Emily's First Day & Week of School

Although she wasn't happy summer was over, Emily was excited to get back to school. Originally I was a little concerned because at the end of last year there was talk of there being only two second grade classes with 20 children in each classroom for this school year. This is after she was in a class of 15 in first grade. Then, I found out that the teacher, Mrs. Manno, who is primarily used in second grade for special ed/IEP students is pregnant with her fourth child. Well, we got notification that the teacher selected for Emily was Mrs. Manno. Emily was very excited because she really wanted her. In first grade, Emily's class mainly interacted with Mrs. Manno's class so she was very familiar with her. When we got to school for the first day, we found out that over the summer 16 additional second graders were added to the school (Catholic school closings) so there were 3 second grade classes. Well that eased my mind somewhat - there are still 19 kids in her class. I did speak quickly with the principal about the teacher going on maternity leave and he reassured me that the substitute coming in will be able to adjust to the class. In the past, he has proven that he is very in tune with the kids and places them in classrooms where they flourish, so we are feeling very comfortable at this point. Also, we think it is important to experience a little bit of an "imperfect" setting in order to see how Emily responds.

So, her first day was great....she loves her teacher, loves second grade. They did a getting acquainted game. When we met the teacher at the end of the day, she told us she heard all about our cruise, that it was just my birthday and I am 43. I laughed and told her that Emily is very "informative".

Homework has been going very well. Emily is more eager to complete it and it seems like less than last year at this point.

Unfortunately, I am not able to see her teacher every day as Emily comes down to Matthew's dismissal door so I don't have to be in two places at once. However, I went this Friday to check in with her and she said Emily is doing just great. She is eager to get her work done, is liked by all her classmates and is very creative. I was able to tell her a little of Emily's previous schooling and how she repeated first grade last year. She is going to let me know if she sees any areas we need to do extra work with Emily. On the 21st, we have Back to School night so we will be able to speak with her a little more in depth but so far things seem to be going very well. Here's to a smooth and successful year!