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| Kids with their cousin, Rylan, who has been spending a lot of time with us. |
The kids started attending Isaac Newton Christian Academy right after Christmas break. They were pretty nervous and apprehensive. The first week was rough. Kaylee came home in tears her first two days of school. The first day because she had just finished basketball practice and was scared for her first game the following day. The team had been practicing together since early November and had 3 or 4 games in December that Kaylee had missed. The second day she burst into tears upon entering the car because she had just completed her first band lesson and discovered that they were four pages ahead of where she was in her book. She was frustrated and felt like she was the worst player in the band. By the end of the week, we were all a bit frustrated as we discovered that academically the kids were all behind due to the curriculum being much different than what they were accustomed to in Michigan.
Spelling is huge here and was not a big deal in Michigan. In Michigan, the kids each had about 10 words to learn each week and learned them at school. Here, Trace has 15 words each week, Kianna has 24 words and Kaylee has 35 words, 10 of which she has to know the definition of as well. The first couple of weeks were rough, as the kids adjusted to these new expectations. Now they are doing great and are scoring 100% on their tests.
Math has been another big adjustment. The expectations are much higher here. Trace got here early enough that he is doing fine, but the girls are behind, especially Kianna. In Michigan, Kianna was learning her multiplication table. Here they are doing four digit multiplication to a single digit on the bottom. They also are doing long division with remainders, which she hadn't gotten to yet. The biggest surprise of all though is the pre-algebra they are doing in 3rd grade. They are also big on measurements and conversions here, which they hadn't talked about in Michigan. The girls are working hard and are getting caught up.
Language Arts is the thing the girls are still struggling with. Learning when to use the proper tense of a word, punctuation, capitalization, writing and penmanship are all huge focuses here. The girls are blessed to have caring teachers that have been taking them aside to help them catch up. Kaylee's teacher has requested to meet with her twice a week for about 15-30 minutes, so she can help her catch up.
The higher expectations will be great in the long run. We just had no idea that the schools would be so different. Thankfully the kids are all doing great socially. They are making friends and fitting in well. Kaylee has been invited to two birthday parties and one sleepover since moving here. Kaylee ended up loving basketball and was so happy she went out. Her team ended the season 10-0 and Kaylee worked herself into being one of the first of the bench. She caught up in band after one private lesson with her band teacher, so no worries there. The kids are doing great and are enjoying their new school!
