Almost the end of the school year...

There's a little over a month and a half left in big sister's school year. It's a little crazy that she's almost done with 1st grade! They had their cute program last week. Thanks to my sister for watching my other kiddos so we could watch without their "help." We couldn't actually see her for the majority of the program, so we took pictures inside the school afterwards.

Big sister and daddy

Big sister and mommy. And the reflective strips on her backpack apparently work really well!

She sang and recited poems rather well. We also had her parent/teacher conference that same day. Due to what happened the last time I tried to talk to her teacher I made husband go. The teacher just got back from her "medical leave" and I didn't think we needed to hash out what happened 3 months ago. Good decision, I think. They had a nice chat, during which we found out that big sister reads on a 4th grade level and does math on a 2nd grade level. She had to be moved desks because another little girl was copying big sister's papers all the time. Big sister did not realize that was cheating until the teacher explained it to her and moved her away from said cheater. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and was mortified that she had let somebody else cheat off of her unknowingly. She is now very vigilant about making sure she is not enabling other cheaters. Funny girl. The teacher has made some significant changes, which tells me that voicing my concerns a few months ago really was the best thing. She is using a different math book with a different method. She also has big sister join her at the table where the kids who are struggling sit. The purpose is so that she can give big sister more advanced math work and be right there to help her if she gets stuck. She's not pushing too hard because she doesn't want big sister to get stressed and also doesn't want her to be done with 2nd grade math before she ever hits 2nd grade. It sounds like she is doing the best for our girl at this point. Big sister is happy to be in that class once again. It is nice that the problems we were having have actually been resolved!

We had a conference with little sister's teachers, as well. She has met all her goals, but still needs help in other areas. So we have set new goals for the next year. She is progressing really well. They recommended that I get her into a regular preschool, too, so she can be around kids without disabilities and be caught up to a kindergarten level by the time she enters kindergarten. They expect that she will have no lingering disability by that point. Good news! I took her to the preschool that big sister went to and they showed her around. Big sister's old teacher is still there and was really excited to see little sister. I told little sister that she has to be potty trained in order to go there, so we have really been working on that. For the last while she'd go if I put her on the potty, but lacked initiative to take herself. She is getting better about taking herself. I think I finally found something to help instill the desire to potty train! We'll see how it goes. She's off track for 3 weeks right now, and I figure if she's not trained by then it probably won't really happen before the baby comes. I think she really needs to have it as a habit for a couple months before we have little brother. Otherwise, I will have 3 in diapers. Heaven help me. I'm really hoping she gets it for good this time!