Happy

I know I've mentioned this before but I feel the need to again say it - I LOVE the school my cildren go to. It is a local catholic school - not an elite private -a garden variety one - it isn't top of the My School website - it is an important part of our local community.

Each week I get to help in the kindy classroom (lucky me!) I love that. The kindy kids are awesome. Financially it is a burden but worth every penny when I think about the benefits it brings to our family and for Hannah's successful inclusion. On the other day that I don't work I help with a program called multilit which is for helping children with literacy (generally not special needs kids but other children who are struggling with reading). After multilit I call down into the kindy room to say hello to my gorgeous ones and make sure Hannah has gone to the toilet (there were a few accidents at the end of last term as she got very tired).

Today I walked in and a delightlful little girl who is in Kit's reading group called over and asked me to help her - she was writing a character profile for the 3 little pigs. Kit showed me his work - he was doing a 'typical boy's' profile of the big bad wolf - "I got my but burnt' or something like that - very well written except for the b in 'but' was facing the wrong way and the extra 't' was missing. Still his cheeky boyish grin was lovely to see.

Then I went into the writing lab where the whole class was working. Hannah sits up the front working on her writing sheets with a teachers aide. Today she was working on writing the number 3. There was lots of encouragement and positive words. Hannah proudly showed me her 'principal's award' sticker. She had been along to the principal's office earlier in the day to show off her workbook.

One of the teachers has recently bought an ipad - and she had briefly used a sightwords app with Hannah that morning. Hannah's treat for writing well was to have another go on it. When the teacher arrived it was lovely to see her enthusasim in playing with her new 'toy' and in working out how to best use it to help Han. It wasn't long before she pointed out Hannah's principal's award sticker and then added that she had got one too! I didn't ask but I am guessing that partly that was Hannah expecting her wonderful teacher to get one for all her good work too. (My twins are very good at sharing).

Han's focus teacher (a fantasitic, passionate and skillful teacher) and she are planning to spend some time together looking at it's uses in the class for Hannah. I had to tell them that we were already toying with the idea of getting her an itouch for her birthday - I can see that if it is going to get wide useage at school we might have to find the $$ for an ipad and leave the smaller more compact itouch for another year when she is older. Will have to look at the numbers though - that is one downside of having twins - on their birthday if Kit gets a dsi, Han an ipad and then they both want a party - it gets a bit expensive! and while we are by no means 'struggling' in comparison to others - we don't have much extra money - the mega mortgage and things for the twins including Hannah's weekly ST are where our 'extra' money tends to go... and while I am lucky to be able to work 4 days in 3 we are still down 25% of the wage I'd get if I could work full time...That is one of the reasons I have decided to withdraw from uni this semester - I am hoping to finish at least my postgrad certificate next year but to spend $1500 this semester as well as all the hours required to pass - I don't feel we can manage. The placement is subsidised so is a pretty reasonable cost but there is also a practicum requirement which disrupts my working life and means leave without pay.