It is not easy being a Grade 1. Compare to before where they only have JK and SK in the playground during recess and lunch time, now they have grade 1 all the way to grade 8. Nathan is a friend dude who thinks that everybody is friend and he likes to play with older kids. Unfortunately, kids are cruel. He has been social rejected by so many different "clubs" including a snail club and a spider rescue club. His vice principal said that it usually takes kids up to grade 4 to be socially mature (a long way from now!!) After 5 months in school, he now has good friends who build snow castles (even when there is no snow, they would build mud castle) (Yep, don't ask me about how dirty his jacket, snow pants, and snow boots.) And today he said to me that he now has one friend in his class. (At first I was all worry that he doesn't have any friends in his class. But his teacher said that he is actually very sociable during class time that there is not a moment that he is sitting by himself.) He meaning of friends means they hang out and play together outside.
Classroom routine is another problem. It often takes a while before Nathan can get use to his routine, especially when the instructions are given in French. And another challenge for Nathan is that he has a really lay back, teacher of the year winner male teacher with excellent classroom management skills. His classroom is chaotic with great structures and routines with lots of freedom that kids can get use to easily. He appreciates the kids as who they are and nurture them to blossom in each of their different ways. However, this year, Nathan's teacher is a second year teacher who is very type A and have a very very difficult time getting used to Nathan's free spirit. She is so neat and tidy and imagine her having a kid who is covered in mud after every recess and lunch. Somehow she just has a hard time getting Nathan to work for her. Luckily for Nathan, she is very very nice and she really likes Nathan and think that he is cute, making Nathan a little more tolerable. Nathan's learning style is very unique as well. He is so smart that he needs to listen to you once, or maybe twice and he can remember most of the things you are teaching him. And obviously, being a grade 1 boy, he is very active. Unfortunately Nathan new teacher is so old school that she believes that you have to listen to her ten times and you should write out things over and over before you can learning anything. I have been trying to convince her that Nathan is unengaged in class because he has learned it all already and hope she can let him do other things so that he doesn't become a disruption to the class. I think she is now willing to try differentiate instruction with Nathan.
This is for sure the first piece of happy note in terms of work habit! (Academically, he has been getting level 3 and 4 in language and math and perfect on all his dictations). There is still a lot of learning for Nathan, but at least it feels like that he is heading the right direction. Keep it up, Nathan.
1 comment:
Good job Nathan!! I am sure being such a kind heart and smart boy, Nathan will make a lot of good friends in school during the rest of his grade 1 year.
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