The boy playing with his piano and doing his anticapatory sighs...
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
I love this guy!
Ross the intern! He totally cracks me up. He talks just like my cousin Stacy...a girl! He is so fun and freaking hilarious.
On a side note, we got our new dryer today, and OMG where has it been all my life. I have done more than 10 loads today alone, vs. the 4 I could do with our other one, which took over 2 hours to dry a small load. No wonder I hated doing laundry.
On a side note, we got our new dryer today, and OMG where has it been all my life. I have done more than 10 loads today alone, vs. the 4 I could do with our other one, which took over 2 hours to dry a small load. No wonder I hated doing laundry.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentines Day
Happy Valentines Day everyone!
Steven did great this year. He got me a beautiful firestone butterfly necklace. We went out to eat for lunch, ate some alligator at the Powerhouse, lol. Gage although was supposedly not supposed to attend his school party either did get to attend or doesn't realize he didn't. Either way he attended if you know what I mean. If there was another seperate party for his class that he did not go to he doesn't realize it. Not really a punishment if you ask me if he can't even tell he didn't go. My HOPE is he did get to go as well as any other children who were suppose to miss and maybe just maybe it was because of my letter, which by the way never got so much as response from the 3 people I sent it to. I guess this school could care less. I know one thing for certain none of my children will be going there. I trully feel that they failed my son. Well enough of that. The kids all had a great Valentines Day got lots of candy and cards. Ryker got a cute Teddy Bear. His johnny jump up arrived today, that is what he bought using the gift card from Nonni and Paw from Christmas. We have looked all over town for one and ended up having to get it from Wal-Mart online. Like everything else new he loves it for about 5 minutes. He will like it more once he gets used to it.
Steven is at Wal-Mart getting his tire fixed. It went flat today while picking Gage up, then his donut went flat...just bad luck i guess.
So anyway this has been our day.
Steven did great this year. He got me a beautiful firestone butterfly necklace. We went out to eat for lunch, ate some alligator at the Powerhouse, lol. Gage although was supposedly not supposed to attend his school party either did get to attend or doesn't realize he didn't. Either way he attended if you know what I mean. If there was another seperate party for his class that he did not go to he doesn't realize it. Not really a punishment if you ask me if he can't even tell he didn't go. My HOPE is he did get to go as well as any other children who were suppose to miss and maybe just maybe it was because of my letter, which by the way never got so much as response from the 3 people I sent it to. I guess this school could care less. I know one thing for certain none of my children will be going there. I trully feel that they failed my son. Well enough of that. The kids all had a great Valentines Day got lots of candy and cards. Ryker got a cute Teddy Bear. His johnny jump up arrived today, that is what he bought using the gift card from Nonni and Paw from Christmas. We have looked all over town for one and ended up having to get it from Wal-Mart online. Like everything else new he loves it for about 5 minutes. He will like it more once he gets used to it.
Steven is at Wal-Mart getting his tire fixed. It went flat today while picking Gage up, then his donut went flat...just bad luck i guess.
So anyway this has been our day.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
So why do I feel bad?
Well we recieved the letter from Gage's teacher today basically saying he will not take part in the Valentines party on Wednesday. No big shock, even though he has been better on behavior. Her excuse is because the majority of days he did pull lights she wanted to be fair to the other students. I knew it was coming and it only reinforced our decision. So when I got home tonight I filled out all the paperwork to turn into the Superintendent tomorrow. Gage was actually excited to finally know he was for sure going to start being homeschooled. So anyways I emailed the teacher, vice principal, and principal tonight. I will let you be the judge of it. I always have anxiety after sending stuff like this but I didn't say nearly what I wanted to. I held back a lot. But I still feel awful. Anyways here it is...
Quote:
Ms. G, Ms. M, and Ms. B,
This email is to inform you that Gage’s last day at Owl Creek will be Feb. 23rd. He will start homeschool the following Monday, 26th. At this time we think it will be more beneficial for him considering the problems he has been having. We are also growing concerned of his self-esteem being compromised. While Kindergarten is usually a time for children to grow socially and become a more structured individual, it should not be at the cost of ones self esteem. Children are very observant and generally have more intelligence than we give them credit for. While I understand schools have come a long way in reinforcing behavior as either a good choice or bad choice, this has made no difference in the eyes of being labeled a “Bad” or “Good” child. Other children pick up when children are constantly having to be reminded to make “good choices” by their teachers and other adults. Unfortunately this ostracizes the one child as other children are continually telling the teachers and other adults, so and so is playing with ice or any other bad choice. I see this occurring with Gage and my heart is breaking for him. We have been discussing with him over the past few weeks whether or not he would prefer homeschooling vs. attending his school. Having weighed the pros and cons, it is hard for me to ignore the fact public school is usually a better choice as far as social play as well as other extra curricular activities. However, because Gage is having to miss out on so many social things like parties and playtime, he is not receiving this social activity there either. He does receive social play through his church as well as any city wide sports he plays, so he will have that outlet even in the homeschool setting. I trust you will understand our decision. We thank you for the time you have put into our son and the patience it has taken to deal with him at times. These past 6 months have taught me a lot about my son and I am sure he has learned a lot as well.
