1st Graders

We now officially have two first graders in the house!

I write that knowing how much baggage and subtext comes along with that statement.  It has been quite a journey for us to get to this point.  But we are on the wave that is public school and will be trying our best to make it a good, exciting and enjoyable 1st year for our Wondertwins.  Read on if you'd like to catch up on all the details...

In March we officially decided to put Audrey and Ben into first grade.  Their birthday is in October, so we could have chosen to put them through a second year of Kindergarten and they would still be on track with their classmates.  But the local school offered only half day Kindergarten.  Their Kindergarten teacher and several knowledgable friends advised us against repeating Kindergarten. We were told that they would be bored and possibly disruptive by holding them back.

When we approached our local public school and told them our intensions, the principal gave us every reason *not* to place them into 1st grade and to have the repeat Kindergarten.  This, I must add, without properly testing them or checking their Kindergarten progress reports or to see if they were eligible - which they were.  She informed us that there were no spots available for them and we might have to go to another school in the district, which meant we would have to drive them to another school rather than walk the 100 yards to their home school.  We wouldn't know for sure until August, she told us.  This of course sounded like a bunch of bull from or perspective.  It was a scare tactic so that she didn't have to do the hard work of re-organizing her teachers to accommodate our kids.  Welcome to public school in the 21st century! Sigh.

In May a charter school we had our eyes on were preparing to open up a K-6th grade school to pair with their already established 7-12.  They opened up a lottery for new students.  Having a bitter taste in my mouth from the local school,  I filled out the forms and sent it in not thinking we would get in.  It was my understanding that they had 1100 applicants for 650 spots.  Odds were not in our favor.

The first week in June we not only got word that we we won the lottery and we could join the Charter school, but surprise, surprise, our local school called us and said we got in their 1st grade program.  Coincidence?  Not sure to this day.  Now came the hard part.  Decisions.  I hate making them.

Plus, this is where it gets even more complicated.  We were majorly turned off by our local school and loved the philosophy of this charter school which offered the STEAM method and the Flipped Classroom techniques.  These teaching methods are something that both Dave and I are very interested.  In addition, the charter school offered language, art and music to even Kindergarten ages and an emphasis on group learning in Science and Math.  But the charter still didn't have a physical building approved or prepared, it hadn't hired any of the teachers and had no track record to compare.

Easy decision - right?  Just go to the local school and wait until next year when the charter will have resolved any 1st year growing pains.  But what if our luck runs out?  What if we don't win the next lottery and we miss the opportunity to be a part of a really great teaching revolution by passing on the charter, never to get back in?  What if we miss out on some great teachers who share our philosophy?  Alternatively, what if the kids hate the school or the teachers - or don't respond to this new method?
Decisions.  I hate making them.

In the end we chose the path of most resistance.  We went against many recommendations to stick with the local school, we followed our churning gut and went with the charter.  Time will tell if it was the best choice.  Maybe time won't even tell.  But for now we have two first graders in our house!

Summer of Fun 2013

The Wondertwins had a whirlwind of a summer this year and I was happy to be a part of it.
Being forced into unemployment helped give me some time to spend with them and do some traveling and exploring.  They weren't static for more than several hours - which was a good thing.  I have to admit they did more in 3 months than I have done in my lifetime - or at least it seemed that way...

For posterity here is compilation of all the events starting with their Kindergarten graduation and ending with their first day of 1st grade.

June:

Kindergarten Graduation

• Wondertwins graduate Kindergarten
• Trip to Pittsburgh & Ohio:
• Kindergarten Graduation Party
• Kennywood
• Storybook Forest
• Church Fair
• Miniature Golfing
• Cousin Anthony's H.S. Graduation Party
• Great Aunt Vi visit

July:

• July 4th Parade
• Evening Street 4th of July Celebration

• Movies, Movies, Movies
• Nature Center
• John Lennon Concert
• Beach Days
• Grammy Museum
• 7-11 Day

Swarm of Bees!
Out of nowhere a swarm of Bees infested the pot outside our back window.
It turned into an educational moment for us and our neighbors.

