Cass, it started all sunshine and beautiful here and then turned to crud - I was considering putting the fire on this afternoon! How is L's fruit allergy going now? Is she growing out of it at all?
Went out last night for dessert last night with some MG girls and lost my purse. Had to drive back into town at midnight to see if I could find it and sure enough it was lying in the middle of the road. Small towns do have their benefits .
LOL at the purse story Arte! I wouldn't worry about the freebies either - things usually work out in the end and everyone pays their dues.
Speaking of freebies - FIL brought us a 5kg box of cherries yesterday! I have no idea what we are going to do with them all because we just can't eat them that quick. I might have to stew some and freeze them.
Filled in the application today for L for high school. We decided to send him to boarding school. Such a hard decision to make!! But it isn't a private school, it's still a fully Govt school, they are just an agricultural boarding school. It's not even 1.5hrs away and he will be home every Friday night. It's a selective school so we do the application, they get the required info from his school and then based on that he may or may not have to sit an exam. We'll get told in June if he got in or not. I can't believe I even have to think about high school for him yet though! He's pretty keen on it - he stil gets to play footy on the weekend so he's happy. We started thinking about it because we don't want him to end up being a 'big fish in a little pond' which is possible if he goes to the high school here. He's one of the top 5 students in his year and I don't think he will be pushed hard enough kwim? It will be taken for granted that he's bright and he does well, so there will be no incentive to see how well he can do kwim? He is already not being challenged enough. The school is great and his teacher is fantastic and does what she can, but we reckon once he gets to high school that he will just cruise along unless a specific teacher pushes him harder.
Trill: big decision, but sounds like one that he will be thankful for in no time. i love that he comes home on Fridays. keeps the family together and means that he has a safe place to vent and relax away from the other kids IYKWIM.
Arte: oh man, if i even dropped my purse for a second here it would be G.O.N.E. probably not helped by the fact that there is a really ugly, sad Keno bar (gambling joint) on the corner. Such a sad place...saw a family (mum and 3 kids) waiting all day for the bloke to finish gambling the other day
AFM: well, we have had some really lovely happy days . so nice after the monstrous week or so! thankfully we are also getting a wee bit more sleep with marta down to only one wakeup overnight. i am hoping that now that she has cut the tooth that that was what it was. i am not so sure, but live in the land of hope nonetheless
And the LA trip gets closer! we have finally locked in the people that are looking after the house and the animals while we are away they have agreed to the price ($150 a week to cover rates and insurance). so that is also such a relief as that will help at our end IYKWIM. It is going to be strange having the two girls on my own in a new country, but am also looking forward to it as well. Also, am relieved to be getting L out of her current place as there is a girl in her group that i have some serious doubts about and, now, some concerns. (warning TMI sensitive topic ahead!) The other day L came home and role-played having a penis in her pants and put a ball there. I know that it sounds fairly innocuous, but my bestie growing up endured sexual abuse and this was the kind of role-play that she would get me to play...so when i saw L playing this game it gave me chills. there have been some smaller instances but after that game the other day it kinda put the other behaviour and games that they play into more perspective ITMS. i dunno, i feel like bringing it up with the centre as i am concerned about L being exposed to any of that kind of stuff (as i was, and it was pretty hard to deal with).
Cass - you're not over reacting. I definitely think it's worth mentioning it to the carers, they may already have concerns or it might mean they keep a bit of a closer eye on her.
Trill - big decision, but I think it is worth it if you're concerned he's just going to coast through school and not try. That's one of the things that I am concerned about with K's schooling, particularly after the experience DH had.
yeah i have to say that I have been thinking about your decision to with the boarding school thing and even moreso, totally agree with it. I remember when i was growing up in a small coastal town in QLD, i was top of the class and didnt have any competition IYKWIM. then i went to Brisbane and it was a bit of a shock. I was still good, but there were others that were also just as good (and *gasp* better!). i remember feeling really devastated at the time, but soon got my thinking boots on and studied harder and focused more on what i wanted out of it ITMS.
