What a Difference a Year Makes

First Day of School:


Last Day of School:


Kindergartners:


Graduates:


Meeting Cupcake & Coco (the class Guinea Pigs):


Hosting Cupcake & Coco for the Summer:


Strangers:


Friends:

Kindergarten Promotion

To mark the first day of summer vacation for Timothy, I thought I would treat myself to a little blogging! Videos of Kindergarten Promotion. I've heard this song multiple times, but when they were performing it I just started crying incessantly. We actually made it through kindergarten! First grade here we come...

I think this next video answers the question: "Does Timothy really like school?"

Day in the Life of this Mom...

Due to some random events all falling on the same day, my schedule looked a bit out of the ordinary today:

6:20am-opened up blinds and doors in both kids' rooms in an attempt to wake them early
6:40am-woke Sam up, fairly easily with a Cheerios bribe (her new love)
6:50am-woke Timothy up, not easily, but he was in a good mood.
7:10am-drove Sam to her first day of preschool (3 mornings a week the month of May)
7:30am-dropped Sam off
7:50am-chatted with a friend down the street as she was headed TO the preschool
8:15am-friend dropped her infant baby off with me because she had an appt. and had the pleasure of hearing Timothy say cute things like:

• Zero yr old
• tickle tickle
• Say ahhhhhh (trying to the Isabella to take her pacifier)
• Her name is Cinderella?
• Why does she sit backwards?

8:40am-dropped Timothy off at school. T walked to his class from the gate all by himself for the 1st time today. I stayed on the street and waved through the playground fence since Bella had fallen asleep.
9:30am-met 2 friends at the playground. One of them watches another infant and her kids were at preschool with Samantha, so we got a kick out of having strollers there today instead of our big kids!
10:45am-left playground to go get Samantha from preschool
11:00am-mom of Bella called to say they were done, and we coordinated drop off! Bella could not have been more fun or more enjoyable! She is beautiful!
11:30am-picked up Samantha-she LOVED her first day!
11:50am-ate lunch with Samantha at Taco Bell to kill some time.
12:15pm-went to Timothy's school for his lunchtime. Their class raised the most money in "Pennies for Pasta", and they were rewarded with Olive Garden today. I helped serve (and no, I didn't eat a second lunch!) Then the kids got extra recess time, so we had a great time afterwards too!
2:00pm-came home and put Samantha down (she totally crashed!)
2:30pm-writing this blog post!
3:15pm-Samantha and I go back to school to get Timothy!!!!!!

Lots of driving, but it was such a fun day! Tonight we are going to do homework and chill out!

Children's Classics: Caldecott Medal Winners

I've been meaning to do it for a while, but this is my first time to link up to 5 Minutes for Books. The 2nd Tuesday of each month is Children's Classics, and this month it has a Caldecott Medal Winner theme. My son, Timothy, just started kindergarten this year. Every 2-3 weeks the class focuses on a different author. I've learned so much! Since Timothy 's class is reading several books by each author, we go to the public library as well and check out every book on the shelf. Through this process, I was introduced to an author by the name of Kevin Henkes...

• Winner of the 2005 Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (Timothy's favorite Henkes book). Kitten sees the full moon and, believing it is a bowl of milk, tries unsuccessfully to obtain it! It's a sweet book, but I don't know that I would have picked it out as "best of year" if I didn't know beforehand. I actually prefer the story of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, which is one of the Honors books from the same year. Since Caldecott winners are determined by illustrations, though, I'm sure the charcoal black & white drawings in Kitten's First Full Moon tipped the scales.
  

• And winner of the 1994 Caldecott Honor for Owen, which is one of the books in Henkes' darling Mouse Books Collection. Each book presents a different issue that preschoolers deal with. I'll give a synopsis of the ones I've read:

Owen-he has a blanket that he can not live without, and his parents receive all kinds of neighborly advice about how they need to handle it
Wemberly Worried-fantastic book for a child who has fears-addresses starting school
Lilly's Big Day-assumes she'll be her teacher's flower girl (Lilly has huge pride issues!)
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse-takes purse to school
Julius, the Baby of the World-Lilly has to learn to accept her new baby brother
Chrysanthemum-deals with being made fun of by others

I got this excerpt of an interview with Henkes from his website:

If you had to sum up in one word the characteristic you most admire in each of your mice—Chester, Chrysanthemum, Lilly, Owen, Sheila Rae, Wendell, Sophie, and Wemberly—what words would you choose?

Chester:	reliable
Chrysanthemum:	sensitive
Lilly:	exuberant
Owen:	centered
Sheila Rae:	brave, of course
Wendell:	clever
Sophie:	tenacious
Wemberly:	thoughtful

I do think Owen deserved the Caldecott honor, but I just don't know how they plucked it out of the whole series. I think if you're going to read it, you'll want to enjoy all the Mouse Books.