Thank you for your time,
Jessica and Steven Kitchens
2/12/2007
Quote:
Ms. G, Ms. M, and Ms. B,
This email is to inform you that Gage’s last day at Owl Creek will be Feb. 23rd. He will start homeschool the following Monday, 26th. At this time we think it will be more beneficial for him considering the problems he has been having. We are also growing concerned of his self-esteem being compromised. While Kindergarten is usually a time for children to grow socially and become a more structured individual, it should not be at the cost of ones self esteem. Children are very observant and generally have more intelligence than we give them credit for. While I understand schools have come a long way in reinforcing behavior as either a good choice or bad choice, this has made no difference in the eyes of being labeled a “Bad” or “Good” child. Other children pick up when children are constantly having to be reminded to make “good choices” by their teachers and other adults. Unfortunately this ostracizes the one child as other children are continually telling the teachers and other adults, so and so is playing with ice or any other bad choice. I see this occurring with Gage and my heart is breaking for him. We have been discussing with him over the past few weeks whether or not he would prefer homeschooling vs. attending his school. Having weighed the pros and cons, it is hard for me to ignore the fact public school is usually a better choice as far as social play as well as other extra curricular activities. However, because Gage is having to miss out on so many social things like parties and playtime, he is not receiving this social activity there either. He does receive social play through his church as well as any city wide sports he plays, so he will have that outlet even in the homeschool setting. I trust you will understand our decision. We thank you for the time you have put into our son and the patience it has taken to deal with him at times. These past 6 months have taught me a lot about my son and I am sure he has learned a lot as well.
Thank you for your time,
Jessica and Steven Kitchens
2/12/2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Well here it is..(Decision, Decsions)
This day has been so long it feels like it is 2:30 in the freaking morning and it is only 10 something.
I have been struggling a bit for the past few months. Actually since August when my oldest son started Kindergarten. Of course like most parents I worried, and everyone tried to reassure me things would be great, he would love it. Well for once they were wrong. My poor son has had a test of year thus far. If you know Gage at all you know he has a spark about him. Something a lot of little boys have, but also in a way more special than I have ever seen. Gage has an energy that if it could be bottled and sold could cure everything from depression to obesity. Not only that but the kid LOVES everything. It is almost fascinating at times to see how he sees the pleasure in the simplest things. Well, apparently he has found him a teacher who doesn't appreciate this energy. Gage is constantly getting onto for "not controlling his body" which basically means he moves a lot. He does normal little boy behaviors and gets sent home with notes daily for pulling lights. Now there have definately been occasions he did deserve them for such things as arguing, 90% are from doing normal Gage things, playing in line, having to reminded to get to work, playing in the water. At first we tried to work with the teacher and help Gage adjust to her guidelines. But we realized you can't make a puppy stop being a puppy and these things are not things he can control at this point in time. Of course I asked him all the time if he liked school and of course he always said yes, but I started noticing his reluctance to want to go after being home on the weekends. I was noticing that spark he has was fading. That broke my heart. The final straw was when he wasn't allowed to go to the Christmas Party. We had one more meeting with the teacher and although we requested it with the Principal we were surprised to have the Vice Principle who was already on her side. Well we barely got a word and I tried to explain things, even requested another class, which all were "full". So I told Steven I would give it a few weeks until I made my final decsion to homeschool him. At first Steven was dead set against it. But the more he realized Gage's situation the more he agreed it was best for him. I talked to Gage and asked him once again if he liked school. He of course said yes, but when I asked if he would rather stay home with me and do school there even if it meant he wouldn't get to play as much with the other kids, his reaction told me I sensed right. He wanted to do school at home. So now I am doing what I can to get the ball rolling for that. Next week is the Valentines Party and if I was a betting person I would bet he won't get to go. We shall see. Nonetheless the decision is made. He is going to be homeschooled for the time being. Now next year who knows, he may be calm, or I may find a teacher who does great with him. I am not closed minded about any possibilites. I never in a million years thought I would homeschool, but right now I have no doubt it would be best for him.
