Happy Halloween!

Haunting Survivor

Riley is so brave. He chose, on his own, to go through The Field of Screams, and he thought it was awesome!!!
I handed down one of my shirts to him, and he was a very happy boy!!

This picture makes me sad, because his weekends are just as exhausting as mine are. He is a sleepy kid here, but he is a trooper! Thanks Uncle Shawn and Aunt Kait for escorting Riley through! I'm so excited he handled it so well!

Fall Birthdays

Another successful Birthday party in the books. It's such a chaotic time of year with several of us working at The Field of Screams, but it's so much fun seeing all the cousins in costume. It's very much worth the lack of sleep. The weather was a bit chilly, but the terrible wind we had been having, stayed away for party day.

Nurse Camryn, Hannah the Bumblebee, and Ariana as Cat Woman

Hmmm? Identity crisis.... Is Owen Batman or a Storm Trooper?

Aidan the creepy clown.

Britton, Batman and Ariana, Cat Woman.

We are out of order.... Reece opening presents.

Alex the dancing Storm Trooper.

Jack is turning 8, Hannah turned 11, and Ariana will turn 8.

Close up of Reece's Scream Ghost Face. (He hates his mask.... it bothers him.)

Aunt Jaime is "The Woman in Black." She spent a ton of time and handmade this costume. It's gorgeous!

My boys. Ghost Face and a Boy Skinned Alive.... No more cute costumes, it's time to frighten people.

Front view of Aunt Jaime.

The entire gang.

Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats.

Little Batman showing his moves.

Will is Darth Vader, Jack is Yoshi, Hannah the Bumblebee and Alex the Storm Trooper.

Riley and Reece used their artistic ability to help make pudding cups. Just added White Chocolate pudding with food coloring and Oreos on top.

Owen is too cute!

Ariana opening gifts.

Ghost strawberries.

A close up.

Reece will turn 8, and Britton will turn 11..... just a bunch of 8's and 11's. Reece is "patiently" waiting his turn here.

Aunt Jaime, Aidan, and Owen.

Aunt Jaime made this adorable Cookie Monster center piece. We had lots of cookies and a yummy snack mix.

Britton excited about LEGOS!!

New Look

Uncle Phil.... I mean Dr. Beggs has verified it's time for Riley to look a bit more grown up and sophisticated. I took Riley in to shop for some glasses and 15 minutes later we had them ordered.... he is so easy going, and he has such great taste! I was totally expecting to have to nudge him toward certain pairs, but he knew what he liked and they look amazing! The world will be much clearer now!

Conference Time

Well, I ALWAYS love this time of year. It usually feels like a great, pat on the back when I get to visit with my boy's teachers. This time it wasn't much different, it's just since these two kids refuse to stop getting older, the expectations become higher, and the teacher's praise becomes a little more minimal.... because by this time a child should be able to function in school. I need to remind myself to be thankful for this, because I could dread conference time.

Let's start with Riley, who has Mrs. Smith. Riley is currently with the highest reading group in his class. He is officially an "T+" but the book he is reading is considered a hard "S." The benchmark for this time in 5th Grade is R. Mrs. Viola is ready to push and make this group digest these books. I'm slightly concerned she is expecting my kid to think beyond a high school level. There are days Riley is doing Guided Reading homework for over two hours. I did mention this to his teacher, and they may reevaluate his group. I'm not wanting to make school easier for him, but I'm worried his little brain will be turned off of reading if this continues. Mrs. Smith said that it's so rare for a student to read at such a high level, but struggle with fluency. This means that Riley gets extra help in fluency 3 days a week at "BAT" time.... aka "Brainiac Attack Time." On a side note.... Riley is actually starting to enjoy reading on his own! :) Of course, we are one chapter away from finishing the 6th book of HP, and he has been getting into the Percy Jackson books. Yay!

Riley is right on target with Writing and learning cursive, and Mrs. Smith thinks he has beautiful handwriting.... which means it's very legible. He has very creative ideas, but getting them out of his head is a challenge. Riley can be a perfectionist, and he wants to skip the "sloppy copy" or "rough draft" steps. She would like him to work a little quicker in the beginning stages.

 Spelling grade is a 96%. He usually passes the pretest so he doesn't have to take the official spelling test at the end of the week. There are some priority words that he gets hung up on, usually if doubling a letter is necessary. He has always studied Spelling words, but retaining them has been his strong point.

Riley is doing great at Math. He took a test at the beginning of the year to see what he remembered from 4th grade and didn't miss a single one. He loves this subject. He wishes he could join in with the "gifted" kids, like last year, but they have a new teacher, and I know her from my school, and she is a scattered mess.... it's just not panning out. But I know in Middle School we can start pushing a little more.

Science and Social Studies are favorites too, but there really isn't much to say about these subjects. Mrs. Viola wants us to consider having Riley sign up for "Destination ImagiNation." It is an online, nationwide program that is critical thinking and problem solving. They haven't formed a team yet, but should soon.

Overall, she is enjoying Riley in her class. She could probably use a few more kids like him in their class of 24. Her last input on his report was: "Riley follows directions, shows respect to peers and adults. Stays on task while working and is able to work independently."

