Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Long time no write . . .

Boy, this blogging thing takes a lot to get used to...  I think I enjoy telling stories to my friends, but when it comes time to sit in front of the computer, it's a lot of work.

Well, we are back at Sutter!  We were at Millikin for a total of exactly 3 weeks, and we ended back in the class Jacob started off in on his first day at Sutter.  It's been almost a month that we've been home, though it seems like we've been there forever.  Everything seems so familiar - the faces, the activities, the campus.  There are only 16 kids in his class.  One of his classmates, who has always landed in his class since Kindergarten, has a vision impairment so he's only in the classroom half the time, bringing the class size to 15.  The class really feels like family.  I don't regret one bit sending him back to Sutter.  And now, he has resumed producing wonderful works of writing and art, and he continues to impress me with the detail in his writing and his illustrations when he puts his heart in it.  His teacher is fabulous!  Full of energy and lots of fun.   Extremely organized.  Although she isn't as affectionate w/ the kids, and Jacob doesn't have a crush on her.  He still has a crush on his first grade teacher, although he now talks about her once a week as opposed to every day!

I volunteer 1 - 2 hours a week, and it's a great opportunity for me to work with students and spy on Jacob in class.  As usual, I love listening to the teachers teach and the kids answer.  I love watching Jacob answer questions in class, and give me hugs when he sees me.  I love watching the way he interacts with his friends, and getting to know the other kids in class.
This is another thing I love about Sutter which isn't available at Millikin  - the enormous amount of time you can spend in class with the teacher.

Some funny things I heard in class today:
(kids are busy cutting their faces out of photo, carrying on a random conversation)
Kid A:  My mom is 38!
Kid B:  My mom is almost 40! But my dad is 50 something
Kid C:  Well, my grandpa is almost 100.  He's 72
Kid B:  Well, my mom is 39!
Jacob was on that table and he was conveniently quiet.  But apparently, he's shared w/ his 1st grade teacher a lot of things, including James & my child planning differences .  Perhaps it was because I gave him a watchful eye, or because he couldn't brag since I'm only 35. ;)

Kid A reads from book:  " I am not!", Chloe snapped. " .. . . "
Me:   What does the word "snapped" mean?
Kid B & Kid C snap their fingers.
Me:  That's one meaning of snap.  But how about in this story? 
Kid A:  Oh, I know.  It's when you talk mad at someone.  Like the way my mom talks to me when she's mad at me.

Ahh.... The joy of spending time w/ kids when you can leave any time!

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