ᔕᑎOᗯ ᖴᑌᑎ

We've had a first winter fun. Sledding. It's funny that it can be 25 degrees and you can be so hot when bundled up. It helps not having any wind and the sun blazing down on you. Now we just need a little more snow and maybe temps to stay a little cooler to make for good skiing weather. (Believe it or not, it took 10 shots to get them both semi in the air at the same time.)

Rock Chalk! ;)

vєtєrαn'ѕ dαч cσncєrt

Reece had a Veteran's Day concert with the 4th and 5th graders. I love patriotic music, and the kids did great!  It was crazy crowded, so getting pictures was very challenging... if you look close, he is almost dead center of this picture with the bleach blond hair.

Here is a better picture after the concert and after we hit the bake sale.

And a picture to embarrass the kid...he liked walking around without his shirt the night before.

ʟʏռx

She might be ready to hibernate for the winter....silly kitten.

Love the face curled up under the paws.

"Who me?"

Sweet dreams!

She rules the house...so spoiled!

#②⑤

Riley and I ready for his first basketball tournament.... the team went 1-2, but Riley got a lot of  playing time and scored his first points of the season!

My little "Cougar."

Throwing the ball in...Go #25!

Then there is Reece.... He will talk your ear off at the games.  I found popcorn will keep him quiet for a bit. He has a hard time not being the center of attention.

GUITΔR

Riley got chosen to be able to get a free guitar lesson with a teacher (Jackson) that travels around, and helps get the "Lead Guitar" program established. I was so lucky to be able to sit in and watch/listen. Jackson is used to teaching and critiquing beginners...and unless Jackson is a great actor, he was blown away with how well Riley was doing after just one month of lessons. He kept pushing Riley on new skills, and Riley was performing them amazingly well. I'm not implying that Riley is a guitar expert, but he is picking up this guitar thing very easily. Eventually, Jackson ran out of new challenges. The last thing he said to Riley was to stick with guitar, because he is a natural. Keep it up, Riley. Practice makes perfect! :)

tєddч вєαrѕ

As Reece was cleaning his room today, he decided he is done with teddy bears. For anyone that knows Reece, should know that this is a HUGE day. Reece is my softy. The kid that gets attached to things easily and LOVES soft, cuddly items. He never crossed a teddy bear that he didn't want to keep. In fact, I believe several of the bears above belonged to others, and Reece somehow conned them into giving them to him. Reece was "clever" with names too...we have Brown Teddy, Blue Teddy, Black Teddy, Mr. Fluffy Bear, etc. You can also see how some of the bears were VERY much loved by the kid. I immediately asked him to take a picture of the bears (and puppy) he was ready to get rid of, just so I can document this "kiddish" stage coming to an end. (That's one of Reece's made up words.) And although I know it's way past time for this to happen, I'm going to struggle with the fact that my "baby" is almost in double digits, and this is just proof that the boys are growing up way too quickly. This mama is going to be struggling here in the next few weeks as Reece's birthday draws near, and I worry I haven't maximized my time with the boys while they were "young" and only mine. *sigh*

Side note: He kept two bears... His Jayhawk Bear and his big white bear that Grandma Beggs did major surgery on to reattach his head, that was lost in a pillow/teddy fight a few years back. Hope that makes you happy, Mom! ;)

ᖇIᒪEY~7Tᕼ GᖇᗩᗪE

Riley
7th grade
Mrs. Loebach (advisory/homeroom)
Age 12

Riley is also having a great start to his 7th grade year. Middle school isn't so bad I suppose...

Riley received all 3s and 4s as well.

Band/Mr. Smith=4 (no surprising there...)

Language Arts/Ms. Walters=3

"Riley I really enjoy having you in class. You're a great kid. You work hard, you turn in your assignments in on time, and you're always respectful. Please reassess and see me with questions about assignments. I'm here to help you." ~Ms. Walters

Math/Mrs. Loebach=4 (again...no surprise)

Science/Mr. Spencer=3

"Riley has been working hard and is making nice progress. He keeps up with the work and is a good classmate." ~Mr. Spencer

Social Studies/Ms. Walters=3

Digital Media/Mrs. Cook=4

Way to go, Buddy! Very proud of you!

