The Reader

There was a point in time a few years ago when I thought none of my children would share my love of reading and literature, but guess what?!  Well, let me back up.

When Big Girl joined our family, she was six.  She had some, but not all skills that would commonly be considered for Kindergarten readiness in this country.  She was eager to be enrolled into the half day K program at our local public school, so we made the decision to try it out.  K was a relative success and Big Girl managed her way through first grade as well.  Being an English Language Learner was a hurdle, but at the end of first grade she was only slightly behind with her reading skills compared to the average peer.

Enter second grade with homework, increased academic and social demands, and a less than ideal fit with the main classroom teacher's methods.  Big Girl quickly fell behind and an IEP was instated.  And still, she became immensely frustrated with nearly every aspect of school.  Our home life suffered as a consequence giving us, at the end of each day, only the worst of our child.  In April of that school year during a parent teacher conference we were informed that her educators did not expect Big Girl to pass the state mandated Third Grade Reading Guarantee test.  But we were not to worry because no matter what, she would be moved into fourth grade no questions asked.

Considering all of the above and more, we decided to home school Big Girl for third grade.  We didn't worry about tests or the curriculum and went back to the basics.  In terms of reading, Big Girl had missed out on the years where children hear stories read or told to them, so that's where we focused.  During third grade, we read about 300 books with roughly 30-40 pages each and lots of illustrations.  She read, I read, we looked at the pictures, we made up our own stories, we found connections between different books, we researched things that had sparked our interest... and at the end of the school year Big Girl passed the Reading Guarantee.

Big Girl is now in 8th grade.  At the end of the last school year she passed the state reading and math tests without having spent any amount of time on targeted preparation.  At the start of this school year, her IEP changed from one that focused on catching her up to grade level (she's caught up) to one that seeks to further improve cognitive processes to make it easier for her to attain her goals.

And more importantly Big Girl now loves to read for fun.  She gets antsy when she's gotten through her stack of library books and we're not sure when we can pick up more.  She carries a novel "just in case" when we're out and about.  My mornings often start with an excited recap of her bedtime reading.  And she suggests her favorite books to others.  Every Christmas, she gives her BFF a copy of her most favorite read of the ending year.

Here are her recommendations so far from her 2023 literary adventures.

January 2023 Home School

This home school month has felt really productive as we worked with the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Little One: phases of the moon, the 5 senses, Lunar New Year, winter crafts

Middle Kiddo: phases of the moon, bowling, winter crafts

We seized every mild day to get out for walks and into parks and stopped by the library a couple of times to boot.

We also used this month to make a decision about some changes for Middle Kiddo's academic services and will be starting with a new plan in February.  In the short term the transition may bring some challenges in our child's home school adventures, but we hope that long-term we're going to see good things happening.

Happy Thoughts

Here are a few things that have made me happy lately.

During a mid-year evaluation of the ballet program that Little One and Middle Kiddo participate in, the children had a chance to add comments to the evaluation sheets.  Little One wrote, "I am Billy Elliot."  Enough said.

Since Middle Kiddo does occasionally wander to places or people he likes, we have a safety plan in effect with one of the neighborhood families whose property seems to be of special interest.  It was wonderful to see the safety plan perfectly executed by said neighbors one night with nothing but patience, understanding and kindness.

I was so pleased when our family doctor at a recent routine visit referred to our child as neuro-divergent and encouraged us to make a medical decision based on what achievements may be possible in our child's future rather than the opposite.

Even though it maxed us out on sweets for a while, receiving four plates/boxes of homemade treats from neighbors the week of Christmas reminded us that we are part of a great community here on our little lane.

Little One often does well when she receives information in writing.  So, these messages silently and gently passed from a trusted, long-time therapist to Little One were just perfect.