Yay for Amy!

We got the news last week that Amy was accepted into the gifted program, which begins in fourth grade. How fantastic for her!

In Loudoun the program - called Futura - is only one day per week, unlike in nearby Fairfax, where the entire week's class is gifted. We don't know a lot about the program yet, but we do know it means that one day per week she'll ride a bus to another school and participate in specialized classes designed to encourage thinking in new ways. She'll be responsible for whatever class work she misses in her "home" class.

This is a terrific opportunity and really opens a door for her which will remain open throughout her next few school years. Since she'll be in Futura for fourth and fifth grade, that will automatically allow her to continue in the Spectrum program in sixth through eighth grades.

We are so proud of this achievement! Especially so since we've been told that her third grade teacher historically hasn't supported kids going into Futura - so we don't know if Amy got in the program based on her testing scores and her "portfolio" of work with the gifted teacher, or whether her teacher actually recommended her. However she got there, it's fantastic.

Two years ago Reed was initially identified as a candidate for the gifted program, but didn't get in. I think that's largely due to the score he got on one of the tests they use, the Naglieri. He scored in the 79th percentile, which just really is not at all reflective of his abilities (just for reference, Amy scored in the 98th percentile). I don't know what happened the day he took that test - did he zone out, rush through, skip a question toward the end and get a bunch of questions wrong because of it? Who knows. When we had our first meeting with his fourth grade teacher Ms. Coughlin, one of the first things she asked us was why Reed wasn't in Futura. His other fourth grade teacher Ms. Sgroi always mentioned that he asks interesting questions and has an interesting perspective on things. His fifth grade teacher Mrs. Bedrowsky says the same things. Clearly he's a really smart kid, it's a shame he didn't get into Futura too. We were a little concerned that he'd be upset that Amy got in, but he took it in stride...first comment was "I guess they lowered their standards from two years ago." What a typical big brother thing to say!

The school year is winding down and the kids are ready for summer. I think I am too. It's nice to have a break from Thursday folders and school fund raisers and taking time every evening for homework.

Amy's "Hopes and Dreams"

This week it was Amy's turn to present her hopes and dreams to her third grade class. Here's what she wrote:

my hopes and dreams                                                                 by: Amy 

My name is Amy Larson and I am 9 years old. My hopes and dreams are to become a fashion designer and work with Emily. When I grow up I want to have 3 dogs. I want to live in Virgina. I want to go to James Madison UNiversty. My favorite food is mac and cheese and ice cream. My favorite thing to do is read. My favorite video game is minecraft. My favorite book series is ever after high. thoes are my hopes and dreams.

The Emily she references is Emily Calo, who is in her class. I am not sure where the JMU influence is coming from, probably because her teacher Mrs. Schmidt's son is graduating high school and going to JMU -- or perhaps it's because on our spring break vacation, we talked about JMU as we passed by it on our way there and back. 

Hopefully I can show this to Amy when she grows up!

Parenting styles

A great number of parents in our neighborhood seem to have a similar parenting style: they micromanage their kids' school studies. They closely oversee homework, they can tell you at any time what class their kid is in at any point of the school day, they have charts to keep track of test schedules.

Well none of that is happening here at the Larson house. Well, okay maybe a tiny bit, but not much. We see school as the kids' "job" for which they are responsible. Before they can have screen time, we ask if their homework is done, and if they report that it is, then that's good enough for us. We don't check, we take their word for it. Their teachers email us to let us know when tests are coming up, and sometimes we'll ask them if they're prepared, or if they need help studying, but for the most part it's up to them to know when a test is and to be ready for it. It's worked out pretty well so far – they get great grades and it's all their doing. What does it teach them if they learn to count on us to remind them to study for something, or to be sure their homework or project is done? We want them to be self-reliant. If it's a "big" test like an SOL (and let's not even talk about their value, which I think is minimal), then we'll try to be sure the kids got a good night's sleep and a good breakfast.

This isn't to say we don't remind them if they're leaving their homework on the kitchen table - we don't go that far. We also give reminders when long-term projects are coming due...and that's mostly for our own sanity so there aren't last-second trips to the craft store.

I hope that how we've chosen to handle school is and will continue to be beneficial for Reed and Amy. We are very fortunate that our kids can handle this kind of responsibility – we're grateful for it every day.

