Anna’s Life

My daughter who has some learning differences has really come a long way this school year.  I am so proud of my daughter.  Learning doesn’t come easy for her.  We changed schools this year because the school her physical therapist recommended simply was not helping her advance at all after 2 years.  I firmly believe that they just gave her busy-work last year to keep from having to deal with her learning differences.  This is unfortunate since that school advertises that they specialize in learning differences.

However, our new school, Hickory Valley Christian School is a blessing.  The teachers truly care about the children and their well-being.  My daughter who was supposed to be ready for 3rd grade (according to our previous school) which I knew she was definitely not ready was held back in 2nd grade by us this year.  She was barely on a 1st grade level.

Her reading level just 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the school year was at first grade 2nd month.  At just five weeks into the school year, I am happy to say she had advanced more than an entire grade level in reading.  She is now reading at 2nd grade 4th month! This is all thanks to an awesome reading teacher who found a program that suited my daughters learning needs — the Linda Bell-Mood program or LIPs program.

I received an email a couple of months back from my daughter’s math teacher about her amazing achievements since school began this year.  Math is a very difficult subject for my daughter.  The wonderful math teacher uses a specialized program for all students to help understand math concepts.  This really clicked for my daughter.  She started the year without being able to add or subtract (basic kindergarten and first grade math). 

The teacher gave my daughter a rising second grader math test today and she scored over 85% correct! Hooray! I am so proud of her achievements! She can now add and subtract, do some carrying and borrowing, and count by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 6’s, and 9’s! She was even able to do some word problems!

Now that we are past the halfway mark for the school year, at the last teacher conference, I learned that my daughter’s reading level has jumped from a 1.2 in August to a 3.2 level in February! That is TWO grade levels she has jumped in only 6 months!  She is reading on a 3rd grade level and chapter books at that.  She has made such a tremendous jump.  She also has taken more AR reading tests than anyone in the school.  She got a reading award too for surpassing her reading goal.

Since we are past the halfway mark, she is now doing multiplication, some division, fractions, and percentages in math! Granted, it is difficult for her and she tends to have short term memory problems and we have to go over and over things.  But, it is amazing.  Her memory sometimes makes me think of the movie “50 First Dates” sadly.  Hopefully with repetitiveness we can overcome her lack of short term memory. 

She may be actually working at grade level next fall or even a bit above it which would be a first for her.  She has gained self confidence too.  It is great to see her blossom.

I cannot say enough nice things about this school! Hickory Valley Christian School is the best school we have found in our area hands down.  These teachers CARE about students and whether or not they are actually learning.  We couldn’t be happier.

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