AR

Claire finally got her AR shirt today! She was excited. She did it with a month to spare. :) The big kids got there's very early in the year. It's reading and then being asked questions on what you read. I'm glad I was there to see her get her shirt. I was putting her lunch in her backpack this morning and saw a small note telling me about it.

It's extra fun when your sister is vice president and gets to be up there with you when you get your award.

Kindergarten Summary

I know school isn't out for another month or so, but I thought I'd do a little review of the school year for each kid.

Claire loves, loves, loves school! We started the year off with an older, Hispanic teacher. I was concerned for two reasons. One, this teacher had a strong accent and Claire is working on her articulation. I wasn't sure how that was going to work. Second, although she was a very nice teacher, I wasn't sure she'd have the energy needed to keep up with Claire. Also, Claire was afternoon which I was hating because of how difficult drop off and pick up were turning out to be.
A few days in to school they were asking certain children to move in to a new morning class they were creating. I was quick to volunteer! It turned out perfectly. Claire's new teacher, Mrs. Shrom, has been so full of energy and can keep Claire's attention. We love that she got to  start in the mornings because Linda can walk her to class.
Claire has learned so much. She does really well at reading and her teacher is impressed with her math. Her favorite thing is recess.
Claire is really social so it's no wonder that she has a lot of friends that she looks forward to seeing everyday. She has had a great year and I'm a little sad she has to move up to 1st grade next year.
These kids just keep growing up.
Here's Claire with one of her friend.

2nd Grade Summary

Jane has really enjoyed 2nd grade. She started the year off in a regular 2nd grade class with an older teacher. A few weeks in to the school year I went and helped in her class. I was really unhappy about how big the class was and felt like Jane was pretty bored with the work they were doing. As luck would have it, the very next week I got a letter that they were creating a new class that was a 2/3 combo. They took the kids with the highest reading scores and put them in to the new class. I am usually not a fan of combo classes, but after meeting her teacher and with her being the lower grade it all worked out. Her teacher, Mr. Phillips, has been great for her.
She does really well in all subjects.  She does best when she has a goal to work towards. She knew she wanted a certain amount of points in AR so she spent almost every recess in the library reading one week.
She was recently student of the month and her teacher always has great things so say about her.
She had a fun field trip to the San Diego symphony and is heading to Legoland for another one soon.
Jane did an after school soccer program this year and is currently doing an after school yoga class.
I'd say this year has been a successful one for Jane.We are looking forward to seeing what 3rd grade has to offer next year.
Here's Jane on the bus ride to see the symphony.

4th Grade Summary

Linda has just blossomed this year. I'm so proud of her. Her teacher is excellent and was voted teacher of the year in Oceanside last year. I love to hear all of the new vocabulary Linda uses now. Her writing has also really developed this year and she enjoys it. When asked to write at least one paragraph she'll usually go on to write three or four. She does really well at math too but it's not her favorite subject.
Being the vice president at school has just changed everything for her. People who knew Linda were very surprised she ran for election because she was very shy. After her win she is so confident. She stands in front of the entire school every morning and is as confident as can be. It's helped her become more sure of herself and a lot of kids know her now. She loves being involved in the school events whether it's selling tickets or working at the student store.
Linda has participated in Green Team this year which is a recycling program. She's enjoyed it. She also had the chance to do an after school tennis program. She has stuck with it and really loves to play.
Also, her speech articulation has really developed this year. It's really rare now that I have to correct a word she says. The 'or' is the only combo she occasionally misses. Just the other day someone commented to me on how grown up Linda sounds now. It's true.
We're really looking forward to 5th grade next year.
The picture below is a picture of Linda at one of the Missions on a field trip.

5th Grade Summary

Bruce has just had the best year this year! He's saying it's the best year he's ever had at school. I totally agree. What a difference a school makes. He has loved that the teachers at his school, and his teacher in particular, smile a lot and are happy and good to the kids. He has continued to do very well in school and his love for math and science continue to grow. He often helps Linda with her math homework and he loves to do it. He loves to read. He is reading whenever he finds some free time.
He is #1 in his chess club right now and really enjoys playing still. He has made some really good friends this year and he is very well know at school. He's even played with his friends and gone to their birthdays outside of school. They have a good group going at recess that are always playing football, soccer, and sports.
He was able to take an after school basketball class this year and also a free JAVA programming class. He also participated in a program before school that taught all about economics, how to write checks, apply for a job, etc. At the end of the program they actually worked at a job for a day. He was a manager at a radio station (see pic below) He loved it.
He looks forward to school every day. I think Kindergarten and 5th grade have definitely helped define the great kid he is today. Both of those years he had committed teachers that loved teaching and loved the kids they were teaching. I am so grateful he's had this awesome year. Only a little over a month to go until his elementary school years are over. I'm so happy they're ending on such a great note.

Glasses

Bruce's eye sight seemed to take a turn for the worse this year. So, we went and got his eyes checked out. Sure enough, he needed glasses. They also saw a little abnormality in his right eye. They're keeping an eye on it.
Bruce looks like me and also inherited my eyes. Hopefully the girls get Robert's perfect vision.
I think he looks very handsome.
We're getting contacts in a couple of weeks.  He'll need them when he's playing sports.