On turning 6...

Ryanne turned 6 one week ago. It's amazing to me that she's 1/3 of the way through her 'childhood' with us. It seems like it's been a long time and only a blink of an eye at the same time. She has changed and grown so much.

She had her well-check on 11/1. She's 45.25" tall and 45.1 pounds, still 50% across both. Her blood pressure was fine (98/52). The doctor saw no cause for concern and remarked at her reading skills in the office.

She's still dramatic. Everything gets a HUGE reaction. She's blossomed into a caring being. She's becoming more empathetic. She's showing huge leaps in her people skills. She still can be a bit shy in new scenarios, but is usually very outgoing.

Happy 6, little one. I love you!

Left behind

Today, I arrived at the school at 2:45 to pick up Ryanne from Kindergarten. She was not sitting with the rest of the students in the K area near the car rider lanes. I asked where she was. The substitute covering her class responded that "someone said she was still in the classroom". I asked who someone was, but before I was given an answer, another teacher arrived with Ryanne and said she had been found crying in the hallway because her class had left her alone in the room with the lights off.

I gave her a hug, acknowledged how scary that must have been. Another teacher (I think I remember her being introduced as the 'lead' for the K classes) said that she was sorry that happened. I could do nothing but stare confusedly at all of them.

I asked Ryanne what happened and she said that she hadn't finished packing her backpack when the class left. I mentioned to her that next time she should ask the teacher to wait or to help her finish versus staying behind to finish on her own.

My biggest concern is that the substitute knew that she wasn't out at pickup yet didn't go back to find her. She didn't express concern that she wasn't there because "someone" said my daughter was still in the room. This is the kind of person trusted with her safety during the day?

I'm so done with Wells Branch Elementary... I really can't get her out of there soon enough.

Tested

Ryanne took her tests at the school a couple of weeks ago. A week after she said she had the test, I still hadn't received any status from the administration of the school. I asked the counselor if I could get her results. She said she would email them to me.

Ryanne scored 54% on language arts and 68% on math. They say she needs 90% to advance even though the RRISD web site says 80%. Either way, she's not close.

Honestly, though, I don't think their results are accurate. I know that every mom says their child is brilliant, etc. My daughter is smart. Possibly not above average smart, but smart. Her language skills far outweigh her math skills, though.

I need to get with the counselor and ask to look at the exam because I'm really confused by the results they get.

Big girl

I just ordered a new car seat for my car for Ryanne. We're getting the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1. It's probably the last seat I'll ever have to buy for her.

Can she stop growing now?

More school woes

Why must there always be drama when it comes to my daughter and school? Seriously? Do I spawn it? Do I make it worse? GAH!

So...this year's thing is that the report every afternoon has been that school is 'boring'. This concerns me on so many levels. She has lots of friends in her class. She loves playing and art and ... why is she bored? It hasn't gotten much better. We're up to "I like PE" which is a step in the right direction, but still not "cool"! Am I really asking too much that she think school is cool at age 5? She loved mother's day out. It was fun every day. She loved her first week at the school which shall remain nameless. Why shouldn't kindergarten be the same? I know the first week sucks. I really do, but it's not getting better.

So...we talked to the teacher at Parent Orientation last Thursday. When should I worry? What are our options? Should we consider testing her for 1st? What can you do with reading? We were kind of brushed off with something along the lines of she'd have a better idea of where she was by October parent/teacher conferences. Again, seriously? Two months to assess her and figure out what to do? Two months of 'boring' before she gets something else? I asked if that was before the deadline for having her tested for 1st and she said we had 20 days and asked if that was something we were interested in. I said yes and asked, specifically, if I could come in today (9/2) and request that and it would be soon enough. She told me that it would be fine.

So...I call the office to schedule an appointment only to find out that I had to request the test, in writing, by last Friday. The counselor explains that there's nothing they can do since we missed the deadline. She gave me the party line on gifted and talented and working with her, but no specific time line on when any of that would start rolling. I am really worried that they have so much paperwork to get through that by the time they're rolling, she's already acting out and done.

Then, I went to the school (fueled by a pep talk from Chrys) and asked to talk to the principal. The administrator at the desk took notes on my conversation with her teacher relayed them to the principal and, suddenly, the principal could call the district and talk to them. Interesting.

Now, with that out of the way. I know that being a reader, by itself, doesn't make her ready for first grade. However, looking at what they expect to teach her by the end of the year, she's got everything except lower case letters. (Incidentally, I handed her a workbook on those and she's already a decent way through it.) I guess I need to thumb through "What Your Kindergardener Should Know" and see if we're missing anything else big.

I'm worried that I'm going to be one of 'those' parents. I don't want to be, but I really want what's best for my child and being bored isn't it.

I hate drama.