Conversations with/ comments from Julia this morning:
"Mom, I think if Mrs. H agrees, I am going to ask her if I can stay in for recess and work on my read to self journal. I am nervous that I will not have time to finish it after my morning work and it is due on Friday." Sometimes I think she has just the right combination of motivation and anxiety...other times I worry the anxiety/worry will overtake her.
"Mrs. H has been very generous with our class recently. For example, I needed to finish my Patriot/Loyalist writing so she gave me extra time when I finished my math worksheet."
"Mom, there is a fourth grade student on my bus who can be verbally abusive! She is always swearing and she made a little second grader cry!"
"I am not looking forward to art class today. Last week, we were very rude to Mrs. W when she was teaching us. " When I asked Julia if she was being rude she said, "Of course not but when Mrs. H talked to our class after art she said," I am very disappointed right now." That means she is mad at all of us because if she was only disappointed with a specific person or people she would have only spoken to them not the whole class."
Things I learned this morning:
1. Julia had school on the brain.
2. After every conversation I have with Julia I realize more and more how adult-like she sounds, despite being 9 years old. It's interesting, sometimes funny and sometimes worrisome.
3. I am continually amazed with her ability to use phrases and words that seem beyond her years appropriately in sentences...verbally abusive, specific person, for example, etc.
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Scheduling Sanity
Sometimes, I wonder how it is all supposed to fit in while still trying to eat dinner at a normal hour and getting Julia to bed by 8:30 or so. I don't think my kids are over scheduled. Emily has work and Girl Scouts (STUCO when her schedule allows which is not often), Katie has Girl Scouts and basketball, and Julia has dance and Girl Scouts (basketball is not looking like something she will be sticking with but that remains to be seen).
I just went through the February calendar to "plug in" swimming with Julia where we could fit it in. On the weeks that Ryun works the late shift it will be all but impossible. Even on the weeks where he is early the only time would be right after school (which is when I usually start cooking) and even then we can't go Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I have my meetings on Tuesday and she has dance on Wednesday which means she does homework right after school because she doesn't get home until just after 8. Let's not even talk about the amount of homework she gets. She has Spelling and/or ELA as well as Math nightly. In addition she has to read for 25 minutes then answer a question in her reading journal AND spend 15-20 minutes practicing multiplication and division. Really? This is third grade (thank you Common Core and standardized testing).
Emily would also like to use the Y but that will be on weekends only because of her work schedule. She doesn't get home until 6PM or so. Starting next week with the new semester starting at MHS she will have three classes (ELA, History and Spanish) in which she will have homework. She had an "easy semester" for the first half of the year which involved little to no homework. Basically, she will be coming home, eating dinner and doing homework. If she has any free time after that, it will be too late in the evening to visit the Y. Katie, for the most part, should be able to join Julia and I when we go.
I have all but given up on the idea of the five of us sitting down and eating together during the week. The weekend is much easier in that respect but otherwise it would take an act of God, or us sitting down at 9PM on some nights which is past Julia's bedtime and pretty close to Ryun's, especially if he is working early (4:30AM wake up). Nevermind eating together...if I am going to the Y after school, and shuffling kids to and fro, when the heck am I going to cook it? I am a big fan of the crock pot but even that gets old sometimes.
So how on earth do people do this? Especially single parents who also work (I am in awe of you by the way). Being at home during the day is nice in some respects but it really has little to no benefit on the other end of the day when all of the craziness starts. I don't even know how it will all come together when I do get a job, unless my some miracle I find one that is part time, flexible and/or work from home.
What tips and tricks do you have for managing it all?
I just went through the February calendar to "plug in" swimming with Julia where we could fit it in. On the weeks that Ryun works the late shift it will be all but impossible. Even on the weeks where he is early the only time would be right after school (which is when I usually start cooking) and even then we can't go Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I have my meetings on Tuesday and she has dance on Wednesday which means she does homework right after school because she doesn't get home until just after 8. Let's not even talk about the amount of homework she gets. She has Spelling and/or ELA as well as Math nightly. In addition she has to read for 25 minutes then answer a question in her reading journal AND spend 15-20 minutes practicing multiplication and division. Really? This is third grade (thank you Common Core and standardized testing).
