Carver's testing

Okay, long overdue: Carver's testing went great. In many ways better than we could have hoped. Mostly because he wasn't traumatized by it in any way. As a matter of fact, he has asked several times now when he gets to go do it again. His overall intellectual functioning skills were at the 97th percentile which is considered superior to very superior. I don't really know how this relates to IQ exactly because the test that he took is for 6-7 year olds, not 4 year olds and he maxed out several portions of it. The school psychologist took the attitude that the test was meant to determine if he was ready for more than standard kindergarten, not really how high he could read. It confirmed what I had always felt about how unusual Carver was and left me feeling that his gaps and shortcomings are easily repaired. They have suggested that we work with him between now and September on certain things like motor skills (holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, coloring in the lines). But I guess the most important thing is that the school strongly recommends that he skip Kindergarten and go directly to first grade. Kind of like playing monopoly. I walked out of the discussion feeling incredibly proud of him for doing so well, and them somewhat silly for being proud of who he is. All of the parenting books suggest rewarding kids for effort, but there is very little effort involved here. This is just who he is, and I guess I expected no less. I have reservations about skipping a grade, but I am convinced that here, at least, it is the best thing for him. I worry about future issues that will come up, but I'm trying to take it one year at a time.

And, I worry about Syarra with a Sept. birthday. At 2.3 years younger than Carver, she could end up being 4 grades behind. I don't want that for her. And I guess that sometimes I still worry that she doesn't get the attention and support that Carver always did. I have been following the story of the octuplets like watching a train wreck. I am so sad for all of their children. Not only because I believe their mother is mentally unstable, but I can imagine what the future holds for them and I know that every child deserves more.

Letter to Grandma Joni and Grandpa Morrey

Carver planned the attached drawing and wanted to mail it to his grandparents with the explanation below:



Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

I was thinking about you and wanted to send you my new project. The A and the purple E, they trusted each other, but A was the good guy and E was the bad guy. So the A and the E went out in the forest to have a picnic. But then, after a while, the A went home and he forgot to get the E. And the E is lost there, in the forest. And apparently, the top was magic. And then the E went in water and he cried about going in water. Why did he cry about going in water? And know who that was? It was the E. We never cry about it. Going in water. That's the A who said, "When he went in water, he didn't cry about water." He just kept cutting and cutting until the ground broke apart. The A and the E lost the E. And know where the E went? The E went in the hole, and the A was smart enough to stay out. And then the E apparently knew where the A went and the E climbed back out to see the A. And then when the A saw the E, the E fell back into the hole and got hurt. And the E, when he came back out, he was a good guy like the A. The bad guy turned into an A. That's the end.

Love,

Carver

recited by Carver, typed by Alrica