Well, we've been back to school for a couple of weeks now. We started on August 16th. My new job is GREAT! I could scarsely believe my ears when my lead teacher asked me why I didn't have my coffee yet. Working in the media center is very different from the level three special education arena. Being a special ed. 1-1 associate last year, I never could take a moment to sip some coffee. I have also been very proud of myself with handling computer issues that have come up. Nothing major, but I have never done much besides fiddle with my own computer and do the basic office functions. I even set up two computers from scratch and connected one to the internet! woo hoo! I'm also getting a sneak peak into the curriculum for elementary, and the resources that teachers use in addition to the text books. Part of my job is to collect media materials for teachers that go with the units they are doing in the classroom. I even enjoy cafeteria duty in the morning. This job is really just what I needed so that I could remain in an education setting but not have all the bone tiring work of special ed. My hat goes off to the people that do that for years. I know that as a teacher I will always have a special spot in my heart for the special ed. students and the staff.
Kyle has enjoyed 8th grade at his new middle school. Our town has two middle schools; one is a 8-9 and the other is a 6-7. Kyle went out for football and there is a no cut policy. There are always so many boys interested that they have to create two teams, one is lite weights and the other is heavy weights. Thank goodness the cut off for lite weights was 125lbs. so Kyle fell into the lite weight catagory at 120 lbs. Some of those kids are bigger than Lowell! We are talking kids over 6'3" and 230 lbs in the 8th grade!! It's amazing, but they do tend to grow them nice and big in Iowa. :-)
Jake is also having a great time at his new school. He is now at the 6-7 middle school and ended up on a team (small learning community - buzz word for how they separate the kids) with quite a few of his classmates from last year. He also went to a leadership training a week before school started. Those kids that attended the leadership camp all got a leg up on how to unlock lockers, etc. This was great confidence booster for him and he has just done amazingly well. I really admire how the school handles the transition, and was able to observe first hand how wonderful the staff is last year when I worked there. I wasn't really worried, but I knew he was. I don't have Momma's Boys but they do have a Boys' Momma! :-)
Allie got the teacher that she wanted, but the majority of her friends are not in her class. But, that's O.K. she gets along with most anyone. She's fiesty though, she doesn't take anyone's guff. Girls really start getting catty at this age and Allie has handled it all pretty well. If someone is mean she forgives them, but she sure doesn't go back for more. We switched Allie to a different dance studio this year because we wanted to try a studio with smaller class sizes. She has only had one class and it was fabulous. She is the youngest in her class and all the girls were gushing over her and helping her out if she needed help.
Well, that is it for us tonight. I hope everyone is well!
