It is one of those days that I believe I should blog more often. I just switched to Google Chrome because Blogger was being kind of difficult. I hope this turns out well.
Anyway . . . I am not sure what I have missed. So, we'll just start with Halloween and see what else comes to mind. I got into Halloween a little late, but in the end had a good time. So, next year, hopefully I will get the Halloween bug a little earlier. We told the boys that we are done buying crap-tastic Walmart costumes for them. Well, Fischer can still get away with it for another year or so. Instead, we went scouring Goodwill stores for pieces to costumes. Value Village had a HUGE selection of wigs and other Halloween stuff, so got to go there again! Next year we'll start earlier.
At the boys' elementary school, they have Red Ribbon week. Thursday was Storybook Character day. Gunnar went as Shaggy and took the giant stuffed Scooby Doo with him and it sat next to him all day. Paden was pretty creative and wanted to be a Greek or Roman God. He decided on Kronos the Titan after a very close "eenie, meanie, miney, moe" rally. They all really look the same, so it doesn't matter which one he chose. It was going to be a white toga with white hair. It was awesome. He did say that only about 122 people asked him who he was. He also said that he wasn't sure it was a good costume because not that many people knew who he was. We told him it was a great costume because only the coolest cats would know who Kronos the Titan was. The same date was also the Student of the Month assembly where Paden was student of the month for Academics. His teacher said that he had the highest imaginable reading score. His wig and beard didn't make it all the way through the day, which we knew it wouldn't. :)
So, then came Halloween night. Fischer went as Scooby Doo. Paden went as Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Gunnar was a swamp monster (recycled costume from some other year which was getting pretty small, really).
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| "Curse you Perry the Platypus!" |
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| Dr. Doofenshmirtz took his 'wrap-it-in-a-little-bow-a-nator' trick or treating with him. It changed to a shrink ray later in the night. :) |
The Kiwanis club here always puts on a good, safe night of trick or treating around the high school. So, we went there and down a few houses of two streets, then came home. The boys wanted to weigh their candy. TEN AND A HALF pounds of candy. Yeah . . . a little excessive. That was for two nights, but still. We did the trunk-or-treat at the Church on Saturday, too. I will definitely need to schedule a dentist appointment for them ASAP.
So, what else?
We went to parent-teacher conferences this week. Gunnar is doing pretty well. The one area that he used to excel in is now his weakest, which is writing. In kindergarten, he got rave reviews for his creative thinking and writing. Now, he's a little less creative apparently and his grade for writing was based on one assessment of a creative writing piece he had to do. So, I guess we'll be working on that. The area he used to struggle more was math and he's now exceeding standards there. Reading he's at grade level and other areas on his report card were mostly exceeds, with some other meets thrown in there. Overall, we're very happy with his work.
Then to Paden. I suppose because this is my blog, I get to brag about my kids as much as I want. I didn't really want to post anything on Facebook because we all have the smartest kids and I didn't really want to brag or offend anyone. But, for our family record's sake, Paden is doing exceptionally well in school. In fact, his teacher, Mrs. Files, called me at 7:30am the morning of the conference and said that she didn't need us to come because she didn't really have anything to say. He's exceeding grade level in all areas - doing second and third grade work all the time. He pushes himself very hard to be the best. He has not lost any points (or colors) for behavior. She said that we could come if we want, but not to worry if we didn't make it; she'd send home his report card with him. I replied that we'd probably still come because we are scheduled to do so and Paden will want to - that's just how he operates. I said we won't worry about being right on time. I did ask her how he doesn't get in trouble because he's SOOOOOO wiggly all the time. The kid CANNOT SIT STILL ever! She said that he wiggles w/in himself and doesn't bother or distract anyone else, so she doesn't have a problem with his wiggles. He is only 6 after all. :)
So, we did go to his conference because we were scheduled and committed to doing that. She said that the spring conference this year and the fall conference next year they will be able to start determining if he will qualify for the TAG Program (Talented and Gifted). He's already scored in the 97th and 99th percentile for math and reading and I think one of those was a second grade test, not first. I can't remember what all she tested him for. He's in a 1st/2nd grade blend class, so he has the chance to work on 2nd grade work quite a bit. He's reading up to 3rd grade 4th month level as a 1st grader, per his test scores. He has wanted to start reading books like Harry Potter and Sons of Neptune, which are a little higher than 3rd grade. We told him that maybe he could work on the Percy Jackson series first. He blew threw Junie B Jones last year and Magic Treehouse. He does still read Magic Treehouse sometimes. He's working on a Reading Naturally program. Because he reads so fast, he sometimes puts his own words in and it doesn't always sound natural, so that's what she's helping him focus on right now. I am not really sure what programs are offered through our school for TAG, but hopefully enough to keep him motivated and stimulated. Right now, he's fine since he's in that 1st/2nd blend class. I am not sure what we are going to do with him next year since he'll be repeating everything. We'll see . . .
That's my Padey Boy. His teacher said that he pushes himself really hard and her only concern is that he'll hit a wall down the road - get burned out - or make himself physically ill because he pushes so hard. We'll have to keep an eye on that. He does get tearful and emotional when he doesn't get something right or doesn't get his way right now, so that could get worse as well. I think that's the maturity/age factor.
Other than that, I suppose life is just pretty normal. The boys finished soccer and started wrestling. Today was the first tournament. The boys decided before the season started they didn't want to do any of the tournaments, which is fine by me. They just like to go to the practices and wrestle around. It gets them out of the house, gives them some exercise and helps develop their athleticism. It works.
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| Paden is seen here doing the normal "Paden" - hamming it up, choosing his pose carefully. No one told him to lay down in front, that was his doing. He didn't even ask, he just did it. :) |
I am not sure that I have any pictures of Gunnar's soccer season since I was the coach and Neil couldn't handle watching Gunnar play. I do have the team photo and his individual from picture day . . . at least it's something.
Well, I guess that concludes this blog post for today. If there is more, it escapes me now.
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