V's Fall Summary

We had P-T conferences over the last couple weeks. It's funny how as parents we imagine our kids at school as they are with us. I'm always left speechless when the conferences come to an end, though. Mrs. Berg, V's language arts teacher, shared the above picture with me. Mrs. Berg has a mentally disabled older sister who lives a facility in CA. When Mrs. Berg shared with her students at the beginning of the year, Vanessa and some of her friends approached Mrs. Berg after class to ask if they could write her sister letters. I remember Vanessa sharing a letter with me and I was touched by her kindness, but I didn't realize it was unsolicited and continues until Mrs. Berg shared with me.

Vanessa is having a wonderful year. All 4 content teachers get her spunky and inquisitive personality. Her classmates do too. After a recent high-energy after-school playdate, and I was obviously feeling a little tired, Vanessa's friend Charlotte leaned over to me and said "It's because Vanessa is almost always happy. Not everyone is as happy as her." Wow . . . Charlotte was right. I was thankful for the reminder -- it helped to put me in check for snuffing her light. But even though, another grumpy classmate has been giving her a hard time for being so bubbly all the time. It's opened up a lot of discussions about being herself and not changing for anyone.

Last weekend Vanessa shared a saying she came up with "Life can be like sour apples -- sometimes it's bitter." Feel free to quote her. :-)

I also learned at her conferences that apparently Vanessa wrote an opinion piece on being homeschooled. It had her teachers concerned and fearing I was pulling her out. At first I didn't get their concern, since Vanessa wonders and talks about it often, but then I started to piece it all together and reassured them it was not a part of a plan, at least right now, although never out of the question depending on her needs in the future. Her teachers sighed with relief and shared that they can't afford to lose such a vital piece to their classrooms.

Although sometimes she rushes too fast because she's certain she already knows, Vanessa is eager and excited about all of these experiences. It's fun and I hope that, unlike me, she will continue to flourish in her schooling years.

It is also worth noting here that Vanessa was chosen last month to represent her school in training and act as a mentor regarding the R-Factor. Her teachers, past and present,  principal, counselor, and classmates nominated her. I've heard her put it into action and demonstrate for others.

I've also been impressed by all of her initiative in Girl Scouts. She spent last Saturday going door to door for 2 hours collecting food for the food pantry. She and her troop took the food to the Hilliard Food Pantry where they spent another couple of hours organizing and stocking shelves. So thankful for all these opportunities!