Riley had to do a "self evaluation" and mentioned he was proud of how he is doing in Science and how Math is challenging him this year. Those are his favorite subjects. That is just how his brain is wired. He also told us that Humanities (Language Arts) is getting easier. This was good to hear. In my opinion "Humanities" seems like a tough class. It's writing, reading, social studies and more all fit into one class. I believe the writing/composition part is the toughest and definitely harder on Riley. Again, he has a math/science wired brain. But he is making great strides and I'm happy he feels it is getting easier. Personal confidence is half the battle.

Riley is also being graded on the "Habit of a Scholar" evaluation. Only he has 4 teachers assessing him. Mrs. Loebach admitted, she has a very hard time giving an "L" to students. She took this grading system very seriously. She was very impressed that Riley received so many on his report...several coming from her.

So the "Habit of a Scholar" system is graded in 5 areas...

1. Executive Skills
2. Perseverance
3. Enthusiasm
4. Compassion
5. Teamwork

They are graded with B, D, M and Ls... equivalent to 1-4s given in each subject.

B=Beginning

D=Developing

M=Meeting

L=Leading

Band= L, L, L, L, L = 4.0 (refer to the order of areas above)

Language Arts= M, M, M, M, L =3.2

Math= L, L, L, L, M = 3.8 

Science= L, L, L, L, L = 4.0

This brought his overall average to a high 3.7. Again, Mrs. Loebach doesn't give Ls easily...and she was guilty of giving several to Riley.

Guess my boys have no excuse not to become a "scholar." Just kidding...

See that lonely "M" up in the Math assessment above...it falls under the "Teamwork" category...well Riley admitted in his conference that he would be happiest in a classroom all by himself. It doesn't mean he doesn't get along with others and work well with them, he is just all business in class, and I think he finds it easier to get his work done on his own. He often is a little ahead of others in class, so he will work ahead when it's an option. Mrs. Loebach said she'd love to have a class of just Riley. She thought they could be seniors by the end of 7th grade with his work ethic. It is funny that this is the only class he got an "M" in this category. Either the teachers haven't noticed or Riley just has a hunger for Math (which is most likely) and doesn't want anyone to slow him down. 

Keep up the amazing work, Riley! :)

ᖇEEᑕE~4Tᕼ GᖇᗩᗪE

Reece
4th Grade
Mr. Malone
Age 9

Reece is having a great year so far. We had his parent/teacher conferences on Friday, and Mr. Malone had so many nice things to say. He mentioned how well he stays on task and doesn't give up on his work in the classroom. I had to joke that this is the exact opposite issue we have with Math homework at home. Although it really isn't a joke. Of course, as frustrating as it can be as a parent to deal with certain behaviors, it's better we deal with them and not the poor teacher. Mr. Malone told us that the math these kids are learning (common core) is easily 2 grade levels above 4th grade math. My opinion about this "common core" stuff is still being formed...it's too new to me to form a firm opinion. I never struggled with math until algebra...so I can't put myself in the shoes of students who need to know the "why" of early year math. I do have the experience of working with special education kids ages 3rd through 5th grade...and mostly in math. Having multiple ways of teaching math can be good...but at what point is it confusing??? Oh well.

Reece has been given all 3s and 4s (4 being the highest) this first quarter. He has 4s in Art, Computers, and STEM (I can't remember exactly was STEM stands for, but its a specials class that only the kids that aren't behind in other areas receive. Science, spanish...it can vary from quarter to quarter.)

Reece received 3s in Writing, Literacy, Media, and Music.

"Reece is an excellent student. He is very focused in class and is constantly trying to do his best. He has a lot of talent with catching clues in text and inferencing new ideas." ~ Mr. Malone (Literacy)

This year they've started a new type of evaluation. It's called "Habit of a Scholar." They are graded in 5 categories.

1. Executive Skills
2. Perseverance
3. Enthusiasm
4. Compassion
5. Teamwork

It's also graded 1-4, except they use letters...

B(1)=Beginning

D(2)=Developing

M(3)=Meeting

L(4)=Leading

Mr. Malone gave Reece an "L" all across the board which would configure into a perfect 4.0.

