February Fun!

This is going to be a happy post!!  I want lots of happy tonight!  It's Valentine's Weekend!  A weekend dedicated to love.  And I have lots of love in my life...I am blessed beyond measure.

We've had a low key month.  Just alot of Tate and me, which I love.

We've gone to our favorite restaurant several times...aka The French Fry Place according to Tate.

Asparagus...yum??

We went to the local pottery place where he painted Nemo as I just let him watch 'Finding Nemo' for the first time earlier this month here at home.  He was so excited, though he got very bored about halfway through and wondered why it was taking so long to find Nemo because "He's right there Mommy!"

I didn't help him hardly at all except to make sure he painted three coats.  He even had to tell me to not take the Nemo away when I thought he was done because he needed to do the black stripes!!  We picked up his projects today!  (He made the ice cream cone for me!  Sweet boy!)

It's a piggy bank!  And he's already
earned his first quarter for it by helping
me unload the dishwasher today!

He's had soccer every Saturday morning which he likes I would say somewhat.  He spends alot of time 'falling down' and complaining that noone will give him the ball...um that's the point of the game little boy.  He's a great fast dribbler, but has little to no control over the ball, so goes out of bounds, alot.  I'm so damn competitive that I probably need to not go to games etc because I don't find the 4 year olds' cluelessness cute; it annoys me greatly.  At least I can admit it, right?

 

He absolutely loves, loves, loves going to the library!  And with a mom who is a book lover this is music to my ears.  Also, I must say my little boy who is just 4 1/2 years old can actually read.  He is reading!  I cannot believe it.  He sounds out the words carefully, amazingly doesn't get frustrated (though I imagine this might change) and just read away.  And I'm not talking about memorized stories; he's reading new stories.  Sure I have to help him with several words..he got stuck on 'people' today as well as 'wires', 'sound' and a few more that he doesn't know how to sound out, but basic words enough to read some basic books...he's got it!  He's breezing through the BOB books Set One and he loves the  Starfall website.  He's already through #10 on that webpage...we were able to skip to the 'Learn to Read' part of the site!

He had to spend a day at one of the private schools I'm applying to.  They wanted to see how he would fit in with the existing class as well as administer an admission test.  He seemed to do just fine.  The nurse gave him the test, then gave him a roll of smarties, so he was a very happy boy...I was not happy about the candy, but oh well.  He did just great though at drop-off at 745am.  One of the students in the class he joined was assigned to be his buddy for the day...he ate lunch with Tate, shared his cubby with Tate, played with Tate...he was there to make sure Tate wasn't alone ever.  Tate told me this little boy was his new best friend!  LOL!  Of course he was, Tate.  He was basically paid to be your friend :).

Here we are at drop-off.

We've had a couple of days where he didn't want to be left at daycare :( but when he watches me through the window it's usually all better.  The drop-offs are usually only hard when his buddy K isn't there yet!!

But he loves his friends!

Last week I had my annual slumber party here at the house...massages, good friends, lots of laughs and love, chick flicks (though we had the Olympics on this time) and an all around good time.  Tate spent the night with his Papa, and he was absolutely thrilled!  He had his suitcase packed the night before.  However, he woke up in Papa's bed at 2am and decided he was up for the day!  My poor daddy!  They had had a great afternoon and night on Saturday night;  Tate went down to sleep with not a peep.  My dad did say he woke up congested and had a hard time breathing.  When I finally woke up at 8:45am on Sunday (I have not slept that late since Tate was born...I kid you not!) I called to check on them.  Needless to say, my mom and I were at their house by 10:15 am to save my poor dad.  Tate was an absolute disaster of tiredness the rest of the day.  He did take a 90 minute nap in the car, but it wasn't enough.  But as always we made it through!

They're off!

We had Tate's allergy testing about a week ago as well.  They tested for peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame, eggs and oranges.  He didn't respond to the eggs and oranges!! Hooray!!  So we have to go back for a food challenge on those.  I've got my fingers crossed.  However, he failed the peanuts and tree nuts test horribly...way huger reaction than he ever had to the eggs and oranges.  I'm not optimistic that he'll grow out of this allergy, but I will be praying fervently that he does.  He'll be re-tested for those in a year.  He was pricked 14 times...he was a trooper; didn't start crying until about the 7th stick.  Such a sweet boy!

Doesn't he look so very little?

We've had some fun here at home.  I made sliders for the first time, and he seemed to enjoy them.

