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Hey Ya'll!!

I'm missing you!!
How about some end of the school year updates? What are the summer plans? How do you feel about what you accomplished in the 2007-2007 school year?

End of level testing here, which has my kids very excited about...the lack of homework!

I don't know about acomplishments, but I do stress a bit about next year. My son will be in 7th grade, immersed totally in a middle school environment. I don't know how challenging accademicaly it is going to be for him. He will be in Algebra II
for math, but the rest I have really no idea about. Will keep you posted.
Am excited for my daughter though, an incoming 5th grader. The school has added "International studies with geography" to her next year curriculum. I hear from the teacher, that the focus will be on Asia. I think it is great!

Summer plans: intensive one week long viloin institute, scout camps, astro camp, two cousins coming from Europe for the entire summer. My daughter wants to organize summer reading club - a great idea that has come strictly from her.
Will continue to do Aleks online, plus some EPGY and Art of Problem Solving courses. Lots of camping trips. Maybe U of U summer course.
No strictly gifted camps this summer. Am planning to do THINK next year. Has anyone here done that?
Ania

Hi everyone!

Summer plans include Camp Invention for my son, which reminds me I have to look around for a broken appliance around the house because they're gonna use it to invent something. I'm also going to use a bit of my refund from Uncle Sam as well to invest in a piano and piano lessons for him since he expressed an interest in learning. For his birthday this July, we'll most likely go out on an out-of-town excursion as a treat, so I'm looking around on the Net for good deals to educational but fun summer trips (recommendations welcome).

The 06-07 school year has had it's ups and downs. Overall, I think that DS is not getting the challenge he needs, but at the same time he is not cooperating with his teachers to "earn" the differentiated curriculum. For the summer, He goes to a full time day camp that is all outdoors with your traditional camp activities. They have swimming for 2 hours everyday that the weather cooperates as well as horseback riding and canoeing. At home we will continue some of the enrichment activities and take day or long weekend trips. We are also trying to locate a qualified individual to do a full evaluation of DS. Unfortunately, I am not having any success finding a tester that is both experienced in testing gifted children and that is willing to work with DS to get him to test to his ability instead of hiding. I can't afford to go outside the Mid Atlantic region. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

It is good to see the updates.

For summer, Mite plans on travelling with his choir for 3 weeks. Momma is a bit nervous about it, but it is supposed to be a fantastic experience.

We just today finished the school year with huge gains added to the IEP. Mite will now have a 1:1 para 3 hours a day. He will have some occupational therapy services. He is to be evaluated for physical therapy and that is looking hopeful. They are giong to start keyboarding more rigorously and will provide 15 minutes per day for practice in addition to daily usage of the keyboard. They didn't provide the laptop we requested, but they have upgraded from a Alphasmart to a NEO, which I think might suffice for now.

Overall, it was a lot of gains we didn't expect (expecially the OT, PT and 1:1 para). They actually said they agreed that he needed the para for deskwork and while we all regreted having to do that, because we want to see him independent, it really seems the only route to help him with his severe attention issues that do not respond to medication.

I am feeling so incredibly relieved and successful and I feel, with the grade acceleration that we are considering, Mite has a fighting chance now.

Summer is going to be spent, after his return from touring, filling in the "gaps" he'll miss with a skip over 4th grade.

Thanks all of you for your support and advice this year. YOU have made an incredible difference in Mite's life.

I've got tears in my eyes.

Hi Willa!
We've had a pretty good year, too. So glad that we advocated for first grade. The homeschooling in math is going well. We are really kind of "unschooling" math - our son just keeps on soaking it up!

This summer we are skipping the CTD course, due to cost and transportation/distance to the class. We are having him go to Cub Scout day camp and then the local YMCA day camp. He'll get to meet a lot of new friends and do some not so brainiac stuff that I'm sure he'll enjoy. He really needs to be outside and move - I'm hoping to meet that need this summer!

We don't have any big vacations planned, but I'm wanting to get to a few museums and a zoo. Maybe a long weekend trip to somewhere historic or otherwise interesting. No Disneyworld until these last two of ours are a little older!

Willa: I got your email and didn't have time to reply - I'll send you a note later tonight! I'm so glad to hear all the great stuff for Mite. I've been thinking about him and you a lot lately!
Take care!

Unschooling was the way to go for Rite when he was that age. I wish I would have done it for Mite.

Rite developed a very personally driven motivation to learn because of unschooling.

So hear hear to letting him "soak it up".

Hope all is going well with "those last two"!!!

Willa Gayle -
I'm so excited about Mite's trip, and the accomidations, when do they start!
((confetti and daisies flying))

I hope you see lots of healing. This is wonderful news.
Trinity

BWT - i am trying to muster the courage to write about our year, but until I see the grades for June, it's so hard to know what to think.....still trying.....

Trinity

that's the hard part, knowing when to write that letter and just hard firm and legal to be when writing.

the para starts day one of 07-08 school year, because s/he has to be trained specifically for Mite's needs and they begin training the first week of August. I felt that was reasonable. i don't want them just plunking some part-time mom who wants to work at the school so she can see her kids throughout the day. Mite's needs are very intense and subtle at the same time. Scribing is very difficult and needs special training, too. So, I'm willing to allow them the time for that.

the OT/PT will also begin with the school year. I would have liked to see that now, but am willing to give a bit.

The Neo will start as soon as they get it. it has been ordered apparently. It will also be sent home this summer for us to continue his practice.

The keyboarding opportunities start now, but the 15 minutes a day start with the next school year. We are fine with that, too. He's not going to learn much in 25 days of school plus with the traveling in June, he'll regress. The choir is taking a keyboard with him on the bus for him to practice!!!! That's amazing.

So, we compromised on timing, but the gains -- esp. the 1:1 aide, were just far too tremendous to feel like we lost anything.