I got my weekly progress report emailed to me on Monday. This one was a little different from the others in that it actually posted reading, spelling, and math scores. J is doing quite poorly in reading. See, they have this program they do here (new from the old school's program that I liked quite well) called "Red Dot Book" where they bring home a book or two each night of their choosing, so long as it has a red dot on the spine. The next day they are tested over the book(s) to test comprehension. They must get 100 points by the end of the year, each book being worth 1 point. As of Monday J had 6 points. This is (I feel) mostly because she has been bringing home these books that even a fourth grader would struggle to comprehend. I can't remember the title, but one book in particular still sticks out with me that she brought home a few weeks ago about a Native American Legend. Even while reading it to her (three times total!) I kept thinking, who the hell allowed her to check out this book?! sure enough, the results of her test were a score of 4/10. Quite frankly I was pretty darn proud she got FOUR of the points!
So, since Monday, I have been attempting to get with her teacher after school (since I was not given any other means of contact with her...but that annoyance is for another time, another post) in order to try to discuss with her some plans of action to help J improve in this area.Today I finally got my chance. We determined that she obviously needs a little more direction while in the library choosing books. Not to say that they need to pick them out for her, but only that she needs to be steered into the area that books more appropriate for her age are at.
    J's teacher also brought it to my attention that she is really struggling with attention. Which tells me that the meds are no longer doing what they are supposed to be doing. You can guess how pleased I am with this news. Her teacher (Mrs. G) did tell me how much she supports me in that I would really rather not up her dosage if I don't have to. It was quite nice to hear that coming out of a teacher's mouth. I went on to tell her a bit about our journey last year in trying out other methods of treatment before giving in to medicine. It felt so good to hear that she was impressed/supporting in that we didn't just jump on the Ritalin bandwagon without hesitation. Mrs. G then went on to SHOW her support by saying she would start tracking when J is at her worst and see if there is a correlation in time, situations, etc. I told her how helpful that would be and thanked her enthusiastically. I really wasn't very "sure" about this teacher, but I'm beginning to feel like maybe she's all right after all.