AFM: well, we took a trip to bunnings to fill the sandpit. it will be the bane of my existence this summer as sand is traipsed through the house, but the girls are loving it. I also bought some 'pots of colour' (pansies) and planted them in the cubby house flower box . looks so cute! but i am certain that Marta will pick all the flowers in no time lol.
Leila's lateset bug bear are hair ties! impossible to get to put them in!! she would try to get away without brushing her hair, but I have drawn the line there lol. arghhh! i want to tie up her locks from time to time as, by the end of the day there are sooo many knots!
Cass, have you tried those elastic type ones? They are called snagless hair ties or something like that. They look like plastic but they can't pull them out of their hair. I used those on the girls when they were little and didn't like their hair being put up. LOL at getting sand - you wil regret doing, you know that don't you? But one tip - don't let them play in it while it is damp because it will stick to them, but if it's dry sand it wont stick. And I would definitely be saying something. Exploring their bodies is a natural part of development, but there is natural and then there unnatural kwim? I would have been shocked to see her doing that and now you can put a lot of things in context, I think it might be time to say something. The carers may genuinely not know and letting them know what's going on just gives them a heads up too.
Cally, you don't really have many options down there either do you? I suppose you'd have to look at canberra schools if you wanted private?
We used to be firmly in the camp of not using boarding school. DH went from yrs 7-10 and always saw it as a complete waste of his parents money - not that he didn't do well or didn't appreciate it, but more that there were other things they could have spent $15k per year on. But now we're actually at that point in time where we have to really think about it we just aren't sure if the local high school will be good enough. DH did raise a good point last night though about whether he will actually get better marks over there and said there is no point if he isn't going to do a lot better. So I spent part of today trying to look for HSC results comparisons and NAPLAN results and the boarding school still comes out on top. Plus I think he will have more opportunities there than he will here. He probably wont do as well as he could if he went to the school DH went to but that school has a different focus and tends to direct students towards professional careers.
Trill - there are 2 public high schools near us, one Catholic and one Anglican (it's still pretty small, ie 10 kids in Year 12 this year). More options than you have I imagine! The private ones aren't an option due to DH's job, but their results aren't worth it anyway (they don't do as well as the public). The big issue for us will be that DH will be deputy or higher - will she want to be going to the same school as him?? One option in Canberra for boarding and OMG the cost!!
Cass - can you have a shallow bucket for dipping feet/hands in by the back door plus a towel? Cause if's there any water within a 1km radius, they will track it down and mix it with that sand!!
Trill, boarding school can be the making of some people - my BIL went and he can get along with everyone and is very life smart iykwim. He was 2 hours from home and went back for weekends to begin with but just holidays by the time he was a senior. I won't mention that DH and I used to buy his alcohol on occasion when he was 14
Not sure what we will do when the time comes. The high school here is only about 300 kids, so probably only about 30 in the top year so the kids do some classes by correspondence during school.
Cass, if you leave sand mess for a bit it magically disappears into the carpet I had a friend that played games like that when we were kids and it turned out her step father was molesting her and her sister. I would discretely raise the issue with the carers.
Pet day at kindy tomorrow. Won't subject the poor old cat to a car ride (she gets dealt enough misery these days!) so I might print a couple of photos of her for W to take.
Hi ladies, how's everyone doing? I've got DH and DD1 away at the moment which has been a bit weird but surprisingly calm and orderly. Guess I know now where the household chaos is really coming from!
Cass, that summery fruit sounds gorgeous. As you know, I do not love summer, but I'm happy to make an exception for the seasonal fruit LOL. BTW I would absolutely bring that kind of play up with the centre. If it was innocuous then no harm, but if it's a red flag it might well be the specific thing that the centre needs to do something about it, in which case it's very valuable to have talked to them.
Trill - wow high school. H had her orientation day on Tues, seemed to be a success, and I was glad to see there's a few nice girls from her "group" who are going there, not that she'll have any problems socialising and making friends. I think E will be more introverted in that regard. Anyway, week boarding is good provided your parents don't constantly make excuses as to why they can't get you on the weekends . Does it add significantly to the cost? I'm still reeling from the letter we got advising the fee increase for DD's new school next year, it's now quite a bit more than comparible schools in the eastern suburbs/north adelaide. This is our local school so I don't know why it should be so. I have such a good vibe about it in every other way, but I'm fretting about the cost especially next year when we're shelling out for childcare as well.
