A promise to myself / First day of school

It has been too long since I wrote anything here.  But I'm not going to worry about that right now.  I'm starting over again.  My kids have all gone back to school for the start of 4th grade and 2nd grade (WOW!  Where has the time gone?!?!?) and I'm getting back to doing what I was doing when I was happiest.  I'm going back to blogging, advocating and getting myself into a positive way of thinking.

It's not that I've been "UN"happy......quite the contrary.  But there's been something missing from my life lately that I need to take back.  And sharing my stories here really seems to help bring all of that back into perspective.

So......where was I.....oh, yeah.....first day of school.

This year is going to be a very interesting one for my family.  Firstly, we are INSANELY busy.  During the week (after school afternoons and evenings), Big Brother has soccer, hebrew school (as he begins to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah), and gymnastics.  Additionally, he plans on trying out for the talent show (which he has performed in the last 2 years), joining the chorus, beginning instrumental music (targeting trumpet as I think it suits him well) and (if we can swing it) joining the "Running Club".  Rachel will have 2 different dance classes, girl scouts (she's a Brownie now), and soccer (2x/week).  Simon's activities (as they currently stand) are all on the weekends.  All 3 kids will be attending Sunday School (Big Brother went last year, the twins will start this year) and Big Brother and Rachel will have soccer games on Saturdays.  Simon will have his dance class on Saturdays as well.  And, once a month, if we can manage it, they will head over to Home Depot to do "projects".

Dad and I made a realization yesterday as we were talking after breakfast.....a family dinner is a thing of the past during the week around here.  We will be able to pull it off on Friday evenings and periodically over the weekends but that's really it.   So we are trying to find other ways to make sure we spend quality family time together this year.  More on that as we figure it out.

But back to school.....

Big Brother is doing his own exciting thing this year....he's heading on the bus to the Middle School for math classes.  It's not as advanced as that sounds....it's combining 4th and 5th grade math into a single year so that they are ready for more as they get older.  They are doing this at the middle school because a small number of students from several schools are doing this together and this was an easy location for such a program.  He has never taken the bus to school before.  To say he's excited about it is a gross understatement.  This program will begin tomorrow.  He will have to catch the bus at the elementary school shortly after 7am (he doesn't normally get up until then) and he will be bused back to school in time for his elementary school day to begin.  He is very excited about going on the bus.  He's also excited about being a member of the school's patrol.  This is something that is only for the 4th and 5th grade.  It seems to be a mark of distinction and all the students seem to want to be invited to join.  When his name was called last year, he was a VERY happy boy.  His year will be interesting, to say the least.



Rachel and Simon are also back to taking the bus to school.  Simon's teacher last year strongly encouraged this.  Even though we live less than 1/2 mile to the school, having them come independently would do wonders for their day and really get them off on the right foot.  So, we agreed.  We waited for the bus today and they got on happily and (I learned from my spies at the school) they arrived with smiles and ready to begin the day.  I know very little first hand about Rachel's teacher this year, but she is working with the same 2 para-educators that she's been working with in the past.  I have been told that this teacher can set clearly defined limits which is something that Rachel needs.  If Rachel has a good first week, I'm positive it's going to be another VERY successful year for her.



Simon is a little bit more questionable.  He has been with the same teacher these last 2 years.  This year, he is in a fully-Grade 2 special education classroom.  And he's with a teacher he just met last Friday during the school open house.  This teacher appears to be very nice and seemed to interact well with Simon and has been filled in by his previous teacher with his many antics and idiosyncrasies.  But his progress is always more gradual and we'll have to wait and see what the year will bring.



But all 3 kids left for school this morning.  When they left, they were smiling, and I know at least 2 of them were smiling when they arrived.  I will be picking them up in just a little while (after I finish writing, although it won't be published until later) and I'll get to hear how the day went.  Hopefully, they will be all smiles still and ready to head back to school again tomorrow.

First Day of School, 2 Weeks Late

2 weeks ago, school started for us.  I became a mother to 2 first graders and a 3rd grader.

I was so excited for this.  I was so happy for them to get back into a routine.  And I needed the break.

