enrolled SOMEWHERE by Oct 15th (by which time he'd be in the private school). The lady on the phone suggested I file the paperwork to homeschool him on the off chance the private school doesn't work out, then I don't have to scramble to file it later.
Robbie will spend the night at my mom's house tonight, and in the morning they will go to the school early so Rob can play on the playground with the other kids before school. They recommended that he get a chance to interact with the other children before the classroom setting so he doesn't feel completely thrown into the unknown.
IN THE MEANTIME, I informed my mother that he does not have to go back to that awful teacher. My mom STILL insisted that I listen to about twenty minutes of horror stories regarding her day at that school. I shudder to think how long the conversation would have gone had I not decided to keep him home. Much like her daughter, my mom has a flair for the dramatic (LOL). She used the phrase "wanted to throw up" several times in her narration and guess what reaction that had on me...
So hopefully problem solved. I go to Rob's school sometime in the next few days and inform them that he is being enrolled in a private school. GOD HELP THEM if they ask me my reasoning. I just want to pull him out and go about my life in peace.
If they DO ask, they better get ready for an ear full.....
The principal made me feel like the expectations and concerns I had for Robbie's schooling were completely normal and what every parent should want. The people at Rob's other school looked at me like I had a second head when I wanted to be so involved in his classwork. The actual property and classrooms are phenomenal. They have two pre-K classes, two Kinder classes, two first grade and two second grade. All the children looked engaged and *gasp* INTERESTED in the schoolwork. They have a separate room and teacher JUST for art and music. In a society where arts and music are being cut from public education funding this school that only goes to second grade has a separate teacher for both. I was in heaven. The play structure was completely shaded. Robbie's public school has absolutely NO SHADE whatsoever for any place the students play or eat outdoors. Teacher eat lunch with their students and supervise on the playground for recess. Everything was so far meeting or exceeding my expectations for what I wanted in a school for him.
We finished the tour and they requested that Robbie come for a trial first grade day on Friday. They also insisted (now get this) that MY MOM be the one to bring him and observe. They said b/c she had volunteered in Robbie's Kinder class AND observed in the first grade class that she would have a basis for comparison. If it passes the picky grandma test, I'm confidant in sending Robbie there.
In the meantime I was getting ill at the thought of continuing to send Robbie to this horrible place they call a public school. I kept him home a few days this week and last, and decided to send him yesterday b/c my mom was there to watch out for him. (Plus I wanted to make sure that the bad report she gave me last week was not just a fluke) I was assured it was no fluke. While they were at school I started researching the CA law regarding homeschooling. Since they appealed the law that required you be a certified teacher to homeschool (holy uproar about THAT batman!) I figured I might be able to keep him here until he starts at the private school. From everything I was reading it sounded like that was a viable option, but I called the homeschooling hotline just in case. According to CA law, I have the right to homeschool him and enroll him in a private school w/o filing any paperwork at this time. He has to be enrolled SOMEWHERE by Oct 15th (by which time he'd be in the private school). The lady on the phone suggested I file the paperwork to homeschool him on the off chance the private school doesn't work out, then I don't have to scramble to file it later.
Robbie will spend the night at my mom's house tonight, and in the morning they will go to the school early so Rob can play on the playground with the other kids before school. They recommended that he get a chance to interact with the other children before the classroom setting so he doesn't feel completely thrown into the unknown.
IN THE MEANTIME, I informed my mother that he does not have to go back to that awful teacher. My mom STILL insisted that I listen to about twenty minutes of horror stories regarding her day at that school. I shudder to think how long the conversation would have gone had I not decided to keep him home. Much like her daughter, my mom has a flair for the dramatic (LOL). She used the phrase "wanted to throw up" several times in her narration and guess what reaction that had on me...
So hopefully problem solved. I go to Rob's school sometime in the next few days and inform them that he is being enrolled in a private school. GOD HELP THEM if they ask me my reasoning. I just want to pull him out and go about my life in peace.
If they DO ask, they better get ready for an ear full.....
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I'm pretty much done with Robbie's school
Since the first day of school I've had an off feeling about Robbie's teacher. He had such an amazing kindergarten teacher I had concerns about this year living up to last's expectations. A number of little odd things occurred, nothing REALLY offensive, just small red flags being raised with almost every encounter I had with Robbie's teacher. She struck me as a bit "spacey", like she didn't quite know what was going on or how to do things. I noticed inconsistencies in things she said and did, and she seemed a bit taken aback at my desire to be so involved in Robbie's schoolwork.
