Doing So Well

As most of you know, Cory has been attending Sylvan Learning Centers. He started off the summer by stepping foot into another form of education! Cory has struggled with math since starting 2nd grade and we have tried many different techniques to help fix them problem. We tried and tried the whole year thru and could never figure out what the problem was or find a way to fix it. His school here in Virginia gave us the opportunity to enroll Cory into Summer school. It was completely optional...we opted out! I thought that in summer school Cory would not get enough one on one attention nor would he learn enough about the subject he was struggling with, instead he'd learn about all school subject whether or not he was struggling. I did some research and looked into Sylvan. I had always seen the commercials and thought that might be good for Cory!! When we first took him in he was given a diagnostic test to see where his knowledge and udngerstanding of math was; to see what the problem was exactly that was holding him back. We found out that one of the main problems was Cory had trouble understanding some of the words used in math (ie. sum, equivalent, etc) and because of that he struggled a lot with word problems or being asked a question orally which is how things were taught in California. His levels on the test were all basically that of a 1st grader!!! I was shocked but then again I wasn't. I knew something was really wrong and this all just proved it.

Well, Cory has been attending Sylvan all Summer (36 hours total) and they gave him another test this past week. I asked Cory the day of the test how he thought he did. He said he thought he did good. I asked him did you guess or did you try your hardest? He said he tried his hardest! I got called into the office today while dropping him off because Dawn wanted to show me the results...I was nervous, LOL!! Felt like I was getting results back on a test I had done!! Much to my surprise...Cory did AWESOME!!! This 2nd test was one level higher than the last test 2 months ago. I'll break it down as best as I can...

**In computation:

June 3rd test-- Cory's knowledge was equivalent to a 1st grade level!

Aug. 11th test-- Cory's knowledge is now at a 3rd grade level!!

**In Concepts & Application:

June 3rd test-- Cory was very close to a 2nd grade level.

Aug. 11th test-- Cory is now a little past the 4th grade level!!

**In Total math (knowledge of the entire subject altogether):

June 3rd test-- Cory was at a 1st grade level with some understanding of 2nd grade problems.

Aug. 11th test-- Cory has now reached the 4th grade level!!

Dawn says that with these scores he should have no problem holding B's in school!!! Cory barely passed math last year (in my opinion) and to know that he can now actually sit down and do a problem without having a breakdown means the world to me!!! When we first started Cory at Sylvan we hoped to have him finish with being 6 months ahead of the 3rd grade level...he's passed that goal and we are soooo proud of him!!! He's given up a lot this summer and now he sees it paying off!!!

Happy Days

Caiti has this thing she likes to do on the swings and she calls it "the bump". Cory will be swinging on his swing and she wants me to pull her off to the side and then let her go so Cory and her bump into eachother, haha!! They have so much fun with it and it's one of my favorite things to watch because their laughter makes everything wonderful!! I think we sat out there for about 30 minutes on the swing, doing the bump! I love happy days like this!

Tiger Strong

We thought for sure that once Cory was introduced to all the gear he had to wear for football that he would not want to play anymore. We couldn't have been more wrong!! He loves the gear and loves getting ready for practice everyday! He has taken to the game rather well. He is still learning a lot and is a bit timid on some of the plays but for the most part he is doing great!!! He has been placed in two positions....fullback and linebacker. His favorite thing to do is just tackle people, haha! Never thought Id see the day!!

My Lil' Chefs

The kids have been bugging me to let them make a recipe out of their cookbook. So last weekend I gave in and the kids got to bake! It turned out to be so much fun!! They had such a blast pouring in all the ingredients, mixing and licking the bowl! All I did was measure out what they needed and put it in the oven. Caiti did most of the pouring in and Cory did most of the mixing. However, they did get a turn doing a little of everything. They worked together so well!!

Here it is ready to go in the oven...Ready to eat...

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup HERSHEYS cocoa, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups hot water

Whipped Topping

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping.

*makes about 8 servings*

prep time: 10 minutes

bake time: 35 minutes

cool time: 15 minutes

Another Day on the Water

We took another family adventure out on the boat and this time Suzi got to join us!! She was so much fun to watch on the water!! Her little personality showed thru so much!! She has never really been "swimming" before. Besides the bath she has not been in water. She got into the water and wanted right back on the boat!! The whole time I had her in there she kept her eyes focused on the back of the boat. She kept clinging on to me. It was like having another child with us, haha! I let her try it out for about 5 minutes and when I put her back on the boat she was winded!! Old age is catching up with her, haha! The rest of the day she found different spots on the boat to just lay down and soak up the sun (her favorite thing to do). After swimming around in the water Jay wanted to drive the boat around to see new spots. Suzi was not a fan of the high speeds, haha! She nuzzled her face down into me and just laid there! We enjoyed having her with us today!!

This is where Suzi got scared and snuggled Mommy... So cute!

So this may be our last outing on the boat until next Spring. Jay is leaving for a course in N. Carolina for 7 weeks. Once he gets back the temps will be cooling off a bit and soon we'll have to "Winterize" and "ShrinkWrap" our boat. Wierd stuff!!

Fair with Friends

After a morning full of debate we decided to head out to the Fair and meet some of our friends for a good time! I'm glad we did...the kids had a blast!! Riding the rides with their friends, playing games and winning prizes!! We didn't eat much of the fair food because we had plans to hit up Joes Crab Shack for dinner! We really enjoyed the day with our friends and are glad they invited us to meet up with them!