504 Meeting with the school....

Today we had a meeting at Jack's school to discuss putting a 504 plan in place. The meeting went very well I think. It was the principal (she is never in our meetings, it's usually the vp whom I don't particularly care for but am learning to deal with - but the VP wasn't there this time for some reason) the counselor (she is wonderful!) and Jack's teacher (also wonderful!) So we meet, discuss some issues. The teacher started implementing a plan of having only one math problem viewable at a time (she covers the rest of the problems up) and she has seen tremendous improvement with this already! She gave Jack the first part of a test before our last meeting and he scored a 36 on it - out of 100! Then she gave the second part of the same test after we had our meeting and she covered up the problems so he could only see one problem at a time and he scored a 75 - again, out of 100! HUGE improvement! He brought his report card home yesterday and it's all A's with one B and that B is in his advanced math class. If he was in regular math, he would be straight A's - so to see him score 36 on a test, well, something's just not right.

Anyway, the plan we came up with for Jack is this.

They will cover his work so that only one problem is showing at a time on the paper. He gets too overwhelmed/distracted with all the problems on the page and he rushes so hopefully this will help - which she has been doing for the past week or so anyway and she is seeing a big improvement.

He will get "movement time" to get up and move around after 30-45 minutes of sitting. Which she said she pretty much does already with Jack and that in 2nd grade, they aren't really ever sitting that long anyway, but it will help him when he gets into older grades and they expect them to sit still longer.

And they are going to offer him a piece of velcro that he can put on the inside of his desk or underneath - anywhere that he thinks is best - and he can "fidget" with it while he's sitting there. Something to help with sensory issues - I've never seen any sensory issues with him but he does have a hard time staying still and likes to fidget, so hopefully this will help him. This was the principal's idea - she said she used to do that for some of her students when she was a teacher. The reason that it's velcro under his desk is that she said that she didn't want Jack to feel embarrassed by having something like that and that as kids get older they worry about what their peers think and she doesn't want him singled out. This will just be something for him that no one needs to know about but might help him to have something to do with his hands.

All in all - I liked it. I think the school is doing an excellent job in trying to work what's best for Jack. This is all extra stuff that they have to do and I like that they are willing to go the extra mile for him.

We will meet annually for the 504 to make necessary adjustments - or anytime they or we feel the need. We will meet sometime mid-year next year to discuss if everything is working and getting ready for the state standardized testing to make sure Jack is on track. They really impressed upon having this done before he got to 3rd grade and the testing starts. Even though he is an A-B student and very bright - they are worried about his testing. He rushes through and doesn't pay enough attention. I'm hoping this 504 will help him with that.

He already is doing so much better with his math, and the teacher and counselor both said that his attitude is so much more upbeat - even though he's a happy kid anyway, they said he appears more confident this past week. He even comes home telling me that he's doing so well in math - he is clearly proud. And that makes me happy. He's so sweet, funny and SO SMART - I don't want his confidence shaken because of this.

So - that was our meeting. I will keep you all posted on the results over time. Thanks for your support!

Roller Skating!

Ok - I know, I don't blog for a while and then BAM - I blog several times in one night. Well, that's the only way I get to these days! And truthfully, I'm so exhausted tonight and would like to go watch tv and then crash - but I really wanted to share this. So - here goes! :))

We took the kids skating this weekend. Jack had a classmate's birthday party at the skating rink, so Don and I took the girls too and we all skated. Elle and I went skating back in January with her girl scout troop, so this wasn't her first time. Jack had been skating before but it's been a LONG time! And this was Macy's first time on skates.

Jack tried out the inline skates - it was a little difficult at first but Jack is very talented when it comes to anything like this so we knew he would get it quickly. He did! By the end of the night he was jumping up in the air on those things! I would have broken every bone in my body had I tried what he was doing.

Here's Jack on his skates. I don't have many pictures of him because he was off with his friends most of the night.



Elle did good on her skates too! Especially given the fact that I had to HOLD her up the ENTIRE time we went skating a few short months ago. She was like Bambi on ice last time! She didn't need me at all this time! Elle always has her own way of doing things though, and skating didn't prove to be any different. She doesn't really "skate" she just kind of RUNS on wheels. I don't think the wheels ever turned, she just ran around the rink on her skates. Again, I don't know how she does it and again, I would probably break every bone in my body if I tried to run in skates! Elle has gotten the skating bug though - she wants to go EVERY DAY!! She loved it and has requested a skating party for her 6th birthday! We already have it planned! Here are a few pics of my little Bambi on ice...

This pic is a little blurry but I still love it. Notice how she is "flapping" her arms?


"running" on skates...


She was watching the races and I called her name.


And then there was Macy. It was her first time but like Jack, she takes to stuff like this pretty quickly. Although she is much more cautious than either her big brother or sister and does NOT like to fall down! I mean, who does, but it really makes Macy mad to fall! Elle falls a million times and just gets right back up - it really ticks Macy off to fall so she tries very hard NOT to fall. She did a great job. She held my hand at first but was quick to figure it out and she just went around and around the rink (staying close to the railing, of course) at least a hundred times! She loves skating too! Here are a few pics of Macy's first time skating...

WHOA!!


Slow and proud...


This is what Macy looks like when she almost falls - you should see the face she makes when she DOES fall.


YAY - she's skating!!!


A rare pic of us all together! Well, almost all of us - Don had to take the picture!


Here is Don - with his phone, of course! ;-)


All in all it was a great night! Skating really takes a lot out of you and we were all worn out by the time we left the rink. But I think we'll be going back very soon! If you are like me and Don and haven't skated in 20+ years, you should try it! It's a lot of fun and it's great exercise! Oh - and your kids will sleep SO HARD that night! :)

Baseball Season is here!!!

I love baseball season! I think it has a lot to do with Spring time - I've always loved Spring! The sun it out (mostly!) and the days are longer (I also love daylight savings time!) The winter blues fade and everything is new again. What's not to love?

Then when you have kids, it's even better! I love going to my kids games - any sports really, but there is something really special to me about baseball! Maybe it's because that's the sport I played as a kid. Maybe because my brother has played all his life so we've spent a lot of time watching him. Maybe it's just because it's a GREAT sport! Whatever the reason - I'm happy that Jack loves playing baseball.

Today was our third game - and it was a nail-biter of a game but I am happy to say that we are still UNDEFEATED!!! Yep, we're 3-0! The kids made a heck of a comeback tonight - after being down 5-13 we came back and WON at 16-14!
W-H-A-T A G-A-M-E!!!!

It was awesome!!! Here are some pics from our season so far. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather!!

SWING!


RUN!


A TRIPLE - YAY!!!


GOING HOME!!!


My handsome boy!




And of course, I can't leave out my girls! They make great cheerleaders!!


Macy and her thumb.