11-18-15 Parents' Day!

Today was parents' day at C's school. I've been looking forward to this day for weeks! As a working mom, I am used to dropping my kids off with people that I trust and then picking them up in the evening, knowing little about the details of their day, but confident in the fact they have been well cared for and loved.

School is an entirely different matter. Putting C on the school bus each morning and sending her off into the unknown always makes me a little uneasy. I don't personally know anyone well at C's school and I just have to trust that she's making friends and fitting in.

Walking into her classroom was a real treat. She had no idea that we were coming so it was heartwarming to see her face light up when she spotted us! We got to watch her interact with her classmates. I met a couple of her friends and made mental notes of the kids she often mentions when she is at home. It is nice to have faces to put to names!

We were pretty disappointed that C's teacher wasn't there, and instead the class was being run by a substitute. I kind of felt cheated, because, while this woman was nice, she didn't know the kids, was reading from lesson plans, and didn't really have a lot of energy.

We could hear the other classes laughing and singing, while our class was sedate, and well... boring. The parents in other classes were sitting with their kids, doing activities, and we sat at the back of the room staring at the back of our kid's head for an hour and a half.

I made a mental note to finish the volunteer paperwork so that I can come in one day and really see what it is like.

C was telling me just last night about the turkey she made
in school. It was hanging on the wall outside of her classroom. 

The first 10-15 minutes of class time was them sitting at their tables reading...
quietly... So we sat in our chairs... quietly. It would have been nice
if they had offered to let us sit with the kids and read with them. 

The kids are collectively writing a few sentences.
 Apparently they do this each morning.
C kept glancing back to make sure we were still there.

Seriously, I loved seeing my girl this morning and being in her classroom, I just wish it had been more interactive. 

Things we noticed about C in class...

1- She is one of the shortest kids. 

2- She never raises her hand to answer questions, but you can see her mouthing the answers.

3- Because she sits in the front of the class, she doesn't get distracted by the other kids fidgeting around her. (The teacher told us last week that she usually puts C in between two of the rowdier boys because she is so calm and it calms them down.) 

4. She follows directions very well. 

5. She gets very nervous when she stands up in front of the class to give answers. She was asked questions that I know she knows the answers to, but in front of everyone she clammed up. (She gets that honestly from her mama! I was always one of the shyest kids in class! If the teacher called on me, I would cry!) 

6- She is surprisingly good at the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!