Of course the problem is that the longer you go without updating, the harder it is to post anything. I am going to attempt to rectify that. It has been too long.
Family in general is doing well. The big news is of course that G&Z have taken Faith and Mari to Disney World for the week. Part of us is ashamed to admit it - as teachers we have a big problem with the 'miss school for vacation' culture. But given the circumstances we had to work with, it was something we reluctantly agreed to. That said, we are certainly enjoying being parents of 2. Getting a lot of quality twin time, and getting a lot of work done. Hopefully the house will be ready for Christmas and Took's bday by the end of the week.
Work is going well for me - I can count the real problem students on just one hand, and none of them are too much to handle. Steph also is enjoying her new job quite a bit. A problem preschooler is not anything difficult when you've been working with...uhh....7th and 8th graders with a sense of entitlement. Anyway. She likes it - and really likes not having to create the plan or grade papers. I can certainly understand.
Faith is doing great at Kindergarten. She obviously was reading at a crazy level before she started and we were worried about her getting bored, but she has taken to practicing her writing with wild abandon, and it has improved markedly over the last few months. We love her teacher and her school. I think she will continue to get extra enrichment however she can.
Mari is doing well at preschool - her problems are not academic, they are social. Having trouble with keeping hands to herself. It worries us a little bit, but again, her teacher is going the extra mile to help her get motivated while still letting her be herself. Mari is a wild spirit and we are trying to balance her need to learn the limits and to not feel stifled. Trying to get her to channel her enthusiasm into appropriate actions. But...she is a riot - she cracks us up every day. She got the humor gene for sure. It's a wild roller-coaster with her but she is going to be the class clown for sure. And that's not necesSARily a bad thing - if she's in control of it. We'll see.
Robby and Hannah are finally starting to show some of what I would call normal language usage. They're behind where Faith and Mari ever were, but I think they're getting there. Robby is sweet - likes to give kisses and hugs - and he's a rascal - if you call him he looks right at you, gives a sly little grin and runs the other way laughing. Hannah...is just weird. Sorry, she is. She's sweet but she's a weirdo. I love her anyway.
That's all I can give you now. Hopefully I'll stay on things better now, but I say that every stinking time. Oh well, never too late.
Here are Faith and Mari's school pics as well:
Matt
