Corbin Performs At Talent Show

Many of you have seen a mini-clip on Instagram of Corbin and Josiah's performance of the song, The Cave.  Here is the video in it's entirety.  I was so proud of Corbin because this is the first time he has done this.  Porter said, "I never knew that Corbin could sing so well."  Enjoy!

First Day of School

 In 7th

In 4th

 In 2nd

School is back in session!  It will feel good getting back into a routine and schedule - yes, it's up at 5:30 am again.  It is packing the cold lunches that just about kills me!  Now I am just waiting for Corbin to begin school on the 25th.  He keeps me busy with his cross country practice and errands.

Carnival Fun

Last weekend we enjoyed the school carnival and concert.  The kids had a great time deciding what games or snacks to purchase with their tickets.  Here is Vivian buying another snack, Olivia displaying her bag of cotton candy (which she later decided she doesn't love because it is too much sugar) and Porter with his two small flags that he won after completing an obstacle course in under 30 seconds.

I used all my tickets on food, including nachos, a yummy caramel apple with M&M's, a rice crispy treat (for later), and a mini chocolate cupcake.

Take a look at that pinata shown above.  It is actually a cake that is totally suspended like a real pinata - it was so cool.

First Day of School

Porter is now a 6th grader! He wakes up bright and early at 5:30 am and scrambles to get off to the bus stop before 6:42 am. He is excited for school this year and will do great!

The girls are also excited about school this year. Olivia is a third grader and Vivian is a first grader. Can you believe it? Time sure flies.

I am happy to have three children back in school (as of Monday)! Now I am just waiting for Corbin, his school begins in two weeks. We just got back from the High School after paying registration fees, practicing opening a locker, getting an activity card with picture, and lots of waiting in line. When they are all in school, I can then establish a daily routine for myself. Lately it has been crazy!

Our Morning Schedule (so far)

5:30 am- Porter wakes up at and gets showered and ready (Corbin will be joining him shortly)
6:00 am - Wake up the girls (get dressed, make bed, hair)
6:15 am - Family Scripture study
6:30 am - Porter has 5 minutes to get out the door
Girls get chore done, backpacks ready by door, eat breakfast, brush teeth
7:00 am - Girls read
7:20 am - If they are all ready, they are free to play until the bus.
8:05 am - Leave for Bus (if we have time let the girls ride bikes around park before bus).

Last Day of School

Vivian's last day of Kindergarten was actually yesterday. She is happy to be on her way to first grade, but I think she will miss school this summer and all of her friends. (I don't have a picture of Porter and Olivia - I need to take them back to the school and get one).

Vivian made these little photo cards for her teachers. It was her idea to have the photo on the front. She actually found all the little accessories and ribbon, also! She is such a sweet, thoughtful little lady.

Here is a picture of Corbin after surviving the eighth grade. It has been a struggle for him for the past several months, he really wanted to change schools but I'm glad he stuck it out and finished. (He gave me a run for my money up to the end - oh, Corbin, let mom's nerves have a break!)

After getting everyone home from their early release, I squeezed time in to attend the temple. Paul and I are still going strong with 100% of our goal met so far. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have a temple so close, it truly has made all the difference in me this year.

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Well we did things a little backwards tonight. We had dessert first - before dinner! Yep, that's right. We stopped at Krispy Kreme for their annual free doughnut day - it seems to always fall on the day the kids get out of school (we attended last year, also).

For those that missed the free doughnuts, I took a picture of this poster. You can get a dozen free for just bringing in a tie. Last year we raided Paul's closet and got several dozen. They always do this special around Father's Day.

I had their featured Lemon Cake doughnut - it was good. Next time I want to try the Lemon Kreme Pie! Here are all their flavors.

After filling up on sweets and tons of calories, we stopped by for Little Caesar's Pizza! Oh, the kids were in heaven. There was no way I was going to cook dinner, it has been a crazy day and I still don't have a clean kitchen from breakfast (oops, I wasn't supposed to say that part)!

