"Rock Star"

Some more wonderful pictures. He drew an egg from the picture the YMCA gave home to color and another very picture with lots of people.  His learning support teacher emailed me that he was a "Rock Star" today taking the PSSAs for the 3rd day. Three more days left and then we are biking! The Abuelos sent wonderful package. He is wearing his new slippers and pajamas. The pajamas are size 12/14 :-)

We watched a movie called School of Life. There is some bad language and I had to explain some of what happened but all Kendall had to say was that he wants a teacher like Mr. D. The movie is about a small-town history teacher with a decidedly different approach to public education raises the ire of a stuffy biology teacher who's looking to win the "Teacher of the Year" award. Mr. D doesn't just teach history, he lives it; and his passion for the oft-dreaded subject is infectious. At Fallbrook Middle School, the annual student-elected Teacher of the Year award ceremony is held. Every year for the last 43 years, Norman Warner, fondly called Stormin' Norman, has won the award. During the ceremony, he collapses and dies, saying "Take Your shots" and "It takes more than death to kill a man", greatly confusing his son, Matt Warner. The burden of carrying the legacy falls to Matt Warner, who has always lived in the shadow of his father.

Determined to keep the family tradition of being Teacher of the Year alive, Matt focuses all his attention and efforts in winning the coveted title. But the new history teacher, Mr. Michael D'Angelo becomes the new student favorite, telling Matt's son to "Fall with a thunk for a woman" when he accidentally trips while watching Chase Witherspoon. He is called, even by fellow and senior teachers, "Mr. D". Young, funny, with unconventional methods of teaching and an uncanny ability to connect with his students, Mr. D. quickly wins the hearts not only of the students but also the teachers, especially the young art teacher, Ms. Davies. Now that Mr. D. is the most popular teacher at school, Matt feels that he has no chances of winning against Mr. D.

Now obsessed with discrediting Mr. D, Matt soon forgets what it means to be a teacher. Desperate to find a flaw in "Mr Perfect", Matt follows Mr. D around town and discovers a secret the alarmingly perfect teacher is hiding: Mr. D has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and does not have long to live. Shocked by the startling discovery into realizing his own pettiness, Matt slowly changes his ways of teaching and in the process wins the hearts of his students. When Mr. D stops coming to teach because of his worsening illness, the students become depressed by the situation. Matt steps in to cheer up the student's spirits and leads the basketball team to a victory, with a special guest appearance with 30 seconds left in the game by Mr. D. Chase Witherspoon, being a cheerleader--accidentally falls, and Matt's son retells her of Mr. D's quote "Fall with a thunk", and the two share a kiss, though it was quickly interrupted by the referee.

The film concludes after three years have passed and Matt's own son is now in high school, and Matt is teaching a brand new year of pupils in his life science class. He has won the Teacher of the Year for the last two years, teaching similarly like Mr. D did. Mr. D having won the award in the school year of 2003. The art teacher, Ms. Davies, inherited Mr. D's car and even put a Hawaiian girl on the car. The film ends with a close-up of a photo in Matt's classroom of himself, Mr. D, and the basketball team with "Michael D'Angelo 1967-2003" inscribed on the bottom of the frame.

Buenas notes!

First Time Acolyte

This morning Justin was the acolyte so I had Kendall gown up to practice being acolyte while someone is with him. He did a fantabulous job and I am so proud of him. The best was that he said that he loved it! I also took a picture of Kendall below the Costa Rica flag that is hanging in the fellowship hall at church.

We ran errands since it was raining and watched Nim's Island. What a great movie! The story is based on the book Nim's Island by  Wendy Orr. A young girl, Nim, seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure series when her scientist father goes missing. Nim, though, lives on an island in the South Pacific. The author, Alexandra Rover, is agoraphobic and lives in San Francisco. While Rover attempts to overcome her agoraphobia in order to set out in search of her, Nim tries to overcome her fear of losing her father. In the meantime, a cruise ship company attempts to invade Nim's island with uncouth tourists. A girl. An iguana. An island. And e-mail. Meet Nim–a modern-day Robinson Crusoe! She can chop down bananas with a machete, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire with a piece of glass. So she’s not afraid when her scientist dad sails off to study plankton for three days, leaving her alone on their island. Besides, it’s not as if no one’s looking after her–she’s got a sea lion to mother her and an iguana for comic relief. She also has an interesting new e-mail pal. But when her father’s cell-phone calls stop coming and disaster seems near, Nim has to be stronger and braver than she’s ever been before.