Music Man decided the night before school started, that he didn't want to go back.  He seemed excited up until that point.  But in the end, he decided he wanted to stay home.  But we went to his closet and chose his clothes for the next morning.  That seemed to have done the trick.  All 3 kids went to bed excited for their new adventure.

Ballerina was up first in the morning.  She just couldn't wait to put on her skirt and show off her bling!



Big Brother was up soon after and he too wanted to go to school.  He was disappointed that it wasn't time to go quite yet, but he still had over an hour to wait.

Finally, Music Man woke up and was prepared to get ready for a new school year.  His twin sister really tried to drive the enthusiasm.



But finally it was time to head to the car.



Almost the entire school was gathering in the "All Purpose Room", lining up with their classes.  When the bell rang, they had a short "Monday Morning Meeting" and then were dismissed to their respective classrooms.

   

They got through their day.  And they had a good first day.  And, at the end, I was waiting for them and they were happy to be picked up!

 

And we finished off the day with a trip to The Little Gym of Germantown for Rachel's first Hip Hop class.  Immediately after class, they had a special "Welcome Back to School Party!"  What a great way to end the first day of school!!!!!

The Battle in my Head

Monday (tomorrow) is the first day of school.  Big Brother is starting 3rd grade and Ballerina and Music Man are entering 1st grade.  All 3 are still in the same school and I think all of them are looking forward to the return of routine.  And for the last week or so, we have been doing the normal "preparing" for another school year.

Before the end of last year, I had a conference with Music Man's teacher.  I knew he was struggling in most ways (non-academic) and I asked the question if he needed to repeat kindergarten.  I was wondering if he had the social maturity to advance with his classmates.  His teacher explained that he was definitely ready to move on to first grade and that she truly believed he was going to be successful. That year, her class was a combined kindergarten/first grade class (8 kindergarteners, 3 1st graders).  I followed up that first question if she thought she would keep Music Man in her class should she have a combined class again.  And she told me that she didn't believe so.  The way it was determined who would stay with her and who would move to the other teacher for that year indicated that Music Man would be moving on.  And, at the time, she wasn't sure if she would have any first graders in her classroom (she's basically a kindergarten teacher after all).

But as the year was about to end, she brought Music Man to the car and mentioned that it appeared that they were getting more kindergarteners for the Learning Center than one teacher could teach adequately.  In this 5 minute conversation, she indirectly suggested that she may keep Music Man in her class after all for first grade, should she have a combined class again.  She felt, at that time, that he may benefit with another year in her classroom (but he would still be a first grader).

On Thursday, she called me.  She wanted to inform me before I saw it through other means that she would be Music Man's teacher again this year.  When I first heard this, I was THRILLED.  This is a teacher that he knows and likes.  He understands what she expects from him and he already knows what he can get away with and when she will put her foot down (for the record, he can't get away with much of ANYTHING).  Her reputation is untouchable, and the reputation is well earned.  We saw a great deal of growth in him all year long and, despite still having many issues that we need to address, we felt he had a very successful year last year.  And they did this combined class just last year, so I knew that the teachers and staff were comfortable handling the transitions that are necessary (as the first graders are more integrated with the general education students than the kindergarteners).

But the more I think about it, the more I am concerned.  I'm still 10000% thrilled that she's his teacher, but I wonder about the thought process that made her keep him in her classroom.  He is very bright and more than satisfies the criteria to be a first grader.  That isn't in question.  But he is very big for his age (not just tall) and he will definitely stick out in this classroom of younger students.  Does he care?  Absolutely NOT.  He doesn't notice anything that has any social context to it.  From a social standpoint, he's probably closer to a 3 year old than a 6 year old.  He is very much an isolationist (if you can call a child by that description) and really has no desire to have friends or peer interactions.  He is a bit of a challenge with his behaviors and his phobias and the kindergarteners in the classroom may be better choices for his peers than the first graders that were in his class last year.

Once again, I need to learn to put my own perception of things to the side and try to see things from my child's point of view.  He will still do his thing and will be quite successful I have no doubt.  And 2 years with this teacher is a prize that I cherish.  I think that, once I see how things work in practice, I'll be more and more comfortable with this arrangement.