Elsie: potty training is going well. She still has accidents and doesn't poop consistently in the potty, but she is in undies all day, only a diaper at bedtime. She is missing her sisters during the day, but we have lots of fun just the two of us. She is still napping once a day, but is awake til 9:30-10 pm on the days she naps. It is frustrating because she is tired, and really does still need her noon nap. But it seems like no matter how long, or short she naps, she has a hard time going down at bedtime. I remember the other girls doing this too.
Reagan: kindergarten is going fine for her, though she seems a little ambivalent about the whole thing. She is always very excited for the weekend:-) She is learning her sight words and starting to read simple books. I think she is fine academically, even though she didn't go to preschool. The biggest challenge is learning to hold her pencil properly, which we have been working on. I get the feeling she keeps to herself a bit in school, but I know that it will change as she gets to know more kids, and as she matures.
Katya: this kid sure has become less shy and more friendly! She proudly tells me how she raises her hand in class a lot; this was not the case last year. She has made a couple of close friends, and I think that is giving her more confidence. I also think her teacher this year is a much better fit for her (I was not a big fan of her teacher last year). She is in the advance math program, which is quite challenging. I am not sure it is the right thing for her, but I wan to discuss it with her teacher after the first few unit tests. The thing about the advanced program is that it is not just more challenging, it third grade math curriculum. I wish it could be more middle ground, i.e., more challenging second grade curriculum. She has been holding her own so far, but we have had a few major melt downs over difficult problems. Last night this was the homework question:
Mr. Smith has to drive 23 miles to work. It is taking him 6 mins to travel 1 mile (traffic is horrible!). How long will it take him to get to work? ____hrs___minutes. He has a meeting at 12:15. When will he have to leave to get there in time?
That's hard stuff!!! It is amazing the type of math our seven year old is doing. She is adding and subtracting triple digit numbers, and needing to get 40 addition "math facts" correct in a minute. I think it is great to challenge a kid, you don't want them to be board, but I don't want it to be so hard for her that it is super overwhelming.
Katya is taking swimming lessons and doing well. Both her and Reagan have religious education classes on Wednesday afternoons. I sure miss it being apart of the school day as it was in private school! Katya has a separate class for first reconciliation and first Eucharist preparations, fortunately it is only twice a month.
One last quick note, a classmate of Katya's passed away this weekend. I don't know the details, all the school said is that it was "peaceful" and unexpected. Katya is doing well, though her teacher is having a hard time. Today is the first day back to school since it was announced. I am just heartbroken for the little girls family. I met the girl, Sophia, last week at lunch time, she was so chatty and sweet. If you would take a moment to pray for the Komp family, and Sophia's teachers, that would be wonderful.
Love to all, Brenda