***

Next is Reece who has Mrs. Backhus.

Reece is reading at level "J". Benchmark is "M" at this point in the year. He has Mr. Wine as his teacher. He is really doing well in reading so far, so his "BAT" time is used for more enrichment practice, 4 times a week. He is learning some of the more difficult rules of reading. I realize everyday, when I am at school teaching kiddos, just how hard the English language is. Most rules don't even make sense and I wonder how I ever learned myself.

Writing is going well, and again, his teacher thinks he has gorgeous handwriting. I've seen a lot come home, and I agree. I sometimes wonder how he gets homework done, because his handwriting looks like he takes a lot of time writing.

Reece is getting a 97% on Cloze tests, and 100% on his priority words.

Math is a 88%, which is funny, because he will do some Math challenges with Mr. Wagoner, and do really well with them. I think he gets rushed and makes mental mistakes. It's crazy to see some of the advanced Math I see him bring home from Mr. W. He is a new pro at reading analog clocks too. I'm pretty proud there, I've worked with 5th graders that can't pick this task up.

Reece scored at 4 out of 5 in both "This is it!" (we do our best now and we know some things are easier than others)  and "Integrity" (we have values that we talk about and we know and understand.)

Overall, I'm super proud of these boys. They sure do make being a mom an easier job!
(AND this was so long, I'm not editing it, so sorry about my many errors I'm sure I've made.)

95

With Reece getting milkshakes for his soccer goals, we needed a way for Riley to earn a milkshake. We set a goal of scoring 95 points in bowling.... Well, he got exactly 95 points on his 2nd game on Tuesday, and on the next game he got a 97! Go, Riley!! If he keeps doing this, I will raise his goal so he continues to push himself.

Fun Tools

Reece came home from school today, eager to rake leaves out of our yard. Really he just wanted to use dad's new leaf mulcher. Just proves, if you give a man tools, they are as happy as can be. Now, if I could afford more tools to make all chores more fun.

Mr. Informed

Last night at dinner, I asked Riley if he had been talking about the election at school. He said they had talked about it when the Scholastic News had come out. So I asked if he knew who he would vote for, and he responded with Mitt Romney. Just conversationally I asked why.... He said he liked Romney's views on education, the jobless (unemployment), Afghanistan , and healthcare. It was so cute! Maybe I need to subscribe to Scholastic News, because sadly I don't even find the time for the news. When I do, it's usually depressing. Riley will just have to keep me informed with the current events himself.

2012 Soccer Finale

Tonight was the official end of soccer for 2012.... Hallelujah! As much as I enjoyed it, my life needs to slow down just a bit, and eliminating soccer 3 times a week, should do just that!
Reece had a  great first season. Scored many goals, mostly motivated by milk shakes... the hard part will be breaking this expectation of milk shakes Reece will hang on to for life!

Reece looking to get a pass from #5.

A team photo. Strikers U8 Boys, 2012. Reece is in white, middle back, with the sun in his eyes.

After practice they got to be recognized at the half of the high school varsity soccer game. Reece is 2nd to last here.

Their final soccer practice, the coach scheduled a boys vs dads game. It was just a constant, fun scrimmage practice. Sadly, Jake was working and missed it. Here is Reece looking to score against a dad..... he got 4 goals this night. Of course, I'd say Reece was a "cherry picker" of soccer all practice. Oh well, it got results! Haha!

Costume Comedy

"...and also, mom... I called Great Wolf Lodge and ordered this for Riley. "

(Insert mom laughing loudly)

"And I also ordered the jumbo size for dad!" ~Reece

Costumes. Check! ;)

School Pictures

 Riley, age 10

Mrs. Smith's 5th Grade Class

(Riley told me he should have smiled more. hehe)

Reece, age 7

Mrs. Backhus' 2nd Grade Class

I officially have zero signs of a baby face any more. It's super sad to see proof. I pulled out Riley's 1st to 2nd grade transition school pictures, and saw the exact same thing. It was very hard for me to deal with Reece moving on to 2nd grade this year, because I remembered Riley disliking school at that age. I know that it is because there is more school work, and less fun learning your ABC and 123 activities. Less art work is coming home. It's school time. He is doing great at 2nd grade, but it's still hard seeing them grow so fast.

Speaking of art work, I haven't seen anything come home yet, but Reece did bring his "Name Art" home yesterday, and he was pretty proud of it. So, here it is!

Riley was having a great year. His one good friend, Terry, was in his class and life was great! Notice I used the word "was" a few times here.... Terry has transferred to the local Catholic school. Riley got no warning, and it hit him pretty hard. I think he was ready to cry on that day, when he came home. I was ready to cry too. It's been a week of no Terry, and I think he's doing okay, but I worry as the year goes on. It's really just the social times that he will struggle, because Riley is that kid that gets along with everyone, but only has a few close friends. I can only hope that Terry and Riley will meet up in Middle School. Chances are it will be in 7th, because the Catholic school goes through 6th. Just keep this boy in your thoughts.... he's a trooper!