We have noticed that Fountain Hills school district doesn't always do well for kids with special needs, whether they be advanced or behind. The class that Alli is in seems to have quite a few kids that don't listen and need special attention, which leaves the learning of advanced kids a little lacking. The kids do have a reading program on the computer and the kids can advance at their own pace. Alli is a whole grade level above her class... So this last parent-teacher conference we asked again what we can do to keep Alli challenged. Apparently, the school offers an "Advanced Reading" program, where the kids check out a book from the library and then take a comprehension quiz on the computer after they have read the book. This program is available for first graders and older, but Alli's teacher said she was ready, and responsible enough to be able to handle it. Her first book came home over the weekend. Sunday night we read it and Monday she took her computer quiz. A print out came home - 100%. Woohoo! So Monday night we read her next book. I'm looking forward to seeing how she does. What did shock me was the level of books she is bringing home - way farther advanced than I thought she could read. And even though she struggles with words sometimes, she is reading VERY well.
Natalie is fast approaching her 1-1/2 year birthday, and with that all her changes - vocabulary, personality. It's all so cute. She is such a cuddly little girl and loves to give hugs!! And of course, we love getting them! The weather is warming up so we started putting on the shorts that are still in her drawer. They are 12 month old size. And they are falling off her waist (or lack-there-of). She is so tall and skinny that her clothes don't fit. Even some of her stretchy things fall off because she is just that small. But she's so tall!!! It's really crazy. I thought we had problems with Alli, but Alli was pretty well proportioned, just really tiny. Natalie is tall and very thin, and we can't seem to find very good clothes to fit her. Fortunately, she's just so cute in anything we put on her that it just doesn't matter.
