We got a chance to say hi to J's kindergarten teacher today, and tell her that he's skipped to second grade. She's so sweet! Her face was very animated as she congratulated J and said that she had thought he might skip. She also expressed her frustration as a kindergarten teacher, when she recognized J's needs and talents, but the school really couldn't/wouldn't do anything for kids that young. I told her how we had to "work the system" to get him tested by claiming that we wanted him to skip first grade. Of course, we did have him skip first grade, but we hadn't even thought of skipping a grade until we had to do it to get J tested!
I understand her predicament better now, and we all love her even more. Z is looking forward to being in her class next year. That's highly likely if J stays at his current school, because siblings get priority and don't have to be drawn in the lottery. And Z is reading better than lots of kids can before kindergarten, so I'm sure he'll be placed in the top class, which is taught by our wonderful Mrs. G.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Second Week of Second Grade
J's first week of 2nd grade was just 3 days long because of Parent-Teacher Conferences. I thought it a good sign that, when I went in to wake him up, all I had to do was whisper, "It's time to get up and go to second grade!" and he'd pop out of bed with a smile on his face. His second week was all grins, too.
At his Parent-Teacher Conference, the teacher mostly caught me up to speed on how her classroom works. It was like a Back-To-School Night just for me. She mentioned that J really seems to fit in just great with the rest of the class. He is even right in the middle height-wise, too. He's made friends, and is a bit of a celebrity for now. We tried to tell him not to say anything about skipping a grade, because we don't want to make anyone feel bad, but the kids already knew. And they didn't have a problem with it at all. J said that when his special class teachers (such as gym and computers) asked why he was with a different class, the other kids would explain for him. His teacher said that there have been arguments about who gets to be J's "special buddy" to show him things in the classroom.
I was also very pleased when I spoke with his engineering teacher one evening at a church event. He said that he thought skipping was a good move, and while J seemed much more relaxed in his 1st grade class than he had been in kindergarten, he is even more social and relaxed in 2nd grade.
Because it was such a monumental decision for us to make, and because it's a life-changing decision, I fully expected bumps during J's transition. I was braced for him to come home from his first day exhausted and emotional. I mean, who wouldn't be exhausted from trying to learn a new class routine, meeting 20 new kids, and going to your first pull-out gifted class? But no, he was almost giddy with excitement when I picked him up. We still haven't hit any bumps. This transition has been super-smooth, better than I would have ever hoped for!
At his Parent-Teacher Conference, the teacher mostly caught me up to speed on how her classroom works. It was like a Back-To-School Night just for me. She mentioned that J really seems to fit in just great with the rest of the class. He is even right in the middle height-wise, too. He's made friends, and is a bit of a celebrity for now. We tried to tell him not to say anything about skipping a grade, because we don't want to make anyone feel bad, but the kids already knew. And they didn't have a problem with it at all. J said that when his special class teachers (such as gym and computers) asked why he was with a different class, the other kids would explain for him. His teacher said that there have been arguments about who gets to be J's "special buddy" to show him things in the classroom.
I was also very pleased when I spoke with his engineering teacher one evening at a church event. He said that he thought skipping was a good move, and while J seemed much more relaxed in his 1st grade class than he had been in kindergarten, he is even more social and relaxed in 2nd grade.
Because it was such a monumental decision for us to make, and because it's a life-changing decision, I fully expected bumps during J's transition. I was braced for him to come home from his first day exhausted and emotional. I mean, who wouldn't be exhausted from trying to learn a new class routine, meeting 20 new kids, and going to your first pull-out gifted class? But no, he was almost giddy with excitement when I picked him up. We still haven't hit any bumps. This transition has been super-smooth, better than I would have ever hoped for!
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