Kindergarten Report Card - 2nd Trimester

We had Drew's second and final Parent/Teacher conference today for Kindergarten - marking the end of the second trimester.  Overall nothing really new was covered, so most of our time was spent on how we should transition him into 1st grade and what to expect.  She continues to work on challenging him, but she said he will be grouped with similar peers next year and will likely have various reading/math classes in other rooms for the additional challenge.

She said his DRA level is still at a 16 (where he was at the first trimester) but she knows he can read well  above that. His issue is retelling the story - you have to really pry things out of him to get to respond to the question.  We spent a bit of time chatting about how much of it is that Drew likes to just get things done quickly and take the road with the least amount of work/effort.  I being the kind parent I am referred to it as laziness, his teacher called it maturity.  She said she really only can go by the assessment in front of her, but she suspects that laziness/maturity may very well be a part of it.

OK so the grades.... we still aren't receiving letter grades, but rather:

•  √ (checkmark) = Meets/Exceeds Standard
• O = Working Toward Standard
• AC = Area of Concern
• X - Not Taught yet/Assessed

* Some X items are no longer graded in Kindergarten under the Common Core Standard taught at our schools
* I will put first trimester reports in the ( )

Language Arts
Word Analysis, Fluency, Systematic Vocabulary Development
Identifies Concepts of print (left to right, spacing words, top to bottom - √ (√)
Names uppercase letters (26) -26 (26)
Names uppercase letters (26) - 26 (26)
Names & identifies all letter sounds - consonants- √ (√)
Names & identifies all letter sounds - vowels - √ (√)
Phonemic Awareness (oral) - Blends sounds - √ (√)
Phonemic Awareness (oral) - Substitutes sounds -  O (X)
     * She noted he missed 1 question.  She asked if you have the word B-I-G and you replace the G with a T, what is the word (no writing it down).  He said tib instead of bit.
Phonemic Awareness (oral) - Segments Sounds - √ (√)
Identifies/produces rhyming words - identify - √ (√)
Identifies/produces rhyming words - Produce - √ (O)
Distinguishes beginning and ending sounds - Beginning - √ (√)
Distinguishes beginning and ending sounds -Ending - √ (√)
Reads sight words and CVC words - Sight words - √ (√)
Reads sight words and CVC words -CVC - √ (√)
Identifies the number of words in sentences and syllables in words - √ (X)

Reading Comprehension/Literary Response
Uses pictures and context to make predictions about story content - √ (√)
Retells familiar stories including character, setting and important events - O (X)
    *again the note here was that you sometimes have to pull teeth to get the information out of him.   
       We all know he knows it, he's just not being forthcoming with the information
Asks and answers questions about story elements - √ (√)

Writing Strategies, Applications, Conventions
Writes name correctly, First - √ (√)
Writes name correctly, Last - X (X) (they don't assess this in K)
Writes upper and lower case letters independently - √ (√)
Writes consonant - vowel - consonant words - √ (√)
Writes from left to right and top to bottom with proper spacing - √ (√)
Writes words and brief sentences that are legible - √ (√)
Uses letter and phonetically spelled words to write about a specific topic - √ (√)

Listening and Speaking
Shares ideas using complete sentences - √ (√)
Recites short poems, rhymes and songs - X (X) - not done in K anymore
Narrates personal experiences - √ (√)

Mathematcis
Number Sense
Counts objects accurately to 30 - √ (√)
Represents 10 or less by grouping objects - √ (√)
Understands more than/less than/equal - √ (√)
Counts by 1 - √ (√)
Counts by 2 - X (X)
Counts by 5 - X (X)
Counts by 10 - √  (X)
   * she stated he can go well beyond the 100 she wanted him to do.
Recognizes numbers to 30 - √ (√)
Writes numbers to 30 - √ (√)
Uses estimation strategies - X (X)
Demonstrates the concept of +/- with objects - √ (X)
   * she mentioned he can do beyond what she was asking (she knew he can do multiplication too)

Algebra and Function
Identifies, sorts and classifies objects by attribute - √ (√)

Measurement and Geometry
Compares length, weight, and volume - √ (X)
Understands time concepts -  √ (O)
Names the days of the week - √ (√)
Identifies geometric shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle) - √ (√)
Describes common geometric shapes - √ (√)
Identifies 3-dimensional shapes (sphere, cone, cube, cylinder) - √ (X)

