Our Fourth is 4

A few days before Christmas Bridgie Rose turned 4 years old. Her day began with breakfast in bed and ending by going out to dinner to her choice of restaurant. She chose the Double T diner. She was incredibly excited for her birthday and especially the presents. She giggled her way through the unwrapping and we couldn't help but have a good time watching her delight.

Bridget was so excited to tell everyone who acknowledged her birthday all about what she received. A number of family members called her on her birthday and she was thrilled for the opportunity to share her excitement. She spoke so fast and excitedly I don't think most people could follow her. But they all got the gist. She was one happy little girl.

Bridget has decided that 4 is pretty big. We let her try chewing gum some time ago but she swallowed it so we put it off till the big age of 4. Well the day after her birthday she asked for gum and was so proud to be chewing it again. As she was chewing it and telling us that she wouldn't swallow it she accidentally swallowed it again. Her poor little checks hung so low with disappointment. 4 is big but maybe gum needs to wait a little while longer.

One other item that was to change with the turning of 4 was the guard rail on her bottom bunk. It has been on there since she feel out of bed at age 2 3/4 and broke her collar bone. She asked to take it off this summer and I told her to wait till age 4. I feel a little hesitant with removing this safety feature. A broken bone is a bigger deal than swallowed gum, but 4 is pretty big. Right?

Six and Stressed at School

Megan is an optimistic kid and enjoys life.  So when Megan began expressing worry about 1st grade and her ability to learn to read, my concern was peaked. She began complaining about headaches and stomachaches and was visiting the nurse pretty frequently. At first I figured that this was due to her teacher being pregnant and subs coming in periodically, then transitioning to a long term sub. It would take time for anyone to adjust to a new teacher, but Megan's stress seemed to be getting worse instead of better as time went on. When I talked to Megan she had 2 main worries- social interactions with other 1st graders and not being able to learn. I was really worried about Megan and was glad it was American Education Week and I was visiting the classroom.

It all made sense to me when I observed the class. There was no classroom management, and even though they kids are pretty good it was chaos. I doubt if any of the kids were learning anything. I wasn't impressed with her handle on the lessons either but the constant movement, talking and interruptions made focusing on the instruction almost impossible.

Megan was complaining about not being able to hear and after what I witnessed I was not surprised. I already had a conference scheduled for the upcoming Monday, so I contacted the sub and asked for the guidance counselor and someone from the administration to attend. The meeting with them went really well. I felt listened to, no one was dismissive or defensive, and they came up with steps to make changes in the classroom immediately. My part was to then come back to observe after 2 weeks time.

I went in and I was really glad to see that the long term sub was using more classroom management tools. It wasn't great but it was better. This visit allowed me to see more of the instruction and bluntly, it was horrible. Jim and I talked it over and we decided to ask to have Megan moved to a different class. Megan is still anxious and although the social aspect of her stress has gotten much better, she is upset about not learning. She wants to do well and she wants to understand things and I am grateful that she is aware enough to realize that she is missing things by no fault of her own.

I am awaiting a response from the school, and I am praying that changes can be made quickly.

Saying Goodbye to Neighbors

We moved into our house in 2000 to a neighborhood of mostly original owners, who were in their 70's. Within a few years the neighborhood began to shift to young families. In 2005 the house across the street from us sold and to our delight the family that moved in had 2 young girls. The oldest, Molly, was in Emma's grade. This was especially good because Emma, who was changing from our Parrish school to enter 2nd grade at our public school, would go through the transition with a classmate. The 2 of them have been friends ever since. Erin, their younger daughter, was in between Rachael and Megan's ages. Our girls played with Molly and Erin regularly. They came to our house and vice versa. Aside from riding the same school bus for 5 years, Em and Molly were also in the same Girl Scout troop and on the same field hockey team. In elementary school Emma was very emotionally attached to Molly, sometimes maybe too much. They grew up and by middle school they found a balance and a great friendship.

Between school and scouts, their Mom, Laura and I spent many mornings chatting and planning carpools. Laura and Rick are incredibly generous and thoughtful, and were always willing to loan a tool or carry a heavy load. Laura is an exceptionally creative person and always had something in the works, from giant bubble wands, to a miniature Mount Rushmore for GS camp. It was always inspiring to listen to her good ideas or just talk and vent about current circumstances. It was such a blessing to have another Mom across the street, to be an emergency back-up but also a friend.

Right before Thanksgiving these great neighbors moved to Pittsburgh. We knew it was coming for months, but it wound up being a warp mode move. The house sold in the first few days on the market and they were set to move before Thanksgiving instead of over Christmas like we were expecting. The lead up to the move was hard for Emma and she frequently threw in the fact that Molly was moving to any request to spend time with her. We made it a point to give Emma extra leeway and time.  Emma recounted their first meeting for me.

• Molly: Hi, my name is Molly.
• Emma: Hi, my name is Emma.
• Molly: My favorite color is purple.
• Emma: Mine too!
• Molly: Hey do you want to play Polly Pockets?
• Emma: Sure!

The two of them have come a long way from playing Polly Pockets together. Now it is discussing cellphones, music and middle school drama. Emma misses having Molly to walk and talk with on the way to the bus each morning and to goof around with at scouts, but texting has certainly kept the 2 of them connected. They are lucky to have such technology.

We will definitely miss them and we pray that they have an easy transition.