Our Grand Gathering Adventure:Surprising the Boys! 9/17 WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

[dismagiclover]

I really can't wait to hear about the Pirate's League! If you give a good report I may sign my boys up for it in June (maybe I'll even do it too)

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

YOU ( and the boys...) will love the Pirates League-and the fun thing it that it isn't just about the making up-there's a whole experience surrounding it involving getting new pirate names/identities, the CMs are a hoot-I found them really good at reading the kids-both DS 7 and DD 14 did it-there seemed to be some older girls doing it (teenagers) and there were boys at least up through 10 maybe older when we were there...

(One caveat-figure out how much makeup the boys can tolerate on their faces..they give you a sheet of 5 different looks to choose from-but they can improvise a bit-ds wound up with an awful lot of makeup on his face and while he was really good about it-I think it was a bit much for him-It must have taken me at least 10 face wipes to get it off later that evening...DH was watching him while I was watching DD-I'd have had the CM go a little lighter...)

Having said them it is an absolutely Fabulous experience and you are going to have so much fun...(We were able to walk right onto POTC right before to get in the mood...)

Congrats on the crocs....

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

The pirate league sounds cool! Thanks for all those who explained it for me. I would LOVE to do that for Mitchell. He's all into pirates now, anyways. He wanted to be a pirate one year for Halloween, so we did that. Now he wants to be a pirate again, except this year it HAS to be Jack Sparrow, he says! And of course his first Mickey ears were the pirate ones when he wasn't quite two. He picked them out himself.

So, we've had a life-long love of Piracy.

Heather, your boys are going to FLIP! I can't wait to read the TR and hear all about it. Cool on the great deal on the Crocs.

 

[mousescrapper]

Heather...


very cool about the PL for your boys...can't wait to hear how that goes and see pictures...I would love to do that w/ Michael next yr too.

you shouldn't have told me about a Crocs sale

I'm going to be a good girl though since DH let me stock up on some scrapping materials to start some projects to keep me busy and happy while the kids are back to school...but oohh if I get b-day $ from the I-L's I may check that out....FUN!!!!!

 

[hhockman]

Heather...


very cool about the PL for your boys...can't wait to hear how that goes and see pictures...I would love to do that w/ Michael next yr too.

you shouldn't have told me about a Crocs sale

I'm going to be a good girl though since DH let me stock up on some scrapping materials to start some projects to keep me busy and happy while the kids are back to school...but oohh if I get b-day $ from the I-L's I may check that out....FUN!!!!!

Yeah, it's a really good deal. I'd like to get some more for myself (and get the boys some flip flops) but we don't NEED them and I'm trying to save everything extra for Disney. Matt NEEDED some new shoes.

I was in Archiver's looking for Disney today too! Didn't find what I needed, but I was there for a minute. I did buy 3 stickers today. I really think these books I'm making for the boys are going to end up costing more than if I'd just bought them each a Guide to the Magic!

The pirate league sounds cool! Thanks for all those who explained it for me. I would LOVE to do that for Mitchell. He's all into pirates now, anyways. He wanted to be a pirate one year for Halloween, so we did that. Now he wants to be a pirate again, except this year it HAS to be Jack Sparrow, he says! And of course his first Mickey ears were the pirate ones when he wasn't quite two. He picked them out himself.

So, we've had a life-long love of Piracy.

Heather, your boys are going to FLIP! I can't wait to read the TR and hear all about it. Cool on the great deal on the Crocs.

Yeah. They really are going to flip. Especially Christian. But I think Will will really like it too. Actually, I think I'll really like watching it. I'm beyond excited for them! I'll be sure to tell you all about it. Christian is really into pirates too. Maybe it's a 4 year old boy thing?

YOU ( and the boys...) will love the Pirates League-and the fun thing it that it isn't just about the making up-there's a whole experience surrounding it involving getting new pirate names/identities, the CMs are a hoot-I found them really good at reading the kids-both DS 7 and DD 14 did it-there seemed to be some older girls doing it (teenagers) and there were boys at least up through 10 maybe older when we were there...

(One caveat-figure out how much makeup the boys can tolerate on their faces..they give you a sheet of 5 different looks to choose from-but they can improvise a bit-ds wound up with an awful lot of makeup on his face and while he was really good about it-I think it was a bit much for him-It must have taken me at least 10 face wipes to get it off later that evening...DH was watching him while I was watching DD-I'd have had the CM go a little lighter...)

Having said them it is an absolutely Fabulous experience and you are going to have so much fun...(We were able to walk right onto POTC right before to get in the mood...)

