Kindergarten!

This is Maddy on her first day of Kindergarten. We had kind of a wild two weeks before she started. I was just going to have her go back to the Montessori school but she was going to have to go 5 days a week all day long. I was really, really concerned about this because when she went three days a week all day long, she was so exhausted. Even her teachers would comment on how exhausted she was by Wednesday. So I thought about it and prayed and decided to check into a school called Coram Deo. It is like the school that Abriella and Colby go to. They go to core classes two days a week and then can do optional electives on Friday. The Montessori was so good for Maddy academically that it was really a hard decision in that regard, but I new if she was going make it and love school we needed something a little more flexible with schedule. So I applied and got her an interview all within a matter of a couple of days. She had to do testing and it made me so thankful that we switched from mother's day out to Montessori last year because she was very prepared to go to Kindergarten. He math wasn't super strong but she scored in the 98th percentile on language and communication. So the school said she was ready for Kindergarten and accepted her and we had a whirlwind of ordering uniforms and books, meeting the teachers, etc. We decided to put her in Spanish, Science, and Art on Fridays and she loved it this week. She actually loved the entire week of school. She loved her teacher and played with someone on the playground. She never played on the playground at the Montessori. She also had a really hard time making friends there. A lot of people from India go to the Montessori and people from that culture look down on those with disabilities so I don't know if it had to do with that or because the class was so much larger or what. She only has 12 kids in her class at Coram Deo; 6 boys and 6 girls. I have never really wanted to homeschool in any form or fashion but was willing to give it a shot since it seemed in Maddy's best interests. I also wanted her to have a school where she didn't get lost in a system of paperwork and IEP's and could focus on learning and being herself. Even though it's only been a week I feel like this is such a good fit for her . The nice part about the at home part is that I do not plan any of it. I am merely a facilitator of homework which is really nice and it takes us 2 hours at the most to get that done. We have had a couple of snags with Maddy getting around at school. We had to get her a roller backpack because she just couldn't carry the regular backpack by herself. The teachers also had some concerns about her walking to the lunch room because it is kind of far. I think she will be fine on that but we'll see. She also now has to get out at car line since the first week is over and that was traumatic this morning. She was scared to go in by herself and cried. We got there early on purpose so there were no cars waiting so the car line teachers were able to help her and encourage her and get her inside. Academically, everything is review right now but that is ok. She will soon start getting to stuff she hasn't done yet. She has some easy reader book and she can read the first 2 or 3 on her own. She uses pictures to give her clues to words a lot still but she is actually recognizing some words and sounding out simple words. The other day we stopped somewhere at a gas station. Suddenly she said, "Does that sign say 'no pets allowed?'". Sure enough, it did! It was a sign hand written in black marker so there was no other way she could have known what it was about unless she read it.
A little update on Kelsay. Kelsay is doing great. She is little miss independent these days. She has learned to army crawl and she goes everywhere very fast, especially when she is chasing the kitty (her favorite thing in the whole world). She play in here exersaucer and sit very well in the bumbo but she prefers to be on the floor. She loves hanging out in the upstairs bathroom and yelling because her voice echoes. Strange child. She has decided that she will not be fed by anyone but herself so baby food is out. I have been researching baby led weaning which is where you give them chunks of stuff or mashed up stuff and they just figure out how to eat it on their own. We've tried it a couple time and she loves it but can't really get much eaten yet. I gave her a mushy cheerio this morning and she was successful at eating that. She just loves playing with the food and being the one who controls it though. She had her six month check a couple weeks ago. She weighed 16lbs so had pretty much doubled her birth weight and was 26.5 inches long. Her 3-6 month clothes are starting to get small length wise. I'm going to have to size up soon. I put her in a 9 month the other day just to see and if fit great. She is getting too big. Anyway, it is such a blessing that she is so healthy and active. She did not get her shots at the six month appointment so I took her in for that today. Usually she throws a huge hissy fit and won't calm down for like an hour after so I was really dreading it, but she surprised me. The first shot, she didn't even cry. She did cry for the next two but only while she was getting them. When I picked her up, it was all good. No more fussing. So weird! Like I said, she is getting too big.
Aaron started the semester with faculty workshop last week. Lots of meetings etc. He will teach his first class tomorrow and Bios biz is going well. He's brought on a few employees so God is blessing it and growing it. It is really kind of crazy.
I did not get a class this fall so I won't be teaching. They did not have one at a time I could work out a schedule for. Hopefully in the spring they will give me a night class that is once a week. I do miss being productive and having a job that is not baby feeding/diaper changing but I have had a lot of opportunities and time to grow ideas and look into other interests and I'm excited about some of the things I'm getting to be a part of with our church that probably wouldn't be happening if I was teaching.
All in all the Fletcher family is ready for some cooler temps and great fall semester!
*Forgot one note of interest about Maddy's testing. The teacher asked her to write her name on a paper. Actually what she said was, "Can you write your name for me?" So Maddy did. She wrote her name so that it was upside down and backward for Maddy but it was written correctly for the teacher who was sitting across from her. The teacher did not know how to score that part of Maddy's test. So, all that to point out that sometimes tests are great for figuring out what kids don't know but sometimes all a test says is that a kid isn't thinking in the box. That move was such a Maddy move. I still laugh when I think about it.