Success in Baby Steps

I'm doing my field experience/internship in a school in an area such that half of the student population is considered "economically disadvantaged." This school is in its 4th year of "needs improvement" status which means that it did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as determined by the state board of education for 4-6 years in a row. To say that this is a tough school would be an understatement.

As such, my little slice of sixth grade is no exception. There are students that I didn't think I would be able to reach-students that were just trying to get through school as something to check off their To Do list instead of seeing it as an avenue for a brighter future. This is heartbreaking to an educator that wants to make a difference.

For the first few weeks I felt like I was up against a brick wall. I was sure that there were some students that, no matter how hard I tried, I would not be able to reach. Today I found out differently. While helping a group of 4 students review for a test I mixed up two students' names. They laughed at me and I apologized explaining that I'm doing my best at trying to learn names while only in their classroom 4 hours a week. I told them that soon I would be in the class five days a week and that would last for five weeks. One of the "tough" students acted excited that I would be in the class more and then their face fell. They asked what would happen after those 5 weeks. Would I leave? Realizing that this type of reaction could stem from sources beyond my understanding, I was careful with my response. I told the student that I would have to go back to KSU to finish my studies. This seemed to upset the student at first, but then the whole group was curious. They wanted to know about my school and when I told them that it was pretty big and that I was getting a great education they all said they wanted to go there someday.

Now, I realize that these are just sixth graders and what they may say one minute, is long forgotten the next. But, I felt like a)I've already gotten through somewhat if the students like for me to be there and b) I may have influenced one of them to think that college is not only possible, but something worth pursuing.

Too cool! It's days like this, that make all the work and all the money spent on gas totally worth it.

A little education from Abby

Here I thought Stefan drove a truck. Not according to Abby...

Updates

I have added some blogs and edited others throughout the month of September to include photos of what we've been up to as I promised in one of my later posts. Enjoy!

Neighborhood Block Party (not in our neighborhood)

Labor Day weekend, my friend organized a block party amongst her neighbors that I've come to know well and was kind enough to invite us. It was a great time. All the kids played on their bikes and scooters, blew bubbles, and (in general) just ran amok being kids while the adults cooked, ate, socialized, and partook in adult beverages and good conversation. After dark, another neighbor shot off huge fireworks which were eventually squelched by the Canton PD, but not before the kids oooed and aahed (and Abby got terrified). Good times had by all.

BBQ at Nana and Papaw's

A while back, Stefan's parents' neighborhood had a neighborhood cook out. We were invited because they had a face painter and a moonwalk which Stefan's parents thought the girls would enjoy. The food was awesome. The company was better. And the girls had a great time. What more could you ask for?

Abby's New Discovery

You know those cereal bowls that have the straw built in so you can drink the milk? There are also cups made the same way. The perk is that you don't have to buy straws or worry about your kids turning them into imaginary swords and dueling it out at the kitchen table. Anyway, Lexi's been using these cups for awhile. Only recently did she request that I purchase some plastic cups without straws built in. I guess she thought they were for babies or something.

Anyway, Abby has now decided to proclaim her graduation from sippy cups to these wonderful straw cups. With this new step up, she made her latest discovery. Last night at dinner she blew through the straw into a full cup of apple juice. "Bubbles!" she shrieked as the sticky wetness erupted like a volcano all over her face and the table. Stefan and I couldn't help but to laugh at first which only encouraged encore after encore after encore. Each time the giggles (and the mess) increasing exponentially.

I tried to tell her no but that only brought more and more. Finally, after half of the cup's contents were all over the table, our child, and the floor I decided to try reverse psychology. "Keep blowing bubbles, Abby. Do it more!" I prodded. It didn't work. She continued on and on until she finally tired of it. Gotta love a child that listens!



A video of this act is located in the sidebar to the left under "Kiddie Viddies"

Lexi doesn't have hearts in her eyes

I took Lexi today to drop off some invitations to some of the people that live just down the street. One invitation was for a little boy, Ian, that was in her class for the past two years. His mom and I are pretty close friends, so even though the pair are not in the same class this year, they still have a lot of contact. I've teased Lexi about Ian being her boyfriend and she has always protested to the contrary.

