A Proud Day

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This is not to say that I am not proud every day, but today I am feeling particularly proud of Shyanne.

I went to her school last night for the annual fall parent/teacher conference. Shy had swimming so DW took her there, and I went to the conference.

One of our worries has been Shy's age. In Maine, she had just barely made the cut-off age to start Kindergarden last year. We decided to go ahead with the Kindergarden because the Pre-K program was only a half-day and since she had been in day care for a full day already we wanted to go with the full day program. And she made the cut-off so why not.

The cut-off here in Mass is a month and a half earlier. Even though Shy did not make the cut-off to start 1st grade, since she had Kindergarden in Maine, she was eligible to start 1st grade. So, that is where she is, and that is why we worry about her age in school. Added to that was the instability that we had created in her life yet again by moving to Massachusetts and the upheaval of being away from her older sisters and friends in Maine.

I am happy to report that the teacher said that if anyone came in the room and she asked them to pick out the youngest child, they would definitely NOT pick out Shy. She fits right in with all the other chilldren, she is always a part of what is going on and she has made the transition to Massachusetts wonderfully and she is a pleasure to have in her class. (She added in a quieter tone...."She is soooooo cute"). She said she also communicates well with all her classmates.

I asked if that meant she talked to much in class, and her teacher said to me: "They are 6 and 7 years old. They all talk too much"

So she is reading so well that she is going to be moved up in her reading group. Her writing is excellent. Not only is what she writes understandable but it is also very creative. She seems to enjoy writing and always wants to do it. When we go away in February, she will be writing a journal during our trip to share with the class when she returns. It should be interesting to see what she writes. As a side note, the last 1st grader we took on a trip who kept a journal had an entry related to throwing up in a friends car. We are hopeful an entry like that does not make it into this journal. (Sorry Amy, it ws a classic!!)

So anyway, that is the reason for my pride today. I could write about reasons to be proud of Shy every day, but then this blog would get even more boring than it already is, so for now, you just have to believe me that she is a wonderful child who brings us pride on every day, but on this day, I felt the need to mention my pride in her.

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