First Grade Tribe - Page 3

[scrapchic]

son starting first grade also

My son, Jacob, is starting 1st grade next month. He is very excited because he gets to eat in the cafeteria like his 3 older sisters. He is thrilled!
I am a little worried about going from half day to full day just because he can be restless sometimes. But I am sure he will adjust!
He has already gotten his backpack....Hot Wheels of course. Just like last year. And he has gotten most of his school supplies. My favorite time of year! LOL

Heather

[Mytwokids]

Can I join. I'm a little late and haven't had time to read all the post but wanted to join. My dd is starting in 1st the tues after labor day. She did kindergarten at a montessori so this is a new school/new experience for her and me! Is anyone else starting school in 1st as oppose to kindergarten?

Micky

[Mirzam]

School Supplies

I just got DS's school supplies list, there is hardly anything on it. We need to get:
A specific recorder ($29);
Crayons - Stokmar blocks and sticks ($18 available at school);
Handwriting book ($5 from school);
Rubber wading boots;
Slippers; and
A Mason jar with 100 objects for Math.

It doesn't seem much to me. But hopefully the $450 materials fee we paid cover the rest.

[Silvercrest79]

Count me in

My oldest starts 1st grade the week of Labor Day. She is very excited. I'm not though.

She started K in public school and then we put her in a Charter School in Oct. She did MUCH better there. She is going back to the Charter and she can't wait. The huge downside for us is there are no buses so we have to take her and pick her up. We try to carpool so that helps sometimes.

She has a long list of stuff she needs and I've got to arrange picking up uniforms from the uniform exchange, carpooling, Dh's schedule, DD's PT/OT appts, etc etc etc :

[sphinx]

Originally Posted by Mytwokids

Is anyone else starting school in 1st as oppose to kindergarten? Micky

my dd is starting after having gone to preschool for half a year, 2x a week, when she was 4. she's almost 7 now. i think it'll be fine!

[phathui5]

We homeschool. :

Our first day of first grade was yesterday. The biggest change for me so far is the addition of more subjects than we did last year.

[momto l&a]

We have started first grade this late spring at dd wishes. We homeschool.

Haven't done much this summer as we have been so busy though she sits and looks through her books often.

Edited to add that we never dii the preschool/kindergarden thing. I believe in letting children be carefree as long as possible. Dd WANTS/ desires to do schooling so thats what we will do.

[mata]

anticipation is in the air around here-just two more weeks! : today we got the bts haircut-there will be two weeks to grow it out just so.

good luck to everyone who has started, or is soon to start!

[1xmom]

My dd is starting to get excited. We have two more weeks to go. Her first day of school is on my birthday

[sea island mama]

Dd will be starting Grade 1 on Sept 5th. She says she's not looking forward to it as she will miss me being there all day . Luckily, it's only 2 blocks away & she can come home for lunch every day if she wants to . I think it's more likely that she'll decide she wants to stay with her friends instead. I'm not really too happy about that, but at least I know them all & it is such a small school (only 30 kids last year) that there aren't the schoolyard issues that develop at larger schools.

What is your wish list for your child's first grade year?
That she learns to read! She is very close, but quite resistant to the learning process (gee, wonder where she got that from .
That she likes her new teacher as much as she did her K teacher. I have heard she isn't as good, but I think it's more the issues with teaching 3 grades at once than personality.

What sort of experience would you like to manifest for them (type of teacher, friends, etc.)
I would like for her to stand up for herself more with kids that aren't as considerate as she is. She has one friend that she says is 'mean' to her sometimes & I would like to help her learn how to deal with that (I'll have to figure it out myself first).

Do you have any worries or concerns?
Just that she won't enjoy her time there & we'll have fights to get her out of the house every morning as we often did last year. Actually, she said she liked it once she was there, but it was the getting there that was the issue. Something for me to work on as much as her, I think.

I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences and maybe getting some ideas for questions I don't even know to ask right now.

[HomeBirthMommy]

We went to open house this morning and it went great. L's teacher seems fantastic.
My one big fear came true though. There was a boy in her class last year that was so mean. He teased her, pinched her, spit on her. He was rude to the teacher and the parents, too. I kept telling her last year, "Just make it through this year and you won't have to deal with him any more." Of course there is only one child from last year's class in her class this year and it's THIS CHILD. : She was devestated when she saw the class list. I have decided I will have to intervene at the very first incedence this year. I will not allow him to traumatize my dd again. Last year's teacher didn't do anything to get him/his behavior under control, but I've heard great things about this 1st grade teacher and I'm hoping she just won't let it happen.

