So, Jake is almost a 4th grader...How is this possible? He is 8 3/4's...That is almost 9 people!!!! Where does the time go? And how is it possible that Jake is so sarcastic and witty? His teacher keeps saying he does the bare minimum in his reading journal. I won't get into it too much but he is way above a 3rd grade reading level and he is loving reading. He is about to finish the 2nd Percy Jackson book and is also reading the 4th Harry Potter book. He asks if he can read while he eats breakfast and sometimes in the car on the way to school. So, why is he getting a B in reading? Because he doesn't push himself when writing in his reading journal. Could it be because he is reading large chapter books at home but isn't at school because there are kids who can't read large chapter books in his class and if those who can do it at school it makes the other kids feel bad? That is seriously what his teacher said to me when I asked if he could read books at school that challenged him a little more. So, they read these little books that Jake was reading in first grade and his teacher wonders why he doesn't have a whole lot to write about it!!!! What kind of sense does it make to hold children back so the other kids won't feel bad?!! Jake loves math, science, reading, history...All of it EXCEPT writing. It is like pulling teeth to get him to write more than a paragraph. ESPECIALLY when he it is on books that took him 10 minutes to read! Okay. I feel better I have vented. My child is not Einstein but he is pretty darn smart. And I am smart enough to know that it is not smart (IT IS STUPID. There I said it) to not get an A in READING because of writing. I think a B is great but try telling that to a boy who loves to read and is really good at it and keeps getting a B in it. (Believe it or not that really is my version of not getting into it too much....)
But any way that whole point of that was to tell you this: On Jake's last report card his teacher said Jake isn't reaching his academic potential because of his reading journal, in which he does the bare minimum. We told Jake we were so proud of his report card and he should be too. But, if he really wants that A in reading (which he SO does, remember the "the B might as well an F" comment he made?) he is going to have to figure out how to push himself in his reading journal and give it his all. So, Jake takes the EOG's (end of grade tests, for those who have kiddos that weren't tortured all year by the upcoming event) and gets 4's on everything. Basically a 3 shows that you learned all that you needed to in the 3rd grade and you are ready for the 4th. 4's mean you are AWESOME and SO SMART! (That is my version of above average and going to rock the 4th grade!) Aaron told me on the way home from school Jake said "I guess I didn't do the bare minimum on the EOG's." My first thought is that's my boy, such confidence in himself...Sniff, sniff (that is me with a tear in my eye). And then my thoughts turn to: I really hope he doesn't go to school and say that to his teacher.
