Meet the teachers

Back to school night was last night. It was the usual thing, twice as many parents as seats, crammed into those teeny chairs. The teacher talked a little about classroom procedures and schedules and gave us a packet full of information that most people probably won't read. But then she started talking about the academic portion of the evening. Darling and I commented later about how different Kindergarten is these days!

When we were in Kindergarten there was mostly play, some art projects, some playground time, snack time and then nap time. Nowadays kids are expected to be reading and writing and doing some arithmetic by the time they progress to second grade. Keep in mind that Kindergarten is not mandatory in our Commonwealth. The school district can basically set their own curriculum and decide what they will focus on. Some districts make it first grade part one, which is TOTALLY inappropriate from a developmental standpoint. Children at this age are in school to learn to socialize, to get used to rules and routines and to get a basic foundation and understanding of learning. These days districts are so concerned about the almighty dollar that they push things so early in order to ensure more children pass the standardized tests that often predict what type of funding they will receive from the state or federal level.

I am happy with our district and think that Bug Boy can handle it. He is fairly bright. He reads on a first grade level, knows his addition and subtraction facts, taught himself roman numerals and is teaching himself multiplication. He has an interest in foreign languages and geography. He has that hunger for learning that I had as a child. His area of focus (for me) are the socialization and emotional components that are essential in higher grades. He tends to lag in fine motor skills so coloring and cutting and the like are going to be even more important for him.

Bug Boy is staying for an extended day and has an enrichment/extra support class in the afternoons. His afternoon teacher is wonderful and we feel great about their expectations for him. We were able to walk around both rooms and look at his artwork and were able to pick it out without names due to the fact that we know our son exclusively uses red crayons and we know how he draws faces. He also made a paper doll of himself, complete with hair, and remembered to put the blonde streak in on his doll! So even his doll has piebaldism. Very cute!

I can finally let out the breath I've been holding for months and Darling and I now breathe a collective sigh of relief. Bug Boy has come a long way from the anxious and frightened preschooler he was. He even told me he doesn't need his headphones at school anymore! That in itself is a miracle!