Zeke and Mayci’s Final Grades

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Zeke and Mayci both did fabulous this year. They both worked so hard and their grades totally reflected that.

Zeke
Language Arts – B (83%, 84% for the year)
Math – B (84%, 78% for the year)
Social Studies – A (90%, 83% for the year)
Science – B (89%, 86% for the year)
He got Satisfactories in Conduct and Health (Excellent for the year) and Excellents in Art, Theater Arts, Music, and PE.

Mayci
Language Arts – A (99%, 97% for the year)
Math – B (86%, 92% for the year)
Social Studies – A (100%, 99% for the year)
Science – A (100%, 97% for the year)
She got Excellents in Conduct, Health, Art, Theater Arts, Music, and PE.

Anthony’s 4th Quarter of Kindergarten Grades

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Kindergartners are graded on a scale of 1 to 4. Anthony did so great this school year. He has a rough time sometimes because of ADHD and the medication shortage issues going on right now, but the school has been amazing helping him through it. As with pre-k, most kids get 2s and 3s for their grades.

In music and PE both, he got a 3 and a 2 (the 2s related to conduct). In language arts he got all 3s and a 2. His stage of writing is writing sentences. In reading he got all 3s and a 2. In math he got all 3s and a 2. He can rote count to 100, which as high as they test to at his age. In social studies he got all 3s. In science he got all 3s. In conduct he got mostly 3s and a few 2s which is really awesome for him, especially with a not so great medication option.

Joel and Noah

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About a year ago Nicholas and Joel started playing together a lot. Nicholas was almost 4 and Joel was almost 3 at that point. Recently, Joel has started playing with Noah all the time. They laugh and run around and have the best time. Noah is about a year delayed so even though they are the exact same age, Noah’s reached the point developmentally Joel was at a year ago. Joel’s the age Nicholas was when the two of them started playing together so much so I guess it makes perfect sense that the twins are now able to play together, too.

Nicholas and Noah’s 4th Quarter Grades

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Nicholas and Noah both did so great this school year. They both know all 26 upper and lowercase letters, the sounds all 26 letters make, and can rote count to 30 (the max they test pre-k kids to). Pre-K kids are scored 1 to 4. Mostly they scored 2s and 3s.

In self-awareness, which includes things like waiting their turn, self-regulating, and showing initiative. Nicholas got a pretty even mix of 2s and 3s. Noah got mostly 3s in that section.

In self-management, which includes things like remaining focused in group activities for 20 minutes and free/center play activities for 25 minutes, showing flexibility to changes in routine, and following 2- and 3-step instructions, Nicholas got all 2s and one 3 (in staying engaged in free play activities) and Noah got a mix of 2s and 3s.

In social awareness, which includes things like using imagination and identifying similarities and differences in families, Nicholas got all 3s and a 2 and Noah got all 3s.

In relationship skills, which includes things like interacting positively with peers and adults and initiating social interactions with peers, they both got a pretty even mix of 2s and 3s.

In responsible decision-making, which includes taking care of materials appropriately and showing curiosity and trying new approaches, Nicholas got all 2s and a 3 and Noah got all 3s.

In emergent literacy, which includes all sorts of pre-reading skills, Nicholas got all 2s and Noah got a mix of 2s and 3s. Nicholas’ stage of writing is letter-like forms or mock letters and Noah’s stage of writing is wavy scribbles or mock letters.

In emergent math, which includes all sorts of pre-math skills, Nicholas got almost all 3s and a couple 2s and Noah got all 3s.

In additional standards, which includes things like using sensory language to describe objects and observing and exploring the natural processes in the environment, Nicholas got all 3s and Noah got mostly 3s and a 2.

What a difference five months makes

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The big question for the Spring Showcase was whether Nicholas would stay on stage for his whole dance. At the Winter Showcase he had to be gently led off the stage after playing with the microphone and laying down while everyone danced around him.

It was dicey at first. He immediately went to play with the microphone but his big sister was having none of that and literally dragged him to the circle where they were supposed to start from.

She kept a bit of a death drip on him at first and forced him to go in the circle with the other children. But then they all separated and she was on the opposite side of the stage from him and could no longer keep him in line.

Much to our delight he started doing the moves along with everyone else. He didn’t even try to go for the microphone again and didn’t lay down on the stage this time.

It’s kind of funny to watch him dance since if he does a move that feels good to him he’ll do it a few extra times before moving on to the next one.