Cally, why is private not an option because of DH's job? Plenty of public school teachers send their kids private.
Arte, excellent score on the freebies. Don't feel guilty, enjoy. Sometimes the tide flows in and sometimes it flows out and that's just the way it should be. I like your sandpit management practice...that's my kind of housework! LOL How did pet day go? I rolled up to E's kindy last week and they had a whole touch table of real, stuffed snakes, lizards etc. I do sooooo hope they emphasised messages about NOT touching when you find them for real!!
MD - The first criteria on any public school position is 'a commitment to public education'. It's pretty hard for a teacher to demonstrate that commitment if they're sending their own kids to a private school (and certainly if you're a deputy or Principal). At least, that is the case in NSW and because this is a small community, you can't keep it a secret! And if you're sending your kids to the 'opposition' (when local), that means it is one less enrolment contributing to the staffing, funding etc at the public school. Mum was a public teacher, she just never indicated where her kids went (much easier in a big city!) If she got a scholarship to my old school in Canberra where she could board, then I think that would be considered differently and I would be encouraging that!
Cally, that's one of the reasons why I've always been opposed to private schools -means much less for the public schools in the long run in so many ways. The only reason I'm agreeing to L going to boarding school is because it is still a Public school which just happens to be a selective boarding school. Makes it harder when your choices are limited though doesn't it?
MD, LOL at there being no chaos with the other two away. We definitely wont be leaving him there on weekends - it adds an extra $1500 per year to the cost and we can't justify full boarding when we only live a reasonably short distance from the school anyway.
hi ladies!!!
I'm back from sydney trip. had a pretty good time, i have to say it is very stressful staying on the side of a river with two little boys though. i am extremely paranoid about drowning so had a lot of trouble just relaxing iykwim? anyways, lovely to be back home, i do love where we live sooo much!!
just counting the days now till L's op. very anxious but looking forward to having it over.
trill- the boarding school sounds great and your weekends with him will be super special. i think he'll love it there.
cass- did you speak to the carers at all? that does sound strange behaviour.
hi all
just popping on quickly to say hi. busy as always here
our house in canb up for auction tomorrow - i am expecting it to pass in but sellin the week after... still pretty stressful!
DH going for the day and mum taking J to the aquarium so N and I havinga day together - cant wait
I booked N in to see an OT next week - i think he is a little behind on gross motor and his confidence is low - so we arwe going to work on that
took J with me to drop N at kinder today - he HATES leaving him there - he loves it there and wants to stay. major meltdown and tanty in the 'piazza' (foyer).
I spent wed morning with Noah's clas making jome made foccacia - we all loved it
week 4 of 6 week detox here and feeling great!
MP, good luck with the auction today. Hope you and N have a good day.
MD, bummer about being solo for 2 weeks! I think your DH might be in my old neighborhood - gee I would like to go back for a trip down memory lane. Pet day went well - A was totally in her element with all the animals to look at. She managed to snag herself a little teacup fluffy puppy to cart around for a while, had no qualms about draping herself over the pit bull(!) and kept sticking her fingers in the cage with the chooks that kept pecking her lol. W isn't that animal focused so it was a bit ho hum for him.
G, glad you had a good trip. Did your MIL behave herself? DH keeps talking about camping by the river but it isn't overly relaxing being so close to water. I know W would be fine but A tends to have no fear and is sooo clumsy I could see her falling in.
Trill, how did your teaching maths exam go? What are the basics in teaching early maths skills? W's kindy teachers have noticed that some of his maths concepts are ones that most kids develop around 7 and he is certainly interested but I don't know where to start. I am really struggling for ways to keep him stimulated (bored W = brat W), he is halfway through reading eggs but still seems like he needs more. I probably sound like a hot houser, but I am just trying to keep him occupied with stuff he is interested in and very capable of (I don't force him to do it, he nags and nags to do it). He has always had an obsession - bugs, biology, volcanos, space etc - but for the last few months he has had nothing of interest to think about and role play. It is making life difficult!
