School Nights

It's been back-to-back school events this week, just like last September.  Tuesday found us at the annual Pajama Night, with bedtime stories; Bud and I were again readers.  Separately.  He read Grumpy Cat, Please Mr Panda, A Penguin Story, and We are in a Book (Elephant and Piggy.)  Several people told me he did an awesome job reading and doing the voices very enthusiastically; he is always so proud to go read to the "little kids."  I dress up as a colonial lady, representing the historic house, and try to read museum- or history-related books, including Homespun Sarah, Ella's Trip to the Museum, A Night at the Museum, and, with a tenuous connection, Extra Yarn.  I like reading to the kids, who can never figure out what I'm dressed as!

It was our first time in the new school.  Bud and Sis's old school transferred to a new building--a phenomenal new building with lots of light, open spaces, and colorful artwork, including a large "Be Kind" mural.  It's a little bittersweet that their old school isn't their school anymore, but we were proud of our town having such a wonderful building.  It even has heated floors!

This week was also Open House, which I attended alone while Mama took Bud to kung fu and Sis along with them.  Of course, it was the same three teachers as last year, only they have a different one for homeroom now.  The Reading/Writing teacher spoke about all the strategies she's teaching them for analyzing and critiquing readings and for creating well-reasoned, persuasive and expository writing--and the interdependence of the two (a Common Core focus)--all while stressing independence and personal responsibility in their homework and organization.  She likes to use historical fiction such as The Witch of Blackbird Pond and My Brother Sam is Dead, as well as essays by Peter Jennings, Ken Burns, and the like.  She thinks the kids are amazing but wants to be sure to challenge them so they learn, though she worries about the stress they put on themselves.  The Math teacher said much the same thing:  the kids are bright but put so much pressure on themselves to understand concepts right away--sometimes even after only one example!  She did say, however, that they are starting sixth grade math--long division, this week--and that it was the easiest time she's ever had teaching it in her long career (she was a middle-school math teacher before) and she thinks that is because of the Common Core approach to breaking down concepts so that they understand the theory and not just memorize it.  (I know people bitch a lot about Common Core, so this was gratifying to hear.)  Finally, we met with the Social Studies/Science teacher, who talked about how the units are the same in their class as the other fifth grades, but they either a). can get through material faster or b). go more in-depth with their studies and experiments.  They'll be doing the senses--not just hearing, sight, taste, etc--but the brain functions behind the obvious, plus the solar system and other topics, and a trip to the science museum; they alternate these with the Age of Exploration, including the early colonial period and the Revolutionary War (see connection to reading and writing?  One is a colonial novel, the other, Revolutionary)--then they come to the historic house!  It sounds like it will be a great but busy and challenging year; already, I've seen an increase in the homework and the encouragement of more independence with assignments.  I also chatted with some of the specials teachers--the art teacher who is having them do optical illusions for their annual art fundraiser; the PE teacher who just had them do "pacer" tests for endurance and speed; the music teacher who is also in charge of the chorus Sis and Bud are joining; and finally the Spanish teacher, who suggested they watch the Spanish-language Sesame Street for practice.

It's been a long week, mainly because the first three weeks of school were incomplete.  This is their first five-day week.  And we're all feeling it, even with one more day to go.  The weekend will be mostly busy (most of are weekends are, now), but it will still be a nice break from school.

Open House

New building.  New staff and teachers.

Same PTA.  Same parents.

Last night was our first Open House at the new building, where we talked and listened for two hours with various teachers and friends.  The auditorium presentation was a pep rally, laughable really as the principal and assistant principal said more than once that there were no problems with the buses.  Well, the bus company and I would disagree since my kids are getting home 25 minutes later than last year, on the same route.  And while I appreciated the intro to the Common Core, there couldn't be much substance (I'm studying the Common Core and its issues and am not ready to weigh in with an opinion yet.)

The grade-level meeting was good, with the teachers laying out the different curricula and goals.  Connecticut has signed onto the Core, but we don't know if the kids we'll be taking the test in our town this spring.  New spelling program--which they're slowing down on some because it's harder on the kids than they expected (I was surprised both of mine got them all right, truthfully; they were  hard words.)  The writing program is the same and thus familiar from last year.  And math.  Oh, math.  That's new. I forget what else, except Sis's teacher was talking about the advanced words the kids know and mentioned one student who used forlorn, and she looked right at me.  Yep, checked with Sis today--she'd used forlorn to answer how a person in a story would feel.  Good for her!  Proud mom moment.

I did have a question about what the kids miss when they're pulled for strings practice.  And basically it can be anything . . . and the child is responsible for what she misses.  "How can a third grader learn what he's missed?" I asked.  Not much of an answer besides it's challenging to schedule pull-out times.  Oh, well.  I'm sure it works out.

