First Week Ends

The Big Boy Update: My son started school on Wednesday this week.   He has ten students in his class that are in the twenty-five student classroom.  There are two students in addition that are learning remotely, due to conditions that make is necessary to do so.   This isn't an elective option, but something that would make it necessary for the child to learn remotely.   The reasons are not discussed with the students or parents, rightly so. 

My son thinks both of his teachers are wonderful.  The assistant teacher, Allison, can kick the soccer ball farther than anyone and Michelle, his main teacher, is funny, but also very serious.   He likes all the students in his class, many of whom he's been in a class with at some time over the past seven years.  

Of the ten students, six of them are, "Fourth Years" meaning they're just starting out in Upper Elementary, a Montessori classroom that spans fourth through sixth grade.   It's a heavily weighted class for his level, due to many circumstances this year, COVID-19 being one of them.   It's nice to have upper classmen to look up to and take guidance from on work habits, maturity, etc.  Those four students will provide good role models for him.  I'm hoping to see a change in maturity at home as a result.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter's school last week was minimal, to say the least.   This week the students have more meetings online and more homework to turn in via Google Classroom.  She has three to four online meetings every day for instruction and asynchronous learning for the time between Google Meets.  

Aside from not being able to find and start meetings on the complexity that is a computer screen, my daughter is the master of her schedule and work.   She will set alarms so she's ready to go back to her desk just before the next meet and will alert us to get her in the meeting.   If her assigned work is on her desk when she gets there, she will complete it and let us know it's ready to be submitted.  

There is a lot of positivity from my daughter about this school year.   Last year things went well, but it was me in the room with her helping all day.   The scheduling and plan this year has been worked on very hard by teachers and administration, and it shows.   It's not designed for blind students, but my daughter doesn't seem to have a problem with things.   That and her VI teachers are getting us everything we need so she can be just like her peers.   I think that's important to her—being like her friends.