Until we got home and I unpacked his backpack, all Noah could tell me on the ride home was that the day was good, he liked it all, he sat with Owen and Cindy at lunch, they did reading and math. End of story. Noah!!!!! Momma needs DETAILS! So you can imagine the giant grin on my face when I discovered his teacher had them put to paper some details from the day. Thank you, Ms. Arnold!! :)
From it, I was able to pull a few more specific details about the day. For starters, it reads - P.E. Work. Recess. / Lunch. Rug. / Write. And from there I was able to solicit a few more things about the day. They are as follows: Ms. Arnold kept forgetting Sophie's name and calling her Chloe (which made me laugh b/c that is so something I would do ... associate those two names), Noah got on blue today (meaning Good Day) because he picked up some trash, at recess he saw Lawson from last year and played with Caleb, Caleb was shy at school, they did sorting in math, he has homework to find 5 things around the house about him, at PE they jumped, at recess it rained a little but they stayed outside, tomorrow he will still be in first grade, Mrs. Arnold was really nice.)
For the last half of Kindergarten I wondered and wondered why I never saw any of Noah's writing coming home. Yes, there was work he was doing, but no open-ended invented kindergarten spelling. I was dying to see what he had to say when he put pencil to paper. I was curious to see how he was prepared (or not) to use his letters to communicate besides copying things. It never really happened. Maybe that was on purpose as part of the progression from kindergarten to 1st. All I know is that it made my day in a big way to see some of Noah's first ever invented spelling. It is precious in my eyes and I am grinning ear to ear at it. Also grinning ear to ear at the start this year has gotten off to. :)
Yay for a fantastic first day in first grade!
I'm grinning with and for you. Precious.
ReplyDeleteWe're pulling out the first day of kindergarten photo for our girl to hold on in her first day of senior year pic. We'll also be doing pics and some remakes with her freshman brother (I have one of the cutest of them after getting dressed, eating, and then crashing back to sleep at the breakfat bar before heading off to the first day of school when they were little tykes).
*yikes. excuse all the poor grammar and spelling in that, I'm too lazy to go back and edit it.
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm so glad he has a good teacher this year. Tell him now that he's a big bad 1st grader he can show Claire the ropes :-)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to a glimpse of that memory lane, Amy!
ReplyDeleteHe looks forward to it, Cindy! (He was amuzed today when his teacher called his classmate Cindy, Ms. Cindy. He came home saying that now we both have a friend named Ms. Cindy)
amused, not amuzed :}
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you both like the teacher this year! Mrs. Arnold is great!! Will did several "creative spelling" things in Kindergarten...I'm so sad Noah didn't get to do that. It really is amazing though how different 1st grade is. They advance so much so quick!! oh, and they have weekly spelling tests!! eek I was really shocked about that! :) I hope he has a great year!!
ReplyDeleteI am still shocked every time I hear from you that he didn't bring home any of his work. And shame on the previous teacher for NOT having them write the way think to write. .... and for not sending any of their work home....how do you know what to help the kiddos work on if you don't even know what they are doing?! I'm still stunned by that fact...and hope you have a much better year. So are you still gonna homeschool for sure next year if this year goes well?????
ReplyDeleteWeekly spelling tests? That is JUST what Noah needs actually! I'm all for it. Might help a bit with how he pronounces things. :)
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, Emily. Work came home, but never anything very telling, you know? That's a good question about the homeschool. I told Josh that yesterday. That I worry I will love this year so much that I'll waffle in our decision to homeschool. But really, in the end, will still homeschool. The reasons we want to homeschool will still be there, great 1st grade experience or not. :) But still so, so, so glad that I can tell it's gonna be a great 1st grade. Didn't want to have to start homeschooling midyear this year, but was willing to if I had to.
I'm so happy that Noah had a great first day and so much that you're relieved and can rest easy. I don't have to tell you but I was simply amazed at Jacob's progression for spelling, reading and writing from the start to end of 1st grade. Soon enough, he'll be writing you love letter that will melt your heart into a puddle:-)
ReplyDeleteI am so glad Noah had a good day and that you "approve" of the teacher. As you know, first grade is such an important year.
ReplyDeleteI have really mixed emotions about my kids going to school and how to deal with teachers. I pray that I learn to relax if there is one that I disagree with in theory. :)I hope I remember how hard it is to be a teacher and cut some slack! It sounds like you have handled the "parent but used to be a dedicated teacher" role beautifully.
I'll be so interested to see how you transition into the parent role, Krissie, when dealing with teachers ... especially if you have the weird sort of feel I had all last year. Not gonna lie, it's a little surreal to walk in these shoes - on this end of the parent/teacher relationship. It has really changed how I know I will be whenever I land back in the classroom again.
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