Back To School

Last night was back to school night for Emily. We had a great time seeing her teacher, Miss Lisa. Emily has been with this teacher for Kindergarten, two sessions of summer school and now has her for 1st grade. She is absolutely awesome and in tune with the individual needs of her students. It was encouraging to see the amount of work Emily has already done in just these first 3 weeks of school. It is also scary how much they expect 1st graders to learn. I never remember needing to know as much as they do when I was in 1st grade. This year is very pivotal for Emily academically as we are pretty confident she will be worked out of the SBJC program and into the Lodi school system next year. There is a lot of learning to be done and so far I have been surprised with Emily's abilities and eagerness to do the work...unassisted. The class atmosphere from last year to this year has changed because their teacher is working on them being more independent workers, not relying on individual instruction and involvement. Basically, give directions once and see who is able to function independently. This is showing here at home because Emily doesn't want as much help from me with homework. After I give the directions, she usually tells me to get my own homework. We did meet Ms. Rocha, the 1st grade teacher for the mainstream class. She is very pleasant and willing to work with the students and parents. She gave us several learning websites that they use there at school for their smart boards for the kids to be able to do at home. Please keep Emily in your prayers this school year. Pray that not only is she able to do the work but grasp it. Also, that she will continue to love school even though "its a lot of work" (her words). Please keep Dave & I in prayer as we work with her here at home and for guidance on the next step for the year to come. I know your saying its only September but we need God to open our eyes to what is best as she goes through this year and into the next. Here's to a great year!!!