Parent teacher conference

 This last week was parent teacher conference.  It was a crazy busy night with my husband and I making it  to the school by the skin of our teeth.  In fact, while we were waiting in line to see a teacher, we got a text telling us that the scouting activity that night of which my husband is a part, had been moved up....by an hour and a half.  So,  I finished visiting the last teachers solo.
It was a good night to be parent.  I got comments like:

"Oh, how I love having that boy in my class."

"He is so polite and always helpful."

"I think he is gifted."

"He is such a positive influence in class."

"He is getting 104% in class so far."

Yes, when I get down as a parent, I am going to go back over these comments made by Chance's teachers :)

I would say the school year is going well for Chance so far.  Physics is a class he has to focus in on for that intense science  terminology that comes up, but I talked to his teacher and she is willing to work with Chance and make sure he understands what is being asked on the test questions.  She also has a monthly spread sheet that lists what they are studying on each day.  How awesome is that?  Now we can know at home what is coming up and prepare him with vocabulary if needs be. His teacher said she would email me the calendar each month.

I was very excited to hear his speech teacher say she thinks he is gifted.  Speech.....as in getting up and talking in front of people.  I always hoped that Chance would acquire this skill and be comfortable talking in front of people despite the fact that he is deaf.  He has to give impromptu speeches in the class and think up things on the fly.  His teacher says he is doing really well and does not seem nervous at all.  She told me he gave a speech last week about animal cruelty and used the fact that he has animals and that they need to be treated with love and kindness.

Wow. We could not be happier with Chance's progress.  Go Chance!

To use or not to use that phrase

Chance is a little bit late with the meaning of some words.  For years this worked in our favor on the playground because Chance didn't pick up on all of those naughty little potty words that kids say.  We knew his hearing was really picking up when he started coming home with words that other kids had known for years, and his deafness had protected him against.

Jokes about farts?  Chance didn't pick up on those for a looooooong time.

The various terms that float through childhood when referring to a certain male anatomical part? Chance had no idea.

Chance has been introduced to many of the words that all the other kids know by now.  But every once in a while, he will use a word, that we would really rather he not, and upon investigation we discover that it is a bit like that line in the movie, "A Princess Bride," when someone says," I do not think that word means what you think it means."

So it was when Chance walked into the living room and said to his sister, "screw you."

I was sitting in the same room so I knew there had been no altercation or escalation that had led to an incident where one might say that phrase to someone.

I asked Chance, "What did you say?"  He repeated it back to me with a question...."screw you?"

I asked him what he thought that word meant.

"Dang it or something like that." Chance replied.

Not quite the meaning of that phrase.   I was glad that Chance was off on his definition and had not intentionally been using such a phrase on his sister.....or anyone else for that matter.

I told Chance that "dang it" was not what that phrase meant and that it was a phrase we don't want to use.

Flash forward to the next day when I am picking up the boys from school.  Chance got into the car and cheerfully said,"Mom, I came up with another word to use instead of screw you."

"What's that?"  I asked.

"Curse you."  Chance replied happily.

Well, not as bad as the first phrase but not a perfect substitute either.

The saga will continue over at our house while Chance tries to find the right phrase for the meaning he is trying to convey.

Chance starts 8th grade

Chance started school this past week.  He has a full schedule.  He is taking physics, P.E., choir, a computer class, speech, history and English and he is taking 9th grade math honors. Since his math class is a high school math class it actually counts on his high school transcript. At this rate, Chance will graduate high school having taken calculus. Chance has one of those engineering type brains.

He also practices soccer every Monday and Thursday after school plus weekly games.

And he helps to plan activities and lead his youth group at church.

Oh, and his mowing business is still going strong as people still need him to take care of their yards.

Chance is a busy boy.

He also manages to make movies with his friends in between everything else that he does.

This past week Chance got a nice surprise.  Two of his friends who spent years with him attending the School for the Deaf toured his school to see if they wanted to attend.

Chance attends a charter school and there is a waiting list to get in.  Apparently, his friends names came up. Chance didn't even know they were on the waiting list.

Chance is so excited about the prospect of having some of his deaf friends attend his school.  These boys have been friends with Chance since he was 3 or 4 and the opportunity to be in the same school again would be great. All of them wear cochlear implants and have been attending neighborhood or charter schools for years now.

Both boys are a year behind Chance in school, but they would all be in junior high which means they would see each other all the time, and possibly have some classes together. Then there is lunch.  They would all have the same lunch time.

Update:  Chance's two friends are not going to attend his school this year but are looking to attend next year. Sigh, Chance is bummed but many of his friends from last year are still at the school so he still has an active social life :)