Congrats on the crocs....

Thank you! I haven't heard from anyone with first hand experience. How COOL that Emily did it too! I can't wait to read that part of your TR. And I'm SO glad David liked it. I'll be sure to try to get them to go with the less-is-more theory on the makeup. We're doing it first thing in the morning so they can have it all day at the MK and I don't want it to get itchy or anything in the heat. Especially Will. He can be especially sensory sensitive (especially to smell and touch-like itchy things-and noise too actually). Was the "adventure" part fun for them? Is it a scavenger hunt type thing? (But don't tell me too much )

I really can't wait to hear about the Pirate's League! If you give a good report I may sign my boys up for it in June (maybe I'll even do it too)

I didn't even think of doing it myself! If they like it, we'll probably all do it again in June. Then maybe take the Pirates and Pals cruise if they are still offering it (and it's not out of our price range). I think I'm going to have as much fun as they are!

Heather that is great. I really think your boys are going to like it. Good deal on the crocs. Things are just kinda falling into place for you.

Ginny

They are kinda falling into place. But it's still THREE WEEKS. Does that seem like a long time to anyone else?

We saw some boys who had done the Pirate's League makeover while we were in Disney. They looked really cool. I wish they had of had something like that a few years ago. I don't think Hunter would want to walk around dressed up all day at his age. Now, if we were going during Halloween, absolutely!

Great deal on the Crocs! John is in desperate need of new ones so I may just have to check out their site.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos sound great right now.

There is a MNSSHP that night and I thought it would be excellent to do the Pirates League and then go to the party, but 1. the tickets are just too much money (we did it last time and it's a lot of fun-but not enough that we wanted to spend the money again) and 2. the rest of the family pretty much had no interest (and my mom and grandma have done the party before too). Hunter is right there isn't it. Half way between little boy (well, older boy) and young man. It's a rough age. I've spent a lot of time with 12-13 year olds lately. I seem to be teaching 7th grade a lot. He's a good kid, though, so I know he'll be a great young man.

The tacos were good! And that will probably be the last time we eat out until we're in Disney (every time I spend money on anything anymore I keep thinking of what I could have bought there with that money ).

 

[hhockman]

Okay, here's the thing. Now that we're doing Pirates League on our Magic Kingdom day I figured that's enough of a surprise, so I decided I'm not doing the cake/shirt thing on Monday night anymore. Plus Matt keeps insisting they need the cakes on the first night (who knew he would get so into this surprise thing? ). In an effort to continue Matt's participation (he even wants us to get Mickey-head shaped confetti-anyone know where I can find it? I've looked and can't find it anywhere-or at least colored confetti to put all over the room. Poor Mousekeeping!), I'm going to do as he wants and do the cakes Friday night.

So here's the deal for Friday. The newest deal:

We will get to the hotel, check in, unpack (HOPEFULLY our room will be ready about an hour early) and head to the Marketplace to eat at TRex.

Then Matt and the boys will head to Disney Quest (I LOVE me some Disney Quest, but I figure they'll be there for a few hours-have I mentioned that the boys are video game obsessed?-so I should have time to do what I need to do and still get back in time to do some fun stuff. Plus we're planning to go back at least two other nights. ).

So they are on their way to Disney Quest and I will head to World of Disney to get my backpack (and maybe a couple of other small trinkets-like I don't have enough for them already. But I really want one of those character cars for each of them to have to play with-we have some here-but I want new ones).

Once I'm done shopping I will head to the Boardwalk. I'm thinking we're going to drive over to TRex so I'll have the car. I'll run into the Boardwalk Bakery and get two (or maybe 3 or 4 ) like Mickey head shaped personal sized cakes.

Then I'll head back to the room. If we get the confetti I'm going to start it just outside the door and put it on the floor leading to the table where the boys will find their cakes (with their names on them-I'm going to bring icing tubes from home). I'm going to use my Cricut to cut out the words "Welcome to Disney World" in BIG letters (it can cut up to 24" or something like that, but I'll probably do 5-6" letters) and string the letters together with fishing wire and hang it from the ceiling. I would really like to get them each a Mickey balloon and have it floating on the ceiling (does anyone know where I can get the balloons outside of the parks?-we can't go into the parks until Saturday). I will probably also have a couple of balloons taped to the table and I will have streamers going across the ceiling. Oh. And we have two of the medium-sized plush Mickeys that the kids don't even seem to realize we have. So I'm bringing them and I'll put one on each bed, and the kids will probably think they got brand new Mickeys! Underneath each cake will be a colored Mickey head (red for Christian, Green for Will) with the words "Follow Me" on it (I'm going to try to teach Christian to recognize the word "follow"-he already knows "me" before we go). I will help them, if necessary, to follow their Mickey heads to the place where their backpacks are hidden. After they find the backpacks (which will be empty-or mostly empty, might have bandaids and hand sanitizer and other non-fun stuff in there), they will continue on the "trail" to find other things like their cameras, race car, notebooks and autograph books and pens, glow sticks and braclets, bubbles, etc. There won't be that much room to hide stuff in the room, but they will still have fun with it. I just hope I can get them to sleep that night!