"Reece is extremely organized. Reece manages his time well and gives his best on assignments. Reece is constantly reflecting on the objectives and learning to check if he is completing assignments to the best of his abilities. He demonstrates a very mature learner on a daily basis and leads the way for other students by demonstrating focus at a high level. Good job Reece! Reece does an excellent job with sticking to the task. He will continue to work through his challenges and does not give up. Reece maintains focus for long periods of time. Good job!" ~ Mr. Malone (Habit of a Scholar/Homeroom)

Sometimes I read these comments from teachers and wonder 'is this my kid they are talking about?'...I know it probably similar for most parents. Either way, Go Reece! Keep up the amazing work! 

ⓑⓐⓢⓚⓔⓣⓑⓐⓛⓛ

Riley is playing basketball for the Glenwood Springs Middle School 7th grade team. I was surprised Riley wanted to go out for basketball. He hasn't played since 3rd grade I believe... Riley has been given a spot on the A and B teams. He's kind of in between the really "talented" boys and the other kids. He's good enough to play on the A team, but gets more playing time on the B team...I'm just proud of him for stepping outside his comfort zone and playing. He says he is having fun, so that is all that matters, especially at this age. Middle school basketball is a little different from when I played. When I was Riley's age, there were cuts. Not here...Everyone makes the team. There are 38 boys on the team. The A coach takes the top 10-12, and the B coach gets everyone else. It's a zoo in the gym after school. I have a hard time believing anyone is getting better in the chaos, but it's just 7th grade, right? (By the way, this is the complete OPPOSITE mentality that McPherson has about the sport... Moving here has given Riley the option to play. I hate to not have confidence in Riley's skills, but there is no "fun" in basketball in McPherson. If you aren't an "ALL STAR" by kindergarten, forget about being anything or anyone in McPherson...okay, rant over.)

I was personally extremely excited he came home with #25. It was my number when I played, but it wasn't until I told him that it was Uncle Shawn's number too, that he showed a little more excitement.

He admitted to me that he wanted #13, but they didn't get to choose. Instead they had to grab from a big pile of jerseys. Sounds like it was fate that he got awesome #25. ;)

***

In a previous post I mentioned we were getting ready to juggle both basketball and guitar lessons. At first the guitar teacher wasn't very thrilled that Riley would have to miss so many lessons...turns out Riley is working hard and picking up the guitar easily and is above the rest of the class. So far, even though Riley isn't at each lesson, he is doing extremely well. Very proud of how well Riley is doing at juggling his first year of Middle School activities and academics. If he keeps this up, I see such an amazing future for my kiddo.

σwєn'ѕ ѕurpríѕє

My sweet nephew, Owen, sent me some of his artwork in the mail. It made my day. 

It's from "Artsonia"...they made his pumpkin art into a postcard and mailed it to me. Pretty cool!

Since I'm fairly certain my sisters don't read this blog, it's safe to say that I'm the "cool/favorite" aunt that moved away. So glad Owen still shows how much he loves me. ;)

r̾o̾a̾s̾t̾i̾n̾g̾ b̾y̾ t̾h̾e̾ f̾i̾r̾e̾

Lynx might like this winter thing after all. Let's hope so, our first winter weather watch is happening now. It's been a very warm fall and my boys are so anxious for the snow to come so they can hit the slopes. It will be here soon enough. 

ÇöusᎥᏁs ᎥᏁ ÇösᏆumᎬs

Here are my some of my nieces and nephews all dressed up for Halloween. I had to steal some of them from Facebook. 

Owen the dragon. 

Aidan was Robin. He was passing out candy and this is the only picture he made it in... The others must be neighbor friends. 

Sami as a 50s girl. 

Sydney the Hobo. 

Alex as Captain America. Jack the zombie. Will as a gingerbread man. And Hannah the softball player. 

Luke the puppy. From what I hear he hated the costume, so it was off before the trick or treating began. 

Camryn is Thing 2...her friend was Thing 1. Colby is a Skelly...still haven't figured out what that is. And this is probably the final moments of Luke as a puppy. ;)

That's all I got! So fun seeing the variety of costumes. I love my nieces and nephews. 

hᎪᏢᏢᎽ hᎪᏞᏞöᎳᎬᎬᏁ

From Reece the "Killer Clown."

Riley decided on his own to not go trick or treating. Guess my boy is growing up. So he got to pass out candy ... Which turned out to be an easy job. Guess west Glenwood isn't the hot spot to scavenge for candy. And I Guess that means more candy for us! Glad we bought the good stuff. ;)