In between the Winter and Spring Showcases he was diagnosed with ADHD and started taking Ritalin which is working so well for him. It’s certainly made a difference when it comes to dance!

All Decorated for the Summer

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When the kids got home from the last day of school I had “decorated” for the summer. They were so excited to see everything.

I made checklists/schedules for them for each day. I’m printing out four days at a time on one sheet of paper. The checklists make it easy for me to track who has done what.

I put up a calendar to mark off each day to count down to the first day of next school year. Also on the wall are the four older littles’ Summer Brain Quest maps to put the stickers on as they complete their workbooks.

On one shelf of our tall bookcase I put a bunch of educational games and the workbooks they’ll be using this summer.

Spring Showcase

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Last weekend was the spring dance showcase. This time the theme was Alice in Wonderland. It’s absolutely amazing to see the growth of all the kids from one showcase to another. They all work so hard and the show was absolutely amazing!

For the first time Zeke didn’t fight me on getting makeup put on. At his house before us toys and things were very gendered so he was quite uncomfortable with wearing makeup on stage. Now he understands about the lights and sees that the other boys wear makeup, too, while they are performing so it’s okay with him now. Zeke opted to wait until he was backstage to put on his first costume. Mayci actually needed a different one for her first number so she had to change before the show (they were there an hour before it started so plenty of time to get the right costume on).

Mayci’s first number was junior acro to the song Lost by Maroon 5. That is her favorite type of dance right now and she’s getting to take a weekly class of it through the summer which makes her very happy (plus she’ll be taking a one week junior acro camp and helping in a mini acro camp).

Since Mayci is 6 and really hadn’t had much dance experience before last August she’s been taking mostly mini age classes this year. She’s tall for her age so she towers over the other kids in most of her classes. But junior acro is 6-12 year olds making her one of the smallest in the class. This means she got to do a couple lifts where she was the one being lifted.

Mayci and Anthony did a mini hip hop dance to A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman. Their costumes were very much Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation time period.

Zeke and Mayci did a ballet dance to Shake It Off. Zeke was totally wearing a formal tuxedo outfit complete with a bow tie.

Mayci is very good at doing cartwheels. She and one of her Munchkin teammates who was also taking ballet/tap with Zeke and Mayci did cartwheels across the stage in the middle of the song.

Zeke’s progressed so much in his musical theater and acting classes this year. He gave his lines with good voice inflection. This arms in the air while cheering about something is so totally him. I love that they wrote that into his part. Notice he’s the only one with something on under his t-shirt. This scene came immediately after the ballet dance. He went backstage where someone was waiting with his t-shirt. They quickly removed his bow tie and put the t-shirt on him and he was right back on stage.

Mayci, Anthony, and Nicholas did a jazz dance to What Else Can I Do? from Encanto. I absolutely love the costumes for this one. The fiesta dresses for the girls are beautiful and the guayabera shirts for the boys are so nice.

Best part of the dance for the kids was getting to use the ribbons near the end of it. Who doesn’t love waving a ribbon around after all.

Mayci’s last number was a jazz dance to Teenage Drama Queen with her Munchkin team. They didn’t really start learning it until after their competition. I’m impressed with how well they did with just a few weeks of practice.

Mayci will be on the competition team again next year. One of her teammates is moving up to Juniors and they are adding a little girl who was in mini hip hop and ballet/jazz with Mayci and Anthony this year.

They got to use feather boas for their dance. Every Tuesday and Thursday I’ve been picking feathers out of her hair and dance bag. Looking at how many feathers were left on the stage, I’m surprised there are any left on the boas at this point!

May Reads

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I read 12 books in May which was a total of 3160 pages. I began the month with Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert. I gave it 4 stars. It was an enemies to friends romance which is always fun. Then I read There I Go Again by William Daniels. I gave it 5 stars. I apparently read it before when it first came out but I don’t really remember reading it. I love Mr. Feeny. After that I read The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters. I gave it 5 stars. I immediately passed it on to Zeke because I knew he’d love the foster kid with superhero parents thing.

My next book was Just the Way You Are by Beth Moran. I gave it 5 stars. It was a fun, clean romance that was picked for the real life book club I go to. Then I read Untold Stories of Nurses: The COVID-19 Pandemic by Kate Kalagher. I gave it 2 stars. I should know better than to read books that indie authors ask me to read. It never goes well. The stories in this book were great. The need of an editor was greater. Next I read You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson. I gave it 5 stars. This was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Also sad, and relatable.

