Busy, Busy

It has been a very busy week around here!  We have had our final soccer practice of the season, two baseball games at 7:00 at night, parent/teacher conferences and physicals for both kids already, and we still have two jam-packed days left and then have friends coming in town this weekend (yay!).  I actually like all the activities - even if it stresses me out that my house is a disaster because we just haven't had time to tackle cleaning.  Tyler's games are super fun this year as the boys are starting to learn how to really play baseball.  Tyler got two really great hits last night, and scored a run!  His team is really good, and probably a little too intense for their age, but it has been good for him since he is really enjoying playing this year, and gaining confidence.  Katie continues to amaze me at soccer.  She is playing "up" to be with kids in her grade, but that means that a lot of the other girls are 8 years old and some are even in third grade.  If she plays according to her age, though, she is with mostly first graders who are six years old.  So, she is the youngest and smallest, but she is feisty and fast and is often the MVP on the field.  Watching her is really fun because she is super competitive, and has a lot of natural talent and is really in her element when she's playing.  Her new team (her other one dissolved thank goodness) - is great.  They are going to try to stay together in the next seasons (which is what the other teams do and why she has had trouble finding a team) and that's exciting because it is an awesome group of girls.

At our parent/teacher conferences Katie's teacher referenced how much energy she has and how she always seems to be on the go.  That has been mentioned to us by quite a few people, but I don't really notice because that is just Katie, and had never put two and two together that it likely explains why soccer is such a good outlet for her!  It was great to talk to their teachers since we still have some lingering doubt that we did the right thing by not having them repeat 1st grade at the new school.  Both teachers referenced how young they are, but said they are both doing great socially and academically.  Katie's teacher said she is a class leader and mentioned that she definitely does not lack confidence (haha).  She still needs to work on her handwriting (just rushes through it and is illegible a lot of the time), but scored above average in math and reading and is doing really well.

We were anxious to hear how Tyler is doing because he has always been the one that has a little more trouble making friends and fitting in, and he is not the "model student" that Katie tries to be.  His teacher said that he draws a little too much, but acknowledged that it is likely because he is bored and that she is okay with it if he stops when she asks him to.  Tyler scored 99% in his assessments (highest possible), and they asked to let him participate in gifted testing.  We had been having concerns that he may have ADD/ADHD, and the teacher said that she thinks it is more likely related to not being challenged in class, so we agreed to the testing.  We probably won't do much different regardless of what the testing shows since he is already being pulled out for math and reading once a week to work with the gifted counselor, but it may be good to know if it help explains his "behavior" issues (talking too much, not staying on task) for other teachers down the road.  He really enjoys the time he spends in small group with the advanced coach so I don't think it would hurt to have some enhanced learning opportunities, but I also think he needs to learn to adapt to his classroom and peers.  He has already surpassed what I know in math (especially math that is taught the common core way, which confuses me endlessly), and when he is asked to do math worksheets he just seems to know the answers and writes it down without all of the steps they want to see.  Maybe with these advanced classes he will have an opportunity to challenge himself with math, but also realize that while in his regular class he has to show all of the steps and do what the teacher is asking everyone else to do - hopefully!

They also got a good report for their annual check-up.  They each got flu shots, but were happy to hear that no other shots have to be given until they are 10.  Tyler is exactly an inch taller than Katie, and two pounds heavier.  Tyler is in about the 20th percentile for height and weight and little Katie is 5th percentile for weight and 10th for height.  They are both growing well, though and are on track.  Tyler gained 4 pounds and 3 inches in the last year - which explains why his pants are too short, but not why the waists on all the pants that are the right length are still way too big!  They both had great vision and hearing, too and we had the doctor look at a couple of moles that have popped up on Tyler and he said all looks good - so that's good news!  Hopefully we avoid the pediatrician's office this winter (which seems to be fast approaching), and everyone stays healthy.