Adjusting to the the school life

I just started doing laundry and I found swimsuits at the bottom of the pile from Monday of last week. I can't believe it--I know I did laundry during the week. . . at least I think I did. Hmmm? Sometimes I think I'm getting Alzheimer's. I am so forgetful at times. I especially lose my keys, my cellphone and my sunglasses. Even though I have a spot for them, sometimes getting in or out of the house becomes so stressful that I don't think about what I'm doing and they get misplaced. My kids have often prayed that I will find my keys and, thank goodness, they're always found.

Getting into the swing of our crazy school schedule this year has been interesting. The twins only went to pre-school for an hour last week so it was extremely short. But Spencer and I did manage to get in a bike ride one day and distribute fliers at his school for the PTA the other day. I'm looking forward to this week--they extend preschool another half hour so we might be able to accomplish even more!

Spencer has enjoyed kindergarten so far. He especially likes riding his bike to the bus stop and taking the bus to school. I've been sending in a snack each day but he wanted to try the school snack one day last week so I sent in an envelope with money in it to put into his cafeteria account. Well, two days later, I was doing a thorough examination of his backpack and found the crumpled envelope with money intact. When I asked him why he didn't turn it in, he said, "Mom, they just give you a ticket. You don't have to pay." So his teacher must have thought I didn't send him a snack that day and gotten him one anyway. He doesn't fully understand the money exchange process yet. Recently, I sent him to the snack bar at the pool with a ten dollar bill. He got his ice cream sandwich and came back with the change. He said, "Look mom, they gave me all this money. Aren't they nice?" not understanding that it was change. Then a few days later when I told him I didn't have money to go to McDonalds, he said, "I know! Let's go to the pool and they'll give you money at the snack bar." Returning back to school, our only challenge with him at the moment is homework. He is very resistant to me during homework time and makes a simple task take forever because he doesn't want to try. But I think once he realizes that he can't talk his way out of it, he will do it without complaint (at least I hope so!)

Rachel's adjusting to middle school. I am a little frustrated with one class--her writing enrichment class. They are expected to type their essays into the computer during class rather than hand write them. Well, my 5th grader doesn't know how to type at all. It takes her an hour to type a one paragraph e-mail. Apparently her assignment in writing was to write a 5 paragraph essay on Friday. How in the world is she supposed to type five paragraphs in a 37 minute class period? She didn't complete the assignment but the teacher made her submit it anyway and she received a bad grade. Rachel is an excellent writer but she is being graded on her typing skills, not her writing skills. One of my friends who teaches at a different district told me they had the same writing program but after they tried it, they discovered it could not accurately assess a student's writing ability because of the typing issue and they stopped using it. I mentioned my concerns about Rachel's lack of typing skills at the open house and the teacher pretty much blew me off. Now I've sent her an e-mail so I'm awaiting her response. I simply want Rachel to have the opportunity to demonstrate her true writing ability. Paul also set up a typing tutoring program for Rachel at home so that she'll become more proficient. So we'll see what happens. I dislike making waves by complaining to teachers but someone has to advocate for our kids!

Well, I'd better see if I can get to the bottom of that laundry pile today before I go to the bus stop for my 3rd and 4th time today. Adios!