I am not going to tell them about the Pirates League either. On Tuesday we will just get up early and go to the Magic Kingdom and walk through the quiet park. I will not tell them where we are going, just that it's a special "surprise" place. It's going to be amazing!

I'm so excited about both things I can barely stand it. I don't know how we're going to make it through the next three weeks!

I've gotta sub tomorrow, so I need to get to bed. I won't be around during the day and Christian has practice in the evening (if it doesn't rain), but I'll be on tomorrow night. Hope you all have a great Friday!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND!!
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...=aps&hvadid=3587862825&ref=pd_sl_7z4jdwri9g_e

I have also seen it in the party section at walmart and partycity!
Good Luck!!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Okay, here's the thing. Now that we're doing Pirates League on our Magic Kingdom day I figured that's enough of a surprise, so I decided I'm not doing the cake/shirt thing on Monday night anymore. Plus Matt keeps insisting they need the cakes on the first night (who knew he would get so into this surprise thing? ). In an effort to continue Matt's participation (he even wants us to get Mickey-head shaped confetti-anyone know where I can find it? I've looked and can't find it anywhere-or at least colored confetti to put all over the room. Poor Mousekeeping!), I'm going to do as he wants and do the cakes Friday night.

So here's the deal for Friday. The newest deal:

We will get to the hotel, check in, unpack (HOPEFULLY our room will be ready about an hour early) and head to the Marketplace to eat at TRex.

Then Matt and the boys will head to Disney Quest (I LOVE me some Disney Quest, but I figure they'll be there for a few hours-have I mentioned that the boys are video game obsessed?-so I should have time to do what I need to do and still get back in time to do some fun stuff. Plus we're planning to go back at least two other nights. ).

So they are on their way to Disney Quest and I will head to World of Disney to get my backpack (and maybe a couple of other small trinkets-like I don't have enough for them already. But I really want one of those character cars for each of them to have to play with-we have some here-but I want new ones).

Once I'm done shopping I will head to the Boardwalk. I'm thinking we're going to drive over to TRex so I'll have the car. I'll run into the Boardwalk Bakery and get two (or maybe 3 or 4 ) like Mickey head shaped personal sized cakes.

Then I'll head back to the room. If we get the confetti I'm going to start it just outside the door and put it on the floor leading to the table where the boys will find their cakes (with their names on them-I'm going to bring icing tubes from home). I'm going to use my Cricut to cut out the words "Welcome to Disney World" in BIG letters (it can cut up to 24" or something like that, but I'll probably do 5-6" letters) and string the letters together with fishing wire and hang it from the ceiling. I would really like to get them each a Mickey balloon and have it floating on the ceiling (does anyone know where I can get the balloons outside of the parks?-we can't go into the parks until Saturday). I will probably also have a couple of balloons taped to the table and I will have streamers going across the ceiling. Oh. And we have two of the medium-sized plush Mickeys that the kids don't even seem to realize we have. So I'm bringing them and I'll put one on each bed, and the kids will probably think they got brand new Mickeys! Underneath each cake will be a colored Mickey head (red for Christian, Green for Will) with the words "Follow Me" on it (I'm going to try to teach Christian to recognize the word "follow"-he already knows "me" before we go). I will help them, if necessary, to follow their Mickey heads to the place where their backpacks are hidden. After they find the backpacks (which will be empty-or mostly empty, might have bandaids and hand sanitizer and other non-fun stuff in there), they will continue on the "trail" to find other things like their cameras, race car, notebooks and autograph books and pens, glow sticks and braclets, bubbles, etc. There won't be that much room to hide stuff in the room, but they will still have fun with it. I just hope I can get them to sleep that night!

I am not going to tell them about the Pirates League either. On Tuesday we will just get up early and go to the Magic Kingdom and walk through the quiet park. I will not tell them where we are going, just that it's a special "surprise" place. It's going to be amazing!

