Thursday, May 7, 2009

Izzy Tries Out School

Today the school down the street invited all the JK kids and parents to a 2-hour school prep information session. They set up four different stations: playdough; cutting, colouring and gluing; reading; letters and numbers around the school in the classrooms and library. Each child received a passport and moved from station to station in smaller groups, collecting stickers for their efforts along the way. She met the two kindergarten teachers, the principal and librarian.

Izzy was quiet when we arrived. Watching all the other kids. Making a few quiet comments along the way. She wasn't nervous, just cautious and taking her time absorbing her surroundings. When we arrived we received a package with crayons, scissors, books and other goodies. She took her place at the table with some other kids while I sat nearby. She realized that everyone was calling her Isabelle and her name tag also said "Isabelle" and we went up to the principal and teachers gathered at the back of the room where she requested a tag that said "Izzy". Everyone got a chuckle out of that. She came across as very shy but she made her request politely and unabashedly.

As we went from room to room she confirmed what I was seeing at home - much further ahead of her peers in numbers and math but average when it came to the alphabet. She was the only kid who didn't need help with scissors (something I am all too familiar with...and never had a reason to e proud of until today, lol) and dislikes drawing and colouring, like Alex. She was quiet and polite. Always attentive to her teacher and listened very well to instructions. She was not timid, though, and was finding her own way around the place within minutes. She walked the halls like she owned the place. I was so proud.

I feel better about the whole school issue after today. I like the staff at the school. I even discussed homeschooling, briefly, with a few of them. It is a small school. Izzy didn't seem dwarfed by it. She enjoyed herself and we are all looking forward to September.

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