The final ending to our party was watching this movie, Hachi: A Dog's Tale. It was such a great family movie (G rated). Oh, by the end we were all dripping with tears. Vivian said, "I have some tears coming" and then later she said "Mom will you hold me?" Olivia also needed comfort and had tears. And then towards the end, Porter was sniffling with tears. They were touched by the movie and they went to bed a bit sad. It is a great movie if you haven't see it yet. We found it in Redbox (so that's why we are always late to the movie scene, I don't dare spend more than $1 to watch movies - even the cheap seats are a stretch for me. I like watching them on my own screen, laying on the floor or couch, without an audience of strangers).

P.S. Paul and Corbin are up to something today....stay tuned.

Zoo Outing

I volunteered to help Olivia's class with their zoo outing. As today approached, I was hoped that I felt better and that I had a voice. Fortunately, I have a croaky voice and feel halfway okay (not much sleep with all my coughing). I got to chaperon Olivia and two classmates, it was nice to have such a small group. We had fun and took some fun photos along the way. It was a nice sunny day - probably the only nice day we will have this week.

Look at the pet snake they found!

This was my favorite animal, it was a baby prairie dog (I think- correct me if I am wrong).

We fed the baby goats - oh, they were so cute and hungry.

We all enjoyed the giraffes - they are still relatively new to our zoo.

The girls decided that this zebra was white with black stripes, not black with white stripes.

Principal Meeting Regarding Kindergarten

Okay, so you have all been waiting to hear how my meeting went with the principal about the Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. W. The meeting went well I thought. I felt that the principal gave me ample time to explain my concerns and she was kind and willing to listen and understand my perspective.

I explained to her that the whole chair incident was the catalyst for me visiting the classroom. I wanted to know if Vivian was given her chair back. The principal tried to explain the love and logic reasoning of how the chair incident was handled but I told her I didn't think there was any logic or love used in this scenario. I explained that perhaps a short time without the chair would be more reasonable, but according to Mrs. W - the chair is gone for the rest of the day regardless of when it happens, meaning it could be the first five minutes or class or the end of class. According to Vivian the chair was just gone when she returned to the room (after a recess or special class) and she wasn't told why it was gone. According to the principal the teacher should have said, "Oh, Vivian I am so sorry that your chair is gone. I feel bad that you forgot to tuck it under your desk. I am sure you will remember next time. So for now you can choose to stand, kneel, or sit on the floor - the choice is yours (I'm not really quoting her - but that's about how she said it)." However, I don't think the teacher even explained the situation to Vivian or showed any compassion (like love and logic stresses). The principal agreed that the length of time needs to be addressed.

As I was telling my story, the principal took notes. She did tell me that this was all hard to hear as an administrator. I explained that although I haven't been around Mrs. W a lot, through the little contact in person and emails she has come across very cold, hard, and abrasive. The principal knows that Mrs. W. has a hard time communicating with parents. She is even providing the opportunity for Mrs. W to attend a class to address this need. I told her she needed more than a two day class - she needs to learn how to love and show compassion to both the students and the parents! I'm sure she was really surprised when I said that this school should be able to hire "cream of the crop" teachers - especially in this economy when many excellent teachers are without work. There is no sense (to me) to keep teachers that lack some of these important skills.

I shared with her my story of visiting the classroom. She didn't say anything except..."hummmm, well I have now heard both sides of this story and they are both very different". I didn't ask her what Mrs. W thought of my visit. I know I didn't exaggerate my story, nor was I ever unkind to her during that visit or my few questions to her. I explained that when a parent comes into the classroom, they should be welcome and introduced. Mrs. W could have simply said, "Class meet Mrs. So-and So, Vivian's mother. She will be here for a while visiting our class." Later Mrs. W. could have personally thanked me for coming in, for coloring the packet, etc. A little kindness goes a long ways!

Of course, there is more to all of this but it takes so much of my time and mental energy that I will just leave it at that (unless you have specific questions). I don't know what will be done with the information that I shared with the principal. Hopefully she will take it to heart and realize that I am not the only one that shares many of these same feelings and concerns and that I only want the best for the kindergarten class and parents.

P.S. When I was in the classroom, I wish I could have taken pictures of the kids saying the pledge of allegiance - I just think that is priceless!

