(no subject)

[the_rck]

Scott took last week as vacation. He didn't get through most of the things on his to do list due to all the rain (it's hard to do things like cleaning and sealing the driveway when it's pouring). He did set up a refinance on the house. He also sort of installed a ceiling fan in Cordelia's room-- It looks great, but it doesn't work. There's something off in the wiring somewhere. Scott ran out of time, so we're having to hire someone to come in to fix it and to install the fan in our room.

This morning, an appraiser is coming to look at the house. I hope he can see through the clutter because there's no way I can clear things up in the next hour and a half. Scott's comment last night was that the guy is looking to make sure the house exists, has a furnace and a roof, and hasn't suffered major unreported damage since our previous refinance. Given that the guy said he'd only be here twenty minutes, Scott's probably right. I just have some house pride issues (just not enough to kill myself working on it).

We kept Cordelia home from her soccer game on Saturday. She started limping on Friday (we're guessing from an injury at Thursday's practice). At first, we weren't sure it was real because she did it in an really exaggerated way starting when she saw me in the school library, but she was consistent, even when she was insisting that she was well enough to play. She was just barely putting weight on her right leg with a little hop that said that it hurt.

She had a twenty minute meltdown over not going to the game. She tried to convince us that she could run but couldn't do it without the limp. Scott ended up taking her to the Hands On Museum as compensation for the game. I was worried that that would make things worse, but she was walking almost normally by the end of the day and was running normally on Sunday. I still told her teachers this morning, just in case, but I don't expect any trouble.

Some time in the next week, I'll be meeting with Cordelia's teachers. They want to send her to one of the second grade classrooms for a little while every day so that she can have reading instruction there. Apparently there's nobody else in the first grade who's reading at her level, and they feel that solo reading by itself isn't going to benefit her.

I had wondered why Cordelia said she hadn't been taught any reading at school. She said other kids were being taught but that she just did solo reading. The idea with her going to the other class would be to have her work with two or three other kids and be able to discuss what they read and to read to each other.

I'm not sure why a conference is needed for this. I approve of the idea and assume that all three teachers (the two first grade teachers and the second grade teacher) know what they're doing. Cordelia likes the idea, too, and she's the one most affected. I suppose the intention is to let me ask questions.

Cordelia has started reading Charlotte's Web out loud to her 'kids' (her stuffed animals and dolls). She's about forty pages in. Her teachers are reading the book to her class, so she's going over stuff she's heard already, but I'm impressed. I just find myself wanting to protect her from being sad at the ending. I have no idea if she will be, but my instinct is to shield her.

Comments

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

I remember being sad at the ending of Charlotte's Web, but happy I had read it. It felt like a big, important, grown-up book and I liked that I got to read about important grown-up things. :)

Good for Cordelia being ahead in her reading!

[the_rck]

I don't remember my first reactions to Charlotte's Web. I know I liked the book, but I don't remember specifically my first reading (or even if I read it before seeing the movie). I think this is me just wanting to insulate Cordelia from everything. I'll have to get over it.

I knew Cordelia was reading ahead of her grade level, but I didn't realize by how much. I'm pleased by it, too. I have to decide the right way to encourage her to keep going. I'm hoping that access to more books, more stories, more information is a reward in itself, but I want Cordelia to know that we're proud of her, too.

[sorcycat.livejournal.com]

My 3 year old had a minor limp the other day. The chiro thought it was due to knots in muscles which affect his knee. One was up on the outside of the thigh, and the other was on the outer muscle in the back below the knee. I worked on them, bribing with cookies to get him to sit still and we managed to solve the problem. You might try looking for knots if you can get her to sit still for a few minutes.

[the_rck]

I poked at her a little, but she's so ticklish that it's hard to do. If the pain had continued, I'd have gotten more serious about it.

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

I cried buckets when I first read "Charlotte's Web." When my kiddos first read it, I warned them from time to time that there's a very sad part at the end. Both of them weathered it okay, with no tears. Looking back, I'm now not sure if I cheated them of the experience of caring so deeply when Charlotte dies. So I'm not sure if I'd do it the same way if I had it to do over again.

A couple of years ago one of the kids' teachers did a Charlotte's Web unit, where they read the book, saw the play, watched the movie, etc. I was a chaperone for the play. When Charlotte died, I cried! I hadn't expected that and hadn't brought any tissues, so it was a little perplexing to decide what to do while I was both dripping and also chaperoning little kids.

I'm glad to hear that Cordelia's school is sending her to another class for reading. My friend's first grader is stuck sitting there while her class learns letter sounds, even though she is a fluent reader. That must be deadly boring for her, poor kid. I'm glad my own kids' school is more flexible than that.

[the_rck]

I'm tempted to warn Cordelia, but I'm holding myself back from it.

I don't know if the sending Cordelia to another class is school policy or not. It sounds like something the teachers have worked out. Of course, they probably wouldn't do it without sanction from the principal.

[dspitzle.livejournal.com]

Regarding the outplacement for reading, I would say do it. I actually got bumped out of kindergarten entirely because I was already reading (I mean reading an entire book out loud to the rest of the class reading), and I can't imagine things working out well if my educational environment hadn't been altered to match my learning capacity. Admittedly I had some serious social consequences, but this change is an order of magnitude less extreme, so I wouldn't worry on that front. If they start talking promotion, we should talk.

[the_rck]

We didn't even consider not doing it. I think it will be a great opportunity for Cordelia.