Our Five Ring Circus: First Grade

Thursday, April 19, 2012

First Grade

Tonight, we attended Dylan's Open House at his school!  He was so excited about it.  Dylan loves school, and his excitement was contagious!

He confidently led us through his school, waving to many classmates and friends along the way.  We had already been there several times this year, but he was eager to show us around.  He was so proud of his picture hanging in the main hallway, and of his schoolwork and artwork hanging on the wall. 

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He gave us a tour of his classroom, showed us his desk, and read a letter he wrote to us.  He eagerly showed us his journals and showed us how much his handwriting has improved. He showed us the terrarium and baby guppies on his desk, that were part of a science unit.  He was so happy to share the part of his daily life that we don't see with us!

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He showed us the cafeteria, library, gym, art room, music room, playground, and computer lab.  He loves his school!  I love my boy.  I love his passion for learning!

Dylan is a perfectionist.  He tries so hard, and is rewarded with outstanding report cards.  I did just have to reassure him that a B really is okay!

One of the things I'm passionate about is education.  School is important.  I expect my children to do the best they possibly can!  Do I expect them to be perfect all the time?  Absolutely not!  I do, however, expect them to try their hardest.

I believe that children are naturally smart. They are curious, and have the capability to learn so much.  I believe that parents must be involved with their child's education.  I believe parental involvement is a key factor in a child's success.

I began to read to Dylan on the day I brought him home from the hospital.  It felt so silly at the time, but now he's reading so well!  Books are a daily part of our lives.  The kids see us reading, and they enjoy reading on their own.  One of their favorite destinations is the library, and they get so excited about book orders.  We read several books a day to them, and Dylan reads to us every night. 

Dylan now knows all 220 sight words. After mastering the third grade sight word list, he moved on to a special extended list that the teachers came up with.  As of today, he's completely finished with sight words!

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Dylan only has a little bit of homework at night.  He has to read 1-2 books to us, go over spelling words, and learn robust vocabulary words. In addition, I make him work on handwriting, because that's what he struggles with.

Homework only takes about 20 minutes, but it's an important part of our after school routine. We work on his homework together.  If I'm not around, Grant steps in.  I believe it's important for us to be involved and take an active interest in what Dylan is doing at school.

I know all the time spent with him is worth it!  Dylan's teachers have done nothing but rave about him, and his friends love him.  Tonight it was evident that we're raising a good, smart, sweet, kind boy! 

I was suckered into buying that picture hanging in the school, but I couldn't ignore his excitement over it.  He told us about it several times, and then showed it to us right away when we walked into the school.  It's now displayed proudly in our living room.  Proud I am!

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12 comments:

  1. Aww! A love of reading will take him so far! I love that he has such a passion for learning - how terrific! Congrats!

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  2. That is awesome that you are so involved in your children's education. As a 11th/12th grade teacher, I see SO many kids who's parents are not involoved and they truly suffer!

    You have a very special son!!!!

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  3. Way to go Dylan!! Isn't it so exciting when they love school? I'm just a big nerd, so it thrills me when Buddy gets excited about school.

    Buddy typically reads one chapter of a book each night. Last night, he finished the one chapter and asked to read another. It was still early (we read in bed, at bedtime), so I said yes. How can you say no to more reading?

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  4. How cool that you got to see the whole school. When we have open house we only get to go into the classroom. I wish our school would do a whole school tour! Grant struggles with handwriting too...it is terrible! But I get too upset about it because my handwriting is terrible too:)

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  5. Gosh he's matured so much, I can't get over how different his little face is. WTG Dylan!

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  6. What a big boy! Sounds like you're doing a great job, Momma ;)

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  7. He has grown up so much since I first found your blog!!!

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  8. Yah Dylan!! The true love of reading... Really nothing better than that!

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  9. He's such a handsome boy! Don't they grow up so fast?!

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  10. This is one of my favorite posts. You are so right!! Great job Dylan! What a smart motivated boy! Love that picture. How could you NOT buy it??!!

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