Cumulative Review

I think I'm in a time warp. The school year is over. . . already? I really shouldn't be shocked because Clayton and Isaac have been counting down (and announcing) the days until Summer Vacation for the last 2 months. And don't get me wrong - I'm looking forward to Summer (i.e. sleeping in, swimming, traveling, and seeing family!) as much as they are. It's just that I'm surprised and bummed, I guess, that time (life) goes by so fast. And all the things I planned on doing "while the kids were in school" I didn't do. And all the moments I meant to savor are long gone. But mostly, the end of the school year means that my kids are older. . .

and that makes me kind of sad.


I've been at the school a lot recently helping out with end-of-the-year assessments, events, programs, picnics and whatnot. And I've been thinking about the school year and wanted to "document" a few things about each of my school kids - you know, before we all move on to bigger and better things.

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Let's start with Isaac.
Isaac had a rough year with school. Er. . . let me rephrase that. School had a rough year with Isaac. (Believe me. . . Isaac enjoyed practically every minute of it - for better or for worse!)
Here are some of his infractions:

"not keeping hands and feet to self"
"stick fighting at recess"
"pushing at recess"
"kicking at recess"
"playing too rough at recess"
"sharing his food at lunch"
"smashing his food at lunch"
"poking holes through his work"
"urinating on bathroom walls/floor"
"making a mess with glue"
"cutting his hair, socks, pants, shirt, carpet, lunch box, another student's work"
"walking backwards in line"
"not using an inside voice"
"sloppy work"

At the beginning of the school year, Nate and I were asked to attend a parent/teacher conference (lecture) to discuss Isaac's behavior in school. The assistant principal came prepared with a stack of parenting pamphlets and a whole lot of parenting advice which we listened to graciously. As we were all walking out of the meeting Isaac's teacher jokingly turned to us and said, "Well, he's sure a different kid than Clayton, isn't he!" The assistant principal literally stopped in her tracks, she obviously hadn't put it together that Clayton and Isaac were brothers, "Wait. So. . . did you do anything different as parents with either of the boys?" Nate and I both laughed OUT LOUD. How could we? They are both so close in age that even if we wanted to we couldn't have raised them differently. They have had practically identical routines their whole lives. Kids are different. Even brothers. They come how they come and we love them and do our best. Isaac's behavior in school was a defining project for our whole family this year.

And to Isaac's credit, his self-control and empathy/respect towards others at school improved A TON as he matured over the course of the year. And lucky for him, he'll get a "do over" in full-blown Kindergarten next year. Hopefully being one of the older kids rather than the very youngest will make a difference.

Besides his behavior issues, though, Isaac is a quick and intuitive learner. He is still as imaginative as ever and captivates us all with his homespun adventures. Despite his "sloppy work" at school, he still reads and writes with the best of them. He adores all his friends - we can't go anywhere without running into some friend of his! not even kidding. At home Isaac is a delight and a big help.

Nate was at the school the other day and took some pictures of Isaac's work. I laughed so hard when I read what Isaac wrote about butterflies. Then I googled it, and guess what? Isaac's right.


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Next, Clayton.
Every year (since Clayton was born) his teachers tell me the same thing, "Clayton is. . . um. . . interesting." Which means a million different things. But mostly it means he is harder to figure out than most children. He doesn't always respond (right away) to questions. He doesn't always make eye contact. He daydreams. He's absent minded (I can't even count the number of times he lost his jacket or his lunchbox or some assignment or another this year). Clayton is quiet, kind, and polite to the extreme! And he also happens to be REALLY good at taking tests - which worked to his advantage this year.

Here's a snippet of my parent/teacher conference before Christmas. (Clayton has two teachers - I didn't get a word in edgewise)
Teacher 1: Clayton is. . . um. . . interesting. We love having him in class although it's hard to tell if he's paying attention because he doesn't always turn in his assignments or answer direct questions.
Teacher 2: Sometimes he surprises us, though, with fascinating detailed answers. Like last week when he compared the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to World War II.
Teacher 1: (laughing) Yes, Clayton is always thinking about something, isn't he.
Teacher 2: We're also concerned that he is not completing his timed math sheets. Week after week he turns in incomplete work. We can't quite figure him out.
Teacher 1: We already know he can do the math easily. Because in his free time, he's adding and subtracting numbers in the billions.
Teacher 2: (sigh) We're mostly concerned because (pulls out a file) looking at his test scores to get into this program - wow! Clayton is obviously a child with superior intelligence. We just hope that as teachers, we're doing all that we can to meet his needs.

I almost laughed out loud. How the tables have turned! Clayton's a lucky kid to get away with losing assignments, not answering questions, and submitting incomplete work! And the teachers think it's their fault???

Clayton's teachers eventually warmed up to his personality and all in all, he had a great school year with perfect behavior marks and perfect attendance. The highlight of the year was his "First Grade Resident Expert Project" on Catapults (more pictures coming).
Here is a picture of his Sam Houston biography in which he wrote, ". . . Sam Houston was a lot like Brigham Young. He liked Mormons."


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And lastly, Briggy.
Brigham charmed his way through his year at the Montessori School. He loved taking me on "tours" of his classroom - explaining all the different work areas (over and over) and introducing me to all his friends (again and again). His favorite activities were "counting beads", "color boxes", and "soap shaving". Towards the end of the year he was finally banned (permanently) from "window washing". When I asked him why, he said (beaming), "Because I used-ded the spray bottle as a squirt gun. And when Ms. K told me not to I still squirted somebody right in the eye!". Nice. Despite the "no toys from home" policy, Brigham still managed to sneak a "little friend" (or two) to school in his pocket every day.

I enjoyed my afternoons with Brigham all to myself this year. He sings constantly and narrates our whole day - mostly in third person. He loves doing "jobs" - especially disassembling and cleaning out the stove-top. He has taken it upon himself to be my personal baseball trainer and is very impatient with my poor pitching skills. When he's not playing ball, he's hunting for bugs - which he collects by the handful. I love my Briggy.

Here he is feeding jello to his "buggy friends" and a picture of a few of his (many) bug habitats.


Whew! Well that was long. But at least getting some of this "down on paper" makes me feel slightly less heartbroken that my kids are growing up. I always say I wish I could bottle them and keep them forever. . . and this is about as close as I can get.

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