Last year Eli's kindergarten teacher had a challenge with Eli. But, she made some adjustments to one of her systems to work for him and he thrived with it.
Fast forward to this year. She now has Brynne in her class. And, guess what ... she needs some special treatment as well. But, it's for the opposite reason that Eli needed it. So, her teacher is, again, having to adjust her work and assignments to meet Brynne's needs.
What are her needs? She's bored. She is super, super smart. But she just turned 5, so she is one of the youngest in her class. She could easily test out of kindergarten, and really needs to be in 1st grade, but we don't want to push her further than she should go emotionally. She is also experiencing some separation issues (although those just started last week.)
She has got to where she cries every day when I take her to school. First she was crying getting on the bus. Then she started crying when I took her to school. This morning she started crying as soon as she woke up.
She kept saying, "I don't like the work." But she does it impeccably and then comes home and spends the rest of the evening doing more school work that I provide her. I've noticed, though, that she has been skipping over all of the kindergarten work and doing more advanced things, like addition and subtraction.
It occurred to me when driving home from meeting with the school counselor this morning that she is bored! When I went back up to talk to the counselor, she agreed whole-heartedly.
We are so blessed to have a school that is willing to meet the individual needs of its students. Eli has special needs that they have met the past two years. And now they are taking this issue with Brynee and hitting it head on. We are considering having her do 1st grade math and do some 1st grade congnitive computer work when her class is doing work that she has already mastered.
By doing this we are hoping that she will regain an excitement to go to school, because she is doing work that challenges her.
And then I won't have to be bummed out all morning after I have left her at school in tears.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Nicole's Daybook
Outside my window... Fall has arrived ... FINALLY!
I am thinking... about how stressful this time of year is for me financially, with the kids' birthdays and fall clothes needed. I've had little jobs in the past to help with that, but this year I don't.
I am thankful ... that I have the relationships with Rick and the kids that I do have. The most important aspect of those relationships is how we can all talk about things. Communication is so key to our deep relationships.
I am wearing... black workout pants, a t-shirt and black zip up hoodie.
I am planning... Dawson's next unit on Ancient Greece and the human body, and my meal/grocery list for the next two weeks.
I am creating... the ideas for Halloween costumes and the Fall Craft Party at school, and cowboy outfits for Brynne and Eli for this Wednesday at school.
I am going... to get everything done early today so we can all pile on the couch to watch The Biggest Loser tonight. I love Tuesday nights!
I am reading... Fly Away Home by Jennifer Wiener, and Curious George out loud to Brynne.
I am hoping... that my mom and sister and niece work it out so they can come for a visit in a couple of weeks.
On my mind... is the fall season.
From the learning rooms... Brynne and Eli are still doing very good in school, learning and adapting. Dawson is wrapping up his unit on Ancient Egypt and the desert this week. Kyndal is still working hard, but really struggling with Geometry.
Noticing that ... I don't have my usual excitement for the holiday season. I'm usually so excited about Halloween and the kids' birthdays and decorating for fall and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year I feel a tad "blah".
From the kitchen...Dawson made the most amazing Coconut Cream Pie yesterday. So yummy!!! He's going to make me fat if he keeps on baking! My "days-of-the-week-acronym" meal planning is going great!!!
Around the house... are critters and slimy things. We have seen lots of snakes lately (on Saturday Rick came upon a poisonous one eating a frog ... he flung it high into a nearby tree with his rake). There was a "walking stick" on our window last night. I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. And we have flies like crazy right now. Driving me crazy!
One of my favorite things... is how scheduled our dogs are. It makes me laugh. You can ask them if they want to go night-night and they run to the pool house in the garage to take their nap. I love it!
I am hoping... that my mom and sister and niece work it out so they can come for a visit in a couple of weeks.
On my mind... is the fall season.
From the learning rooms... Brynne and Eli are still doing very good in school, learning and adapting. Dawson is wrapping up his unit on Ancient Egypt and the desert this week. Kyndal is still working hard, but really struggling with Geometry.
Noticing that ... I don't have my usual excitement for the holiday season. I'm usually so excited about Halloween and the kids' birthdays and decorating for fall and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year I feel a tad "blah".
From the kitchen...Dawson made the most amazing Coconut Cream Pie yesterday. So yummy!!! He's going to make me fat if he keeps on baking! My "days-of-the-week-acronym" meal planning is going great!!!
Around the house... are critters and slimy things. We have seen lots of snakes lately (on Saturday Rick came upon a poisonous one eating a frog ... he flung it high into a nearby tree with his rake). There was a "walking stick" on our window last night. I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. And we have flies like crazy right now. Driving me crazy!
One of my favorite things... is how scheduled our dogs are. It makes me laugh. You can ask them if they want to go night-night and they run to the pool house in the garage to take their nap. I love it!
A few plans for the rest of the week... Kyndal wraps up her physical therapy this week, and then we need to make another appointment with her doctor to see what action we need to take now. This week is pretty quiet when it comes to activity. Dawson is heading to the lake this weekend. Rick is playing golf on Saturday. I'm just laying low.
