Celebrating the little things in life that add up.
This past week has been a doozy. First I started to freak out on Friday because Madeline choked on a math facts quiz. She should have had a 78% but the teacher was generous and gave her an 89%. When you get 11 out of 50 wrong that's -22, not -11. We had a full weekend where we got a lot accomplished. Then Monday was a bad day when I got an email from the teacher regarding Miss Madeline's talking. Wednesday brought even worse news. Based on one test taken by my daughter that "doesn't count" while her teacher had been out for nearly a month tending to her son who was in the hospital my child has been deemed in need of basic skills instruction in math. Yes, apparently a child who gets all A's and B's in math is not able to keep up with the demands of a mainstream math class. Amazing. I thought all the 100% and check and check plus papers meant that she was excelling in the mainstream class.
So without further delay, I present to you my small successes for the week:
1. Bryan and I took the girls to a local farm to go on a hay ride for pumpkin picking. We got four big pumpkins that are perfect for carving or decorating.
2. I cleaned all the stains (Thanks, Mr. Furkins.) off of the family room carpet. I'm not sure why, but every time I clean up one of the dog's messes, the spot starts to collect dirt a week or two later. It drives me crazy.
3. Yesterday I think I learned to accept the fact that it's ok if Madeline brings home a B in math. I went to bat for her with the teacher about the BSI program. She feels Madeline doesn't belong in there and at her request I wrote a letter explaining why my husband and I will not consent to her being in the BSI program. Her teacher is going to talk to the BSI teacher and also explain why Madeline does not need the extra help. Apparently there are children in Madeline's class who truly need special instruction in this subject that aren't getting it. I have lost sleep over this and I can't tell you just how livid I am that my child who has a GPA of 3.88 was "selected" for this program. Inefficiencies like this in the public school system are precisely the reason why I should be homeschooling my children. It's too bad Bryan is against homeschooling. I'm doing my best to change his outlook on homeschooling.
Bonus 1: I finally framed one of Madeline's 10X13 First Holy Communion portraits. That's only taken me 5 months to do!
Bonus 2: I have started homeschooling Ellie on the week days when she doesn't go to pre-K. She is also now my official I and A reader when we read books. She expressed an interest a week or so ago in wanting to learn to read, so this is our first step in that direction. She's enjoying reading the I's and A's.
If you're really frustrated with the school it always helps to know you have the homeschooling option. There is a great book on the pros and cons of homeschooling by a constitutional lawyer John Whitehead or something like that. It might help with your husband.
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