My father's visit went well. Not awkward like it used to be so that was good.
What are people doing for xmas this year? We got the kids a mini quad bike to share and might get a couple of little things each. We are going to the beach for 10 days and DH's family are coming up to join us. They are staying in a separate house so it is the best of both worlds
MP, fingers crossed for a good price today so you don't have the hassle later! Were there many that took contracts at all? I had to LOL at J not wanting to leave N - brings back memories of when I had to drop L off at Preschool and E never wanted to leave! Good luck with N's appointment too - Im sure there is nothing wrong with him. Have you considered joining him up for a sport or something to help his motor skills get better?
G, Loved your welcome home present from KitKat! At least it looked somewhat fresh and not something he'd had there for a while LOL.
Arte, I think the exam went well. We don't get the results released till the 28th though. I can't really give much advice because I don't know what he can and can't do with maths. A lot of kids have a general idea of number etc, but aren't ready to get in to the nitty gritty of understanding how to use numbers, if that makes sense? What concepts do the kinder teachers think that he understands? If you really wanted to help him, I'd start by looking at the curriculum for NZ and start at kindergarten and see what the learning outcomes they need are. You could also buy some beginner maths workbooks and see how he goes with those. Games like dominoes are also helpful as well. BUT, what are you going to do about school? If he is as smart as you think he is, unless you enrol him in a specific school that can cater for a kid like him, then you are going to have nothing but problems with him in a normal, mainstream school. If he is already reading well and apparently has number concepts that a 7yo has, what do you honestly think is going to happen once he starts kindergarten and is in a class full of kids who are no where near where he is? I can see a few senarios already with that situation - 1 he will go to a normal school, the school wont know how to deal with him because he will be in a class with normal kids so he will either be taught half heartedly because they don't know what to do with him or he will be left to cruise along because their priority will be to the kids who don't know how to read, write or do maths which will lead to him acting up because he is bored stiff. The other alternative is that they will teach him to the detriment of the other kids. Some teachers will do that - only teach the brightest students and leave the rest to flounder which is unacceptable IMO. 2 A mainstream school with no experience of kids like W wont accelerate him into a higher class. He would have to be proven to be truly gifted before they will accelerate a child these days into a higher class - it's not like when you or I went to school and a kid could skip grades and TBH, socially I don't think W would cope with that. So what that could mean is he is left in the class he should be in and be given harder work - but there is only so much that can do too because what happens when he progresses to the next year and he is already 1 or 2 years ahead? That creates a flow on issue for any teacher that has him. And if the situation in NZ is as bad as it can be here in places, then his teacher simply may not have the time, resources or inclination to make sure he's taught to his abilities. Sadly, that is the reality of it. He might get lucky and get a great teacher one year who recognises W is a bit different, but the next year he might get a teacher who just doesn't care and is only marking time till something better comes along.
Another problem is that he may not be so bright in all areas of learning, so what if you try to have him accelerated because he is good at reading and maths, but is totally normal and average in an area like art or music etc? Generally they will only accelerate kids if they are gifted in all areas, otherwise what are they going to do with him if he is failing in other areas because that's not where his intelligence lies? It's not fair to have him do well in some areas, but suck at others just to nurture the ones he's good at kwim?
I don't think you're hothousing as such, but I do think you are making a rod for your own back at times - and I say that as a friend . It's great that you are doing all this for him, but its all going to be pointless if he gets to school and falls into a void because the school isn't right for him. I think what will help is having him formally assessed for giftedness so once he gets to school you can say, yep, this is the deal with him, so what can you do for him? If they can't give you a good enough solution to how they would teach him, then you need to find another school that will be able to handle him. The only other option is to formally homeschool him and then you know that his needs are being met all the time and you can teach him to his abilities. This is why we've decided to send L to boarding school because we just dont' think that the local high school is going to meet his needs properly and he deserves to be taught in a way that will help him reach his fullest potential - just like W deserves it.
