Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Just a Bunch of Stuff.......

Miscellaneous Nuggets.......

Jami had a wonderful birthday. I haven't posted anymore pics because I've not downloaded any yet!! With my parents help, we are really stressing how grown up 4 yr olds can be. Up until recently, Jami could still be counted on to throw unprovoked tantrums at her whim. They are really tired related, but they could happen if she was in need of a nap, was woken from a nap, or was just post nap. That girl takes awhile to become civil.

And, she is known for loudly shouting her disdain of everyone or ANYONE who rubs her the wrong way. That not only includes those of us with more frequent opportunities (like mom, sissy, & grandparents), but extends to friends, fellow church goers, service people, or anyone who might happen to stop & comment on her cuteness when she's in a "MOOD". It can be pretty embarrassing. We have told her that 4 yr olds do NOT do that. I tell her it is OK not to like someone, but those are things you tell mommy in private. She always has permission to tell someone to stop doing whatever is bothering her, but she shouldn't say "I don't like you!" quite as liberally as she does now. The great news is, there have been some wonderful improvements in this area with her.

Truthfully, her moods are becoming more evened out & she seems happy & delightful more often than not. Folks closest to us have just learned to give Jami a little room before engaging her.

Lindsi is doing well. We recently had her IEP for next year's placement. It was recommended that she stay with her top tier class. I thought we could be borderline there, but her teacher has a lot of confidence in her abilities & I'm relieved she won't need to re start again socially. When Lindsi entered the 1st grade, her overall language level was 4 years / 7 months. This school year, she has JUMPED 2 years in language. She recently tested at 6 yrs / 7 months, which put her about 4 months behind her chronological age. She works so hard. I am always proud of her accomplishments.

These next few weeks we are really trying to rack up the rest of her AR (Accelerated Reader) points. She has 42, but needs 50 within the next 3 weeks to be able to participate with (the majority of) the class in a day at the park. She, truthfully, could care less. I care about it. I did not sweat it when she missed the midyear pizza party. The park trip is in conjunction with the 2nd grade class that she is moving up to. "I" want her assumed 2nd grade teacher to meet her in that environment, with the rest of the class. So for the next few weeks I'm driving her to school so she can spend some extra time in the library taking AR tests. And, we are pushing the reading of AR books at home too. When I mentioned this to some of the other class parents, they gave me all sorts of hints & methods to achieve our goal. I'm pretty sure we can do it. Without my help though, it would have been really hard, as she can only check out one book a day & the AR points are .5 each book.

3 comments:

Jenna said...

Sounds like a big switch goes off at four just like it does at three! Hooray for four! Counting the days...tick, tock, tick, tock. Glad you guys are having fun.

ourchinagirls said...

Debby,

You know, we could be raising twins who were separated at birth and from different provinces??!! Two sets of twins! Lindsi/ZoraLin and Jami/Kendalan what a riot!

We have just got to meet someday soon! I feel like we may have been sisters separated at birth too! What is halfway between KS and FL????

~~Hugs~~
Christie

Amy said...

Deb, one of my boys' behavior between 2 and 4 was the source of more premature gray hairs than I could count. He was so beautiful to look at (mom speaking here), but when someone would come up to us say, in a grocery store and say.."Oh what a handsome little boy." He would get this miserably cross look on his face and shout, "No!" Yeah, real handsome. On his fourth birthday I was heading out with him and his baby sister to the grocery store. I told him that "Now that you are 4, you will have to behave politely, like a Big Boy. Mommy won't take a big boy out with her who doesn't use nice manners." I didn't hold out much hope, but as we were walking down one of the aisles, an older gentleman was blocking the way with his cart. My big 4 year old boy said, "Excuse me, please." You could have knocked me over with a feather! Of course BIG BIG praise followed this first foray into the civilized world, and he has been an absolute gem ever since. All that to say, "there's hope!"
:)