After that I read Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. I gave it 4 stars. It ruined my all 5 star ratings for Book of the Month books streak. It was still good and I enjoyed reading about 60-something year old women being awesome. Then I read Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. I gave it 5 stars. That was a re-read and even knowing the twist at the end it was still a truly fabulous book. There’s a reason Nicola Yoon is one of my most favorite authors. Next I read Clone 3 by Patti Larsen. I gave it 2 stars. Usually I love young adult dystopian. This one just wasn’t very good.

My next book was Nothing But the Truth by Avi. I gave it 5 stars. It was written in a very unique style and easily taught a very useful lesson without that lesson being right in your face. Then I read The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. I gave it 4 stars. This was probably the most well done classic retelling I have ever read. My last book of the month was Knights of the Square Table by Teri Kanfield. I gave it 3 stars. It wasn’t the most awesome end to my month of books. Parts were good, but the last half was just kind of weird.

My favorite book of the month: Everything, Everything

My least favorite book of the month: Clone 3

Number of 5 Star Books: 6
Number of 4 Star Books: 3
Number of 3 Star Books: 1
Number of 2 Star Books: 2
Number of 1 Star Books: 0

38/100 books left to read for my goal of the year

I got through almost my entire TBR (just Amari and the Night Brothers left) for the month so nearly all of the books on June’s TBR are new. I added the next Harry Potter and the next Throne of Glass, a book a friend recommended to me that was in my reading soon file, the June book for my real life book club, a book for 2023 BINGO, and the last five books I need to complete my Alphabet Soup challenge. That’s a total of 11 books. Since the kids are out of school for the summer now I probably won’t be able to come close to finished the four books I’m currently reading plus get to all of these. I guess we’ll see at the end of the month.

School’s Out

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Yesterday was the last day for the 2022-23 school year. Now we have a 75 day summer break. In August we’ll have two in pre-k (at two different schools since Noah will still be in ECSE), one in kindergarten, one in first grade, one in second grade, one in third grade, and a sophomore and a senior in high school.

Fritz is all done his junior year. When he unloaded his backpack he saved a pile of stuff and said there was information about applying to college in there because that’s coming up quick. He took AP US History this year and while it was a lot of work he also learned a lot.

Adrian finished his freshman year. He loves DATA in spite of the long bus ride (his best friend is going to another magnet at the same school next year, though, so the bus ride will be a bonus. There were three or four fires set at their school the last few months so he did indeed learn what happens when there is arson. He said he won’t have holidays because he’ll be going to summer school for six weeks (taking art and PE so he can get all the appropriate credits to graduate because of iCSI).

Zeke completed second grade. I have no idea where he got play tennis for what he plans to do over the summer. He’ll be playing some other sports, but not tennis. He doesn’t know why he said that either.

Mayci finished first grade. Of course she said she wants to do her summer workbook this summer because she loves school and anything that looks like school. The year was a little rough due to having a completely inexperienced teacher, but we made it through! I just hope Anthony doesn’t get her next year.

Anthony finished kindergarten. It turns out the kid is crazy smart, incredibly ADHD, and a little bit lazy and stubborn (maybe more like a lot stubborn). If Nicholas doesn’t get the teacher Anthony (and Mayci) had for kindergarten I’m going to be sad because I absolutely love her. Then again, if he has the other kinder teacher we’ll have collected the whole set (when I said that once a principal said they should totally make teacher trading cards so you can collect them all).

Nicholas finished pre-k. By walker he means the way he gets home from school. I always love how little kids answer the what do you want to be when you grow up question. I’m sad that the teacher he (and Mayci and Anthony) had for pre-k is retiring this year so Joel won’t have her. The assistant principal said they hired an amazing replacement, though, and I’ll love her.

Noah has completed pre-k3. I love that he wants to be Noah when he grows up (and even very carefully spelled it out for me). He’s made amazing progress this progress this year and his teachers both said they hope to get him in their class again next year because they just love him. It’ll be nice when he’s in kindergarten and they all go to the same school and no longer have to get him on and off his bus and deal with a second elementary school, though!

And then there’s Joel who got to be the only one at home this whole school year. He got incredibly spoiled and has been my dad’s shadow (not sure who is going to miss the other more – probably my dad since Joel will be busy in school). I love that he said he wants to be a grown up when he grows up.