grade 1

it's official, gabriel is in grade 1!  even though school started last week, it hasn't felt real until now.  with his kindergarten teacher working on gradual entry for the new K kids, the now grade 1's were shuffled among the grade 7 teachers and the EA's at the school. so the past week has been a mash-up of a (tiny) bit of education, and a LOT of playtime (they even had access to the strongstart classroom in the afternoons, and the school watched the Lego movie on friday).

meanwhile, the K teachers were pulling double-duty with gradual entry, parent interviews, and classroom assignments for the new K's and the now 1's. our K teacher tried to be open with us during the past week about class assignments.  she did warn us there could be a K/1 class and for parents to think if their child would be appropriate there - basically it could be an opportunity for quieter kids to take a leadership role for the new K's and development their confidence. a 1/2 split may not be appropriate for some kids, as being around older children may be overwhelming or intimidating to them.  specifically she thought gabe would be a consideration for the K/1 class, but after discussing the situation with my mom (who was a 1/2 teacher) she opened my eyes to the potentially negative consequence...because gabe is a follower, he could regress and start behaving like a K kid. it's more beneficial for gabe to be around older kids who can be role models and show how "big boys" act.  so tiger mom in me immediately wrote an email to the teacher indicating my strong preference for the 1/2 class.

lesson learned, parent input can be received in the opposite tone. gabriel is officially in the K/1 class.  all the reasons i listed for him to be in a grade 1/2 class, she took the opposite approach and thinks he would thrive in the K/1 class.  obviously the teacher and principal see something in him that i don't (yet). being in the K/1 class was also part of the solution that i requested he be separated from a couple of his former classmates (for negative situations that came to my attention over the summer). i've talked 1:1 w/the teacher and also had a meeting with the principal (and they've talked to each other without me), so they are fully aware of my concerns.  after the first day of class, gabe reported that he only played with maxwell (a K kid).  believe me, i was not impressed.  so he and i talked about which kids are grade 1 friends, and that he should get to know them more. i am also pleased to see the principal taking an active step and he has checked in on gabriel this week and has informed me that gabriel is playing with the other grade 1 kids (both in class and on the playground).

we're only a few days into the school year, and from what i've heard from gabriel, there's been a lot of carpet and center time, gym time, but not a lot of pencil-to-paper learning.  i'm probably not getting all of the information out of him, so i like to talk to the mom's in the other classes to see what their grade 1 kids are up to...so far, the kids are all tight-lipped (fine. nothing. i don't remember) and not divulging information.  social-emotional conferences are next week (already!) so i'll get in the class with the teacher and see what's going on.

in the meantime, i've got gabriel working on a journal at home (just one sentence that he comes up with about his day) so he can practice his printing, as well as keeping his memory fresh cuz i'm tired of the i-don't-knows when i ask him what he did at school.  and we also have kumon to keep us busy.  swim lessons start up at the end of october, and we're in discussions about signing up for karate/jiu jitsu later this fall.  we'll see what happens!