 As always he plays with his trains constantly.  At one point I noticed he was moving the majority of them, along with some other toys into the dining room; I paid minimal attention.  A couple hours later he ran over to the tv armoire saying "I've got to get them a movie Mommy."  "Ok Tate!"  Thought nothing of it.  Later that night after he was in bed I was pushing the chairs back under the table and saw this:

All the toys and trains are watching the movie!!!  LOL!  So creative my kid!!!

The cat is loving the sunlight that has finally returned today!  Sweet Vinnie!

Then yesterday was Valentine's Day!  Of course his school had a big to-do!  It seems like it was just lovely!  All the classes had parties and the director took some amazing pictures of the kiddos!  Tate had a blast...I made sure to send a vegan Crave cupcake in for him and he was able to participate in the party festivities once he arrived after swim lessons.  My mom took him to swim lessons for me as I had to work this rare Friday...we had two 'snow' days here in Houston this month!!  It's been unseasonably cold across the country and we had to make up the day.  Anyway, he made it in time for all the party fun!!!

Here are his breakfast valentines from me (I made the card at the slumber party!)  Inside the bag was a Little Einsteins DVD (it include the episode 'Go West Young Train' :) ) and a chocolate lollipop and two chocolate covered pretzels!

My mom made him the red card at the party, and the
other is from a friend!

This is the box 'he' made for his valentines at school.  It's just gorgeous!  I love it...his teacher took alot of time to make these for us...I'm forever grateful...

A face only a mother could love :)

Here's my sweet boy with his band of brothers...

These boys are pretty inseparable.  I love how they love one another.  

Oh how I love this one...

Keepin' On

When it comes to public school in my school district, we have what's called a Magnet Program or 'school choice'.  Schools that choose to participate in the Magnet Program must fulfill two obligations from what I can tell: 20% of their student population must come from outside their 'zoned' area and the school must have an area of focus.

The current areas of focuses in our Magnet Program are:

Vanguard (Gifted and Talented): Vanguard is a Magnet program that serves students who have been identified as potentially gifted or talented in intellectual ability, creativity, or leadership. A Magnet Vanguard offers a differentiated curriculum that is both accelerated and enriched. Admission to the Magnet Vanguard program requires testing and the use of the Vanguard application. 

International Baccalaureate (IB):  International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an advanced academic curriculum that focuses on problem-solving and independent critical-thinking skills, which better prepare students for college and a lifetime of learning.

Montessori: Montessori is a system of education that is both a philosophy of child development and a methodology of guiding each child’s development to its full potential. In a Montessori School children grow in an environment of mutual respect to become responsible world citizens. Every classroom is equipped with Montessori materials. Children experience a spiraling, connected curriculum founded on Montessori principles.

STEM: STEM is a program that offers science, technology, engineering, and math instruction through problem-solving and independent critical-thinking skills, while emphasizing laboratory exploration and hands-on activities.

Language: Language programs offer students an opportunity to learn one or multiple languages in an instructional setting that integrates subject content presented in English and another language. Models vary depending on the language and school level. This program provides a continuum of learning experiences that lead to the development of advanced-level linguistic skills.

Fine Arts: Fine Arts programs provide specialized instruction in a variety of areas, including strings, band, piano, art, dance, creative writing, and gymnastics. Excellence in the arts is a natural, integrated extension of the academic program. Offerings in each individual school may vary.

(I didn't include the two programs which are for kids at the high school level).

Entry into the schools is via a lottery system.  You can apply to up to 10 schools in total, with up to only 5 allowed to be Vanguard schools.  You do NOT rank the schools in order of your choice.  This means that feasibly on the lovely spring day the lottery is drawn you could go to your personal page on the school district's webpage and find out that your child has been accepted, via the lottery, to all of the schools to which you applied!  Because he/she goes into each school's lottery that you applied to.  (Applications were due mid-December)

If this happens, you're golden.  You simply choose the school you want and you're done, no muss no fuss.  Even if you only get into 3 of the schools you've chosen, if your top choice was on your 'Your child is accepted' list that day, you click 'yes' and move on.  If your child is not accepted to your first choice you have the option of choosing one of your other choices, if you got into one of them by the lottery, ask to be on the wait list at your top school and cross your fingers.  But here's the caveat...you can only change your mind one time!!!  So, what if you're accepted to what you deem your third choice?  You accept it, praying you get your 2nd or 1st choice at a later date.  Then 6 weeks later you find out you got into your 2nd choice.  Do you accept? Because if you do, you cannot opt for your 1st choice if they call you the day before school starts in September and says "Ms. X we didn't fill our class size with the neighborhood kids as we expected, so we have more room for our Magnet applicants.  We'd love to offer sweet 'x' a spot in our kindergarten class."  But you took your 2nd choice back in June.  You're stuck with your second choice.