• Yearly Trip to San Clemente!
• Beaches
• Great friends
• Legoland
• Nature Farm ("sand box" of corn kernels)

• Pool Days
• Beach Playdates
• Hurricane Harbor
• Magic Mountain
• Birthday Parties
• Bowling
• Scooter's Jungle
• Ice Skating

August:

• More Pool Days
• 1st Camping Trip
• More Bowling
• More Beach Days
• More Magic Mountain
• More Hurricane Harbor
• Found a Dog
• Returned a Dog
• Pool Playdates
• Visit to Dreamworks Studio
• Jump 5150
• Pool Party
• Visit to Disney Studios

September:

• AEA Summer Camp
• Skating
• More Magic Mountain
• Sky High Sports
• Visit to DisneyToon Studios
• More Ice Skating
• 
  

1st Day of 1st Grade

First and Last

The Wondertwins have completed their first full year of organized schooling!
It has been quite a year for them as well.  When we started in August we thought that this would be Pre-K at best.  After the first week at the Montessori they were placed in the full-on Kindergarten class.
Because of their birthdate, we still were contemplating putting them back into another year of Kindergarten starting this Fall 2013.   But their teacher and others convinced us that they would be bored and uninspired.  So after a bit of discussion and a lot of thought, we decided that they would indeed begin 1st grade in the Fall.  They will be the youngest in their class, but hopefully will be challenged, gaining new skills they haven't learned in Montessori.

We were so happy we chose the Montessori for their first year of schooling.  Their class size at the start was 5:1 and by the end of the school year stayed low at 12:1.  You can't get that in public schools.  And their progress is reflected in the numbers.  They are reading, writing short sentences, adding, subtracting and doing fractions!  We are so proud.  They have received a truly solid foundation that hopefully will keep them at an advantage throughout their school days.

Kindergarten Graduation!

The Wondertwins are officially Kindergarten Graduates!  Or at least as official as one can get seeing as according to California education, you don't have to go to Kindergarten at all to get into 1st grade.  But that is totally beside the point.  Audrey & Ben are Graduates and they had a very nice, official ceremony to celebrate their big accomplishment.  Many thanks to the Montessori of Valencia for an epic and enjoyable passage.

Our Kindergarten Graduates

Say What?

After our 5 year check up in October 2012 Audrey got some sinus infections which led to an ear infection.  She has always been stuffy since as long as I could remember, but never anything that caused for major concern.

At first they thought her constant sinus issues were the result of allergies and recommended allergy medicine.  We later found out from the ENT specialist that this was a misdiagnosis and counter productive.  Lesson learned.

Audrey enjoying the ear test booth

 In November her teacher started complaining that she was zoning out and Audrey began to miss words on her spelling test.  She started pronouncing the word November with a W instead of a V.  We thought it was cute at the start, but after a while and in combination with poor class results, we headed back to the doctor for further evaluation.  Our pediatrician recommended going to a ENT specialist after a generic ear test came back with some minor hearing loss.

We ended up going to the ENT a couple times to get a baseline hearing test and follow up for what damage there was and what could be done to help clear it up.

She ended up having quite a bit of hearing loss in her left ear and some minor loss in her right due to fluid backing up in her ears.  The doctor presumed this was due to enlarged adenoids.

After our final follow up it was recommended that she have an adenoidectomy and tubes put in her ears.  Major surgery.  Ug.  They scheduled it for Valentines Day, Feb 14th 2013.  Double Ug.

Needless to say we were stressed and concerned.  But Audrey did her pre-blood test with no problems.  She actually thought it was cool to watch them take blood out of her arm and the next day wanted to do it again.  How did we luck out?!  This at least gave me some relief that she might make it through the surgery with out too much resistance and tears.

6 a.m. Preparing for surgery

Audrey was a trooper - had them IV her while awake!

recovery room - all went well.

When the time grew closer, we used all the parenting techniques we've learned to "prepare for success" to ensure as smooth a day of surgery as possible.  Audrey was quiet and calm the whole morning - listening to the nurses and being the greatest of patients.

The nurses and doctors were amazed when she agreed to not only have them put the IV in while she was awake, but not shedding a tear to boot - a first for a 5 year old in their book.    She made it through surgery fine and the recovery ended up being quite painless and quick.   After a long nap she was up and ready to play by dinner time.  So proud of her!

Yin~Yang - 5 year checkup

 Our Wondertwins from my perspective are truly Yin and Yang.  We are reminded of that on a daily basis.  Besides the obvious boy/girl differences, I am hard pressed to find much if anything that they totally agree on or share physically.

Our yearly checkup to the doctors and dentist has arrived and we have plenty of news for Our Wondertwins.  Their Yin and Yang showed up once again in most all of their results.