Kindergarten Update

I just received a message yesterday from the school principal. She would like to schedule a meeting with me to discuss kindergarten and to see if things were handled appropriately. I don't know who tipped her off, perhaps the teacher. I also received an email saying that she prefers if I don't visit the K-classroom until after our meeting. I'm hoping for the best but not really expecting her to listen to me fairly as I have heard that frustration from other parents. I let you know what happens. Meanwhile, I have some thoughts for my next move!

Today I Attended Kindergarten

I just got back home from attending Kindergarten. When I walk in the class room the teacher's aide said the teacher, Mrs. W., left out a packet of something for me to do. I picked it up and asked if it would be okay if I sat at the semi-circular table. The aide told me that would be fine....BUT when Mrs. W. came into the room she quickly escorted me from the table to the back of the room to a teeny-tiny kindergarten chair and said I could work there (on a rug between two bookcase/storage cubbies). I asked her if she had a table that I could use. She said "NO". Okay...that's when I said, "well I didn't really come in to do this (referring to the coloring packet) I came in to observe. She then looked me directly in the eyes and said that when parents come into the classroom they are expected to help. And that by working it sets a good example for the students, who are also expected to be working.

She then gave me a small white board (around the size of a sheet of paper) to use as a substitute table. Okay my next question was, "Do you have a larger- regular size chair that I can use?" Once again the answer was a firm "NO". (Even though I eyed a regular size chair on the opposite side of the room that was not being used.) Hummmmm.....I can see that she really doesn't want me here! So the whole time I was in the classroom, I was blessed to sit on the floor. I was never introduced to the class, I wasn't thanked for my beautiful coloring pages (I felt like a Kindergarten student in the way she rudely treated me). For the first few minutes I wrote notes in a journaling notebook that I brought. Mrs. W. gave the aide a look like, "I think this parent is going to be a pain in my butt".

I tried sitting on the teeny-tiny plastic chair and that lasted for a full 5 minutes - but then by back started hurting and I pushed the chair aside and opted to sit on the ground against the back wall. That's as good as it was going to get! At over 6 ft. tall, teeny-tiny chairs just don't cut it for me...plus I already have back problems. I sat there on the floor with fire coming out of my ears...how can anyone treat someone like this. I volunteered several times when Olivia was in Kindergarten and was never treated anything like this. In fact, the teacher would introduce me to the class, then Olivia would come up and give me a big hug and I would help around the classroom with whatever the teacher needed.

Part of me felt sad for these kids because they seemed to be robotic. They are trained to be absolutely quiet and well behaved - which I think is good, but come on, they are still kids! Vivian didn't even dare say "hi" to me, she only snuck a few glances my way. Where is the joy, the happiness, the expression? I understand the importance of learning but not to this extent. They did all sorts of great things in class....pledge of allegiance, poem recitation, student share, math facts timed quiz, letter sounds, month, day, geometry (learning about shapes and angles), writing, drawing, etc. I feel like it was crammed down their throats! Kindergarten is suppose to be a little fun, isn't it?

Finally it was time for recess. I went with the kids, thankful for the break. I know Mrs. W. was hoping I would leave. Instead of taking recess time to chat with me about my concern over the chair, she informed me she was leaving the classroom. I then annoyingly asked her if she would be returning after recess. (I didn't know...I could have left at that point but I wasn't done coloring and didn't want to fail my assignment, right?). She said that yes, she would be returning to teach after recess. Okay, so then I decided to return and see how long I could endure this torture. I lasted from 12:30 until 2:15pm - I think that is pretty good!

I was angry this morning. So off I went to the gym to call my nerves through Pilates and more exercise. It helped for a while, but my blood pressure is probably out the roof right now! What makes me so mad is that this school prides itself on creating a nice learning environment - they have high expectations for the students, but what about the teachers?

I plan on popping into the classroom every now and again. I learned by talking to the school secretary that I can observe a classroom anytime I want, without the teachers permission and without any notice! I guess I can use that to my advantage - let's just hope I can endure!