Statistics/Data Analysis/Probability
Understands and uses pictographs - X (X) Not done in K
Recognizes/describes/extends patterns - X (X) Not Done in K

Mathematical reasoning
Models and explains problems/solutions - √  (X)

Science - Earth Life Physical
Observes and compares - O (O)
Communicates findings and observations - O (O)

Social Studies
Geographic, Historical and community concepts - O (O)

Creative Arts
Participates in music, art drama - √ (O)

Social Development
Exhibits self control - O (O)
    *she's seeing progress with his "perfectionism" and his ability to manage difficult situations or
       things out of his comfort zone.
Follows Classroom rules - √ (√)
Follows Playground rules - √ (√)
Respects others and their property - √ (O)
Takes responsibility for own actions - O (O)
Cooperative with adults - O (O)
Resolves conflicts verbally - √ (√)
Participates in classroom activities - √ (√)

Work Habits
Follows Directions - √ (√)
Completes tasks in a timely manner - √ (√)
Works neatly and carefully - √ (√)
Maintains appropriate attention span - √ (√)
Works independently - √ (√)
Works well with others - √ (√)
Follows classroom routines - √ (√)
Exhibits organizational skills - √ (√)
Returns notes and homework - √ (√)

Physical Development
Gross Motor skills (i.e. hop, balance, ball skills etc.) -  √ (O)
Fine motor skills - (i.e. cut, copy, pencil, control etc.) - √ (√)

Teacher Comments: 
Drew shows growth in participation and respecting others.  We'll continue to support Drew to branch out and take more risks in areas he's less comfortable in as well as support him in coping with frustration.  He has often shown support for others in class when they make a breakthrough in learning!  We'll set a goal for Drew to work towards in this last trimester.

Bottom line it was a great report and great feedback. 

Rookie Season Begins!

It's the start of a new Little League season and this year Drew is in the Rookie League!  This means it's similar to T-ball in the way of rules - each kid bats in the inning, the game goes 3 innings, no outs, each batter advances only to first unless your the final batter then you get a "home run".- except this time instead of batting from a tee, it's coach pitch.

Saturday was really supposed to be our second game of the season, but game one was rained out.  So here's Game "2"...

We took our obligatory photos at home - with Dad (the Manager) and Drew.

Dave lets Drew get first dibs on what number he wants, the perk of being the coach's son.  So Drew picked 12- because that's his favorite number (and the date of his birthday).

Our games are at a new to us field - and the boys are now required to line up for the Little League Pledge.

Dave and Drew led the kids with the pledge.

All of these boys are ages 6 or 7 - and I believe the Yankees (our team) are currently all six.

Drew's first at bat!

So you can see how the "coach pitch" is done.

Drew at third base...

 And then his first time playing defense, he was put at first base.  We were playing the Giants.

Defending in the 2nd inning at 3rd base.  He spends most of his time on the field swinging the glove around and around.  Focus is better with this age group, but definitely a work in progress.

And the final cheer!

Of course they aren't keeping score yet, but if you ask Drew they won.  I believe we got one legitimate out and the opposing team may have had one or two legitimate outs.

The Yankees had their make-up game for the real first game on Monday (two days after this one) during the regularly scheduled practice time.  Because Dave's Assistant Coaches didn't come out to help, I along with one other Mom were assisting on and off the field so I didn't get any pictures.  The boys were especially squirrely that day.

Fat Tuesday

Thanks to HouseParty and Zatarain's, we hosted a Mardi Gras Party this weekend!  We were sent the rice packets, root beer extract, creole seasoning, and creole mustard and asked to throw a party for at least 10 people.... OK!  Dave really jumped on board and I have to say this was a really fun night with a lot of food and even more drinking.  I think a two day hangover qualifies as a good time.

All we asked people to bring was their appetite and BYOB (we did have homemade root beer and juice boxes for the kids).

The Party Animal (my Dad) with Uncle Doug.

The hostess (me) with the Zatarain's goods in the back.

Dad and I

GG and Aunt Connie in the French "Corner" -- get it instead of French Quarter - HA!

All the food!

