I am pleased to announce that all the kids passed their dental cleanings with no cavities.

This includes Thumper.

*whew*

All four kids had cleanings today – Thumper with his amazing dentist this morning, and the three older kids with Dr. S this afternoon.  And thanks to the extended school day and this appointment being made six months ago, the Webmaster came to the rescue by taking the older kids to the dentist while I stayed with Thumper at speech therapy.

It’s a team effort, people.  But when we get the news of no cavities and all is well, it pays off.

If I hear “how many more days of school are left?” from the two older boys, I might throw something.

The answer, of course, is NOT ENOUGH.

Also not helpful – Tad’s English teacher decided he was done with weekly homework (the reading logs and the “Word of the Week” worksheet in particular), but Rerun’s teacher did give him a new reading log.  Rerun burns with the injustice of it all.

For the record – thanks to the snow, the last day of school is June 24th, which gives us only 4 weekdays off to prepare for the summer schedule.  Kids won’t know what hit ’em.

Thumper is what I call “functionally nonverbal,” which is a term I use for him.  It means that he can respond to questions verbally, and it has gotten clearer and easier, but it takes a lot of work because speaking is not a default function for him.

But Thumper can read.

He just started sight-reading out of the clear blue when he was four, and between sight words, books he has memorized on the iPad, and lots of repetition, Thumper really can read.  Not fluidly, but he can read most every word in an age-appropriate book.

The catch is finding a book that we don’t have on the iPad for him to read, because he’s memorized them all.

So, I had him read “Go Dog, Go!” to me yesterday to earn some iPad time (hey, his brothers have to have all their homework done before they get any Xbox time), and he knocked it out of the park.

Now, if he can only turn that brainpower into constructing complete sentences in speech…

Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of D-Day.  I would love to see the beaches for myself someday, but until then, seeing the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. five years ago will have to suffice.

The speeches and ceremonies yesterday were incredibly moving.  Take the time to watch the coverage if you can.