Then we went to the classrooms, with Mama going to Sis's first and me to Bud's, as per their requests.  There were unnamed descriptors on the desks for us to guess where our child was.  Pretty easy with sushi, kung fu, and Percy Jackson as well as bunny, vet, and Harry Potter!  Both teachers were upbeat and kind, taking a moment with us.

We also met the specials teachers--both strings teachers, both music teachers, the art teacher, and the PE teacher.  With the music teachers who will be teaching recorder we talked about how Bud loves musicals.  One of the teachers promised to see if he can write "Music of the Night" for recorder.  And I told them I could still play "Star Wars" on the recorder 35 years later!  With the art teacher, we discussed Kandinsky and my museum career--and apparently today she called Sis "Sis Kandinsky!"  He's the first artist they're studying.  And I asked the PE teacher why they don't go outside--it's a time issue to corral them outside--"and we can do everything inside."  I guess.  We only had PE inside when it rained.

And that was the night.  Two hours of school.  Should be a good year.

Old Hat

Mama and I are getting good at this Open House thing.  We skipped the principal's speech (been here, heard that; besides, if it's important, they send it home in a newsletter.  No disrespect to the principal, whom we really like, but it was crowded and warm with no place for me to pace in there) to chat with our friends the nurse and kindergarten teachers, as well as a few PTA moms.  It was good to see everyone after the summer, everyone exchanging hurricane stories.

We like the first-grade teacher.  She seems to really get kids--what to expect, how they develop, their funny foibles. (Mama Teacher, she seemed a slightly older version of you!) She gave a presentation, including classroom schedule, management, discipline, and curriculum, all of which was interesting (like why she has them do writer's workshop in felt tip pen--because they don't obsess about erasing or sharpened points!).  Afterwards, we cornered her--politely, when everyone else was done--and asked about twin-ness, left-handedness, homework frustrations, lunch tickets (sigh).

And she showed us the perfect twin thing:  today, Sis and Bud, without consulting each other, wrote the exact same story during writer's workshop!!  It was about how there had been a fly in the classroom and the teacher had written, as part of the rules, "There are no flies in first grade!!  Buzz Buzz Buzz!"  And then it left.  Really, what are the odds that they would write the same story?  Must be twin telepathy.

Going Back to School

When I was a student, I loved Open House night. Gommie would go to open house, take notes on my teachers, and come home to tell me all about whom she liked, what she learned, my projects she saw. I really liked the idea of her sitting in my desk, following my schedule, giving her opinion on my teachers. But usually, this night came later in the fall, when my classrooms were full of pictures and book reports and science projects. And the teachers had something concrete to say about me (always good, of course!).

Tonight, I attended my first open house as a parent. And I think it was just as exciting as a parent (not least of which because I made it through the whole thing, percocet-assisted!). My favorite part was perusing the cheerful and cozy classrooms, seeing the drawings they'd already made, exploring the activity centers they'll use, books they'll read, looking at their cubbies, imagining their days. Bud had a photo of himself with his hope for the year "to write books." Sis wants to "write the alphabet in lower case." Which she did right next to the drawing of herself! (Okay, dorky parent alert: we took pictures when no one was looking!!!)

Of course, I liked hearing from the teachers (who I remembered not to corner or press for details about our kids, a la Mama Teacher's post on open houses). I really like both their teachers, Bud's 25-year veteran and Sis's newbie with only a year under her belt. The teachers, presenting together, described all manner of curricula and initiatives, from arrival procedures (put away backpack and deliver folders to the in-box) to rules (care for yourself, your school, and others--sounds like UU principle #1 to me!). There is a "take a break" chair, a non-punitive time-out, based on the logical consequences discipline system. And then all this stuff about academics: math manipulatives and number writing, counting, patterning, measuring, sorting, money, addition and subtraction; the Haskins Literary Initiative, with phonemic awareness, sight words; Writing Workshop, wherein they will be writing sentences by January!!!!; Concepts about Print (CAP) with book awareness, one-on-one correspondence of words; optional homework packets to explore themes outside of school. There will be parent conferences, progress reports, report cards!!! Am I nerdy because all of that sounds so wonderful to me???

We also met the reading specialists, music teachers, art teacher, PE teacher, Spanish teacher, and of course the principal. But didn't have too much time to talk--lots of other parents and really hot inside the un-air-conditioned building, plus I was trying to cram it all in before my back gave out. However, their demeanor, the whole look of the classrooms, the mood of the other parents tells me that this is exactly the place I want the kids to be.

It's where I want to be too. So I signed up to be a classroom reader and literacy volunteer. We joined the PTA and put our names down for several committees. And I've already put all the important upcoming events in our family calendar.

It's great to be back in school!!

I can only hope we encourage and support our kids to love it as much as I did . . . do!