I Hate Cows...

Agh! Busy!

Okay, so, an update.

Where to start...

Well, the item on the top of my mind is Aurora. Background is that the last report card period, she got all good marks, but also an "at risk" notice. To which my mind screamed "AT RISK? AT RISK?" for the two weeks I had to wait to meet with her teacher. This was so bad that I actually went to the school a week earlier than the appointment, sat there trying to figure out why I was the only one in the parking lot, swatted myself upside the head and left again.

Anyway.

The gist is that under Georgie's "No Child Left Behind", they have standardized tests (I know, I know- duh), even for the kindergarten set. Rora passed the math one, but was having trouble with the reading one. Apparently, when asked to point out a letter, instead of Just saying "C", she would say "C! C is for Calliope! Calliope is my sister, but we call her Clio. She cries a lot!", etc. Therefore, she wasn't passing this (timed) test. And so they keep testing her, telling her to HURRY!, which means that she started getting nervous about the test, since she knew she was doing something wrong, which makes her little shoulders bunch up about her ears and her stubborn streak rear up, which causes her to be recalcitrant about doing anything. So, her teacher and I talked, and she said Rora knows all the material, but until she passes this test, she is "At Risk", and maybe she will "never test well". And maybe she should go to summer school.

Sigh.

Summer school.

Certainly not the party the movie would have you believe. And at first, I was like, "she likes school, what could it hurt", but after talking to a few people who mention the stigma that can follow you forever (I had to move too often during school to have ANYTHING follow me), and really, she's 6, its summer, she should be having fun. I mean, when I was in kindergarten, I know I wasn't reading. Or adding. Especially not spontaneously like Rora does.

And really, if being in kindergarten 5 days a week, 8 hours a day doesn't do it, how will summer school help?

So, we are considering (very initial stages though) homeschooling her. This would be primarily a Kevin decision, as he would be home most of the time and do most of the teaching. But it is tempting. He is a GREAT teacher. And I don't want her to be left behind because of "No Child Left Behind".

In other news..

I was talking to my grandmother today, and was astounded to have a discussion with her in regards to sex, lesbianism, politics, Obama, Clinton, Roosevelt and of course, pineapple upside down cake. My G is pretty cool (and I think I convinced her to vote for Obama- yeah!).

And I am turning 36. Thirty-six. THIRTY-SIX. Somehow this seems a lot older than 35. I don't know why. Maybe I will need to start acting like a grown-up.

Nah.

To celebrate, we will be eating southern food, with angel food cake for me (better be homemade Ma!) and devil's food cake for Kevin (he'll be 38! Hah!), which WILL be homemade. And will take about 19 ounces of fine chocolate. Over a pound. Egad.

On the Appa front, he is a really good dog, though he does have an unusual liking for my yarn. And he licks himself clean, and has an unnatural fascination with the cat. Damn it, I think the dog is just an exceedingly ugly cat. Poor thing. We left him on his own for a while last night, and came home to the living room- with toys and shoes scattered all about it. But get this- none of them was chewed up. Apparently, he just took everything he fancied and put them in the living room to be with him. Weird.

We were out at the circus, which was fun. I have a lot of misgivings about a circus with animals, to be honest, but there's a nostalgic part of me that wanted Aurora to have that experience, so we went (and I can't afford Cirque du Soleil anyway). It was good- though different from what I remember as a kid. There was a storyline for one thing, and singing, which I thought was a bit weird. The best part though, as far as I'm concerned, was that for an hour beforehand they let kids and parents just wander the stage, and allowed them to meet the performers, try on costumes, practice tight-rope walking, see elephants up close, etc.

At the end, Aurora asked if we could go to the Circus every night.

Um, hell no.

posted by Kelly at 4/03/2008 06:35:00 PM