Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Yes, another happy update...

Things are going very well six weeks into the first grade...

Over the summer DD ran a bilingual book club for 15 of her closest friends from her kindergarten class. She selected all of the books, and she helped to plan the fortnightly activities. It went remarkably well, and culminated in a "Backyard Science Museum" in which DD independently set up 5 exhibits on different topics, designed associated activities, and ran a "museum cafe" using book club dollars that she had designed and photocopied on her own.

First grade seems to have started stunningly well. Despite DD's diagnosed social anxiety, she continues to maintain a number of close friendships (many that she specifically initiated) from last year. She has also started learning the piano, and continues in her gymnastics, and theater classes. She has drawn most of her friends into the after-school theater program, and we determined that 12 of the 30 enrollees are there because DD convinced them to join.

So far this year, there have been no classroom issues --that I've been made aware of-- despite the fact that I'm on the campus helping the school librarian five days a week. Though it has to be said, DD has started an aggressive letter writing campaign on behalf of a number of friends who have had issues with their teachers. She drafts daily letters on their behalf to their teachers and turns copies in to the principal.

Two or three days each week DD has playdates with friends from school, and on weekends we try to schedule outings with friends from outside of her campus. She has also become more flexible about including non-friends in her play at lunch and recess, which is major breakthrough... though there are days when she still withdraws when her preferred friends include others in their play. She knows that this is a problem, and is actively working on it.

She seems to be a good match with her teacher, who really seems to turn a blind eye to anything that isn't intentionally disruptive, or hurtful, that takes place in the classroom. That means that DD soaking her shirt when she uses the water fountain doesn't even draw a remark, while another child calling DD stupid for doing so is reprimanded. As a teacher myself, I enforce the rules in my classroom similarly, so I'm very pleased to see this.

Academically, the school continues to encourage DD to do as much accelerated homework as she desires, while making minimal accommodation in the classroom. As such DD is now completing the 10th grade Spanish reading curriculum in their online homework system, and doing multiplication and division while her classmates do counting and introductory addition assignments. As of this moment, DD doesn't seem to have any problem with this.

So, all things considered, I'm immensely happy with DD's first six weeks of first grade.

What a wonderful update, Moomin!! When I think where things stood just 15 months ago, I'm super-impressed that you've managed to turn things around so much for her. I'm also thrilled that your DD's metacognition is making her an active partner in problem-solving her challenges.

What a fabulous update!

This kind of post makes my heart soar!

I wish I had a friend like your daughter when I was in grade 1. She sounds awesome!

Please continue to update us. I (and my daughter!) just love to hear about your dd. So glad for her that the year is off to a good start. Love the letter writing campaign too! I follow a teacher on FB (Miss Night's Marbles) who has a similar approach to classroom management. Hope her year continues to go well. Awesome about the Spanish, too.

http://missnightmutters.com/2012/09/behaviour-management-not-systems-but-relationships.html
"Fair doesn’t mean same. Fair means everybody gets what they need. This is one of the first social lessons I teach, and we talk about this A LOT. The example I use is that, if fair means same, then EVERYONE should eat when *I* am hungry, because otherwise it’s not fair. On the other hand, if fair means everybody gets what they need, then everybody should get to eat when they are hungry. Five-year-olds have no problem grasping this, and we discuss it repeatedly throughout the year. Without teaching this lesson, I could not run my classroom the way I do. It lays the foundation for the next two points.
I manage children as individuals, not as a group. Johnny concentrates better sitting on a chair than on the floor; Johnny is allowed a chair at story time. Natasha has no problem on the floor. She does not get a chair. Natasha does, however, have trouble printing her name, so on her work, I write her name in highlighter for her to trace over for the first several weeks. Samantha has no problem with her name, but struggles to keep her hands to herself. She can choose a fidget toy during whole group instruction. Raymond is the only child who frequently falls asleep at rest time; he is the only one who is allowed to rest behind my desk so that he will not be disturbed when we start centres. When you really get to know your students, you know that EVERY child has “special needs.” When the children understand what “fair” means, you can meet those needs without worrying about accusations of favouritism. (Although, sometimes, you have to teach parents and colleagues what “fair” means, too.)"

Hooray, Moomin's DD!!!

And Deacongirl, thanks for the link, that teacher sounds amazing.

Love the awesome update and that article link! Thank you moomin and deacongirl.