Henkes has many Picture Books that you and your kids would enjoy thoroughly!

What is your favorite Caldecott winner?

Which book do you wish was a Caldecott winner?

Koko, the Gorilla

Each week a child in Timothy's class gets to take home a stuffed animal named Koko. Last Monday, Timothy's face was beaming as he ran to me with a giant green bag. In the bag was Koko, her pajamas and blanket, a book "Koko's Kitten", and instructions. Timothy was to take Koko on whatever adventures he was a part of this week, and either draw pictures or take photos and write a story. We had a great time this week with Koko

First, Koko got to try out the swings (For more works of art check out Magic Marker Monday).


Koko played on the computer.


She drank milk from a straw


Koko and Timothy beat Dan and me at Scooby Doo.


She went to AWANA with Timothy and learned that God created all the animals, even gorillas!


On Saturday Koko attended a soccer themed birthday party.


Where all the silly kids were putting cones on their heads-she had to be a part!

Koko had great adventures, but we learned a lot by having her home with us. There is a real gorilla named Koko who uses sign language to communicate! And she loves kittens and has had a few that she has treated like her own babies. It's really a sweet story, and you can learn more about Koko and her kittens here. There is even a page for kids!

1st School Field Trip!

Timothy had his first field trip in kindergarten yesterday. This was a "school wide" field trip to see the H2O exhibit at the Natural History Museum. I can't remember if I've mentioned his school is K-12. I think there are about 250 kids at the school, which is probably the equivalent of an elementary school going on a field trip, right? The staff has identified that Timothy gets overwhelmed by the "big kids" from 2 other events, so I was given the option to drive Timothy directly to the location of the field trip AND I was allowed to bring Samantha!

We got to the museum before the buses, so we took some pictures.

How great of a photographer is Timothy?

One part of the museum had multiple puppets, and I have some great pictures of T's classmates. I won't post them since I don't have parental permission, but here are my two...

Opinion of the exhibit: I thought it was okay. There just wasn't much to it, but what was there the kids enjoyed. Thankfully, we got to see everything the museum had to offer as well. I think the kids actually enjoyed those parts (like the puppets) more than the water exhibit. The best part of the exhibit was a 35 minute movie we got to watch. Wonderful video of sea life and all kinds of animals and plants. I couldn't believe how long our kindergartners were able to sit still and be quiet (Samantha fell asleep), but they did great!

Here is the entrance to the exhibit. You can see "WATER" in the top right and "AGUA" right above T's head. Ideas of the other languages?

T really liked running around in the "mist". Samantha not so much!

This blue is actually more realistic. My flash kept making everything look brighter than it was...


Lots of fun!

San Diego Weather

As everyone knows San Diego doesn't really have drastic changes in the weather. I'm from Texas where we say, "If you don't like the weather, just stick around for a few hours-it will be different!" And even when I lived in the Philippines, half of the year was rainy, with a typhoon here and there to mix it up! Of course, people are willing to buy extremely overpriced homes (or were willing before this market) just to live in this climate.

It doesn't prevent San Diego from having weather issues. Last Oct, we had horrific fires that engulfed the outskirts of the city due to dryness and high winds (and a spark). So, please feel sorry for us...we have to take precautionary measures because the forecast today is a high of 86!!! You think I'm joking. Last night, we received an automated message from Timothy's principal warning us of the heat today: to bring kids in cool clothes, pack extra water bottles for them to keep at their desk, put sunscreen on them. They will have minimal outside activity today!

I know the logic-there is no A/C in the room (that's the norm here), and when the kids have hours of no relief it gets bad. Timothy is particularly affected by extreme temps, so I completely understand and appreciate the lengths they are going to. But I can't help but laugh at what qualifies as a weather incident in this city.

Emotional Day

I have a few different things I want to blog, but I'm just not getting to it these days. Samantha and I are out of the house every morning, and then I use her nap time to get things done around here. Hopefully things will settle down in the next few days, and I will get to it. Today was an extremely painful day. Timothy was violent at school, and I'm at a loss to understand it all. We have a meeting scheduled Mon that will include 10 different people brainstorming a plan.

Even more painful today, Samantha was almost admitted to the hospital. Her oxygen levels are the lowest they have ever been. She was prescribed an antibiotic and a steroid, and if she shows no improvement in 2 days she'll be admitted. I'm confused. She has sounded worse before with better oxygen levels, so I'm feeling like my instincts are not very trustworthy.

Please pray for my children.

Timothy and School

I'll try to keep this short, but since so many of you have prayed faithfully for me I wanted to give you an update on Timothy's 3rd week of school.

