Smarty Pants

Beware! This is one of those posts where I brag about my kids.


Now that you've been warned let me tell you how proud I am of my little monsters. At the start of every school year all of the public school students take tests to determine what level of learning they are at. I'm guessing that this is to help the teachers know exactly what each student needs. To be honest, I have no idea what the name of these tests are and what they actually test.


On Friday Remie came home with his test results and I noticed there were certain things highlighted by the teacher. Because I once was a teacher, I know that highlighted items usually means there's a problem. I took a deep breath and sat down to see what was going on with my little guy. I started making excuses in my head that he just started a new school and is going through a lot with the extensive orthodontic work that he is enduring so if he's a little behind in school we can handle it.


I started with the evaluations from the reading and comprehension part of the test. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my 2nd grader is reading at a 3rd grade level and reading approximately 96 words per minute. Phew! Remie's teacher noted that he should be placed in advanced reading groups. Yahoo! Every parent loves to hear the word advanced being associated with their child.


Next was the math section. Remie has always been good at math but I wasn't at all prepared for what I read. The first item that was highlighted: "Remie scored greater than 98% of students NATIONALLY in the same grade." Wow! That's great news but what exactly does it mean? I kept reading, "Remie's test performance is comparable to that of an average 4th grader."


Wait...what?


My kid is testing at a 4th grade math level???!! I believe my exact words were "HOLY CRAP!" I kept rereading that statement over and over again to make sure I wasn't missing any small print. I didn't miss anything.


Next I went on to Charlotte's review. I don't have the exact test results but I did get a note from her teacher that at this point in 1st grade Charlotte should be reading 88 sight words. Charlotte is currently reading 206 sight words and is considered a second grade reader. I'm so proud of her. Charlotte is starting to enjoy reading and I'll catch her reading chapter books in her room FOR FUN!


Homeschooling Isaac is going well. I am already seeing that he is advancing in letter recognition and letter sounds. Besides the educational part of homeschooling preschool, Isaac and I are really loving our bonding time together.


Grace is also enjoying homeschooling. She doesn't do any of the educational work but is learning her ABCs simply by listening to Isaac and I. She is talking like crazy (or should I say "talking like Charlotte"?) and spends most of her play time singing. I love hearing her little voice sing.


Baby #5 is growing like a weed. S/he is wonderfully healthy, kicking like a champ and draining his/her mama of every ounce of energy. I'm now 24 weeks pregnant and starting to panic at the thought of having 5 KIDS! Then I calm down and remember how wonderful new babies are and think that maybe 6 kids isn't out of the question after all ;) Just kidding. WE.ARE.DONE.