I'm so excited about both things I can barely stand it. I don't know how we're going to make it through the next three weeks!

I've gotta sub tomorrow, so I need to get to bed. I won't be around during the day and Christian has practice in the evening (if it doesn't rain), but I'll be on tomorrow night. Hope you all have a great Friday!

Heather you have a great plan. I think the boys are going to love it. I'm glad Matt is getting excited for them too. It will be such fun.

CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND!!
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...=aps&hvadid=3587862825&ref=pd_sl_7z4jdwri9g_e

I have also seen it in the party section at walmart and partycity!
Good Luck!!

Look at you Miss Connie. Always on top of things. I bet since those on Amazon were hallmark any hallmark store would have them too.

Ginny

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Cool ideas, Heather! Isn't it wonderful when the hubbies get on board and get excited? You're gonna have so much fun watching their sweet faces!

 

[hhockman]

Thanks everyone! I'll look into that edible confetti. That would be fun to put on the cakes. I may just have to go with circles for the room. I KNOW I've seen Mickey confetti before (the little shiny kind), but I can't remember where.

I'm having kind of a rough afternoon. I know, what now, right? Will came home with papers from school and they are a mix of an O (last week's spelling test), a couple S's, and couple N's, and a U. He also had a couple of U papers in his desk when I went to Open House last night (he has to fix them at school). I'm really frustrated because he's always been really good at school and I don't know what's going on. There are a couple of things he missed that he really didn't know, but most of it is not only easy for him (he corrected it easily when I asked him to), but he knew how to do last year-or even in Kindergarten. I ask him what happened and he says things like "I'm no good" or "I'm a loser" (I HATE the "L" word. We've had that discussion before. I don't know where he gets that because no one has EVER called him a loser. I think it's from tv). I've emailed his teacher to ask for a conference, but I don't know if it's too early in the year. We'll see what she says. I'm just in shock. There was one activity (an M&M activity) where he was supposed to group M&Ms into groups, write how many groups there were each time and then write how many were left. He missed 9 out of 10 of the questions. I had him do it with pennies and he got them all right. Easily. Without my help. I have this Vanderbilt Asseessment Scale that his pediatrician gave me at his 7 year check up (in March) when I talked to her about some of the auditory processing and comprehension concerns I had. She said it was used the diagnose ADD and ADHD (there are about 45 phrases like "Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities" and you have to circle Never, Occasionally, Often, or Very Often). Anyway, she said it didn't sound like he had ADD, but they also use it as a starting point to diagnose other things. Well I put it to the side and didn't give it to his 1st grade teacher because there wasn't much on there that sounded like him and it was the end of the year and we were busy. Well I went over it last night, and then this afternoon I went ahead and circled everything and he has a BUNCH of Often and Very Oftens. Not really any in the "violent" section of the questions, but a bunch in the "distracted" set. I'm really thinking a lot of his work problems are that he's getting so easily distracted, but I don't think he teacher has had him long enough to see it yet. In any case, I guess I just needed to vent. He's always been good at school (and really good at math-and he's not doing well at all-I'm wondering if the teacher thinks I was lying when I told her he was good at math!) and I don't know where this is coming from. I told his teacher I want a conference, but that if she wanted to wait until the first report card came out I'd be okay with that. I guess we'll see what happens.

I'm going to work on the boys' books tonight. I think I'll have them finished soon. Thank goodness I have this trip to look forward to! We can forget about school and everything else for a week.

Oh, btw, Christian just said to me a little while ago, "Mama I asked Daddy that I wanted to go to Disney World. " Apparently we got new vouchers and luggage tags today (since we took Cole off) and he saw them. I asked him why and he said "I want to see Mickey Mouse". I said, "Honey, I don't think we'll be going to Disney World any time soon. "

Hey, as far as I'm concerned, three weeks is NOT soon!

Uggg, I never thought Christian was the one I'd have to worry about!

I'm going to go play Mario Kart with the boys. After I talk to them about touching each other. Again.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh Heather,

I am sorry for the school problems Will is having. I know, as a mother, I sometimes overreact to things way to quickly. I am praying that that is your case as well. Maybe it is just going to take some time for Will to adjust to the new school year.

I understand, though, your wanting to try to nip any problem in the bud before it builds into something larger. It's so hard to make these decisions on whether or not to react now or wait until later.

I'm glad that you feel that we are friends enough to vent to us. It's nice to know that there's somebody out there to listen and understand what you're going through.

