Lehi Elementary had a 'ribbon week' this week. Each day the children were supposed to dress up in certain themes. Madelynn participated in each day except for Tuesday, because I thought Wednesday was crazy hair day. Jeremy was so kind to me and said it was fine because he had done her hair that morning so it was crazy.
The purpose of the ribbon week was to be drug free. I am unsure how the day's theme really correlated to the idea of being sober person, nor am I sure what they were taught about drugs as Madelynn does not relay her day to us. I guess when all is said and done it was a fun week for the kids to get to dress up outside of their normal wardrobe.
Monday was dress in purple day, and I neglected to get a photo of her in the purple shirt, and I did not get a photo of the crazy hair because in reality it was a sloppy pony tail. :)
Ms. Madelynn is dressed as a Southern Belle, but then I thought with the boots (not shown) she looked like a musketeer if I were to add a sword. Her PJs were cookies and milk. The socks are from Monster High. She was a perma-baby for so long, and now she is a smart, beautiful six year old.
The idea of parent teacher conferences is a foreign one to me. This mother is having a hard time with her baby growing up, and I'm still getting used to her being in school.
Somewhere along the line Ms. Madelynn lost her appointment card for her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. McCann. Thankfully a mother let me sneak in front of her to ask Mrs. McCann if she had any openings. Mrs.McCann was gracious enough to wait a few minutes at the end of the night to speak with her after we were finished with our appointment with Mrs. Royce.
Mrs. Royce is Madelynn's extended day kindergarten teacher. She teaches Madelynn from noon until 3:30 PM. Mrs. Royce reported Madelynn is consistently one of the highest scoring students in the class; she particularly excels with her numbers. I was relieved when Mrs. Royce reported Madelynn does not get picked on by the other children (she gets teased at daycare for her 'baby' voice) and is friends with everyone in the class. Mrs. Royce stated she's never noticed the other children mentioning Madelynn's voice or language. At our request, Mrs. Royce had the speech therapist spend sometime in the class with Madelynn. The pathologist felt, at this time, additional speech therapy isn't necessary. At this point it is a matter of Madelynn being around peers, and learning the appropriate verbiage for a child her age.
Mrs. Royce (and Mrs. McCann) initially were worried we may have enroll Madelynn too early in kindergarten, but in the month she as been there they found that assumption to be wrong. Madelynn's penmenship has improved dramatically, as has her comprehension skills. Madelynn seems to excel in math (like her mother :) ).The other concern both teachers have with Madelynn is her inability to sit for long periods of times. Madelynn will immediately respond to a request, and is able to sit for a maximum of two minutes before she starts to fidget or lay on the floor again. I asked both teachers if it was that she was six, or perhaps her developmental delays. Both stated it could be, but agreed we needed to speak to our pediatrician about a possible ADHD/ADD issue. I am hesitant to place her on any medication, but the child is very difficult. I am ashamed to admit this, but the husband and I have to alternate homework nights because she will not sit still. I've been kicked in the face, and stabbed with a pencil all while trying to get her to write four letters three times.
I really appreciate the kind of patience and background Mrs. Royce brings to her class. She was a special education teacher prior to coming to Lehi Elementary. I think that prepared her for dealing with children like Madelynn. When asked who her favorite teacher is Madelynn will state Mrs. Royce. She really is a dear, and will take them time to email me every couple of weeks to inform me of Madelynn's progress. She is such a delight.
Mrs. McCann met with us just before closing. She didn't have much to add from our conversation with Mrs. Royce. Mrs. McCann did tell us about how impress she was with Madelynn's progress in such a short amount of time. She expressed concern about Madelynn's inability to hold still. She thanked us for being involved parents who are advocates for our child as evidenced by how I organized a homework binder for Madelynn and purchased supplies I felt were most conducive to Madelynn's way of learning. Jeremy and I may be working parents, but both of us believe in the importance of Madelynn receiving the best schooling Lehi Elementary can provide.
Mrs. McCann awarded Madelynn with the first student of the month award of the school year. September's characteristic was kindness. When asked why Madelynn received such an award Mrs. McCann stated it was because Madelynn is a very empathetic child always wanting to make sure others who seem sad or hurt are okay. She will pat the on the back, or give them a hug when asked for one. She has always been an empathetic kids for long as we can remember, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
It is hard to believe Ms. Madelynn is six years old. That little girl is such an amazing little person, and a true miracle. As I say every year she is a testament to medical science, and the will to live. Madelynn had several close calls in the hospital including coding December of 2009. I think that girl wanted to be here. Whether it was a conscious thought or not we'll never know, but I believe she wanted to live.
