Proud

Sitting on the parent side of a Parent-Teacher Conference is a rare treat for me.  Clara has, historically, been a top notch, whole package sort of student, and she is continuing the trend this year.  We are so proud of her.  I think my favorite observation from her wonderful teacher was that when students comment on each others' work, Clara is very insightful, and finds a gem in every one of her classmates' efforts.  Her words are valued, and she chooses them carefully to make people feel good.  I love that.  Sweet girl.

And, in the funny department.....

We got a diagnostic reading report of an online comprehension test that Clara took.  You have to take these things with a grain of salt, because they are only one type of assessment, but the thing scored Clara as reading at an 8th Grade level.  So, the report printout lists recommendations for parents to help the child continue to grow in reading.  This is one of the recommendations:

"At this level, Clara needs to read widely in order to prepare for the reading challenges of high school."  

Ha ha.  High school.  Strokes the parent ego, but, like I said, big grains of salt are necessary. Rock salt, maybe.

Puppet Show

It was a teacher work day, so I was at school, actually getting paid to do my report cards, while the rest of the family had some adventures.  A trip to a local wildlife museum somehow inspired the kids to build a puppet theater and put on a show for us.  I don't pretend to understand the mental path that leads from wildlife museum to puppet show, but I'm sure there is some logical sequence that took them from seeing live owls to scribbling on stray socks and taping dish towels to a box.

Clara and Trevor's plotlines tend to be rather choatic, and most shows are very improvisational, usually degrading into wild dancing, high-pitched shrieking, or both.  Still, I suppose I should film some of these, just in case one of the kids becomes famous some day. Footage would also come in handy for teenage blackmailing and/or bribery.

Tropher

Here's Becks of the (distant) future with his very first trophy:

Coach Dan awarded Trevi "Most Consistent".  Chad and I chuckled at the euphemism.  We've put things like that on report cards a million times.  :)  Consistently a soccer prodigy?  Maybe not.  But, Trevi was consistently a joy to watch, and consistently enthusiastic, every moment of his first season as a soccer player.  We're so proud of you, Manny!