Y’all. I have a first grader!
Okay, so strictly speaking I already had a first grader seven years ago, but when your kids are spread out in age like mine are it almost feels like you’re starting over (except for that I-know-not-to-buy-white-uniform-shirts thing).
I tried to take super-cute school pictures (as I always do), but this year I upped the ante with super-cute SIGNS. I was feeling my Wheaties last week in anticipation of the start of an exciting new school year (or, as Mr. Andi put it when he arrived home from work on Friday afternoon – ” You made it through summer!”)
I didn’t consider that since Sarah Kate is doing virtual school this year she wouldn’t be in her back to school outfit and backpack and therefore would not be able to encourage Nathan to stand nicely with her for the photo. So, stand nicely he did not – the photo above being the product of a single lucky millisecond. If you look closely, you can see that his left leg is on the verge of leading his escape.
I tried ye ol’ front step photo and…he was no more cooperative than he had been in the driveway. It’s amazing how closely he resembles Kilroy Was Here in this one, don’t you think?
And you would swear he was unhappy to actually go into the school building, but I promise he wasn’t. He will have the same aide this year as he had in kindergarten, Miss Allison, and I am astounded that she looks so happy. Perhaps another lucky millisecond? Bless her.
After the boy was deposited at school (those weren’t my tires squealing out of the parking lot, I swear!), Sarah Kate and I went to the gym. She’s been very consistent about exercise since swim team ended (fall swim starts this week) and wants to go with me most days. She’ll either swim or walk while I run, and in a few months when she turns fourteen she’ll be able to use the equipment in the fitness room. YAY for no eighth grade P.E., amiright?
She changed into her school uniform for the one hour of band and after band we went to her virtual school orientation. Most of it was getting their computers set up and some suggestions for structuring their school days, but a couple of things they said got my attention:
- The students in our district’s virtual school program who graduated this year received over one million dollars in scholarships…for 18 students. I did the math so you don’t have to: that’s an average of over $55,000. If I hadn’t been sitting in the floor I’d have probably fallen out of my seat when I heard that.
- The lead teacher told the new students that up to this point, their school experience has been like working in a factory – they did the tasks they were told to do when they were told to do them. Virtual school is more like running a business – you have a few guidelines but for the most part you have to make decisions about what to do when on your own. Hmmm…
Congratulations to both Nathan and Sarah Kate and best wishes for an awesome school year!!
I just graduated college, but back when I was in eighth grade, I did something similar to virtual school as well, although the circumstances were decidedly less positive than SK’s. Partway through eighth grade, I slipped on a wet floor, broke my femur, and had to get emergency surgery on it – and out of an abundance of caution, I was told not to return to school for the rest of the year. (SIDE NOTE: from one person with CP to another, pleasepleaseplease ask Sarah Kate to be cautious when she walks on wet floors! Nobody ever warned me about how difficult it would be to break my leg with CP, and I found out the hard way when I was thirteen. I was walking independently before the accident, but afterwards, my surgeon didn’t think I’d ever regain that ability because CP complicates things, and I walked with forearm crutches for another three years. After a ton of hard work, I walked independently again, but with pain — and I’m finalllyyy pain-free after going through another surgery this summer to remove the pins that they had put into my leg. It was a difficult road, and one that I’d very much like SK to avoid if she can!!!)
Anyway, I spent the rest of my eighth grade year from December – June doing something akin to virtual school. My teachers gave me some guidance, but I pretty much set my own schedule and self-taught all of my subjects. It was hard work – I think I worked harder than my classmates, because I had to figure everything out on my own, more or less – but I really enjoyed it! I think I mastered academic skills more solidly than I would have in traditional schooling, because I REALLY had to understand the material in order to teach it to myself. Even beyond that, though, I also gained some incredibly valuable time management skills. I learned pretty early on that if I was efficient in getting my work done, I’d have more time to study what interested me, or I could end the school day a little bit early.
It was definitely a challenge at times, but I loved the freedom of virtual schooling…and when I returned to traditional school in the fall, I found that I was very well-prepared for the rigors of high school. 🙂 I am so excited for Sarah Kate! (And – if she ever wants to chat with someone who has mild spastic diplegia and who’s been there, done that – tell her she can send me off an email anytime at transcendingcp@gmail.com.)
Interesting that you suggested she be careful on the pool deck – I didn’t share it here on the blog, I don’t think, but she already had an incident this summer at the pool. At the start of warmups at the meet before July 4th, she slipped and injured her knee. She was in a lot of pain and of course couldn’t walk on it at all. That’s the thing with CP – you never know how serious something like that is because even small injuries can cause major problems. We couldn’t get in with her pediatric orthopedist (who is actually her secondary orthopedist – the one that’s local for minor(ish) things, not the one four hours away who’s been following her for over a decade) and had to see one of his partners who isn’t ped-specific. Because he didn’t know “what her normal is” he basically just said wait and see and follow up with the other guy after July 4th. She improved over the weekend but in the meantime we were just waiting and seeing and fretting about how much ground she might lose if it turned out to be serious.
Good luck!
Have a great year Nathan and Sarah Kate! Swim fast and play the clarinet well Sarah Kate!
.I love the Kilroy pic!!
Nathan was here.
🙂
Congratulations to both Nathan and Sarah Kate on their moving up in the school world. Love the fact that there is virtual school for SK, reduces physical strain, which means she can put her emphasis on education rather than on balance and gait. Hope the year is great for both.
YES!