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Friday, October 28, 2011

Getting to know Elizabeth

Elizabeth really is enjoying being in grade 1 this year, I think last year she was a bit bored and now she is being challenged cognitively which she needed. This year there are no complaints about her not paying attention and urges for me to look into pharmaceutical help for her poor attention, instead she comes home telling me about science, religion and is reading chapter books. I cannot even begin to say how blessed we are to have the teachers and support staff she has this year, they have made this year so positive for her. She does have 1:1 assistance during the day to ensure her safety which is great as she has had some very off days and tons of falls lately.
Her teacher this year listened to my respetitive mantra 'if she is unhappy, naughty or edgy something is wrong' and will look into why she is not her normal happy self. Elizabeth has had some very off days and has done some very atypical things (spitting, being disrespectful and wanting to be on her own). Each time her teacher has problem solved why this is happening and calls me to discuss her concerns. She picked up on the edgy behavior and called me to bring pain medication as Elizabeth's legs were hurting, she has Elizabeth sitting on a chair instead of the floor at carpet time and the spitting stopped and Elizabeth announced 'I can now see Mrs. M.' and at recess she now has Elizabeth paired with classmates as when questioned Elizabeth stated 'that she cannot run with her friends so she plays alone'.
Instead of being told how miserable, distracted and defiant my child is her teacher is looking into why and we have a much more adjusted little girl which we are so pleased about.
We are having Elizabeth be accountable for her actions as well and with a written pact she knows that certain behaviors will cause her to lose her beloved Rexy for a couple of days and after his last vacation away she knows I do mean business.

3 comments:

I Just Love You said...

wow, this sounds so great! it seems like you've really found someone who wants to work with you and elizabeth. i'm happy you posted. hadn't heard anything in a while and i was wondering if there was baby news...thankfully there isn't!

Sherry C said...

I'm so glad grade one sounds like it going so well and sounds like Elizabeth has an amazing teacher.

CP and Me said...

It is amazing what a difference it can make to have a compassionate, understanding teacher who is genuinely interested in getting to know what makes your child tick and therefore, how to unleash their full potential. Horray for you and for Elizabeth; she deserves to shine. And nice work on making it to 33 weeks! Good luck in the last stretch!