P.S. From gathering information from others, I learned that if a student doesn't properly push in their chair all the way under their table, then they lose the chair for the rest of the day! I think that is totally unnecessary - maybe for a minute, but the rest of the day ...that could be hours depending on when they lose the chair.

Terrible Kindergarten Teacher

Vivian told me this morning that her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. W., has taken away her chair at her desk. I asked her why it was taken away and she didn't know. Olivia told her to raise her hand and ask the teacher why the chair was removed. Vivian explained that she had raised her hand but that the teacher wouldn't call on her to speak.

Weird, huh? I have never heard of any teacher, K-12, taking away student's chairs. Vivian was told that she had to stand and not kneel. Vivian is such a sweet little girl and I know that she wouldn't intentionally do anything to get in trouble at school. For crying out loud, she doesn't even know why she is being punished - how effective is that?

Oh, this teacher gets me fired up. There is something about her that continually rubs me the WRONG way (and I'm not alone in this). There have been other weird things that I have heard from Vivian. She is a very controlling teacher -not a loving, kind, gentle kindergarten teacher, like all little 5-6 year olds need.

I have requested the opportunity to come observe class - we will see what she says. I just cringe at even sending my daughter to her everyday but I have no other teacher choice at this school.

As you can see, I have smoke coming out of my ears. This year has definitely been an endurance test for me...Vivian just needs to move up to 1st grade. I know that teacher is wonderful.

First Day of School

On the first day, Vivian was 8 minutes late so she was issued an unexcused tardy! What, on the first day there is no leniency?

They survived their first day of school! Porter, Olivia and Vivian all got into a charter school this year with Corbin. Now our family is on the same schedule and at the same school. Yeah!

Corbin catches the bus very early at 6:45. We have to drive him to the bus stop which is 1 1/2 miles away. He gets up early to shower, unload the dishwasher, read with the family and catch a bite to eat. He is now in the 8th grade. Watch out - he says the girls love him! I'm not ready for this.

They all Got In

All my kids got into the charter school this year! Yeah! I was very surprised because I knew there were only two second grade openings. So next year I will have:
Vivian - kindergarten
Olivia - 2nd grade
Porter - 5th grade
Corbin- 8th grade
We will all be on the same break schedule! Take a look at this:
No school:
Oct 12-16 (week earlier in fall)
Nov 23-27 (week of Thanksgiving)
Dec 21-Jan 8 (three weeks for Christmas)
Mar 29- April 9 (two weeks for spring break)
plus a couple in-service days, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, and Memorial Day

That also means that we will hopefully be able to take a family trip when it's less busy!

It's a Big Day for Vivian

Today was Vivian's first day at dance and her first day of preschool with Jennifer Ashby (teacher). She loves dance already - she wasn't afraid to jump right in and learn. I asked her what she did at class and she showed me some steps. Then she said they did spins -but that she didn't want to spin because she doesn't want others spinning when she does! Vivian loves to dance with Paul. She is very expressive in her spins, dips and bows. (I had to squeeze my exercise in during dance so I ran a couple miles - I didn't want to add the YMCA on to her already full day). I can't wait to hear how she enjoys preschool. Last week she met her teacher at a one-on-one open house - Jen has everything so organized and cute. Sometime I will have to take some pics.

1st Day of School 2008-2009 Year

School is finally here. As summer was drawing nearer to an end, I was getting more and more excited for school to begin. Even the children we getting restless and bored and looked forward to a new year at school. Olivia was the only one with some reservation about a new teacher and full time school. She felt much more comforted and at peace after Paul gave her (along with the boys) a father's blessing. This morning Paul took Corbin to school because he lost his schedule and wanted a little extra time to get a new one. We totally forgot to even find his locker and look for his new classes - we registered but didn't think about that part! I took Porter and Olivia to school to help them find their classes and teachers. Somehow I was one of the few parents that missed back to school night (I wasn't aware of it) so my kids needed a bit of extra support this morning. They came home happy and free of all their anxieties. Tomorrow they will ride the bus - to and from school! Vivian was very upset that they all left her. She was in a sour mood for a while on the way to the YMCA - but after being loved up by the ladies there she came home much happier. I saw many happy moms at the gym!