Let's move on to funner (I know that's not a word.) stuff. Now that you know that Christian really wants to go to Disney World, it'll make the surprise all the more sweeter.

Have fun playing Mario Kart and, hopefully, it'll help take your mind off school.

Lisa

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Oh, Heather! I don't blame you at all for wanting to nip this in the bud right away! I'm curious to know what his teacher says. I'm sure he's just adjusting to new teacher and new surroundings and such. He's probably bored b/c he DOES know all of that stuff already.

I've been teaching Mitchell a lot of things lately like how to spell certain words since he knows what all the sounds letters make now. He's been very good at picking it up so far (can spell cat, at, car, bat). Daycare teacher told me not to teach him too much b/c if I do, he'll be bored in kindegarten next year and disrupt the class. I know she's right, so I'm having to restrain myself b/c I know Mitchell well enough to know that he WILL get bored and start looking "distracted".

I bet you anything that's what's wrong with Will. He's just too SMART!!!

 

[hhockman]

Oh Heather,

I am sorry for the school problems Will is having. I know, as a mother, I sometimes overreact to things way to quickly. I am praying that that is your case as well. Maybe it is just going to take some time for Will to adjust to the new school year.

I understand, though, your wanting to try to nip any problem in the bud before it builds into something larger. It's so hard to make these decisions on whether or not to react now or wait until later.

I'm glad that you feel that we are friends enough to vent to us. It's nice to know that there's somebody out there to listen and understand what you're going through.

Let's move on to funner (I know that's not a word.) stuff. Now that you know that Christian really wants to go to Disney World, it'll make the surprise all the more sweeter.

Have fun playing Mario Kart and, hopefully, it'll help take your mind off school.

Lisa

I do consider you guys friends and I'm thankful to have you. I hope there aren't any lurkers that think I'm a nutcase at the point! The next three weeks can't go by fast enough (though the week after needs to go S-L-O-W). I hope I'm not overreacting. If I am, I guess his teacher will tell me. Teachers make the worst parents, just like doctors make the worst paitents. I don't want to be obnoxious, but I really am concerned. He's been in school for 4 weeks and they get progress reports on Monday. I'm honestly afraid to see it for the first time since he started school. The whole thing is just sureal to me. But then, you all know I worry way too much about everything.

Christian is way too cute, but YIKES! I hope I convinced him that there's no way we were going. It's one thing that he said it to Matt, but the fact that he told me what he told Matt means he's been thinking about it. Good thing we're getting close.

Thanks again, Lisa. I do really appreciate you guys! And we did have fun playing Mario Kart.

Oh, Heather! I don't blame you at all for wanting to nip this in the bud right away! I'm curious to know what his teacher says. I'm sure he's just adjusting to new teacher and new surroundings and such. He's probably bored b/c he DOES know all of that stuff already.

I've been teaching Mitchell a lot of things lately like how to spell certain words since he knows what all the sounds letters make now. He's been very good at picking it up so far (can spell cat, at, car, bat). Daycare teacher told me not to teach him too much b/c if I do, he'll be bored in kindegarten next year and disrupt the class. I know she's right, so I'm having to restrain myself b/c I know Mitchell well enough to know that he WILL get bored and start looking "distracted".

I bet you anything that's what's wrong with Will. He's just too SMART!!!

Mel, I don't really think it's because he's bored. I mean, maybe, the careless stuff could be boredom. I hadn't really thought of that (even though I got in a lot of trouble from being "bored" when I was a kid). He definitely has reading/writing issues though. The short answer questions on his Reading test didn't even make sense. But I knew about that and have been planning on working on that. That can wait until after the first report card. This missing things he should know backwards and forewards can't. I hate to even use the word ADD. Not because I'm afraid he has it or because there's anything "wrong" with him if he does, but because I feel like that word is thrown around a little bit too much and I don't want to make excuses for him if he's just bored or "doesn't feel like it". On the other hand, I don't want to punish him if he truely CAN'T pay attention (and I have seen him awfully distracted by the littlest things lately). But I'm not sure his teacher has been with him long enough to have any idea at all. Hence the frustration. These grades can't continue. I'm not sure if he's passing anything besides spelling (I'll know on Tuesday). I mean, he probably is. I don't think there have been THAT many "U"s. He probably has what would be a C in most things (the kids here don't get letter grades until 3rd grade), but still there is no excuse for that. Most of these mistakes are careless mistakes. But he's made so many of them, I'm afraid his teacher won't believe me that he really does know this stuff! There's nothing I can do this weekend, though. So I'm going to TRY to relax about it (not likely, but I won't let it monopolize my PTR either-my lurkers are going to get bored).