Monday-met w/the School Psychologist. He had a couple of inventories for me to fill out. One of them has a home and school version, so he will compare my observations and the teacher's. I also met Timothy's Speech Therapist. She implements social skills in her therapy, which will help Timothy to know when to speak (taking his turn in a conversation). She will also focus on verbalizing his feelings before losing control in anger.

Tuesday-phone call from the counseling intern about another "incident". This was the second time Timothy refused to draw something AND refused to go sit in the quiet area to read as an "alternative activity". He was in the counseling office to cool down, which he did and was able to calmly complete his drawing assignment.

Wednesday-got angry because he wasn't first in line at the warning bell. He was sent to the counseling office again, and I hadn't even left campus yet! The intern and I were able to talk in detail. Our basic plan is that I will be called each time Timothy has to leave the class. He will get a "second chance" to re-enter the class, but if I have to be called again it will most likely be to come get him. I have thankfully not even had to be called sense that Wed morning episode.

Thursday-the counseling intern (by the way, the school has 1 full time counselor and 2 interns for different ages) will be starting a support group for kids and Mrs. F has put Timothy on the list for that. I'm really so excited about all the different opportunities he is getting!

Friday-I had not left campus yet (Samantha plays on swings for about 5 minutes after Timothy goes to class) and heard Timothy crying as the class walked to the all school assembly. I didn't intervene because it was during school time. Mrs. F told me at the end of the day that mostly Timothy had a great day. That crying incident was this: Timothy saw groups of big kids (remember, school is K-12) walking and he started backing up. He told her he was scared. She said, "Come on, Timothy, it's okay." (and admitted to me she should have realized a trigger was coming). He cried, but obeyed (which is great)! Then they got to the assembly, and he kept covering his ears saying, "It's too loud." She let him go to the nurse's office and read books during the hour long assembly. He did fine the rest of the day back in class.

So we take all of this one day at a time. I am continually thankful for his teacher and all the staff in place around Timothy that support him and really show care to him. The counseling intern is a nice guy who works well with Timothy. Friday afternoon all the kids in his class got a "6th grade buddy". Timothy said that his buddy read books to him and "even did the monkey bars with me, mom!" So cute!!

Timothy had a Great Day!

Mrs. F said Timothy was great in math, reading, recess, everything today! He actively participated and was even a helper today in the class. For that, he earned the "Star Student" certificate today. He was jumping and giving high fives to his teacher and me. He even pumped his fist and said "Oh yeah, I did it!" Victory!

Many thanks

The outpouring of care and concern for our school situation with Timothy has been amazing. Thank you so much for your kind words and obvious prayers. Dan and I attend a small group that Timothy loves and has attended for a year. The last 2 Fridays prior to this last Fri, we had to be called out of class. Something huge is going on inside him right now, and it's tough timing starting Kindergarten. This past Fri when we showed up, we made sure the director knew how our Fri morning had been at school. She looked at us determinedly and said, "This is not a physical battle. His teachers and I love him and are praying for him continually. We're going to get through this." He ended up doing wonderfully that night, and even got the "star student" prize. (I'm sure that was for positive reinforcement more than anything). I'm just so thankful that other people in Timothy's life care about him. I have also felt the prayers for me as I have had much more peace this weekend than I have had in a while.

So here's the most recent school update. I received a call from the school nurse about an hour ago. I totally dreaded what she was going to say, so I was relieved when she started with, "I've got good news." The school psychologist observed T in class today. He had very positive things to say about T and thinks they can hold off on the referral (to a medical/mental evaluation) for now. He has some classroom strategies that he talked to the teacher about and wants to talk with me about next Mon (his only day at the school). He thinks half-day Kinder may be needed, but wants to implement some of these strategies first. Of course I'll know more after a thorough meeting with him. I'm excited to do whatever it takes to help Timothy succeed, and am thankful once again for a school that seems to want that as well!

1st Week of School is Over

I wish I could say that after day 1 the rest of the school week was uneventful. Quite the contrary. So as not to overwhelm you with details, here's the snapshot of the week:

Day 2-note home from the teacher

Day 3-note home from the teacher

Day 4-called by nurse around 10 (an hour into school) today to please come pick up Timothy

All 3 incidents were completely different scenarios, but they did all create the same reaction in Timothy "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT!!!!" All three scenes happened in the morning. He has had very good afternoons, evidently.

No, this hasn't been a purely horrific experience, but it sure has been an emotional one. I am grateful that...

• He likes his school (I really dread the morning we have to battle GOING to school).


• He likes his teacher (and I do too).


• I've already made a kind friend...a mother of another boy in T's class.


• The staff has a hands on approach to this. They will be meeting on Monday to create an "action plan" for Timothy (yes, that stings). The nurse and teacher told me they will be recommending half day kindergarten. I think that will be great, but it takes a very special circumstance (because of district issues) for a child to get it.


