June, 2010

Annika’s first grade at Kings Beach Elementary comes to an end today; actually, it feels like it came to an end about 2 weeks ago, with the remaining time spent of field trips, at the beach, school carnival, et al. Fun is good.

We really can’t give Annika enough credit for what she has accomplished. She started first grade with a class of English Learners who had been exposed to Spanish since birth, and English speakers who had gone to Kindergarten, and in some cases pre-school, with Spanish immersion programs. For Annika, outside of some short term superficial exposure to Spanish, it was really her first time to be in an intense Spanish environment (immersed, as they say). I helped out in class on Friday mornings, and can attest to the insecurity one feels when the Teacher is only speaking Spanish and everyone (but you) seems to understand what the Teacher is saying.

Annika’s class scores were really impressive; not only the scores themselves but the progression she made, but empirically and from Teacher feedback. Language Arts (Word Recognition, Fluency, Vocabulary, Reading comprehension, Writing, Speaking and Listening) all went from 3’s (Basic, 70-79%) to 4’s (Proficient, 80-95%) and 5’s (Advanced, 95-100%). The first trimester Annika had nine 3’s (out of 22 total graded components) and zero 5’s. By the last trimester Annika had one 3 (out of 27 components) and two 5’s. Really impressive.

And, just as importantly, the soft skills (Works independently, Uses time wisely, completes homework, Listens, Respects, etc) were E (Excellent) throughout the year.

From Annika’s teacher: “She has done an amazing job for her first year in the immersion program…Annika is such an enthusiastic learner and has been a joy to teach”.

It wasn’t always easy, especially in the beginning. Annika would get frustrated and upset at home doing homework; we certainly helped and encouraged her, but she deserves as much credit for her persistence and determination. She loves to impress and demonstrate herself, both to us and other adults and Teachers. So it was of her own doing that she would go out of her way to practice reading (for example), on her own, and then we would end the day listening to Annika read one of her many books. By the end of the school year, with the twins in the same room with their own beds, Annika would lay down on the floor between them and read Spanish books.

And English! It’s a valid concern that with Spanish immersion one’s English skills don’t develop as quickly as they would otherwise. But Annika was just as interested and motivated to read books in English, too.

Sure, I am biased. But the results speak for themselves, and I couldn’t be more proud of what Annika has accomplished this year. To celebrate, her classmates are coming over this afternoon for a party, the best way to end a school year.

Not sure where it comes from, but Annika will hammer herself hard when she doesn’t meet her own expectations; she’ll be left to fits, even in public; but, after some requisite tantrums, she’ll generally begin a plan to correct any deficiencies. Two cases in point.

Annika has learned the game of hangman, and wants to play one night. She goes first, with the expression “I love you” which brings a smile to my face. I go next, with the single word “ballet”. While guessing I remind her (to be generous) that the hanging man will have ears and a face. However, once the typical hangman is in place without Annika knowing the word, she runs to our bedroom and throws the most amazing fit. However, unlike most fits (“I hate [fill in the blank with the name of a family member]”), she is absolutely berating herself. I try to console her, but it’s pointless. It takes her at least 15 minutes to settle down, after which we continue playing later that night and she does really well.

Tennis. Annika has taken lessons in the past, but it’s been 2 years since she hit any balls. A coach is putting on a one time one hour free clinic after school; Annika is a bit late (which is another problem she has, likely handed down from me, is that she really hates to be late). She’s doesn’t even give herself the opportunity to fail; she’s immediately hesitant, doesn’t want to participate, has to be almost coerced to get in line. Finally she tries to hit a few balls being thrown to her, she mishits the first one and runs away just hysterical, in front of 20 kids she both knows and doesn’t know. She can’t be calmed down, so we eventually leave.

The lesson is two-fold: we need to figure out how to teach her to lighten up, but in the event this is hard coded in her DNA we need to be careful about setting her up to fail at new activities (like not using a difficult word like “ballet”, or hitting some tennis balls with her alone before she goes off to a first lesson). Pampering?….I dunno, but I want to see her succeed and be happy…

As Annika says, “this is the first day I’ll say ‘7’ when people ask me how old I am”. She was so excited about this day, referring to it off and on for the past 4 weeks (months?). I think she was a little disappointed (although she didn’t say anything to me) that she didn’t get a laptop (a Christmas request) or iPod. It’s a struggle, wrestling with the idea of wanting to do anything for her versus enforcing some measure of moderation…

It’s wonderful to see my big girl grow up, but tough to acknowledge the Birthday’s, definitive proof that she is in fact growing up. In general parenting is all about celebrating the present while looking forward to the future, except for Birthday’s when you reminisce about (long for) the past.

Papa

P.S. I typed this on Annika’s Birthday, but for some reason it never got posted. Posting now.