See what an absolute nightmare this becomes.  So unless you get your first choice on Lottery Day this spring, this ghoulish stress and frustration can fester on well into the first or second week of school.

Ok.  What does this Vanguard (Gifted and Talented) stuff mean?  And why do 4 year olds have to test into the Gifted and Talented program before they even enter kindergarten.

This is a bit difficult to explain and for people not involved in this ridiculous process hard to understand.  From my understanding, all kindergartners in my school district will be tested for GT'ness' at some point in kindergarten.  If they are GT identified they will either move into GT classes in their schools or if they are in a classroom with a certified GT teacher, he/she will differentiate within the class room for those kids designated GT with a curriculum differentiated in depth, pacing and complexity.   Those kids who are not GT designated just continue on with their normal studies none the wiser.  I believe the children are tested again in 5th grade (for entering into junior high) and then again at the high school level.  From what I understand also, if  a parent decides they think their child is GT at some other point they can request to have their child tested at any point in time.  Seemingly all schools in the district offer a GT program for the children who are GT.  There are, however,  a couple of schools from the elementary level and up that are solely Vanguard.  No matter what age you are you must be designated GT.  These public schools are thus not neighborhood schools.  Every single student in these schools is GT.  I applied to only one of these, and even if Tate tests GT I don't think I would send him there because it's a bit more studious and intense than I am comfortable with, especially for 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds.

So, some Magnet schools are Vanguard in their emphasis.  All their teachers are GT certified.  But since they are neighborhood schools, not all the kids who attend are GT.  However, if you want to do a zone transfer via the Magnet program your child must test as GT.  Therefore Tate had to take the test for giftedness today.  A couple of these schools have separate classes for the GT kids, but the majority have the GT kids mixed with the neighborhood kids.  I think I'm leaning towards preferring a school where the kids are mixed, for Tate's age group. I definitely think that by junior high there needs to be separation.

I applied to 4 Vanguard schools and 5 other type Magnet schools.

Like I mentioned, Tate tested today for the Vanguard program.  I have no idea if he's GT or not.  But I really liked a couple of the schools that are Magnet Vanguard, not necessarily for their Vanguard program, but I liked the feel of the schools overall and I like their location in relation to my job :). It just so happens that their emphasis is GT, so he had to take the test.  If he's not certified GT this year, he'll take the test again next anyway with his class if he's in public school, so I could feasibly put him in the lottery again for 1st grade and move him to a Magnet Vanguard if I so chose.

I also am really, really impressed with the IB program.  It's fantastic.  Four of the schools I applied to have the Elementary IB certification.  These four schools are dual magnet, such that they are IB with another Magnet focus...one is IB/Vanguard (how awesome is that!!!), one is IB/STEM, and two are IB/Fine Arts.

So, that's an explanation of our public school choice program and how it works.

March 28th is D-Day!  I think this is the day for most private schools as well.  I believe we have about 2 weeks to make our decisions.  Right now I'm not sure which way I'm leaning.  I'm trying to leave my worry to God.  Mostly, I'm going to wait to see where Tate's been accepted, and then decide what to do.  I'm sure the smarter thing is to decide now what I really want for him and that way when I find out his choices I can just say yes with a sure heart and mind.  But I'm so overwhelmed that I can't focus right now.  I just have to get him through one more 'trial' day which also has some sort of testing, which is this week and then I can sit back and relax.  

Ok not relax, just obsess more.  But then all the testing will be done and I can try to make it to a couple more schools for tours and try to go into the end of March with more clarity.

Because right now I'm in a dense, dense fog.  This is when I really, really wish I had another adult as invested in Tate and his future as I am, just someone to bounce this stuff off of.  It's unbelievably scary to be the sole decider in someone else's future.  

This has definitely been the hardest time to be a single mother by choice.  Those sleepless nights alone, trips to the ER alone, nothing compared to this.  

But we're doing it.  Him and I.  We're doing it.  

We're gonna keep on keeping on.

Here's that sweet boy I'm doing all this for.  We went to lunch at his favorite restaurant today and were lucky enough to be able to sit in his favorite booth...the one with a mirror next to it so he could gaze at his favorite person...himself :).

Apparently cracks himself up!

Gazing adoringly at.....HIMSELF!!!