Left Behind...

I was recently called in for a conference by my daughter's 1st grade teacher. Not having any problems brought to my attention prior to the conference, I went in expecting to hear good things. I was shocked and upset by what I was told.

After saying hello to the teacher I sat down. Normally when I've met for conferences it was always one on one, parent and teacher only. I got a bad feeling when two other women walked into the room each carrying a pretty thick folder. The feeling got worse when the teacher began with "She's a joy to have in class, so sweet and friendly, but...". My heart sank, here it comes my first bad parent/teacher conference.

The teacher started telling me that my daughter is really struggling with reading. She began showing me test scores and they were horrible, I couldn't believe it. The school year is almost over and this is the first I've heard about the fact that my child can hardly read, and has been working with three other teachers, 4 days out of the week for over two months! I was pissed and sad for my daughter at the same time because I had no idea. Needless to say with all the extra help at school she is still struggling.

We've been doing a lot of extra reading at home since the conference and I just found out she can get free tutoring through the district so we are starting that next week. Also she is set to attend a 6 week intensive reading camp. Until this we really had no reading routine at our house. I read to my kids a lot but not every day until now. Now my oldest reads for 30 minutes by herself and then my youngest daughter reads aloud to me for 30 minutes. If you are having reading troubles with your kids or just want to avoid problems here are some tips on how to get a routine going.

Pick a Theme
Getting the whole family involved is important. Having different age groups means different reading levels. Picking a theme makes it easier to be able to talk about what you are reading about.

Set a Time
Set a time aside for the whole family to read together. This has been one of my favorite parts because it's great quality family time.

Create a Space For Reading
There's nothing better than curling up with a good book, a blanket, and some cocoa. We've designated our bed as our reading area. This way there's room for everyone cuddle up and enjoy a story! The kids are comfy and so are hubby and I!

Have Fun
Hubby and I often read out loud together. He does all the boy parts and I do all the girl parts. We get into it and create voices for the characters and this gets the kids attention too, they really get into the story.

Talk About the Story
When you're finished reading, talk about it with your kids. This helps you gauge their comprehension of what was read.

Reward
Reward your kids for reading! If they read a certain number of books in a month maybe give them a gift card to the bookstore or credit for their Nook/Kindle to get more books.

Reading is so important! Encourage it, feed it, don't let your kid get left behind.

Confused & Frustrated

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a nurse. I started going to school to pursue a degree in Nursing. After completing all of the pre-requisetes for the Nursing program, I was placed on the waiting list which is as far as I got. I got bumped from the list not once, not twice, but three times because there were people waiting longer than me or that had better GPA's than me. Now I was an A/B student so my grades weren't bad. Each time I got bumped I had to take filler classes so that my student loans wouldn't go into repayment, by the third time I had run out of classes that related to my field of study or that interested me. I made the decision to drop out of the program because at the rate things were going I'd be 40 before I graduated with an RN degree. I've thought a lot about what I wanted to do instead and finally decided to go into criminal forensics. Now I'm struggling with the fear of not being able to find a job once I graduate. I live in Iowa and I just don't see a future in it around here and at the moment I can't even consider relocating. So, now I'm back to square one and don't know what to do with myself. I'm scared of going to school and being stuck doing something I hate and I'm scared of picking a field that will get me nowhere because of the lack of jobs. It's so stinkin' frustrating I want to scream. I want to set a good example for my kids and graduate from college and I want to make my mom proud because I would be the first to graduate college in my family. The career counselors at the college are essentially worthless and couldn't help me and actually made me more confused and frustrated than before I talked to them. I'm a science minded person so I know I want to do something in that category but I just don't know what. If anyone has any suggestions I would LOVE to hear them!