From my picture journal.
Date night to the Riverwalk a couple of weekends ago.
From my picture journal.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Family Camp
On Saturday Rick started burning some brush in our fire pit next to our house. Eli and Brynne were so excited and wanted to know if we were having Family Camp? So, we decided to roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores.
Then Dawson, Eli, Brynne and Crusoe slept in the tent in our backyard.
It was a cold, windy night. But they had a really great time! They were equipped with gold fish crackers, drinks, toys, stuffed animals, their Nintendos and a dvd player ... all the necessary things for a backyard campout. Eli wanted to know if it was me "making that shadow". It was.
Rick and I talked about what an enjoyable evening it was with our family. It was fun to do something on the spur-of-the-moment and offmy our usual schedule.
Then Dawson, Eli, Brynne and Crusoe slept in the tent in our backyard.
It was a cold, windy night. But they had a really great time! They were equipped with gold fish crackers, drinks, toys, stuffed animals, their Nintendos and a dvd player ... all the necessary things for a backyard campout. Eli wanted to know if it was me "making that shadow". It was.
Rick and I talked about what an enjoyable evening it was with our family. It was fun to do something on the spur-of-the-moment and off
Menu Plan Monday
We are into the full swing of my new "meal planning by days of the week acronyms". This week I'll be planning the next two weeks of meals, so I am looking forward to the ease of it.
For this week ...
"Mexican" Monday ~ Taco salad
"Taste of Home Cookbook" Tuesday ~ Mini meatloafs and homemade mac and cheese
"Whatever You Want" Wednesday ~ Fend for Yourself (FFY)
"The Favorites" Thursday ~ Build your own mini pizzas
"Freezer" Friday ~ Cheesy chicken and rice casserole (times 3 .. one for now, one frozen for later, one frozen for a '12 Weeks of Christmas' Christmas gift).
"Sandwich" Saturday ~ Ham and swiss stromboli
"Super Easy" Sunday ~ Frozen lasagna and french bread
I'm linking up to the OrgJunkie. Go there to see more menu plans.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Back to My Roots
If you have followed me from the original Taulman Times, then Welcome!
For the past year or so my blog has gotten rather heavy. I originally started blogging to keep my family updated on what we were doing as a family. But then I started voicing my opinions on things and being, perhaps, a tad transparent in how I felt about certain things. My blog got so heavy that even my mom stopped reading it. That is why I started Taulman Times: Special Edition, so that I would have a place to at least post pictures of the kids that my parents and other family members could see.
In the past few weeks I have found myself being bored with myself. Maybe it wasn't boredom as much as a realization that I had become a little prideful in my opinions. My blog had become all about me, me and more me.
I made my blog Private to keep certain family members and nosey neighbors from reading what I had to say, and then using it against me. But then I found that it seemed pointless to blog if there was no one to read it.
I wanted to open my blog back up to the public, in case anybody really cared, but didn't want those same people to read certain things I had written in the past. At the same time I wanted my blog to get back to what I intended it to be at the time of its creation ... a place to tell the Times of the Taulman Family.
So, it just made sense to me to start fresh. And that's what this blog is intended to be ... a fresh start.
I still plan to do some of my regular posts, like Menu Plan Monday and Nicole's Daybook and Rick Rocks. But otherwise this blog will likely be limited to events of our family and any tidbits I come up with along the way that I think someone might enjoy reading. That means my posts will probably not be daily.
I plan to save my lengthy and deep opinions for myself.
So, I hope that I will regain some friendships that have slipped over the past year. And, I hope to make some new ones. And I hope I find, again, my love for blogging.
For the past year or so my blog has gotten rather heavy. I originally started blogging to keep my family updated on what we were doing as a family. But then I started voicing my opinions on things and being, perhaps, a tad transparent in how I felt about certain things. My blog got so heavy that even my mom stopped reading it. That is why I started Taulman Times: Special Edition, so that I would have a place to at least post pictures of the kids that my parents and other family members could see.
In the past few weeks I have found myself being bored with myself. Maybe it wasn't boredom as much as a realization that I had become a little prideful in my opinions. My blog had become all about me, me and more me.
I made my blog Private to keep certain family members and nosey neighbors from reading what I had to say, and then using it against me. But then I found that it seemed pointless to blog if there was no one to read it.
I wanted to open my blog back up to the public, in case anybody really cared, but didn't want those same people to read certain things I had written in the past. At the same time I wanted my blog to get back to what I intended it to be at the time of its creation ... a place to tell the Times of the Taulman Family.
So, it just made sense to me to start fresh. And that's what this blog is intended to be ... a fresh start.
I still plan to do some of my regular posts, like Menu Plan Monday and Nicole's Daybook and Rick Rocks. But otherwise this blog will likely be limited to events of our family and any tidbits I come up with along the way that I think someone might enjoy reading. That means my posts will probably not be daily.
I plan to save my lengthy and deep opinions for myself.
So, I hope that I will regain some friendships that have slipped over the past year. And, I hope to make some new ones. And I hope I find, again, my love for blogging.
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