P is for pizza

Yesterday was Report Card Day.  I can remember those days when I was in school, feeling a little nervous, hoping I did enough to make the grades my parents wanted to see... wanting to make them proud and to feel good about all the work I had done.
I highly anticipated seeing Dylan's report card when he got home from school.  He's been working really hard since last grading period in all of the areas he's struggled with so far in first grade....reading, getting his work finished and finished on time, following written directions, and staying focused.  We've had several meetings with his teachers, and formed a partnership with them to try some strategies to keep him on track.  I haven't talked much about this on the ole' blog, but its definitely been a big area of focus for us and for him. When he got home, I sat down with him so we could read his report card together.  He seemed confident I was going to be proud of him, I knew I would be.

The kids don't really earn 'real' grades until third grade but they do earn letters telling us which areas they need to show improvement, where his work is satisfactory, outstanding, etc. 

I've been volunteering in his language arts class to be able to help him (and the other kids) and to better understand myself what the classroom is like, and how it can be a challenging and chaotic learning environment.  And I'm so proud of the progress he's made, as reflected in his reading testing scores in January, and also on his report card.

Snippets of his teachers comments:

• "developed stronger sight word vocabulary, used reading strategies in order to make progress as a reader, enjoy expressing his ideas in writing....."
• "continued to develop an understanding of the first grade math skills including addition, subtraction, geometry and fractions."
• "spirited and energetic child"

Last night Dylan got to pick whatever he wanted for dinner, and he chose a yummy pizza dinner at Ledo's, complete with mozzarella cheese sticks and Sprite -- some of this very favorites. 

We are going to make reading a big focus this summer when school is out, so he can go back to school in the fall with the same confidence he's developed this year so far.  I think reading is such a great gift to have in your life, and I don't want our kids to dread it or feel intimidated.   We'll take him to eat pizza whenever he wants if it keeps him reading.