Emily would also like to use the Y but that will be on weekends only because of her work schedule. She doesn't get home until 6PM or so. Starting next week with the new semester starting at MHS she will have three classes (ELA, History and Spanish) in which she will have homework. She had an "easy semester" for the first half of the year which involved little to no homework. Basically, she will be coming home, eating dinner and doing homework. If she has any free time after that, it will be too late in the evening to visit the Y. Katie, for the most part, should be able to join Julia and I when we go.
I have all but given up on the idea of the five of us sitting down and eating together during the week. The weekend is much easier in that respect but otherwise it would take an act of God, or us sitting down at 9PM on some nights which is past Julia's bedtime and pretty close to Ryun's, especially if he is working early (4:30AM wake up). Nevermind eating together...if I am going to the Y after school, and shuffling kids to and fro, when the heck am I going to cook it? I am a big fan of the crock pot but even that gets old sometimes.
So how on earth do people do this? Especially single parents who also work (I am in awe of you by the way). Being at home during the day is nice in some respects but it really has little to no benefit on the other end of the day when all of the craziness starts. I don't even know how it will all come together when I do get a job, unless my some miracle I find one that is part time, flexible and/or work from home.
What tips and tricks do you have for managing it all?
Saturday, September 7, 2013
How is it...
...that I am reading "The Girls Body Book" in advance of reading it with Julia? Julia...my baby who is nine years old...who I will have to have the "birds and the bees" talk with literally any day now.
Yes, I have had the talk twice before. I am reading the book because I have a feeling that I am going to have to have an arsenal of answers ready to go when I have the talk with Julia. Emily and Katie had little if any questions (maybe that means I did a great job explaining things...who knows). Julia just asks a lot of questions...all of the time. I love that about her...even when she asks questions that I don't have the answer for (like this morning when she asked what would happen if you got to the end of the solar system and tried to "get out of space").
I went out on to the deck this morning with the book and a cup of coffee in hand. I read the first thirty pages and had to stop. Yes, I realize that I am an emotional sap but the reason I had to stop was because I was so sad. I know she is nine but it was seriously the first realization that she wasn't "little" anymore. She is my "baby" and I am sure that is contributing to my emotional state but really? I should be able to get through a book on the subject of growing up!
Oh, and Emily is out driving with Ryun right now and Katie is in her last year of middle school.
I need a time machine.
Yes, I have had the talk twice before. I am reading the book because I have a feeling that I am going to have to have an arsenal of answers ready to go when I have the talk with Julia. Emily and Katie had little if any questions (maybe that means I did a great job explaining things...who knows). Julia just asks a lot of questions...all of the time. I love that about her...even when she asks questions that I don't have the answer for (like this morning when she asked what would happen if you got to the end of the solar system and tried to "get out of space").
I went out on to the deck this morning with the book and a cup of coffee in hand. I read the first thirty pages and had to stop. Yes, I realize that I am an emotional sap but the reason I had to stop was because I was so sad. I know she is nine but it was seriously the first realization that she wasn't "little" anymore. She is my "baby" and I am sure that is contributing to my emotional state but really? I should be able to get through a book on the subject of growing up!
Oh, and Emily is out driving with Ryun right now and Katie is in her last year of middle school.
I need a time machine.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Preparing
In preparation for Julia's upcoming appointment with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon, I am going through the list of gross motor skills and when she acquired each. Some of the big ones I remember...like when she took her first steps at her cousin Jack's christening. She was 20 months old.
Going back through her baby book, notes from Early Intervention, progress reports from her PT, OT and ST from preschool through to 1st grade has been emotional. It is an amazing thing to see how far she has come. It really is a tribute to her hard work, never give up attitude, and willingness to try. She still has a few "struggles" yet to overcome but I have no doubt that she will. That's just how she rolls.
Going back through her baby book, notes from Early Intervention, progress reports from her PT, OT and ST from preschool through to 1st grade has been emotional. It is an amazing thing to see how far she has come. It really is a tribute to her hard work, never give up attitude, and willingness to try. She still has a few "struggles" yet to overcome but I have no doubt that she will. That's just how she rolls.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)