Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tales from the Trenches: Elementary Open House

I admit, I was kind of nervous to meet K-'s new teacher.  She had been the 1st grade teacher that I requested for her.  She seems strict, but is a creative teacher.  Her classroom is bright, cheery and very orderly.  (Mrs. H-'s was, too.)  But then, I heard that people either love her or hate her.  I was nervous about the first impression that I would give to her. I can be a little spazy, especially if I'm nervous.

Y'all, she is lovely. 

We popped in as a family to meet her.  She shook all of our hands, passed out the papers and allowed the children to choose where they would like to sit.  They were given a post-it note and allowed to put it on any available desk.  Of course, being the dork parents we are, we encouraged her to sit in the front and Hubs encouraged the seat on the end so that she had room.  ;)

After the crowds died down and my responsibilities as one of the PTA Membership people, I stepped back in to talk to Mrs. S- on my own.  I told her that I wanted to let her know of K-'s reflux.  I warned her that sometimes she knows and sometimes it just hits her.  I told her that she will be able to tell her if she is sick or if it is a reflux thing.  She thanked me for telling her, but she didn't seem freaked out by it. 

I told her that I had signed up as head room parent.  I basically ended up doing the head room parent stuff last year anyhow, so this year will be no different.  I wanted to let her know who to grab if/when she needs.

I feel good. 

When I came home after the festival of "We'd love to have you join," I read over the class papers that Mrs S- sent home.

Y'all, she runs a VERY tight ship. 

I knew that and that was part of the reason we requested her.  We went over the class rules with K- so that she knows what Mrs. S- expects.  I can tell you that one of the children from K-'s class last year is in her class this year.  He will be having a very difficult time adhering to Mrs. S-'s standards.  K- even brought that up.  I told her that perhaps D- will have different behavior this year.  (This was the child who would just get up, walk about the room and decide to do or not to do any particular task given.)  K- was not disciplined once last year and having gone over what is expected of her, ever the child eager to please those in authority, she'll do just fine. 

Hubs' comment in walking about the room was, "Quite a change from last year, huh?"  (Remember my heart attack?)  Big, bright, beautiful, spacious and an environment that encourages learning. 

My heart is happy and ready to start first grade.  I'm thrilled to say that K- feels the same. 

Smiles in my day:
-  Mom came home Sunday afternoon and is doing well.  She's taking it day-by-day and I have a breakfast date for her in the AM.
-  Hubs got his car fixed, despite the heat rising into the 90's.  (We have no garage.)  I can't imagine how much money he saved us.  Believe me, I've thanked him profusely.

Have a great day!

5 comments:

Susan said...

Hi, I'm a new reader of your blog - I used to love back-to-school night and meeting the teachers. My kids are grown now, but it was fun to read this.

FYI, I notice you refer to your daughter by K - which is great. You seemed to have used her name in the post, and I wasn't sure if you meant to. I live in Europe, so I think I may be one of the first to read this :-)

I've been praying for your Mom.

Thanks for blogging -

Bailey's Leaf said...

Thank you. I'll take it out. I do try to keep her name private. I was tired when I wrote it! :)

Welcome!

Rach said...

Ah, the transition from kindergarten to first is a big one for some kiddos. I think this teach will be just what D needs.

Ahhh, open house orientations. I miss those. I didn't have them at my last school--the parents have a tendency to be pushy and would promptly go to the office if they didn't like the teacher their child got. Instead, they would just show up day one and discover who their teacher was. It made for an interesting first day, that's for sure.

I can't wait to hear all about K's adventures this year. :o)

I'm glad mom's home. Whew!

Jamie said...

If mom's happy then K will be happy too. Hopefully the strict rules are practical.

Last year B had a teacher that had some ridiculous rules and I was ready to strangle her by the end of the year. I understand that rules are necessary but stupid ones only cause un-needed stress.

Glad to hear that your mom is home and that everything is progressing as it should.

Michelle said...

So glad that you had a positive experience meeting her teacher! sounds like she is going to have a great year!