Thursday, September 20, 2012

Another few weeks of school

Time always seems to fly on by once school starts...for me it goes from school to birthdays to holidays to the new year.  So while I know Trevor's birthday and Christmas are a ways out, I am already thinking of things that involve those two events.  Tonight I even double-checked with the kids on what they wanted to do for their "friends" party and I think both of them have changed their tune a bit.  Gwen had been saying Chuck E. Cheese for a bit, and while I would be fine with that, I think she still likes the idea of having a bunch of friends over to her house to play.  So that might be a change.  And then Trevor has said he wanted to do a sleepover, but when he came down to his guest list, I suggested maybe doing a waterpark birthday and having a few friends sleep at the hotel if they could.  I just don't know many of the kids well enough to know if they would even want or have been on a sleepover.  A different choice may be an option for more of them.  Oh well, it is a ways off, and we have time. 

Gwen is loving school, although not loving her quiet time after school.  She thinks that if she gets homework, she shouldn't have to go upstairs since Trevor has to do his homework right after school.  She has just started to get a cold, and this morning Trevor woke her up before 6:30 to see the planetary nebula from his window....I have no idea what he was talking about but Gwen has been pretty crabby ever since.  Hopefully she can get some better sleep tonight to keep the cold away.  But after her rest time, she is free to do her homework...which really isn't homework, it is just activity pages and books she didn't completely color at school.  To watch her work, it is amazing the complete difference between Trevor and Gwen.  She has yet to complain, she has a huge amount of patience (in order to do her "quality work" - as directed by her teacher), and she genuinely loves doing it.  I still remember Trevor's work, which even now, he prefers speed to accuracy so as to get it done with as fast as possible so he can move on to the things he wants to do.  I remember the fights we would get in just to get him to complete his reading of a book.  So I would say she is loving school right now. 

Trevor is off to a wonderful year so far.  He has gotten two rewards from school for being kind to his fellow students and won a drawing at the first school assembly.  The school has introduced a new planner system as well as an academic coach that has already given us one seminar on how to encourage and teach the kids to succeed by staying organized and owning their job as a student.  I'm struggling on letting it all go, and letting him find his own way, unless he asks.  So it seems this year he really has grown and is having a highly successful year...I'm hoping his conference in two weeks is along the same lines.  It would be such a relief to feel as though we really have turned a corner for him this year. 

Similar to his summer at the roller rink, he has already had a few chances to get to know girls a bit better to.  MAN does he have charisma...at age 8!  What.the.heck?  We have had 2 swimming lessons already and although Gwen and he start the lessons at the same time, she ends 10 minutes earlier.  I told him on the first lesson he had to get himself out of the pool and into the locker room because I would be getting Gwen ready when he was done.  Didn't listen and went into the leisure area to have fun.  Typical Trevor.  So this week, I explained that he can't do it again, or he won't get McDonalds for dinner or his Nintendo for the night.  Didn't listen again...but this time, he was chatting up some girl.....probably in his class, who then walked by us and into the 10+ age women's locker room.  An older girl again?  Who does that?  Try to get older women?....oh wait.... it must be in his genes.  Well, its not from my side of the family anyway ;-) 

So that's it from me for the weeks of school so far.  I'm crossing my fingers on two wonderful conferences....It seems like it just might happen!

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