I can't believe I went for several weeks without really blogging. I guess am playing life catch up after being sick so long. So, what have we been up to the last couple of weeks?
Well, Briana has been keeping stylish as always...
She's been feeling school spirit too...
She is enjoying the cash box she received from my uncle...
Adding money to it - like the $3 she got from Bubbie for Christmas...
Briana has been Lego crazy lately. She put together this Cinderella castle in just a few hours...
And she is creating things on her own too...
The weather has been wonky around here. Very cold days and then not so cold. Bri had MLK day off and the weather was beautiful, so she did a little bike riding...
We had new friend Robyn (and mom Donna) come over to play...
Bri and I have been doing some friend catch up lately. With all the sickness we had going on in Nov and Dec, we hadn't seen a lot of people. January has been a busy month so far! Bri got to visit with Mary Lin, Emma and Kira. And I had some girl time with Joanne, Miranda, Carole, Kathy, Amy B and Beverly. Doug, Bri and I caught up with Uncle Khalid and Uncle Jimmie too. Whew - I'm tired just writing about it!
Briana has been feeling very artistic lately (I'm digging my Princess Leia buns in the below pic)...
Briana has been feeling very artistic lately (I'm digging my Princess Leia buns in the below pic)...
I've been doing some organizing and cleaning. I finally got into Briana's black hole pit playroom and organized and purged a bunch of stuff...
As for Doug, he has been busy working - which is always a good thing. He's been traveling a bit - leaving me and Bri to fend for ourselves. :)
So - that is some of the stuff that we have been up to.
* I do need to give you a quick update on Bri in the Venture (gifted) program. Unfortunately, Briana cried once again after her second day in Venture. She was SO unhappy at the end of that day. She wasn't understanding some of the material given to her and she wasn't really making any new friends either.
I finally had to write an e-mail to the Venture teacher explaining what was going on with Briana and also tell her that I wasn't sure if I wanted B to continue with the program. I couldn't have B crying after the end of each Wednesday. Her Venture teacher wrote me back and tried to reassure me that Bri definitely belongs in the program. She went to B's regular classroom after reading my e-mail and talked with her. She tried to reassure her as well that things would get better and she asked Bri to give her some suggestions that might make the class more fun/interesting for her. Bri said she would think about suggestions and give it another try again on Wed.
Bri had a much better third day last week (class is every Wed - all day). No tears! Yay! She "got" the material a bit better. She was happy the teacher knew she had been struggling. She talked to a couple of girls too. (On a side note, I found out from Bri that 5 girls in the class - there are only 13 kids total - were all in the same 1st grade class together last year. Bri only knows two boys from her class last year and she didn't talk to either of them really. So, some of the girls were already good friends coming into this. Bri is having to make new friends from the ground up.) Bri did suggest to her teacher that she would like to have some more artistic stuff to do in class. Let's see if the teacher tries that. Bri is never going to be a fan of sitting around all day trying to figure out logic problems.
The one thing I did have to explain to the Venture teacher is that Bri isn't just "breezing through" her regular class. The teacher said sometimes smart kids freak out when they start gifted because they have never been challenged in a regular classroom setting. I told her that is NOT the case with my kid. My kid is smart, but she most definitely isn't coasting. My kid could really be freaking out because the info might be too hard for her. I know my kid better than anyone- and I certainly know her better than a teacher that has only seen her for two days. "Testing" only reveals so much about a person. I don't want B lumped into the coasting category - at all.
Sadly, Bri is still not super excited about going to Venture this week. I wish she was. At least she isn't dreading it anymore. I'm still going to keep a close eye on her though. I'm still not totally sold that this is the right thing for her. Only time will tell.
So - that is some of the stuff that we have been up to.
* I do need to give you a quick update on Bri in the Venture (gifted) program. Unfortunately, Briana cried once again after her second day in Venture. She was SO unhappy at the end of that day. She wasn't understanding some of the material given to her and she wasn't really making any new friends either.
I finally had to write an e-mail to the Venture teacher explaining what was going on with Briana and also tell her that I wasn't sure if I wanted B to continue with the program. I couldn't have B crying after the end of each Wednesday. Her Venture teacher wrote me back and tried to reassure me that Bri definitely belongs in the program. She went to B's regular classroom after reading my e-mail and talked with her. She tried to reassure her as well that things would get better and she asked Bri to give her some suggestions that might make the class more fun/interesting for her. Bri said she would think about suggestions and give it another try again on Wed.
Bri had a much better third day last week (class is every Wed - all day). No tears! Yay! She "got" the material a bit better. She was happy the teacher knew she had been struggling. She talked to a couple of girls too. (On a side note, I found out from Bri that 5 girls in the class - there are only 13 kids total - were all in the same 1st grade class together last year. Bri only knows two boys from her class last year and she didn't talk to either of them really. So, some of the girls were already good friends coming into this. Bri is having to make new friends from the ground up.) Bri did suggest to her teacher that she would like to have some more artistic stuff to do in class. Let's see if the teacher tries that. Bri is never going to be a fan of sitting around all day trying to figure out logic problems.
The one thing I did have to explain to the Venture teacher is that Bri isn't just "breezing through" her regular class. The teacher said sometimes smart kids freak out when they start gifted because they have never been challenged in a regular classroom setting. I told her that is NOT the case with my kid. My kid is smart, but she most definitely isn't coasting. My kid could really be freaking out because the info might be too hard for her. I know my kid better than anyone- and I certainly know her better than a teacher that has only seen her for two days. "Testing" only reveals so much about a person. I don't want B lumped into the coasting category - at all.
Sadly, Bri is still not super excited about going to Venture this week. I wish she was. At least she isn't dreading it anymore. I'm still going to keep a close eye on her though. I'm still not totally sold that this is the right thing for her. Only time will tell.
3 Kind Words:
Charlotte enjoys Lego's too! Glad to hear Venture is going a bit better...and yes...you know her best.
Loving the black disco outfit she wore. Sorry to hear the Venture class is not really what she likes. Hopefully it will get better.
Glad you are following your heart mommy. You know your girl best!
So happy you're feeling better!
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