As I walked by the pond in our local park this morning, I marveled at how still the water was, despite the waterfall behind depositing a steady stream of water into it. It resembled a mirror, reflecting the trees, grass and skies above. That is my favourite part of the 25 minute walk home after dropping Lee off at school.
I started to reflect on the progress Lee has made since starting school. Today is exactly 3 weeks since the first day of school and he has completed the separation from me completely. When I drop him off in the mornings, he says good-bye and gets into his school groove. I've noticed that some of the kids already have close friends that they are happy to see each morning but my son isn't there yet. He'd rather speak to the teacher or stand up in line. There are still a handful of kids that haven't quite made the separation from their parents yet, but overall, the class seems to be doing very well. I think that's a testament to the warm, loving nature of the teacher.
Each day when I pick him up, he skips happily down the street asking me about my day. He's much more interested in hearing what I have to say than telling me about what he did that day. But, I'm figuring out other ways to get him to talk about things, besides asking direct questions. He's always loved to sing and he's added a few new songs to his repertoire, such as the days of the week and the months of the year.
Communication with the teacher is very important to me and she has been very responsive. The recommended method of communication, a note in your child's folder, is effective but she does answer emails as well. I try to keep those to a minimum. If I get there early enough in the mornings, I can chat with her while everyone arrives. I was pleasantly surprised to see a newsletter in Lee's folder a couple of days ago, summarizing what the class has accomplished for the month and suggesting activities to do at home to reinforce what is being learned. Of course, the big news is that the kids took a vote and decided on names for their pet goldfishes and weekly show and tell starts tomorrow.
I've noticed a difference in our nightly story time. Whenever we read books we discuss what is happening in the story. I ask him questions and sometimes (not very often) he asks me questions. He much prefers to just sit and listen to the story as opposed to having conversations about it. Now, he questions and comments more often and in more detail.
Things seem to be good so far but here's a new wrinkle. The school that was my first choice just let me know that a spot has opened for Lee if I'm interested. I'm torn. I really liked the program there but Lee is settled in to his new school and really likes it. I'm not sure if I want to put him through a big change again. On the other hand, it's still early in the year, and if a change is going to be made, now is the best time to do it. I'll take the weekend to think about it.