Buenas noches!

NanoDay at DE Museum of Natural History and Dangerous Boys

We had a great therapy session this morning after a tearful end to last evening. Kendall had trouble talking to Kevin in Spanish and Kevin vice versa in English. Kattya and I were on the floor with them to help.  Kendall was a little sad after the call and decided not to talk to me so I left him in his room and that made him cry. We talked it out before bed - we always give each a kiss a hug before bed every night.

We went to NanoDay at the Delaware Museum of Natural History and what fun that was!
NanoDay at DMNH

We started to look at The Dangerous Book for Boys series. Now there is nothing "dangerous" about these books - just full of exciting and wonderful discoveries. There's more than a little bit of Huckleberry Finn here. Entitled "Things To Do" and "Things to Know" the book covers say it all. Full of "secret" information and mysteries, they are an endless wonder for growing boys like  Spies-Codes & Ciphers, Making a Battery, Building a Workbench, Sampling Shakespeare, Skipping Stones, Fishing, Dog Tricks, Juggling - it's all here, plus lots and lots more. These are the ultimate anti-TV, anti-couch potato book, answering the question "What's there to do?" 

We went to dinner with some great folks that have also adopted. It's great to catch up and enjoy wonderful fellowship. We watched Little Big League. When 12 year-old Billy Heywood inherits the Minnesota Twins from his grandfather, his first order of business is naming himself as the manager! Now this baseball genius is put to the test. How does this know-it-all kid going to deal with batting slumps, pampered egos and labor disputes? Manager Billy will attempt to turn these players into a team and remind them how to love the game again. 

Buenas noches!

TGIF and Dress Down Day

The bus did not come today but on the bright side Kendall was able to sleep in and I drove him to school.  

I finished our taxes today and dropped my bike off at Bikeline to be serviced so Kendall and I can ride like the wind after the PSSAs :-)

I worked until 8 pm and Kendall had fun with Emma. Kendall tried his best with the reading portion of the PSSAs today. A chat with Kevin and we are off to bed!

Buenas noches!

Standardized Testing (PSSAs) started today...

And all is well. Kendall and Mom - Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.

The fact that you’re struggling doesn’t make you a burden. It doesn’t make you unloveable or undesirable or undeserving of care. It doesn’t make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. Everyone struggles. Everyone has a difficult time coping, and at times, we all fall apart. During these times, we aren’t always easy to be around — and that’s okay. No one is easy to be around one hundred percent of the time. Yes, you may sometimes be unpleasant or difficult. And yes, you may sometimes do or say things that make the people around you feel helpless or sad. But those things aren’t all of who you are and they certainly don’t discount your worth as a human being. The truth is that you can be struggling and still be loved. You can be difficult and still be cared for. You can be less than perfect, and still be deserving of compassion and kindness.

- Daniell Koepke

Buenas noches!

Knights & Ben and Me

I love Kendall's picture - lots of stuff going on. We read about Knights and have decided The Renaissance Faire is a must this summer. Probably multiple times :-0 And,we also read Ben and Me. Kendall is very interested in Ben Franklin.

We also had started 'special playtime' or as Kendall calls it family date night. We learned about this from our Behavoor Medicine appointment and our bilingual counselor.  For a parent to be able to spend half an hour of uninterrupted one-on-one time with his or her child is often seen as a luxury, especially in families with more than one child.  However 30-minute blocks of uninterrupted one-on-one time, where you as a parent are giving your undivided attention to your child, can be one of the most beneficial and valuable things you can provide for your child. 

• It is a 30-minute block of uninterrupted playtime between ONE parent and ONE child.
• It should be scheduled ahead of time so parent and child can plan around it.
• It should take place once per week (or more frequently if possible).
• It should be set up so that there are no distractions or interruptions such as TV, computer, or phone calls for either parent or child during this time.
• If there are other children in the family, they need to be taken care of by someone else.
• The child will take the lead and direct the play activities; the parent follows the child’s lead.

