Grades are Hot

I met with Will's 2nd grade teacher today for our parent/teacher conference. She started off saying, "I don't have anything but good things to say about sweet Will." [*insert bursting mommy heart*] This school has a very rigid rubric by which they judge progress, so there's not much wiggle room for interpretation - either the students can do x, y, & z by this point, or they can't. After the scare & shock we got when we arrived here in February that Will was so far behind in reading & writing (when he had been "great" by MI standards - we had no idea how far behind they were curriculum-wise! You can imagine how freaked out & upset JB & I were - we were both "gifted" nerds at the tops of our classes; bottom of the barrel = inconceivable), I'm always anxious to see where Will stands now. If he can't read a certain number of words per minute, it doesn't matter how sweet he is; he will not move to the next grade. But our school dork genes *are* in him. :-P He has rocketed ahead in his reading to get a grade 3. (1 = minimal progress toward the standard; 2 = progressing; 3 = consistently/independently meets the standard) 27 areas get graded each quarter using this scale; 14 other areas are assessed re: behavior & organizational skills. Being a total grade monger, I loooooove this in-depth analytical feedback! Will earned 3's in almost every single area, except for three 2's in: writing legibly, writing style appropriate for audience, and spelling. [Not the least bit shocked! :-P] Of course, his teacher also added that he is super sweet and highly motivated. He doesn't waste time in the morning, getting right to work, and is eager to please. Yay, for our school-dork family! :-D

Will's class was at art during our conference, so his teacher & I went to the art room to retrieve them afterwards. Will was so excited to show me his latest project:

He reported: "They are plain pieces of paper that we drew designs all over. Then you glue one edge of the paper and take a pencil and roll the paper around it to make the tubes. Then you take an old CD and glue the tubes together with hot glue to make a sculpture." [The art teacher at his school is FANTASTIC!]

My conference had ended ten minutes before regular school dismissal, so I checked Will out and took him with me. (Parent pick-up makes him feel so special. :-))

This afternoon at home, Annelise & I were dreaming about the gorgeous clothes in the CWDkids catalog. As we turned a page,

Will shouted, "SHE'S HOT!!!!!" Whaaaaaaat?!?! Oh, he SO has a type already. :-P (And it would be the icing on the cake if her name began with a K, like Kendall, Kaylin, or Kaylie - his other 3 slightly older, blonde, blue-eyed beloveds. ;-)) It just floored me, though. He talks to me a lot about the girls he likes & getting married one day (one of his fave topics! :-)) but he's NEVER burst out with the "hot" business before!!! :-D

PS - the pic that caught *my* eye? Doesn't the boy in front here look so much like Will when he was a little younger?!?!?!