Brain drain

We're not sure whether it's an act, or whether Reed is really lacking in memory and attention. We tell him "On Thursday, we're going to X to see Y" and when Thursday comes, he claims no knowledge of any such plan. "What? We're going to X? Why didn't anybody tell me?!" We just spent 6 days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee over Spring Break, doing a dozen interesting (and sometimes costly) things - Dollywood theme park, magic show, comedy show, electronic scavenger hunt, hiking trips. Two days after we got back, Nikki asked him where we'd gone on vacation. He didn't know. She asked what he did. His answer? "I don't remember." Maybe this is a hormone-related thing? I have no idea. But I don't think he used to be this way, at least it wasn't so drastic.

Hopefully his brain will return to him at some point in time.

Our baby girl is 9!

Today is Amy's ninth birthday! We had our family celebrations this past Saturday since Tod unfortunately has to be in California for work this week. Amy's choice of activities? First, visiting model homes. Now this is something Tod and I sometimes like to do "for entertainment purposes only," as we say. And the kids grumble about it, though ultimately they like it too – it's fun! But for Amy to specifically ask to do it? Kind of wild! It was just the three of us - we left Reed at home, first because he grumbled about having to go (shocker) but mostly because then it was just special time with Amy. We visited 3 model homes, including one with a $1.5 million price tag – needless to say we all loved that one. It was a fun time!

Then we went to the Alamo Drafthouse to have dinner while seeing the brand new "Muppets Most Wanted" movie. We don't go to that theater often, it's only for a special treat. A nice birthday outing.

What can I say about nine year old Amy? She still really loves school (thank goodness) and is very responsible about doing her schoolwork. Her current most favorite activity is playing Minecraft on the computer or Xbox. Several months ago it was a Rainbow Loom bracelet addiction (we still have dozens of the bracelets that she hasn't given out or worn!). Reading and drawing are ongoing favorites, never enough time for those activities. We're taking a break from tae kwon do – it was becoming less enjoyable for her and not worth the fight – and I'm not sure if she'll decide to go back to that. Amy has recently enjoyed taking swim lessons at the Cub Run Rec Center.

It's so incredible to watch our kids slowly turn into "real people" and mature. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our sweet Amy.

End of an era

And finishing up Webelos II.

The cutest little Tiger you'll ever see!

Way back in 2009 when Reed was in first grade, he joined Cub Scouts. Tod was never a Scout and I certainly had no familiarity with it. That first year in Pack 282 didn't turn out to be so great – the co-leaders were really nice guys but not too organized. It was no surprise that they didn't continue to a second year.

We realized during that year that if you want something done right, the best way to assure that is to do it yourself. Well, to let Tod do it himself. :) In 2010, we switched Reed to Pack 1148 and Tod became a Cub Scout Den Leader.

Being a member of Cub Scouts has given us lots of great opportunities for being involved in the community, helping Reed learn new things, and getting to know our neighbors better.

Tod has put an extraordinary amount of energy into Cub Scouts over the last 4 years. He's planned bimonthly meetings, organized outings, and his most high-profile role of all – Popcorn Kernel. I hope that one day Reed will look back fondly on his Cub Scout days and realize the effort that his Dad put into making it a positive experience for him and all the other boys in our den. It was really great to see and I'm both grateful for and proud of Tod for all he's done.

Reed and Dad with the Arrow of Light award.

Reed has decided he's not interested in moving up to Boy Scouts, so March 16 was our very last Cub Scout event – the Blue & Gold dinner. At the dinner, Reed received his Arrow of Light award for his achievements. And with that we are done with scouting. It is more than a little sad to lose our connection to the Pack and the community of the group. But there's no rest for Dad, who's got only a couple of weeks off before Reed's flag football season starts up again – this time with a 3-day per week commitment!

"Mom, will you read to me?"

I was very happy to hear those words from Reed last week! In a failing attempt to locate his lost recorder for music class, we unearthed the thick Sherlock Holmes book we started reading together last year. We have less than an inch to go in the 3 inch-thick book, and he wants to finish it up. It's like saying hello to an old friend again, reading Mr. Holmes' adventures. And it's also pretty awesome to read with Reed again.