Robbie needs motivation. He is the kind of child that if nothing is given as motivation, nothing gets done. He is NOT self motivated in the regard that he does work just because it is required of him. I made a point chart for his performance in school, which worked AMAZINGLY last year. Based on his behavior at school, and his ability to get his schoolwork done I award points. He works toward a larger goal of his choice. This year his point chart is earning towards a trip to Chuck E Cheese's.
The first week of school she seemed discombobulated. I gave the benefit of the doubt since it was her first year teaching this particular grade (she had taught third grade before I believe), but intended to have a long conversation with her regarding her discipline system. I base the amount of points Robbie gets on the color card system they use in class and I was confused about a few things.
Things died down so I decided to talk to her during Robbie's second week of school. I asked her if the children have a chance to earn back their good card or if once they had a warning it was forever changed. She responded with "It's only the second week of school"
So essentially she could not tell me what the discipline policy was in her own classroom at that point.
Robbie was not making good use of his classroom time. This happened last year (hence the point chart). The teacher did not even bring this up, I discovered it on my own. She was making conversation about what Robbie had done that day and suggested he show me his classwork binder. I thumb through only to find incomplete sentences and blank drawing boxes. I inquire as to why Robbie did not finish his work (speaking to him) and the teacher butts in with "oh that's ok"
ummmm NO IT'S NOT!
So speaking to Robbie I say "You know sweetie, if work doesn't get done in the class time you have to either finish it during your recess and you miss it, or you bring it home as extra homework. It's very important you use class time wisely"
The next day I pick him up from school and the teacher says "If you were serious about him completing work at home (NO I was just f*cking around saying that) then I made a list of the pages he needs to have completed"
Again, Robbie needs motivation. In order for him to realize there was some kind of ramifications for him bringing schoolwork home, I told him for every incomplete page he brought home he lost two points; one point for the incomplete sentence and one point for not drawing a picture.
All his schoolwork was completed and returned the next day. The teacher noticed this and afterschool asked if Robbie "liked" drawing the pictures. I failed to see what difference that made. She explained that she only requires the children to finish the sentence and the picture can be drawn "if they feel like it"
WTF??
So that's just a sampling of some of the "small things" that had me anxious about her teaching ability. I kept telling myself I was looking for things to be picky about and should give her a chance to settle in. Meanwhile I'm telling my mom about all these weird goings on and she agrees to volunteer at his school once a week just to keep an eye on him and give me an outside perspective of what's going on in the classroom.
She left to volunteer yesterday morning and by midday was ready to bring him home.
I called to leave her a message about something and to my surprise her phone was on. I talked to her briefly but could hear in her voice that she was very unhappy about her day.
She comes home and tells me that all the suspicions i had abot this teacher had been confirmed. She does not address the children by name, she speaks in very general terms instead of direct discipline, and she's extraordinarily boring and not engaging to the students. Instead of specifically asking a student not to do something, then having them turn their card if they do not comply, she makes general statements like "you guys are not listening" She had Robbie turn his card because he was "not cooperating". No specific request to stop a particular behavior, just pointed at him and made him turn his card.
Robbie is reading at a third grade level. He was tested at the beginning of the year and scored the highest. At back to school night she referenced him three times and claimed she would have to "work hard to keep him engaged"
Her solution to this was to let him look at more books throughout the day.
At recess (which the teacher is nowhere to be found) my son had to use the restroom. He's been having bathroom issues for a few days and takes more than two minutes to "do his business"
My mom waited outside the restroom for him and watched to bigger kids go in. After a few minutes of shouting and ruckus she walks in to discover the two boys pushing on the door trying to force their way in and my son with his pants down holding the door for dear life.
The yard duties were twenty feet away talking to each other watching the 100 kids on the playground. The bathroom stall my son was in was one of two they have. TWO stalls for one hundred children and the other door didn't close all the way, which is why the big kids were fighting my son for his stall. So technically there is ONE boy's stall for that amount of kids.
After the incident my mom told the yard duty people what had occurred. They did not care.
My mom walks my son to the office so he can have some privacy and get his business done in peace. She explains to the office what happened and why he was required to use the bathroom there and they did not care.
She went back to the classroom and explained to the teacher why they were late coming back and what had occurred in the bathroom and SHE didn't care.
At lunchtime the children are herded into the cafeteria where the meek children are pushed to the back of the line. They are on a tight schedule and are only allowed a certain amount of time. Because the smaller kids get shoved to the back of the line, by the time the sit down they have about ten minutes to eat all their food. Then they are forced to throw away their food when the time is up and clear out for the next group of children.