As far as Mitchell is concerned, you teach that boy whatever he wants to learn and let his kindergarten teacher worry about what he does and doesn't know! I'm teaching Christian to read because he wants to learn. He already knows most of what he's "learning" in PreK (though he seems to have an excellent teacher, so he is learning stuff I'd never have thought about teaching him). I wouldn't be surprised if he went into Kindergarten 3/4 of the year ahead of the other kids-or more. I'm still going to teach him what he wants to know. And remember, you are not the only Mom teaching their child at home before K. He will be just fine in Kinder. If he wants to learn, teach him. Christian, I am not worried about (except maybe a little about the behavior, like you). He never had the language issues Will did. I just wish I knew somewhere I could take Will to get him evaluated that I could afford. The school system just doesn't seem to think there's a problem. Yet.

Thanks again, girls!

Oh, and I have some more news. Matt was offered a 3rd shift position today and he took it. I know it sounds crazy, but he wanted it, and it is probably the best thing for us. He usually sleeps all day anyway, because he often doesn't get home until 2am. Now he will be working 10p-6:30a. He'll be home for baseball games and school stuff before he goes to work. AND he works Sunday to Thursday, so he's off Friday and Saturday nights (Christian has practice on Friday nights, so that's awesome). He gets a little more shift differential, but I don't know how much of a difference that will make. The main thing is he won't miss anymore ball games or practices, which is what he wanted. Next week he will work his regular shift. Then until we leave he'll work days to "train" (there's not much to learn, it's the same department, but the overnight shift has to do a few different things). Then, when we get back, he will start his new shift. I'm excited for him. Though a little worried he won't get a enough sleep. Hopefully he will.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Heather, not to bring all of this up again but to let you know I hate that Will is having problems with school. I hope that a child in his class is not giving him a hard time and he's afraid to tell you. At that age it could be so many things. If the teacher will talk to you now fine and if not just wait till you get home from your trip. You will be able to work it out because you will listen to what the teacher has to say that can make it better for Will.

I will be thinking of him.

On the lighter side. Too funny about Christian and going to Disney. Yes thank goodness 3 weeks seems like a long time to a 4 year old.

Don worked that shift when the girls were young and he did like it cause he could go to their school activities and games and he would get home about the time we left in the morning but then he was with them all afternoon till I got home in the evening. It was better than that mid afternoon thing.

Hope you have a better tomorrow.

Ginny

 

[hhockman]

Heather, not to bring all of this up again but to let you know I hate that Will is having problems with school. I hope that a child in his class is not giving him a hard time and he's afraid to tell you. At that age it could be so many things. If the teacher will talk to you now fine and if not just wait till you get home from your trip. You will be able to work it out because you will listen to what the teacher has to say that can make it better for Will.

I will be thinking of him.

On the lighter side. Too funny about Christian and going to Disney. Yes thank goodness 3 weeks seems like a long time to a 4 year old.

Don worked that shift when the girls were young and he did like it cause he could go to their school activities and games and he would get home about the time we left in the morning but then he was with them all afternoon till I got home in the evening. It was better than that mid afternoon thing.

Hope you have a better tomorrow.

Ginny

Thanks Ginny. I just needed to vent and I'm so glad I have friends like you guys to listen. I know it will be okay. We'll get it worked out. I think I was just in shock by so many not-so-good papers. I'm hoping I can talk to her this week, but if not, it will wait until after report cards in October. Matt says to just enjoy the weekend-which we will.

And I'm TOTALLY not worrying about school at Disney. 19 days!!! We're under 3 weeks. Finally.

Thanks for being there.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hey Heather,

I'm sorry for your obvious and understandable distress......

I'm still waking up (I have a nasty cold and need my coffee to wake up) but I want to give you some ideas/advice and hopefully I'll be coherent...

First, as hard as it is-you need to try to relax as well as possible if you are going to advocate for him...Will is still the same awesome kid he was just 4 weeks ago before school began...he's obviously just having some problems in school right now...and it's a bit of a puzzle that you're going to have to step back and piece together...

He has three very big things going to him: he is obviously bright, he isn't oppositional, and most importantly he has a supportive family and a mother who is more than willing to go to bat for him...