When we stopped to get out at the last stop before Ian's house (totally unsolicited) Lexi said, "Okay, mom. I have a boyfriend. But it's not like I have hearts in my eyes!" I asked who her boyfriend is and she replied, "Ian".

Sometimes moms just know these things.

Lexism

When I was pregnant with Abby, Lexi couldn't wait for her baby sister to arrive. After the nursery was ready and awaiting Abby's arrival, Lexi would go in each night and pretend to say good night to the baby doll she insisted was in the crib. It was so cute and heart warming (especially to me with my raging pregnancy hormones!).

When Abby was born, Lexi thought she had an immediate playmate. She was quite surprised to find out that newborns were not play ready. So, she distanced herself and waited for the time when she considered Abby to be old enough to play with. That day has yet to come. It doesn't seem like it ever will.

Abby adores Lexi. She starves for Lexi's attention and wants desperately for Lexi to play with her. Lexi, on the other hand, could do without her lurking shadow of a baby sister. She will not share her toys, yet expects Abby to share hers. She constantly pushes Abby away when Abby tries to show her affection with hugs or kisses. She just simply cannot be bothered by her.

Yesterday, I sat Lexi down and our conversation went like this,

"Do you know how much Abby loves and adores you. She wants to do things the way you do. She wants to play with you and you always push her away. Do you think that might hurt Abby's feelings?" I asked.

No answer.

Quite frustrated, I continued, "When Abby was still in Mommy's tummy you couldn't wait for her to be born. What has changed?"

Lexi's head dropped and she slumped her shoulders a bit. "I just didn't know it would be this difficult!" she grumbled.

I stifled my laughs.

Lexism

After dinner tonight, Lexi was playing on the computer while I was relaxing after a long day and Stefan played on the floor with Abby. She asked me how to spell Katrina which I did. Then she asked for our email. I looked up and saw that she was filling out an online form for a My Little Pony sweepstakes thingy. When she saw that we saw what she was doing, she tried to close her laptop to hide it while still asking for our email. Sneaky kid.

Wow!

I knew that this semester was going to be a pain in the neck, but I didn't think it would be this bad. Every waking moment of free time I have is spent on schoolwork or I fall seriously behind. I supposedly have Wednesdays off, but the majority of that is spent on laundry, or catching up on schoolwork, or doing other things to keep life going. It's quite exhausting!
If I'm being completely honest here, I would say that I have my doubts that I will be very successful this semester at all. I'm very intimidated by the assignment load and the fact that a lot of my success lies in the hands of two people - my supervisor at KSU and the teacher I am working with in the field. If there's a glitch in the relationship I have with either of them, I could be done for as far as my career as a teacher. No pressure, really.
In other news, Stefan and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. Holy cow! I cannot believe it has been that long! It's been good though. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life than what I found in him.
Lexi and Abby are doing phenomenally well. Lexi's school year is going great. She's still excited about homework every week which I'm sure will fade with time, but it's enjoyable for now to see her thirst for knowledge. She has scored 100% on all but 1 spelling test so far (the one she didn't, she got a 98%) which is funny because she seems to be following in my foot steps. When I was in first grade, I scored 100% on all of my spelling tests and all but one of my pretests (I forgot the apostrophe in don't). Her birthday is around the bend which means that the requests for gifts are beginning to roll in. Ugh!
Abby is in a funny phase. Over Labor Day weekend, we tried the big girl panties in hopes that she'd potty train. She loves the panties, but refuses to actually go on the potty. So, I guess we're back at square one with this one.









Tonight, she "helped" Stefan cook dinner. She really enjoys being in the kitchen. What really shocked us was when she set the table for dinner tonight without being asked. We were pretty shocked!
I have tons of pictures from things we've been up to lately. I'll upload them the next time I get some time.