So I made the following with my Party Pack:

• Creole Mustard Dip - served with pretzels and veggies
• Chicken & Yellow Rice Soup
• Red Beans and Rice with hot links
• Creole Fish Tacos (the hit of the night)
• Slow Cooker Jambalaya - with chicken & shrimp
• Caribbean Shrimp
• Homemade root beer
• Root beer pops
• Kings Cake - I did this on my own without any ingredients from Zatarain's.

 Here are all the guests (sans kids - they were off playing)

Top L-R: Uncle Doug, Travis, Jonelle, Dave, Mom, Dad, Grandma
Bottom L-R: Me, Aunt Connie, Julie, Stephanie

Julie and I posing with the fun green hair...

... we're considering running with the green hair at an upcoming 12K race.... :)

Dave and I

See there were kids!  This is what they did a majority of the night - play with iPhones.  I guess they were all syncing up their devices and playing MineCraft together.

Jonelle and Travis

And all the ladies....

 ... doesn't GG look good with the green hair?

And the fellas with their Mardi Gras hand signals...

Dad was the hit of the party.  Between breaking a wine glass over himself and the couch and being called Vanilla Ice....

And Dave and Julie - the two wearing Mardi Gras Gold.

And see... we really did have kids at the party!

Top L-R: Charlize, Mason, Drew, Christopher
Bottom L-R: Zionna, Troy

Dave and I are considering throwing this party annually - we had soooo  much fun.  I think next time I'll be more diligent about having some water in between the bottles of wine I consumed.

Just for the White Stuff

For the first time in two years we made it to Lake Tahoe for our annual sledding trip, however this one was marked with some drama from the get-go.  We knew there was going to be a storm, and so I left work early and we kept Drew out of school so we could try and make it before the fast approaching storm.

I suppose I should back up a bit further - the drama started earlier in the week when my car got locked in the garage - no electricity and so I couldn't open the garage door.  Of course we did have the service door blocked by storage - which is our fault.  But because it was locked in the garage all week, we couldn't get the new tires put on the car, and we had to take Dave's car.  Only trouble with that plan is the chains we own are for my car not Dave's meaning he needed to go buy chains for his car.  He picked up actual chains, not the cables...

So while we're getting hit with some much needed rain as we get into the foothills we were looking good until we hit Twin Bridges.  Suddenly it turned quickly to snow and despite the fact all reports stated no chains necessary, we had to put them on the car right then and there.  Thinking we could attach the chains, we got out there in the slush and cold putting them on without assistance.  Mistake number one.  We started driving off and then BAM - we heard the chains fall of not one but both tires!  One of them did such a number it broke the car!  Dave borrowed a crowbar from someone and fixed it, but oops.  Needless to say we paid for them to put the chains on the car - and the chains were broken, but they figured it would get us up and into South Lake Tahoe.

We then went on and made the best of the trip.  On Saturday morning while it was raining in Lake Tahoe, it was snowing up at our "sledding hill".  Which was a relief, since we anticipated there would be very little "white stuff" up there.

Drew tried to catch snowflakes...

And he was rather daring, wanting to go as high up the hill as we would let him.  Both Dave and I stopped sledding, the ground was hard - I hurt myself, and Dave broke his sled.

So while the boys were doing some runs, I built a snowman...

Like father like son, they had to make the crazy face...

After the final run, Drew wanted to "play tombstone".  Goofy kid.

We had a picnic lunch under some trees, hoping to get a break from the now rain - however the wind kicked up bad and we finished our lunch in the dry warm car. 

Later that night we made our way to Pizza Hut where they serve cheap beers and decent pizza.
 

We went back to the room and checked out the next morning.  Normally we'd get one final run in at the "sledding hill", but we decided to just hit the road since we knew we were going to have a problem with the chains... and boy were we right.

We stopped in Meyers to pay them to put the chains on, and the first guy laughed at us and said you're too much a liability - go up the road to the other guys for help.  So we did and they told us they will get us down the summit, but these chains were D.O.N.E.  Turns out he had to make a few links and crimp them closed.  We realized this as we tried to get the chains off, and had to pay to have someone cut off one of the chains.

So all of our money spent this trip went to buy the chains, pay to have them put on twice, and taken off once.  Dave swore off trips to Tahoe without a rental car with snow tires.  Between the storm in New York and this one in Tahoe, there's no doubt in anyone's mind we won't be moving to anywhere where this is a seasonal occurrence.