• Both his teacher and the school nurse (who took a thorough history of Timothy today) care very much. They are practical, and I have yet to get that "can't you fix your son?" tone.

Please pray for our situation. God knows what's best for Timothy. I just need to trust Him!

Kindergarten Pickup

I got to school about 10 minutes early and parked behind 2 other parents of kids in T's same class. We all recognized each other from this morning, so that was cool. Two parents who were already there picking up their kids greeted me with, "Your son is so tired." One of the moms told me he had just been complaining of being cold (remember it's 80 degrees and there's no A/C). Thankfully, I had placed a lightweight jacket in his backpack "waiting for October", and this kind mom helped him put it on.

I don't really know how his day went. No news is good news, right? He told me met a friend named Zach in the other class and 2 older boys (his school is K-12). I received no calls or notes from the teacher today. They assembled a book entitled, "I like red" today, and Timothy read it to me on the way home. He felt very proud when I said he could read it to the whole family tonight as one of our 3 bedtime books.

One last topic: food. I wasn't sure how many snacks they would get today, but I planned for lunch and 1 snack. I think he ate his snack, but he only ate his sandwich for lunch. He didn't eat the yogurt, banana, or PB crackers. He has never eaten big meals by any means, but I think I expected him to at least eat something besides just the sandwich.

I won't be giving a play by play each day, but I needed to at least get day one down! It's over, and I'm alive to write about it!

Kindergarten Drop Off

I've been anxious about T starting Kindergarten because his sensory and anger issues have escalated recently. That combined with his school's complete lack of organization (due to massive reconstruction on campus) made today a bit stressful. Phone lines were completely down last week, so there was no way to meet his teacher, see his classroom, or have any type of Kinder orientation. In fact, when I drove over there on Thurs last week, the secretary explained that they hadn't determined teacher assignments yet. God loves me too much to give me any possible thing to hold onto for security short of Him and Him alone!!! I've had to admit my anxiety-I'm just anxious! But I am determined to say, "He's yours, Lord," every time I start playing the possible scenarios (of course all bad ones) in my head.

Here's how the morning went:

1. Timothy wasn't on the list for either Kinder class (there is one K and one K-1). A trip to the office resolved this quickly. The recruiter wrote a note saying Timothy was registered. I was given the option of which class, and I chose the straight K class. I don't know why exactly.
2. For blogging purposes, I'll call his teacher Ms. F. She has been a 6th grade science teacher for several years, and this is her first K class. She seems nice (and patient), but this will be a transition for her surely. She has 17 animals at home, and will bring a science/animal emphasis to the class. There are 2 guinea pigs in the room (they got to pet one), and the kids will be putting a fish tank together over time.
3. There are 2 Kindergartners with peanut allergies, and at least 1 of them is in his class. Timothy's main source of food is peanut butter, so we would not want any child in danger!!!! The nurse will be coordinating with the parents of those kids and the K teachers to figure out how that will play out.
4. Sensory wise it was a rough start. As you can imagine, it was total chaos with this morning essentially being Kinder orientation. There were 21 students (that's BIG here), and almost as many parents. It's also a warm day in San Diego, and our schools don't have A/C-he looked like he was wilting. And during the opening activity (that parent's were welcomed to watch) the kids shared 3 things they love. Ms F. told them to hold hands while all the kids told their 3 things. I've never seen Timothy able to hold hands that long with anyone! He did it (which I'm proud of), but that kind of sensory stimulation is so overwhelming to him and it showed.
5. Our presence. At one point in circle time Timothy came to me and said, "Mom, I want you." He's never been a clingy child (maybe the opposite), so this is just his way of saying, "I'm in sensory overload, and I need to be safe." I held him for a couple of minutes and then was able to talk him into going back to the group. When the teacher assigned them their desks, she handed out a coloring sheet. He immediately looked for me, "Mom, I need help." He is very insecure about drawing, and he responds disrespectfully when he's trying to avoid it. Thankfully, we worked on that during our Aug "home school kindergarten", and I think that helped him this morning.

He's going to be exhausted! I'll keep you posted on his first full day!

Summer is Ending

My MOPS group has had a couple of playdates almost every week this summer. Most schools start on Sept 2nd here, so yesterday was our last playdate. It was so much fun! Light, summery food...happily playing kids...great conversation. We leave that all behind in a few days, and to tell you the truth, I have been extremely anxious about it. Kindergarten. How will my little boy handle it? Is there a chance it won't be as hard as I'm imagining? Will I finally give these fears over to my Father and NOT pick them back up again? Can I start to imagine how fun it will be to have one-on-one time with Samantha for the 1st time in her 2 1/2 years of life? Scripture memory needs to be way more of a priority than it is right now.