Problem Resolved

:-)

Just a quick post to say that our educational issues have been resolved! I went in this afternoon to talk to the Principal about my concerns, and the school's owners' daughter-in-law (who just happens to be my oldest child's primary teacher, a close friend of our family, and the Elementary Director) overheard our discussion. Turns out that she and my daughter's teacher had been discussing her educational needs a good bit over the past two weeks, and were getting together some supplemental materials (chosen by the 1st/2nd grade teacher) to try to keep her occupied, since they didn't know if she would want to leave her kindergarten friends and move to the 1st/2nd grade class. But they felt wholeheartedly that she was academically and emotionally ready for that promotion, and my husband and I have to agree. Particularly since we're in a school where children are placed according to educational needs rather than simply their age, the move just made sense. It's nothing unusual to find a 12 year old in the 5th/6th grade classroom doing 5th grade language arts and 6th grade math; or to find an 8 year old in the 3rd/4th grade classroom doing 4th grade math and 5th grade reading. It has just enough of a one-room schoolhouse feel to it that every kid is treated individually, and mixed age groupings are common.

With all that in mind, my husband and I talked about it, discussed it with the Principal and Elementary Director, and discussed it with our daughter. She can't wait to move up, and starts as a 1st grader (probably in the 2nd grade reading group) on Monday. She has the option to do afternoon activities (art, music, crafts, centers) with either the 1st/2nd grade class or with the kindergarteners, and we'll play that by ear until we see how things progress. I'll meet with the 1st/2nd grade teacher after her first full week in that class, and find out what our next move will be, if any.

So that's it! Problem solved!

In other news, my beginning band students are starting to sound like a band of musicians! I almost started crying today in band, thinking about how this little handful of kids and teens in a super-small private school can now play pretty well on their flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones, and that I brought that to them. :-) Gleeeeeeeee!