Spicy Dragons & Dinosaurs

Yesterday we went to visit Julia's classroom and teacher, Mrs. Cote, and the special ed teacher, whose name is not in my head yet. The formal name for this conference was a "Ready, Set, Go" conference and from what I gather, this was a regular part of the school year until three years ago. It makes sense -- meeting the teacher and sitting down to talk before the year begins, but it was cut from the budget the year Julia started school. I am not sure how it has been included this year with all the budget cuts that were instituted.

Julia was able to answer some of the questions asked of her -- what do you like to do? what do you want to learn about? She was also able to tell Mrs. Cote that she was very nervous about school. This voicing of feelings is so much better than a tantrum! And even though I could tell that she didn't really believe (and believe is not quite the right word here) that other kids were nervous and scared as well, she heard that as well. She will understand that someday.

Later, she told Morgan that she was scared of school because she is different from the other kids, because the other kids might not like her. I have been waiting for this self-knowledge to come to her. Dreading it really. But I am so glad that she is able to put it into words and to talk to Morgan about it.

At the conference, I asked that Julia be called "Julia Dinosaur" and her teacher agreed. Of course, she turned to Julia and asked about being called Julia Dinosaur and Julia said, "I am not insisting on that today." Was that out of fear? Was that out of wanting to conform and be like everyone else? Or something else?

They also agreed to try to teach Julia using things she liked -- dinosaurs and bugs -- and they took notes on what she did for regulation, and how she needed some time to herself to do as she wished.

Julia found a new dinosaur series of simple chapter books and although she is not ready to read anything near that difficult, she loved the pictures and wanted to be read to. And we can do that! Julia was not shy about going through the book bins and picking out things she was interested in.

I am not going into this year with many expectations. I have been disappointed with how much time her teachers and aids have had to spend on regulation and getting Julia to follow the social rules of school. I am wary of the transition to the bigger and more crowded Randall School. But I am ready to be surprised and pleased as well. I have no great need to home school if Randall can give her what she needs. And she needs to learn -- the simple truth is that she needs to conform. Gosh, that was so difficult for me and sometimes for Cheshire as we are both NTs. I have no real idea of what that means for Julia, but just from the conference today, I can see what a year of intensive therapy, growth and maturity and drugs have done for Julia. If she can just conform enough to learn what she must. I don't need her to be on the honor roll, I need her to read, write, tell time, understand money, and count. Maybe we'll deal with state capitals and the explorers, but if she never learns them she will be in the same place as so many who have forgotten those things. I wonder if a European education includes so much about the explorers who "found" and colonized our New World, or if that is more a new world emphasis?