Well, this was a bit stressful for me due to the transition to middle school for both DS and DD. It is more than an hour earlier and about twenty miles further away. Interestingly, they were both pretty cool about it beforehand and so far (fingers and toes crossed) things have gone fairly smoothly. I am particularly grateful when DD comes home with stories about some students being placed in the wrong classes and the inertia in changing their schedules. These were not restricted to not getting the classes that you want but actually being placed inappropriately in the wrong grade such as the 8th grader who got placed in 6th grade health or a magnet student not assigned to a magnet class.
I am also really glad that I did not grade accelerate DS when it was on the table a few years back. I just can't see him managing middle school last year at age 10 without undue stress. Not counting the cafeteria, he has to navigate himself to 7 different locations in a somewhat confusing complex with just 3 minutes between classes. He has to manage two combination lockers and a ridiculous 3 inch binder with multiple sections and subsections. I am frankly a bit impressed with the level of executive functioning skills expected from all 11-year-olds.
Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that all will proceed smoothly.
