Friday, March 11, 2011

The Day After School

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. - Abraham Lincoln

First, before I forget (because I did last month!), it's my day to blog at "All Day, All Night Romance Divas - the Mariannes". I'd love to have some company.

Also, yesterday I was interviewed at The Writer's Life (wearing my review site owner hat) and wouldn't mind input there, too -- I'm always interested in what readers and writers think about reviews.

Now ... moving on.

DD did her shadow day yesterday. She was VERY nervous, but stoic and hopeful. It was a half day at the school yesterday, so she only stayed until 11:30, but when I picked her up she was smiling. She'd had a great time. The kids were nice (mostly - there were a couple of girls who she said were "in a clique" and wouldn't hang out with the rest of them ... to which I answered, that she'd face that kind of thing her whole life), the teachers were nice, and she was amazed that they were learning stuff she'd already learned. The curriculum we use has a reputation of being ahead of most grades, so that doesn't surprise me. She took two assessment tests (math and English) and we're waiting to hear back on those. THEY are what will determine if she'll be going into eighth grade next year or not.

DD started school a year early (she was four when I started her on kindergarten). At three, she slapped a book down in front of me and said, "I CAN'T READ THIS." She was incredibly frustrated about that, so I taught her to read at three y.o., so by four she was bored and wanted to learn.

As a result, she's a year younger than everyone else, and administrators tend to assume she'd not ready for the grade she's in. They're wrong -- she consistently scores at the highest end of the scale on her annual assessment test -- but it means we have to fight for her to be in the correct grade.

She really doesn't want to be held back a year. And I really don't want her to be. I skipped a grade and was seventeen when I graduated high school. Aside from being frustrated that I couldn't get my license when all my friends did, I don't think it scarred me.

I started writing one of my "add in" scenes for the "Kitchen Matches" sequel. So fun! Once that's done, and I finish the final scene, all it'll need is a once over by a couple folks and I'll actually be submitting something again. It's been a long, long time...

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You Eat Like a Typical Woman



You tend to gravitate toward foods that are lighter and healthier.

You are an adventurous eater, and you're always interested in learning how to cook new things.

Like the majority of women, you tend to snack throughout the day and avoid big meals.

You prefer the little of everything approach. You don't want to be weighted down by your food.



It's true...

8 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

Does the sequel have a name yet? Hint. Hint.

Brandy said...

Glad DD's shadow day went well! Both my kids learned to read by the same age. Son finished Kindergarten in 6 months, so we'd have the same problem you have.
I'm so glad you'll be submitting again! I'm excited for you!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Sarita Leone said...

YAY YOU! I love it that you're ready to submit again. I've missed reading something new from you! I'm so pleased for you, congrats on finding your way to "the end."

Glad your daughter made out well in school. I hoped she would enjoy herself.

Tori Lennox said...

I'm glad the shadow day went well. :)

Angelina Rain said...

I read the review post, very informative. I really hate ignorant, harsh reviews. I review at one of the many ebook review sites (a popular one too) and one of the rules there is that no matter how bad the book may be, find something good about it for the review. They are honest reviews, but instead of just trashing a bad book, we find something good about it to balance out the good and the bad. Most of the reviews on that site are pretty good and it’s rare to see a one or two star review.

One site I avoid when it comes to reviews is Amazon.com, they tend to have many ignorant reviews that do nothing but trash the book. The other day I stumbled across on a reviewer on there that only gave out one and two star reviews, always trashing the books. It made me sad as to how miserable this person must be to hate everything they read when there are so many great books out there.

Dru said...

Glad the shadowing went well.

I'm so glad to hear your story is almost ready for submission.

You Eat Like a Typical Man

You prefer food that's hearty, traditional, and filling. You don't like to mess around when it comes to your meals.

You believe the plate should be focused on meat, and you really can't get enough of the stuff.

You like a meal that's big and satisfying. Nothing bums you out more than small portions.

You aren't huge on snacking, so each meal needs to hold you over until the next.

It's 80% accurate.

Ceri Hebert said...

does that mean we'll be critting work again? I'm almost done with my current wip and I'd love to have it go through the group.

Glad your DD had a good day. Bet it was kind of daunting.

Melissa McClone said...

So glad it worked out for DD! For both her and you :)