I'm not sure what your school district is like and or the faculty at his school-but it seems to me that you have every right to request a conference when you feel you need it...but first

I think you need to really think about WHAT YOU WANT & WHAT YOU ARE ASKING THEM FOR-(in terms of testing you may want, in terms of the communications you want with them-ie. do you want a update from his teacher weekly on what's going on, on any accomodations you might like regarding his curriculum materials-ie do you want a copy for home, etc.)

When you go in you want to be able to drive the direction of the meetings-or else you will be driven-

of course you always want to be polite and assume the best of the school upfront until proven otherwise-think iron hand in velvet glove...

Alright I can just feel that I'm rambling...but you know so many things could be going on...Will is obviously bright, gifted-he could be bored-he also may tend to tune out stuff he's not interested in, he could have an auditory processing issue, has he had a recent eye exam, is there some creepy kid who is a bully? He could possible have ADD-it isn't black or white-there is a continuum..., He could possibly have NVLD-although his strength in math probably rules that out...this is just for a start...

I don't remember exactly what testing Will has had...(which ones have you done?)

It's going to all be ok-it really and truly is and I understand (believe me I really do) your desire to figure this all out ASAP but unless you nail it correctly -it may only make things worse...slow and steady and correctly is how you want to go...

I"m sorry that Will is feeling bad-that's really hard......I know how badly I felt when I picked David up one day and he was really upset (some transition at the end of the day) and we were driving and he told me that his "brain worked differently than the other kids"....I wanted to stop the car and get and hug him...when we got home I told him that it was ok a lot of really amazing people had brains that worked "differently" including Mozart, Jefferson and Einstein to name just a few...and how wonderful it was that there are different kinds of brains that think differently...

Whatever is going on on with Will-it will be fine and you will resolve-maybe not today or tomorrow but sometime soon...

You know something isn't right...but what do you want to do/or have tested now to try to start to nail it down...

(I'm going to be online a lot today since I have this cold and I'm giving myself permission to relax and knock it out...if you need anything or having any questions...just post or PM me...I'm here....)

BTW-I was going to say hurrah for all your good Disney Plans but I went on this other tangent...

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I hope you get it figured out with Will soon. I know you can't help but worry. He's your child! You'll worry when he's eighty and you're a hundred! That's just the way it is. If it is ADD or something like that (not saying it is, but you brought up the possibility), then HE will give you the tools you need to cope and help Will. Chances are, he's just adjusting and it's hard. I'll be praying that you get your answers soon.

Thanks for the advice on Mitchell. He's a very bright little boy, knows all his colors and shapes, letters, sounds they make, and now he's wanting to spell. ONly for short bouts, but still, he seems interested. Seems very excited that one day he can read his own books. Ah, our little babies are growing up!

Congrats to Matt on the job he wanted. I know that will be good for him to be there for his kids and it will be good for Will and Christian too! HE is certainly blessing isn't HE?

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Good morning Heather. Yes, I'm finally up. I didn't go to bed till 1:30. Got to watching a movie and playing a game. Darn laptops.

Hope you have a grand day and get done what is needed for this day and enjoy it as it happens.

You have received lots of good advice here. Sort thru it use what fits you and Will.

Ginny

 

[hhockman]

Hey Heather,

I'm sorry for your obvious and understandable distress......

I'm still waking up (I have a nasty cold and need my coffee to wake up) but I want to give you some ideas/advice and hopefully I'll be coherent...

First, as hard as it is-you need to try to relax as well as possible if you are going to advocate for him...Will is still the same awesome kid he was just 4 weeks ago before school began...he's obviously just having some problems in school right now...and it's a bit of a puzzle that you're going to have to step back and piece together...

He has three very big things going to him: he is obviously bright, he isn't oppositional, and most importantly he has a supportive family and a mother who is more than willing to go to bat for him...

I'm not sure what your school district is like and or the faculty at his school-but it seems to me that you have every right to request a conference when you feel you need it...but first

I think you need to really think about WHAT YOU WANT & WHAT YOU ARE ASKING THEM FOR-(in terms of testing you may want, in terms of the communications you want with them-ie. do you want a update from his teacher weekly on what's going on, on any accomodations you might like regarding his curriculum materials-ie do you want a copy for home, etc.)

When you go in you want to be able to drive the direction of the meetings-or else you will be driven-

of course you always want to be polite and assume the best of the school upfront until proven otherwise-think iron hand in velvet glove...

