Report Card

Last month, Teddy got his report card. Now, if you know Teddy, you know that although Teddy has many strengths, most of those are not items captured in the academic setting. (Heck, if you've read my blog before, you should know that.)

Report cards are different than when I was a child, at least for elementary school. The grading scale is:
4 - Advanced
3 - Proficient
2 - Basic
1 - Below Basic

I've learned from my experiences with AJ's teachers the past two years that 4's are simply not given at this age, so let's pretend the scale goes from 1-3 for purposes of this post.

First, let me say that I know from talking to Teddy's teacher that she strongly dislikes assigning grades because she recognizes that they don't capture the effort, skills and progress of the children she teaches. I completely agree.

Still, Teddy's report card made me laugh aloud. Most of his grades were understandable 1's because of the categories on which he's graded. He did get a 2 in science, though, for Earth and Space Science. How? Why? He also got a 2 in Health, which also befuddles me.

Now, something like gym, I feel his grades are more accurate. He got 2's across the board there, which is still really generous but balances his interest and efforts with his actual skill level.

Music was where I had to chuckle. He got a 3 for Engages Appropriately With Music, which I think is realistic. However, the poor kid didn't stand a chance for Singing. He got a 1. Seriously ... why would you grade a non-verbal child on a skill that requires verbalization?!?!

An accurate assessment of Teddy.

The one area that I felt fairly captured Teddy and scored things that make sense for Teddy was the life and career skills. He got mostly 2's, which is fair. He did get a 3 for Initiative and Self-Direction, and I don't think this is an exaggeration. Teddy has a lot of ideas, and he's persistent in following through on those ideas. Now, that 1 in Leadership and Responsibility goes hand-in-hand with that 3. A lot of Teddy's ideas are not responsible, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing them.

Now, if they scored him on adorable smile, he'd get a 3. Heck, maybe they'd even give him a 4 for those dimples.

Architecture and Parks

Oshkosh is rebuilding a park and has asked for public feedback, specifically asking school children to submit their ideas. AJ immediately embraced this, going so far as to reason that most kids probably won't submit anything, so his design will probably get picked.

The city is planning a park that all children can enjoy, and I love the inclusive nature of more parks nowadays. AJ and I talked about some of the things that would help families like ours, and ones with other challenges, enjoy the park.

I have no idea what kind of stairway that second item is ...

His suggestion of vending machines comes from his logic that it's a lot of work to get a child who cannot dress independently ready. By the time you get everything and everyone ready, you might forget to pack snacks. So he wanted food options available. (I swear my children have never been starved.)

I love how this kid thinks. When you combine his engineer brain with his considerate heart, it's quite the combination.

Being a Single Mom is Snow Fun

Dave is gone for a work trip this week (to Switzerland, the lucky bum). So while he's drinking Swiss Miss and eating Swiss cake rolls, I'm holding together the fort. And by holding together I mean recruiting 3/4 of the grandparents to navigate swim lessons last night for AJ with my aunt on backup to visit one evening later this week and pee all over the floor tonight and nearly every one in tears at some point in the past 3 days. 

It's not that bad, really, because the kids are in school and after-school care, which makes life so much easier than when you're with them 24/7. Still, it's hard to juggle things when you're one person, which means I have all the respect in the world for those who are truly single parents. 

The only day that I had the kids all to myself to occupy was Sunday when Dave left at 7 a.m. So I did the only logical thing, which was to pack them up with all their winter gear to spend 4.5 hours in the vehicle for the day. All that driving got us to and back home from my parents' farm where we spent several hours playing in the woods with rides in the Gator and behind the Gator in the Beast. The Beast is my dad's invention that has allowed Teddy to go tubing independently since he was 3.

Some of my fondest winter memories are tubing behind snowmobiles, 4-wheelers or anything that could pull a tube across snow. That's a bit tricky for a child like Teddy who doesn't have the strength, motor skills and comprehension to hold onto a tube or rope and keep his body safely where it needs to be. But the Beast is a masterpiece of a giant tire tube with a smaller tube inserted into it, both securely fastened on top of a piece of plastic that slides across the snow. This combination allows Teddy to be plopped in the middle and safely ride there without an adult on the tube with him. (OK, it's as safe for him as tubing is for any kid.)

 AJ and Teddy riding in the Beast.

So three years ago, when my dad created the Beast, we created our tradition of a winter cookout in the woods, complete with tubing rides. Both kids had so much fun they didn't miss Dave, which is a good thing. Teddy captured my mom repeatedly to make her sit in the Gator with him because he loves any sort of vehicle, and she was his chosen companion (much to my delight). AJ loved tubing the best. 

Teddy kept making my mom sit in the Gator with him.

Me, I love that my parents welcome us with open arms and put forth the effort to make these special memories for the boys. 

Little Moments

This week Teddy brought home the get to know you poster we created for his kindergarten class. I pointed to my picture and said, "Look, there's Mama!" Then I asked where Papa was, and Teddy pointed right at this picture:

The minute of hiking Teddy did this past vacation, captured forever.

I was so happy because we're still working on understanding and getting Teddy to show us he knows who different people are. 

From that little victory, he went to have snack at the table and then carried his  plate to the sink! It's incredible to see him carry a plate, often with food objects on it, and not have it be dumped immediately. It's also just this week that he's consistently putting his dishes in the sink when he's done, which is huge progress.

Granted, 10 minutes later he collapsed into a complete sobbing mess because he thought I took his popsicle away from him when all I did was set it on the table because that's where we eat popsicles. He melted into tears on the floor and wouldn't look up to the table or sit at his chair to see the treat. Instead, I had to set him in the chair, and then he was eye level sobbing at the popsicle and finally started licking it. It took some singing and silliness before he perked back up.

It just shows how there's so much progress and yet such simple things create massive breakdowns in either communication or comprehension. He wasn't mad that he had to sit at the table. He clearly thought his popsicle was gone. If we're being honest, I'd cry if that was the case, too.