Kaitlyn is close to the double digits!

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Kaitlyn will turn 10 February 17th. She is enjoying 4th grade and has an incredible teacher — Mrs. Nordman. This teacher is very nice and caring. “She hardly yells at anyone in the class. This is the 1st year I’ve like writing because she has us write fun stuff like Tall Tales and Holiday Blooper stories. She constantly changes the seating arrangement which is interesting. In Social Studies we are studying Colorado History and we get to do fun projects like building a Pueblo. She has no limits on these projects. They can be tiny or huge so each student can do what they want. We earn scholar dollars in 4th grade and we get to have an auction. Mrs. Nordman’s auction is surprise filled because she hides the auction items until the auction. We have LC time which is the time she reads books to us. She has chosen books like Hatchet and Holes which are very good, interesting books. This time is also great because the entire class gets to sit on the floor and if we are the 1st one called we get pillows. To practice our cursive Mrs. Nordman does ‘morning smile’ which is where she writes a joke on the board and we have to copy it off in cursive. The jokes are very funny. I am so glad I have Mrs. Nordman because she is the perfect 4th grade teacher for me!”

For Math and Reading Kaitlyn goes to other teachers. “I usually go to Mrs. Duffy who is also a great teacher. In reading, Mrs. Duffy has Novel groups where we have Novel groups where we each of jobs like passage picker or illustrator. In these groups we read really great books like Sounder and the Great Brain and then discuss them with our novel group. In Math we also do fun activities like gum drop and toothpicks to create shapes to study geometry.” Kaitlyn is also in GT (Gifted and Talented Ed) so she has Mrs. Gallop 3 times a week for Reading and Math. “This is a very challenging time. It teaches me things that I wouldn’t get a chance to learn in a regular class.”

Kaitlyn is doing extremely well in school. She sets her goals high, but more importantly she is trying hard to learn and enjoy the process of school. This year we see her having more fun and not getting overwhelmed if she has lots of homework or an assignment is very difficult. Instead, she keeps her humor and perspective that school is not about the grades, but about learning.

School is giving her time to develop some strong friendships. She is not as shy as last year. Instead she is joining in activities like football and tag. She is taking a lot more risks. This year she tried out for a solo in choir and got a part in the Christmas concert. She also entered a writing concert where she won 1st place for her school and is now entering the city contest. She is learning that feeling shy or nervous or overwhelmed can stop you from trying things or you can overcome these feelings and go on to take the risks to have fun and try things. Kaitlyn decided that she wanted to try gymnastics during the school year. She has set a goal to improve her skills enough that she can join the gymnastics power team. Last year Kaitlyn had the opportunity to be part of the Gifted and Talented District Art Classes that are held after school at Bemis Art School. Kaitlyn loves art, but decided this year her art focus would be to stretch herself and take an acting class. Her theory was that she might gain some skills to get over her shyness if she stretched herself this way. We are all looking forward to her performance at the end of her session. This year she had an opportunity to learn an instrument through school. Kaitlyn is learning how to play the violin. This is a very difficult instrument! Her instructor at school recommended that she take private lessons if she wants to learn this instrument well. He only sees his students as a group twice a week for 1/2 hour. (Funding for music at the elementary level could definitely improve!) Anyway, we found an instructor who lives close by and easily fits into our schedule – so now we can all enjoy listening to Kaitlyn practice!

Kaitlyn learned to take some of these risks this summer when she set her goals very high for swimming. Kaitlyn was at the bottom of her age group and her time was very far away from qualifying for the State Swim Meet. But Kaitlyn’s coaches encouraged her to set 3 goals for the summer which were very difficult. Her 3 goals were to win a 1st place in an individual event, try to take risks with teammates and get to know others, and to qualify for state. All of these were very challenging for Kaitlyn, but with hard work and not giving up even when it seemed unlikely she’d achieve her goals, Kaitlyn met every goal she had set for herself. She had a great time swimming on the State team knowing how hard she had worked to make the swim possible.

Last year Kaitlyn volunteered to be a mother’s helper for Jake — a little boy across the street. This year the opportunity continued with the help of a new friend who just moved in across the street. Natalie is in 5th grade and they are developing a great friendship (They both love to play American Girl) and Natalie’s brothers love coming over and playing with all the girls also. Natalie and Kaitlyn go over to Jake’s house once a week and the two girls entertain him for a couple of hours while his mom (hopefully) gets some peace from the demands of a 2 year old. Jake just became a big brother in November, so the girls are hopeful to now provide some much needed diversion for Jake once things settle down again.

Lastly, Kaitlyn is involved still in Girl Scouts. This is such a great opportunity for her. It is a small troop with a very close friend from her swim team. The girls go to different schools, so this time allows the girls to keep in touch. Eventually the girls will go to Middle school together, so Kaitlyn will know girls from both schools when the time comes. For now, Kaitlyn just really enjoys the simple time she spends with this small group of girls who are becoming good friends.

It seems that Kaitlyn is really busy. We are trying to keep her schedule in perspective – making sure that we have lots of family time and we are not always on the road. So far we are thankful that the activities Kaitlyn finds interesting easily work into our schedule and all of us enjoy the enrichment she in gaining from them.