Kendall chose the 3rd Grade Word Scramble game and I was winning, then we tied and then he finally won.  Great job, Kendall!  Now for a good nights's sleep since the standardized testing starts tomorrow.

Buenas noches!

Deconstructing Mom Part 3

The new job is going well! I feel I am balancing Motherhood and my career much better. And that we can we add another one (or possibly 2).

We made it to Tae Kwon Do but went out for dinner afterwards. I still left work at 4:30pm and am hoping to leave at 4 pm, which will help our evenings :-) We worked on spelling, science, reading and social studies. 

Balancing Motherhood Career

dear-moms-of-adopted-children/

Buenas noches!

Crazy Like A Fox

Kendall is wearing my fox pajamas from Christmas. He LOVES them even though they are too big for him.  He had gained a few more inches and now his hot pajamas don't fit.

Homework done for the week. Enjoying the snow and watching Underdog to get ready for the standardized PSSAs in English he has to start this week. A bomb-sniffing beagle is fired from the mayor's office for a faux pas. That night a mad scientist dognaps him and injects him with an elixir. The dog escapes, but now has superpowers. He's adopted by a security guard - an ex-cop, who's a widower with a moody teen son, Jack. The boy discovers that the dog, named Shoeshine by dad, has super powers, but it's their little secret. While Underdog saves people in distress, the mad scientist and his underling continue their plot to catch him and take over the city. There's also a girl Jack likes who has a dog that Shoeshine takes a shine to. Will every dog have his day?

There's no need to fear! Underdog is here!
when criminals in this world appear
and break the laws that they should fear
and frighten all who see or hear
the cry goes up both far and near
for Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
speed of lightning, roar of thunder
fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog. Underdog!
when in this world the headlines read
of those whose hearts are filled with greed
who rob and steal from those who need
to right this wrong with blinding speed
goes Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
speed of lightning, roar of thunder
fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog. Underdog! 
Buenas noches!

More artwork...

I live the birds in the first picture and second is of the Hogar in Costa Rica. We finished all of our homework and the book we had about Boats.

Buenas noches!

Feliz Domingo!

This is Kendall's new bike. We bought it yesterday from Bikeline. Kendall will start the PA standardized PSSA testing this Thursday. He has to take it in English and it will difficult forchim. For trying his best he wanted one reward and chose a new bike with gear shifts. It is an adult bike and we are very excited about it. 

Today was a High School Musical day :-)

Buenas noches!

Feliz Sabado !

Kendall drew this wonderful egg with 3 chicks Friday at school and another picture. I think he is ready for Easter :-)

Buenas noches !

Hop

When I picked up Kendall from the YMCA, all of the children were watching the film Hop.  We left after I promised Kendall we could rent it tonight. Hop is a comedy about E.B., the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer.  Once E.B. escapes to Hollywood in a bid to find fame and fortune, he hops in front of an oncoming car driven by Fred, an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals, who accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred agrees to nurse the little hopper back to health by giving him a place to recover until he's healthy enough to hop along home. Fred discovers that hares make horrible houseguests. For the past 4,000 years, the Easter Bunny has brought joy and candy to kids all across the globe; however, the time has come for a new Easter Bunny to take over the tradition. But while E.B. is the next in line to receive the official title, he couldn't care less about becoming the official bearer of chocolate eggs and jellybeans. Now, the harder Fred struggles to stop his furry new companion from sending his life into a tailspin, the more satisfaction he begins to get out of his newfound responsibility. With a little luck and a whole lot of patience, Fred just might become the man who saved Easter for everyone. They sing I Want Canday which Kendall sang at the end:-)


Buenas noches!

Stride Dog Tag and PSBI One Year Visit

Kendall is enjoying STRIDE!  This week his group got to know each other as a team by playing games to learn about their team mates and share information about themselves.  Today they also talked about what the word “character” means and why it is important. They discussed their similarities and differences and why we need to recognize and respect each others differences. Working together and encouraging each other will make a strong team. At the end of each lesson, the the trainers reward a boy who demonstrates good character with a STRIDE dog tag.  This award doesn’t go to the fastest runner...it goes to a boy that shows respect, encourages a team mate, or does something awesome that shows determination.  So Kendall I am so proud of your dog tag!  

We had a great one year update meeting with Mallori from PBSI.  I still need to organize our paperwork and photos.

Buenas Noches!

S