Arte, I think your old neighbourhood is where Cass's granddad lives? So it's possible you two have had a crossing of paths and never realised it - like Cass and MP did in Canberra . LOL @ A being in her element with all the creatures. Both of my girls have been like that but E much more so than H. She is passionately attached to our cat who gets good morning cuddles and good night kisses even when the rest of the family doesn't. She's getting old now so I hope she manages to linger on for a few more years because the heartbreak when she dies is gonna be a kicker. BTW I think you should introduce W to your local postoffice-librarian, it could be that he could start being a bit more self-directed in selecting stuff he's interested in at the library (even though it's probably a small library I'm pretty sure there would be a circulating collection so the librarian can order more stuff in for him in his subjects of interest). Once he's reading you can teach him how to use some kids search engines and he'll be off and running then! LOL BTW I agree with Trill, maybe now is a good time to get him formally assessed before he starts school, so you can take decisions that will address the bigger picture as well as hopefully help you to find some tools and resources to support him wherever he is at. (not that assessment is the be all and end all, but it's a start).
MP - good luck with the auction - hope it's a great outcome. Your foccaccia making morning sounds awesome!
Ginger, Glad your trip away worked out ok, I'm with you 100% on not being able to relax near water. My dad has an unfenced pool and I'm always on tenterhooks when we're there. What date is L's op again? Hang in there, and remember the benefits far outweigh the scariness factor.
Well the youngest gemini is back in da house and *sigh* the P&Q factor has evaporated. LOL
Hey has anyone been following X factor? I was at the shops yesterday and Reece was going to be performing at 5pm, and OMG there were girls already lining up at 11am. When I went back there around 3 it was already getting to standing room only and the heat and hysteria was building, the ambos were already attending to someone (!) That boy has to win, he's crazy good.
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cherries, a WHOLE tray of mangoes, nectarines, papaya mmm mm mmmmm!
. so nice after the monstrous week or so! thankfully we are also getting a wee bit more sleep with marta down to only one wakeup overnight. i am hoping that now that she has cut the tooth that that was what it was. i am not so sure, but live in the land of hope nonetheless
But one tip - don't let them play in it while it is damp because it will stick to them, but if it's dry sand it wont stick. And I would definitely be saying something. Exploring their bodies is a natural part of development, but there is natural and then there unnatural kwim? I would have been shocked to see her doing that and now you can put a lot of things in context, I think it might be time to say something. The carers may genuinely not know and letting them know what's going on just gives them a heads up too.
. Does it add significantly to the cost? I'm still reeling from the letter we got advising the fee increase for DD's new school next year, it's now quite a bit more than comparible schools in the eastern suburbs/north adelaide. This is our local school so I don't know why it should be so. I have such a good vibe about it in every other way, but I'm fretting about the cost especially next year when we're shelling out for childcare as well.
. It's great that you are doing all this for him, but its all going to be pointless if he gets to school and falls into a void because the school isn't right for him. I think what will help is having him formally assessed for giftedness so once he gets to school you can say, yep, this is the deal with him, so what can you do for him? If they can't give you a good enough solution to how they would teach him, then you need to find another school that will be able to handle him. The only other option is to formally homeschool him and then you know that his needs are being met all the time and you can teach him to his abilities. This is why we've decided to send L to boarding school because we just dont' think that the local high school is going to meet his needs properly and he deserves to be taught in a way that will help him reach his fullest potential - just like W deserves it.
. LOL @ A being in her element with all the creatures. Both of my girls have been like that but E much more so than H. She is passionately attached to our cat who gets good morning cuddles and good night kisses even when the rest of the family doesn't. She's getting old now so I hope she manages to linger on for a few more years because the heartbreak when she dies is gonna be a kicker. BTW I think you should introduce W to your local postoffice-librarian, it could be that he could start being a bit more self-directed in selecting stuff he's interested in at the library (even though it's probably a small library I'm pretty sure there would be a circulating collection so the librarian can order more stuff in for him in his subjects of interest). Once he's reading you can teach him how to use some kids search engines and he'll be off and running then! LOL BTW I agree with Trill, maybe now is a good time to get him formally assessed before he starts school, so you can take decisions that will address the bigger picture as well as hopefully help you to find some tools and resources to support him wherever he is at. (not that assessment is the be all and end all, but it's a start).
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