This update is long overdue but better late than never they say! I would love to post other pictures but our other laptop crashed and I didn't back up the pictures! I think I have finally learned my lesson! Sage is doing so well. We put her into 3rd grade which means she skipped 2nd grade all together. This decision has been very good for her. She is still the oldest in the class but not by much now.
This school is much stronger in their curriculum than the school the kids attended in Florida. Still Sage is hanging tough and learning so much every single day! Her teacher told me in an informal meeting Thursday that she is reading on a level 17. Most 3rd graders read on a level 23, so she is not that far off. She has others in her class who have been in the US all of their lives who are reading lower. 
Since the spelling has gotten significantly more difficult (ex. important and because) we are learning that Sage really, really needs to work on correct pronunciation of words before she can begin to spell them correctly. On a pretest she spelled the word because...pecos. Her accent is so thick that when she speaks you can't tell she is using a p instead of a b. The th sound still haunts her. She can say it but chooses to be lazy much of the time and says the d sound. Other words we have caught on to are shdare...share, sdure...sure, churn...turn. Her writing is very behind. I am sad to say that I don't think the curriculum in FL allowed for her to learn the skills in writing that are so important. Then we put her in 3rd and ask her what a complete subject and predicate is and she looks us like we are crazy!
Her first couple of reading tests that she did on her own she did poorly. But when the teacher reads the test to her she does fantastic. She has gotten B's since! Math is up and down. I think when she is working hard on another subject she lets others go.
The services she is getting in this school are so impressive. I have yet to have a final IEP meeting for her but so far she is getting speech and language therapy 4 times a week, ESOL classes 4 times a week and some awesome accommodations in the classroom. The ESOL is amazing and I can't believe what they are learning and how much native born children just know from living here all of their lives. Last week she had a test on the branches of the government!
Socially, it is hit and miss. Her emotional age is still younger than her chronological age. She easily gets involved in things that she knows she shouldn't but is easily swayed. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was out town and she got into my nail polish and closet knowing I did not allow that and lied to Drew about it telling him that I allowed her to paint her finger nails on her own.
She can get around other kids and go crazy. She gets loud and runs all over the place and wants to eat everything in sight. I am still not letting her have many playdates at other kids houses. She wants to have a sleepover but I just don't see it happening any time soon. I don't trust that she will make good choices.
She likes to be sneaky especially with Drew. She will ask him for things knowing what my response would be. This has been very difficult for her. Yesterday I was taking care of Luke (who was sick) and she was supposed to be getting something for breakfast. Drew and I walked out of the bedroom while she was coming out of the pantry with a bag of microwave popcorn and headed for her backpack. Oops! Busted! She has also tried to order breakfast at school after she was just fed at home and had a morning snack in her backpack. Most of the sneaking has to do with food. Also, Luke can get her to do all sorts of things that she knows are wrong like flipping off of her bed and marking up the walls. She is a people pleaser...I get it!
She is taking hip hop classes. I was only able to see one class at the end so I don't have much of an idea how she is doing. She loves it though so that is all that counts. Homework really takes up much of our afternoon so we aren't going to do another activity.
She is growing and beginning to hit puberty. This makes me wonder about her true age. Luckily, she is in class with other girls who are also in the beginning stages. If we could just get her to remember she needs to wear deodorant every single day! She is wearing a size ten mostly because of her long legs but I have let out the adjustable buttons on her shorts.
Overall, she is doing wonderful and is a joy to be around. She is super caring and sweet and can talk with anyone. She is very outgoing and never shy. I can't wait to see where she is 6 months from now....
4 comments:
Have you tried taking your computer in to see if they can get your pictures off? Mine crashed, and I got lucky. I know have an external memory and LOVE it..... Glad to hear Sage is doing well. I think I missed your blogging about Sage's age not being what you thought. Any idea what her age is? I have heard of bone density tests before to help identify true age. She does look like she would fit in better with the 3rd graders. It is so weird how different states serve kids differently. Nadya is not on an IEP and would not be allowed based on being ESOL alone. Luckily, she hold her own weight, but I would have loved those services that first year! (and so would her teacher too!) So lucky all the support you get for her.
That is awesome that Sage is doing well in the 3rd grade! As a teacher I know that spelling can be hard for kids, especially if they have not been exposed to a phonics program. Has she? I would try using flash cards with sight words like "because" (and others she had trouble with) so that she can see those words and learn their spelling. Just a thought. Also, there is a book called "Teach your child to read in 100 lessons" that really focuses on phonics. This may be easy reading for her but it does emphasize phonics and spelling. Just an idea:)
To The Johnsons:
I think I got lucky and the computer repair guy backed up my data!!! I have an external hard drive but I have just been too lazy to back it up more than once every couple of months! Guess I will leave it set up behind the laptop!
As for Sage's true age...I think she is more like 10.5. We won't get a bone density test done or anything else. First, it was really important for our family to keep birth order. My son would have a fit if he thought she was older. We have a feeling the orphanage picked a birthdate that was younger so she would be more adoptable...I wouldn't mind it if someone shave a couple of years off my age! LOL
To Shana:
For Sage, I think the biggest problem is pronunciation. She has done really well remembering all of the rules for reading and phonics. If I get her to say the word correctly then try to spell it she does okay.
She has come so far in 18 months it is amazing!
Post a Comment