Audrey is continuing as normal gaining weight and height and sticking around the 60-70 percentile.  No surprises there. She has had what we believe is allergies for quite some time - stuffy nose, slight cough in morning.  As a result her ears were a bit clogged for her hearing test and she was unable to hear the lowest tones.  It was recommended that we give her Sudafed daily and follow up in a few months to make sure there is no permanent hearing loss.  The doctor wasn't too concerned as she speaks perfectly.  She certainly can zone out quite easily and now she has an excuse for it: she just can't hear us! :)

 Her Dentist checkup went well as she received a tooth score of 94 out of 100.  Good genes, good eating and good brushing habits are certainly reflecting in her teeth.  Given that though, the dentist feels, looking at her bite, that the orthodontist is in her future for sure.
Audrey
Weight: 40 lbs.
Height: 42.25"

Ben is a whole different story, and as our dentist reminds us, even though they are siblings, it is common to have a very different experience.  Yin and Yang.  Not sure who is which though!
He is gaining weight and height, but still at a very slow level- hovering around 20 percentile for height and 5 for weight.  Given his eating habits, this comes as no surprise.  We need to continue to encourage him to stuff his face and follow up again in a few months.  His hearing was perfect, so no excuses for him!

His Dentist checkup didn't fair as well, as he received a 74 out of 100.  Poor eating habits, bad genes, along with poor brushing habits are certainly reflecting in his teeth.  He also has 3 teeth loose that he'll be loosing shortly, one upper and two lower.  The tooth fairy will be working overtime for him this year!

Ben
Weight: 35 lbs.
Height:  41.25"

Wondertwins are 5!

Half a decade down for Audrey and Ben!

 This year we splurged and took them to a place called Sky City Bounce House and invited 18 of their closest buddies.  Needless to say they had a blast bouncing around on those giant inflatable bounce houses and slides.  Whom ever invented those should get the Nobel Peace Prize!

Now that they've begun school they are becoming social butterflies.  So we entered the birthday party bonanza.  Audrey and Ben started it off as they have an early October birthday and we suspect that this year will be filled with many more Birthday celebrations as their classmates and friends hit their milestones.

High Fiving Classmates

Of course we also celebrated their actual birthday at school.  Paco and I brought mini cupcakes to their classmates and we quickly became an instant hit.  They couldn't get enough of saying high five! 

As they enter the second half of their first decade we are looking forward to all the new firsts and milestones ahead.
 

The Start of School

1st day pic

Audrey and Ben took one of the biggest leaps of their childhood and began their School Days.

In August they started Pre-K at a local Montessori.  We had no idea how they would react and or interact - although they have been perfectly fine going up to the park and playing with the kids up there - making new friends quickly.

The thought of leaving your children to total strangers is as much of a stress point to the parents as it may be for the kids.  Fortunately for us we had no problems what so ever.  Audrey and Ben were actually excited to go and meet new kids and continue their education.  Lucky us!

After just a week the teachers informed us that they were being moved from Pre-K into the Kindergarten class.  They seem to enjoy the classwork and are having a blast making new friends.


So add one more milestone to the list - there's no stopping now!

Ben and Audrey Pre-K 2012

Audrey Pre-K

Ben Pre-K

4 1/2 Years Young

4 1/2 birthday Cakes

The Wonder Twins are 4 1/2 years young.  We celebrated their 1/2 birthday this year by baking a half cake - one for each of them.
It's become a bit of a tradition to celebrate the 6 month anniversary of their birth in addition to their annual event.  And why not.  They broadcast their age as if it were their proudest achievement (adding the half year as soon as possible).  They can teach us old fogies quite a bit in the art of enjoying age and life in general.  Celebrate early and often - or at least whenever possible.  Good motto.  Hopefully they will continue to embrace each year passing without any hesitation or cringing - well into their old age!

Walt Disney World  *  March 2012

Our trip to Florida went quite well.  Audrey & Ben have been on a plane trip every year of their lives and are continuing to be very good travelers.  Of course having a destination that entails visiting world renowned amusement parks almost every day of a 10 day trip kept them enjoying the ride.

We visited all 4 parks of DisneyWorld, Downtown Disney, Legoland  and Universal Studios.  The schedule was a bit grueling for Dave and I, but we managed to have a great time each day and got to see everything that was on the agenda and then some.  Their Uncle Joe and Aunt Annie recently moved down near Orlando so we stopped by their new digs and enjoyed some family time as well.

Looks like we'll be heading back East again in July this year, making it 4 years in a row that we've managed to travel back in the summer and see the rest of the family.

Party on...  

Leap Year Fun

This Year marked the very first Leap Year for the Wondertwins.  I wanted to make it a memorable one - or at least have some memories of the milestone.  So we headed to Scooter's Jungle - the nearest place where on can leap for joy without getting seriously injured*
*Adult results may vary!
Needless to say they had a blast... Thank you Groupon for allowing us an affordable and fun night out.
Four years in the making...