My mom watched a little girl sit and look at her food. She didn't have a single bite. Instead of the staff asking the girl what was wrong, or trying to get her to eat something, she was simply instructed to throw away her food when the time was up and ushered out of the cafeteria. She left the lunchroom having eaten nothing and nobody cared.
My son is a very sensitive soul. I understand I can't shelter him from the whole world, nor do I wish to. But I have seen what things like this can do to a mind like his. Our family has some very messed up smart people because they were not in a nurturing caring environment.
If this was my daughter I doubt I would have even written this blog. She stands up for herself, is enormous for her age (LOL) and can hold her own wherever she goes.
My son is a bit different. The last thing I want is to have him in an environment where he withers away and falls through the cracks. He is SO excited about learning, and absorbs so much information wherever he goes, I'd hate for him to loose his passion and have all my years of hard work erased by one bad teacher. He is so vulnerable right now, and I know he will have many trials as he gets older, but at this particular age, this particular time, I can't in good conscience send him to a school that I know is destroying who he is.
I have an appointment to tour a private school about 15 miles away and I have told my husband in no uncertain terms that if I like the school I'm signing him up immediately. It's disgusting to me that should I not have had that option, I'd have to put up this horrible fight with the school system, principal and teacher and be labeled one of "those" parents.
Well, let them call me whatever the hell they want behind my back WHEN MY SON IS GOING TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL and their precious state money is gone b/c they can't get their shit together and run a decent curriculum.
I'm so sick to my stomach over this. It was very difficult to drop him off at school today. I have no desire to speak to that teacher and feel very sorry for the children still left in that class. But if I can improve the situation for my child that is no longer my battle to fight.
Wish me luck.
Robbie needs motivation. He is the kind of child that if nothing is given as motivation, nothing gets done. He is NOT self motivated in the regard that he does work just because it is required of him. I made a point chart for his performance in school, which worked AMAZINGLY last year. Based on his behavior at school, and his ability to get his schoolwork done I award points. He works toward a larger goal of his choice. This year his point chart is earning towards a trip to Chuck E Cheese's.
The first week of school she seemed discombobulated. I gave the benefit of the doubt since it was her first year teaching this particular grade (she had taught third grade before I believe), but intended to have a long conversation with her regarding her discipline system. I base the amount of points Robbie gets on the color card system they use in class and I was confused about a few things.
Things died down so I decided to talk to her during Robbie's second week of school. I asked her if the children have a chance to earn back their good card or if once they had a warning it was forever changed. She responded with "It's only the second week of school"
So essentially she could not tell me what the discipline policy was in her own classroom at that point.
Robbie was not making good use of his classroom time. This happened last year (hence the point chart). The teacher did not even bring this up, I discovered it on my own. She was making conversation about what Robbie had done that day and suggested he show me his classwork binder. I thumb through only to find incomplete sentences and blank drawing boxes. I inquire as to why Robbie did not finish his work (speaking to him) and the teacher butts in with "oh that's ok"
ummmm NO IT'S NOT!
So speaking to Robbie I say "You know sweetie, if work doesn't get done in the class time you have to either finish it during your recess and you miss it, or you bring it home as extra homework. It's very important you use class time wisely"
The next day I pick him up from school and the teacher says "If you were serious about him completing work at home (NO I was just f*cking around saying that) then I made a list of the pages he needs to have completed"
Again, Robbie needs motivation. In order for him to realize there was some kind of ramifications for him bringing schoolwork home, I told him for every incomplete page he brought home he lost two points; one point for the incomplete sentence and one point for not drawing a picture.
All his schoolwork was completed and returned the next day. The teacher noticed this and afterschool asked if Robbie "liked" drawing the pictures. I failed to see what difference that made. She explained that she only requires the children to finish the sentence and the picture can be drawn "if they feel like it"
WTF??
So that's just a sampling of some of the "small things" that had me anxious about her teaching ability. I kept telling myself I was looking for things to be picky about and should give her a chance to settle in. Meanwhile I'm telling my mom about all these weird goings on and she agrees to volunteer at his school once a week just to keep an eye on him and give me an outside perspective of what's going on in the classroom.
She left to volunteer yesterday morning and by midday was ready to bring him home.
I called to leave her a message about something and to my surprise her phone was on. I talked to her briefly but could hear in her voice that she was very unhappy about her day.