When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday this year she animatedly insisted on skating. When asked what she wanted for her birthday it was pink skates (which two days after I purchased turned into purple skates, but I did not trade them out), and a lava lamp.
We booked a private party at the Classic Fun Center. It was such a great place for a child's birthday party. The package included tokens for the arcade; full, unlimited access to the bounce area; and skating for 90 minutes. For the same price of what I paid for the princess bounce house last year, this was a much better deal. Madelynn had 14 little friends show up, and all seemed to really enjoy themselves. She even had friends come all the way from Syracuse come down. This kid is seriously loved!
Our host, Andrew, was really good with all the kids and making sure our party's needs were taken care of. The soda and water was always filled, the kids got ice cream, and he was generous with the amount of tickets everyone won.
Skating didn't open until 11:30 (Andrew opened the rink a half hour early for the kids), so the initial 90 minutes was spent in the bounce area and arcade. Bella was the most daring of all the children when it came to the bounce area. She showed no fear when going down the giant slide by herself. After Madelynn and Matthew watched her go down, they were able to get the courage to slide themselves.
The kids received a cup of tokens as they came in to the party allowing them to play various arcade games, and ride the car or the carousel. At one point Bella was lying across the top of the car while two of Madelynn's male friends were driving. It was something out of a White Snake video. I didn't get a photo in time. :(
In order to get in as much skate time as possible we did cake and presents around eleven. I had worn a cute white button-down shirt, and was handing out the ice cream as presents were being opened. The chocolate ice cream tipped and spilled all over my shirt. I was so sad, and missed Madelynn's presents being opened as I was frantically rubbing a Tide pen all over. It seemed to work our for the most part. The kid got a haul from all of her generous friends' parents, and her family. Poppa Dave came through with the lava lamp, and Mads loved the skates...she didn't even care that they weren't purple.
After presents it was finally skating time. The rink had trainers for those who had never skated before. As you can see in two of the photos below, Bella figured out if she hung half her body over the trainer and Aunt Crystal pushed, she wouldn't have to do any work. The rink allowed for scooters, and most of the kids got those. Darren even grabbed some roller blades, and skated with the kids. I was too busy pushing Bella to get too many photos of the skating.
We were supposed to be off the rink by one, but Andrew allowed us to hang out as long as we wanted. We eventually vacated the facility around 1:30. The day was successful, and a lot of fun. We are so grateful to have the people in our lives that we do. Thank you to all who joined Madelynn in celebrating her 6th year!!
Five months have passed since my last post. At this point catching up would be quite the task. As I get the time I may blog what took place over the summer, but my goal for now is attempting to write about current events.
On August 26th Madelynn started kindergarten. It is so hard to believe our daughter is old enough to go to school. She has been planning this day for a long time; reminding me throughout the summer she is going to need supplies, she'll learn to read, and will probably learn math. The kid cracks me up.
Madelynn was given a test prior to receiving her teacher assignment to see where she was. We were slightly surprised, but relieved when we were notified Madelynn will be placed in extended day kindergarten (OEK). We were surprised because she did not meet with qualifications for early intervention preschool a year before. Madelynn attends 'normal' kindergarten in the morning, goes to lunch, and then goes to an intervention kindergarten to reiterate what happened during the morning. Madelynn prefers her OEK teacher, Ms. Royce, to her morning teacher, Ms. McCann, but she likes both teachers. Fun Fact: Ms. McCann is a dear friend of Jeremy's step-aunt, Linda.
We received Madelynn's kindergarten portrait the other day. Who knows how long it has been in her backpack. Her hair was really cute before she left, but by the time the photo was taken it was all over the place. Good thing Madelynn is so photogenic.
Part of the first few weeks of school include lunch with your child. I was really, really ill the week of the lunch and Jeremy was unable to get the time off; queue Poppa for the rescue. My father went to the school to meet Mads for lunch. She was quite delighted by the surprise.
The next school item coming up will be her parent-teacher conferences this week. It's hard to believe she's been in school for five weeks now.
