I wasn't sure what the next school year would bring. I wasn't sure if they'd open schools or if they'd open and close again in October. I was thinking of doing distance learning with all of the kids, but I really didn't want to. They did OK doing it last year, but they didn't excel like they usually do with a full time teacher. Between the need to see their friends, them doing really well in school, Ada being in jr high for the first time, daycare and me being on the school board it really made more sense to take them back to school. Honestly, I'm very proud of how our charter school has handled everything. I can't believe how grown up these kids are getting. They loved going back to school. They didn't have any problems wearing their masks either. That was my biggest fear, but after wearing the disposable masks on our Yellowstone trip, they were all thrilled to have masks their size that was made out of material that they had picked out. I made enough masks that they each have one per day and an extra for their backpack. So far it's been great. Ada says she likes the cloth ones way more than the medical masks.
Miss Evelyn is starting 4th grade. We also started back at ballet to help her feet. We were doing it remotely, but she struggles doing it remotely and they dance 6 feet apart in the studio. She LOVES her class. She has Muhlestein this year. Ada had her and we're super excited for Evelyn. One of the main focus' in her classroom is on joy in reading. Evelyn is a reader. That's what she does. During our trip to Yellowstone she listened to and understood the whole Steelheart series and read 5 of the Wizard of Oz books. (In two weeks). She says that none of her really close friends are in her class, but she does recognize some people. They only have 15 people in class, but they are all facing the same way, desks are farther apart and she has no problem wearing her mask except to figure out how to keep her glasses from slipping down on them. Our school said that they would be buy all our supplies this year, so usually where I spend $200 on back to school supplies, I spent hours making masks out of material already in our home and spent maybe $50 on back to school clothes for the younger three.
This cute toothless kid was thrilled to be a 1st grader that went to school all day. He's sad that they alternate recess times so he won't actually see Evelyn at school recess, but he loves to feel grown up eating lunch at school. He's excited that he knows quite a few people in his class and one of Ada's best friends has a brother in his class. He went the first day, but the next day was so smoky from the fires in California that you couldn't even see the mountains from our house. Seth was coughing, and their attendance policy now has been suspended, so I just kept him home. He thought that was fine and just watched tv all morning.
I can't believe that this kid is in 6th grade! Sam is so excited to be in the strict teacher's class. Mr. Carlson doesn't allow chatter and side talk. Sam LOVES that. That's his pet peeve. Mr. Carlson is also the advanced math teacher which is Sam's favorite subject. Usually they have break out groups where the kids would go to different teachers for different subjects so that they are learning on their level, but with Covid they want to keep the same group of kids with the same teacher all day. I think Sam will do great this year.
Ada is thrilled to be all grown up. We went and had to buy her $200 of clothes because she has grown out of everything this year and because this is the first year without uniforms. She loved clothes shopping. I've never really done that with her. I've always ordered it online or bought something at walmart or target. This time we went to several stores, tried on everything and chose her favorites. She chose choir, drama and art as her electives. They don't have lockers to keep kids out of the halls. PE lockers are 6 feet apart. Choir they stand 6 feet apart. As long as they are 6 feet apart, they are allowed to take off their masks for choir and PE. They are doing Ultimate Frisbee for the first unit and I think you couldn't get a better socially distant sport. She's made two new friends very quickly and has a few people from her old school in a couple of her classes. They have assigned seats on the bus. I offered that she could ride her bike with two of our neighbors since it's only about 2 miles away, but she likes riding the bus. She has been all smiles every day this week and comes home to tell me all about her days. She's very excited for the home ec class. She LOVES her math teacher. She was dreading math, but was happy with it after only one class. This summer she took the advanced math placement test. She ended up in the advanced math class, which is great. She was doing 8th grade math last year and I was afraid that she's get to 7th grade and be bored. They also did an assessment in English to see where everyone was at on the second day. She is on a 12th grade reading level and has been reading all the Brandon Sanderson books she can reach. I keep offering other authors, but she always goes back to Sanderson. Her teacher and many of the students were shocked at her reading, but she's always been a good reader. She had wanted to get into Honors English but we missed the test date for that one. I hope she gets to do lots of writing. Last year, she and a couple of students helped her writing club teacher come up with ideas and write the book that she published this year. I can't wait to read it and see how it is. I think out of everyone, it's going to be hardest to not bring home germs from jr high. I have everyone wash their hands as they come home every day and they've done it happily for the most part.