She comes home and tells me that all the suspicions i had abot this teacher had been confirmed. She does not address the children by name, she speaks in very general terms instead of direct discipline, and she's extraordinarily boring and not engaging to the students. Instead of specifically asking a student not to do something, then having them turn their card if they do not comply, she makes general statements like "you guys are not listening" She had Robbie turn his card because he was "not cooperating". No specific request to stop a particular behavior, just pointed at him and made him turn his card.
Robbie is reading at a third grade level. He was tested at the beginning of the year and scored the highest. At back to school night she referenced him three times and claimed she would have to "work hard to keep him engaged"
Her solution to this was to let him look at more books throughout the day.
At recess (which the teacher is nowhere to be found) my son had to use the restroom. He's been having bathroom issues for a few days and takes more than two minutes to "do his business"
My mom waited outside the restroom for him and watched to bigger kids go in. After a few minutes of shouting and ruckus she walks in to discover the two boys pushing on the door trying to force their way in and my son with his pants down holding the door for dear life.
The yard duties were twenty feet away talking to each other watching the 100 kids on the playground. The bathroom stall my son was in was one of two they have. TWO stalls for one hundred children and the other door didn't close all the way, which is why the big kids were fighting my son for his stall. So technically there is ONE boy's stall for that amount of kids.
After the incident my mom told the yard duty people what had occurred. They did not care.
My mom walks my son to the office so he can have some privacy and get his business done in peace. She explains to the office what happened and why he was required to use the bathroom there and they did not care.
She went back to the classroom and explained to the teacher why they were late coming back and what had occurred in the bathroom and SHE didn't care.
At lunchtime the children are herded into the cafeteria where the meek children are pushed to the back of the line. They are on a tight schedule and are only allowed a certain amount of time. Because the smaller kids get shoved to the back of the line, by the time the sit down they have about ten minutes to eat all their food. Then they are forced to throw away their food when the time is up and clear out for the next group of children.
My mom watched a little girl sit and look at her food. She didn't have a single bite. Instead of the staff asking the girl what was wrong, or trying to get her to eat something, she was simply instructed to throw away her food when the time was up and ushered out of the cafeteria. She left the lunchroom having eaten nothing and nobody cared.
My son is a very sensitive soul. I understand I can't shelter him from the whole world, nor do I wish to. But I have seen what things like this can do to a mind like his. Our family has some very messed up smart people because they were not in a nurturing caring environment.
If this was my daughter I doubt I would have even written this blog. She stands up for herself, is enormous for her age (LOL) and can hold her own wherever she goes.
My son is a bit different. The last thing I want is to have him in an environment where he withers away and falls through the cracks. He is SO excited about learning, and absorbs so much information wherever he goes, I'd hate for him to loose his passion and have all my years of hard work erased by one bad teacher. He is so vulnerable right now, and I know he will have many trials as he gets older, but at this particular age, this particular time, I can't in good conscience send him to a school that I know is destroying who he is.
I have an appointment to tour a private school about 15 miles away and I have told my husband in no uncertain terms that if I like the school I'm signing him up immediately. It's disgusting to me that should I not have had that option, I'd have to put up this horrible fight with the school system, principal and teacher and be labeled one of "those" parents.
Well, let them call me whatever the hell they want behind my back WHEN MY SON IS GOING TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL and their precious state money is gone b/c they can't get their shit together and run a decent curriculum.
I'm so sick to my stomach over this. It was very difficult to drop him off at school today. I have no desire to speak to that teacher and feel very sorry for the children still left in that class. But if I can improve the situation for my child that is no longer my battle to fight.
Wish me luck.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
WTF is up with "U"?
I mean seriously, is it REALLY that difficult to type those TWO extra letters? Does every post have to read "Do U really...."
wow.
I feel sorry for anyone who cannot exert the energy necessary to move their digits those two extra keystrokes to complete the word "you"
perhaps "YOU" should learn to type properly. Perhaps "YOU" should really study the vernacular that "YOU" are choosing to use. Perhaps "YOU" should not be allowed to occupy the space that other more intelligent life forms require.
Do "YOU" know what those people would say to me, I bet?
F U
wow.
I feel sorry for anyone who cannot exert the energy necessary to move their digits those two extra keystrokes to complete the word "you"
perhaps "YOU" should learn to type properly. Perhaps "YOU" should really study the vernacular that "YOU" are choosing to use. Perhaps "YOU" should not be allowed to occupy the space that other more intelligent life forms require.
Do "YOU" know what those people would say to me, I bet?
F U
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