Alright I can just feel that I'm rambling...but you know so many things could be going on...Will is obviously bright, gifted-he could be bored-he also may tend to tune out stuff he's not interested in, he could have an auditory processing issue, has he had a recent eye exam, is there some creepy kid who is a bully? He could possible have ADD-it isn't black or white-there is a continuum..., He could possibly have NVLD-although his strength in math probably rules that out...this is just for a start...

I don't remember exactly what testing Will has had...(which ones have you done?)

It's going to all be ok-it really and truly is and I understand (believe me I really do) your desire to figure this all out ASAP but unless you nail it correctly -it may only make things worse...slow and steady and correctly is how you want to go...

I"m sorry that Will is feeling bad-that's really hard......I know how badly I felt when I picked David up one day and he was really upset (some transition at the end of the day) and we were driving and he told me that his "brain worked differently than the other kids"....I wanted to stop the car and get and hug him...when we got home I told him that it was ok a lot of really amazing people had brains that worked "differently" including Mozart, Jefferson and Einstein to name just a few...and how wonderful it was that there are different kinds of brains that think differently...

Whatever is going on on with Will-it will be fine and you will resolve-maybe not today or tomorrow but sometime soon...

You know something isn't right...but what do you want to do/or have tested now to try to start to nail it down...

(I'm going to be online a lot today since I have this cold and I'm giving myself permission to relax and knock it out...if you need anything or having any questions...just post or PM me...I'm here....)

BTW-I was going to say hurrah for all your good Disney Plans but I went on this other tangent...

Thank you Patricia. There is some very good advice here. I do really need to think about what I want. I will probably take you up on your offer to PM you in a little while. I'm feeling better today, and I don't think the whole thing is as "bad" as it seemed to be at first (I tend to overreact sometimes-it causes problems. ), but there is definitely an issue. There has been for a while. His kindergarten teacher tried to start the process of finding out what we could do, but the speech teacher blew her off and then she went to one different school and Will went to another. His first grade teacher knew there was some reading comprehension issues, but he seemed to be getting better (in her eyes) and she had so many kids that were below level, she just couldn't do much for him. So here we are. Now I'm rambling. I'll PM you in a bit and try to give you some background without making your eyes glaze over...

Thanks!

I hope you get it figured out with Will soon. I know you can't help but worry. He's your child! You'll worry when he's eighty and you're a hundred! That's just the way it is. If it is ADD or something like that (not saying it is, but you brought up the possibility), then HE will give you the tools you need to cope and help Will. Chances are, he's just adjusting and it's hard. I'll be praying that you get your answers soon.

Thanks for the advice on Mitchell. He's a very bright little boy, knows all his colors and shapes, letters, sounds they make, and now he's wanting to spell. ONly for short bouts, but still, he seems interested. Seems very excited that one day he can read his own books. Ah, our little babies are growing up!

Congrats to Matt on the job he wanted. I know that will be good for him to be there for his kids and it will be good for Will and Christian too! HE is certainly blessing isn't HE?

Thanks. He's really excited about the job and I'm excited for him. As long as he gets the sleep he needs, it will probably be the best solution for all of us. HE definitely had HIS hand in this one.

Christian is always wanting to spell and read too. He can read quite a few sight words and sound out a lot too. He's forever asking me what "that" says. Work with Mitchell if you want to. It's only going to help him.

Good morning Heather. Yes, I'm finally up. I didn't go to bed till 1:30. Got to watching a movie and playing a game. Darn laptops.

Hope you have a grand day and get done what is needed for this day and enjoy it as it happens.

You have received lots of good advice here. Sort thru it use what fits you and Will.

Ginny

Thanks Ginny. I feel better today. I think I just needed to get it all out. Now I need to move slowly, like Patricia said, so we can figure out what is really going on.

I can't believe you stayed up that late! A nap might be in order today.




BTW, I got their "Welcome to Disney World" sign cut out. I want to add some stickers and then I'll post a picture. Still working on the books....

 

[hhockman]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I just got an email back from his teacher with an excellent response. She is willing to conference in a couple of weeks (I believe it's actually a week from Thursday) so she can have time to get a few more grades together to look for patterns. That's good for me too so I can get my "thoughts" together as Patricia suggested.

She is also going to call me this week because she is concerned about Will's response when I try to talk about his papers ("I'm no good" ect).

I really feel like she is listening to my concerns and will work with me to address whatever needs to be addressed. Will also has a student teacher in his class until November, so there are two "adults" in there that can help.

Now to think about what comes next....

Thanks again so much for your prayers. You guys must have some pull with the man upstairs because I'm feeling awful blessed lately...especially with some great friends!

Patrician, I'm still going to PM you in a bit.