On another note, I finally recieved the call I had been waiting for almost a year last week. The legal clinic at the University called regarding the possibility of getting our non-profit paperwork filled out to get our official status so we can start getting grants and funding. Well today was the intake to see if we are eligible and of course I got the call later today that we are indeed and they are accepting our case. This is a proud moment for me (but not as proud as I will be when it is all done). It may take 2 semesters to get it all done and get incorporated and all that other business that goes into it, but I am patient, I have waited this long, no problem for me to wait longer. I am doing it all on God's time, not mine.
Anyways I am sure this is long but I haven't had a chance to write it this week until now!
I have been struggling a bit for the past few months. Actually since August when my oldest son started Kindergarten. Of course like most parents I worried, and everyone tried to reassure me things would be great, he would love it. Well for once they were wrong. My poor son has had a test of year thus far. If you know Gage at all you know he has a spark about him. Something a lot of little boys have, but also in a way more special than I have ever seen. Gage has an energy that if it could be bottled and sold could cure everything from depression to obesity. Not only that but the kid LOVES everything. It is almost fascinating at times to see how he sees the pleasure in the simplest things. Well, apparently he has found him a teacher who doesn't appreciate this energy. Gage is constantly getting onto for "not controlling his body" which basically means he moves a lot. He does normal little boy behaviors and gets sent home with notes daily for pulling lights. Now there have definately been occasions he did deserve them for such things as arguing, 90% are from doing normal Gage things, playing in line, having to reminded to get to work, playing in the water. At first we tried to work with the teacher and help Gage adjust to her guidelines. But we realized you can't make a puppy stop being a puppy and these things are not things he can control at this point in time. Of course I asked him all the time if he liked school and of course he always said yes, but I started noticing his reluctance to want to go after being home on the weekends. I was noticing that spark he has was fading. That broke my heart. The final straw was when he wasn't allowed to go to the Christmas Party. We had one more meeting with the teacher and although we requested it with the Principal we were surprised to have the Vice Principle who was already on her side. Well we barely got a word and I tried to explain things, even requested another class, which all were "full". So I told Steven I would give it a few weeks until I made my final decsion to homeschool him. At first Steven was dead set against it. But the more he realized Gage's situation the more he agreed it was best for him. I talked to Gage and asked him once again if he liked school. He of course said yes, but when I asked if he would rather stay home with me and do school there even if it meant he wouldn't get to play as much with the other kids, his reaction told me I sensed right. He wanted to do school at home. So now I am doing what I can to get the ball rolling for that. Next week is the Valentines Party and if I was a betting person I would bet he won't get to go. We shall see. Nonetheless the decision is made. He is going to be homeschooled for the time being. Now next year who knows, he may be calm, or I may find a teacher who does great with him. I am not closed minded about any possibilites. I never in a million years thought I would homeschool, but right now I have no doubt it would be best for him.
On another note, I finally recieved the call I had been waiting for almost a year last week. The legal clinic at the University called regarding the possibility of getting our non-profit paperwork filled out to get our official status so we can start getting grants and funding. Well today was the intake to see if we are eligible and of course I got the call later today that we are indeed and they are accepting our case. This is a proud moment for me (but not as proud as I will be when it is all done). It may take 2 semesters to get it all done and get incorporated and all that other business that goes into it, but I am patient, I have waited this long, no problem for me to wait longer. I am doing it all on God's time, not mine.
Anyways I am sure this is long but I haven't had a chance to write it this week until now!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Going stir crazy!!
Schools out, I am snowed in, and I am in desperate need of getting out. I have redesigned my layout, done tons of photo editing, andwatched more TV than I can handle. Ryker is getting his first tooth...WAY TOO EARLY!! Gage and Kieran got theirs at 7 months. So that explains why he is sleeping horribly at night. Plus tomorrow the kids schools are still closed so more stir craziness coming.
One little interesting tidbit I found out today...I noticed my maternity pic was on the new website of my photographer which I thought was pretty cool. If you want to have a look see look under the life section, then portfolio, then maternity at Melanie Merklings Photography. No telling how long it has been there. Call me Ms. Observant!!
I think the new movie Messengers is coming out tomorrow, I may go watch it. I love a good scary movie, and it better not suck. Anyone interested in going and seeing it with me?
One little interesting tidbit I found out today...I noticed my maternity pic was on the new website of my photographer which I thought was pretty cool. If you want to have a look see look under the life section, then portfolio, then maternity at Melanie Merklings Photography. No telling how long it has been there. Call me Ms. Observant!!
I think the new movie Messengers is coming out tomorrow, I may go watch it. I love a good scary movie, and it better not suck. Anyone interested in going and seeing it with me?
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