[teachma]

I'd love to join! My ds will be turning 6 on the 22nd of this month and starting first grade 9 days later. In July, we moved to the next town over, so he will be attending a school different from where he went to kindergarten. However, his preschool drew children from both of these towns, so he should see familiar faces right away. While he is sad to miss his old friends and the actual school building, he is very excited for the New Student Orientation on the 23rd. And so am I!!

[mooliette]

I have a DS that is starting 1st grade September 5th. Last year he did all day kindergarten, the only difference is there is no afternoon rest time. I absolutly love his teacher, my oldest son had her last year

[sea island mama]

Originally Posted by HomeBirthMommy

My one big fear came true though. There was a boy in her class last year that was so mean. He teased her, pinched her, spit on her. He was rude to the teacher and the parents, too.

That is awful - I can't imagine something like that happening to my child, let alone having a child that would do that sort of thing!
My next thought when I read this was to wonder if you've spoken to the teacher about it yet. If it was me, I would seriously consider asking to have either my dd or the boy transferred to another class. Do you really want to wait until it happens again?

[HomeBirthMommy]

No, I don't want it to happen. I wanted to say something to the teacher, but since it was open house there were other parents in there and it didn't feel like the appropriate time, kwim? I plan on volunteering in there, starting this week and will be keeping an eye on the situation and will talk to her about her fears and ask that she particularly pay attention to the situation. It might be a completely different thing with this teacher as last years' teacher didn't seem to command respect or have much classroom control. I'm really hoping it works out. I don't want my dd transferred b/c this teacher is really extraordinary, but if it comes to that, then we'll do what we need to do, kwim?

[mata]

Good luck, HomeBirthMommy. We had a similar situation last year and I hope this year is much improved. I had asked my daughter not be in the same class as one child, which they did-but there was another boy assigned to the same class that had given her problems last year. I just hope the first grade teacher is better with these challenges than her kindergarten teacher was.

School starts on the 16th here and we've been in heavy duty last weekend before school starts mode. I'm really happy with her teacher assignment, and it looks as though most of the kids are nice in her class (with the exception of the one boy, and I'm sure there could be others!) DD is so excited-has the outfit picked out, has been looking at her yearbook to see everyone, etc. etc. just three more sleeps!

[callmeluci]

I would love to join this tribe! My ds started 1st grade on August 9. So far, he loves it.

What is your wish list for your child's first grade year? That it is a positive experience.

What sort of experience would you like to manifest for them (type of teacher, friends, etc.) I want a teacher who understands my child & takes the time to get to know him.

Do you have any worries or concerns (doesn't matter if they're irrational-get them out now ) Last year was kind of rough, so I am a little bit concerned for him. He is a good student, but he came home with a note almost every night for conduct infractions. He would be in tears most days over getting notes & most of the time it was for something silly, like talking in the line to go home in the afternoon.

[HomeBirthMommy]

I just dropped my 1st grader off at school. : She was so excited and that makes it easier for me. Dd2 started pre-K this morning in the same school. It feels very strange to be here by myself.

Anybody else having the first day today?

[GruppieGirl]

My dd is starting on Spetmebr 5th like many of you.

DD's school does a great thing...We are new to the district, so we have a special open house and will be matched up with a "veteran" family in the class to get all of us used to the new school. It will be nice for dd to have an instant friend in class and it will be nice for me to already know another mom.

As for my hopes; I hope that dd will learn to read fluently. She loves books and can read some simple step 1 type of books, but really wants to be able to do more. I also hope she expands her foundation of love of learning.

I am confident in the school, district and teacher. So that makes things easier.

Experiences with friends...dd has always been outgoing and friendly. Recently there has been a little bit of a shy side creeping in too. I want her to make wonderful friends who she will stay close with through high school graduation. So far her experiences with teachers have been wonderful, so she can only expect wonderful things. From what I've heard through the grapevine, this 1st grade teacher is very maternal and caring. Just what she needs!

As for my worries, I am concerned about having her gone all day long and then off to activities in the afternoon. I really don't want dd to lose touch with the family or our values.


Thanks for the thread!

[1xmom]

My dd went w/her dad to get new shoes and sneakers. Then a friend of mine came by over the weekend and brought a new outfit for her to wear. Now she's getting antsy w/all her new things. There are a few more supplies I have to get (dry erase markers, 1 box tissues and ziploc bags) and then we are finished with the supplies.