Today is the first day of school. We got up at 6am and made peanut butter toast
in the room which was our routine in TX.
Then we were off to the school.
Our driver was unsure of where we were going but we saw a bus from the
school and followed it in. We got to
school on time and walked the kids into the waiting area. B was very excited about going to school and
could not wait. When we got to his area
he happily went off with his new assigned buddy to get a water bottle. N was escorted from the primary area to the
middle school area by someone else so we had to say goodbye to him further from
his class. I am not worried at all about
B. He has 12 children in the class with
a teacher and an aid. He loves to try
new food and I think he will fit right in.
N is a different story. He is
starting middle school which is hard enough but he started the day without
knowing his schedule or where anything is at the school. He will also be assigned a buddy for the week
so hopefully he will get along with his buddy.
There are 32 students in his grade with two classes per subject so an
average of 16/class. For those who do
not know, N has dyslexia and dysgraphia.
He gets some accommodations from the school in TX such as being able to
type his work instead of handwriting. We
do not think his teachers are aware of this yet so today may be hard for
him. We told him not to worry that we
would get it all sorted out over the next few days but to try his best for
now. He is also getting tested for advanced
math. He is entering grade 6 but has
already done the math books for grade 6, grade 7 and is part way through grade
8. The school is going to work with us
but they are unsure of exactly how at this point. Again something we have to get sorted out over
the next few days. The person who
typically makes those calls is out of the country due to a family
emergency.
When the boys got back from school N said he enjoyed his
first day and B said it was OK. B does
not like feeling like he is behind his peers and starting 3 weeks late has put
him a little behind in things like Mandarin.
They both made some friends and the social aspect appears to be very
good so far. N even ate lunch in the
cafeteria. We are sending him each day
with the hopes he will try the food and like it. They have an Italian chef who prepares
lunch.
While the boys were in school we ran some errands but we
still have lots to do. The red tape here
is absolutely insane. That will be a blog post or two all on its
own.
I am so glad the boys had a good day at school. I hope you guys get in your apt soon so you can start to have so what of a normal routine.
ReplyDeleteHave you made any friends yet?
N is able to use his laptop, just like at home. His teachers are also a lot more relaxed about the writing unless it is in English class. For example, he had to write something for Drama and his teacher said "I can not read this, can you translate it for me?" N told him what he wrote and the teacher accepted that as his assignment.
ReplyDeleteB is having lots of organizational issues and his teacher is setting up support for him to ensure he gets his work turned in and papers sent home. He frequently gave me his Tuesday folder on Friday at PSE but the teacher only has 12 kids and he has an aid so he is going to actually watch him put the work in his bag if necessary.
In India, it has only recently become a law that all children attend school. This was to help children get an education, not to discourage legit homeschooling. Expats can homeschool with no problems.
I really wish I could eat at the school. On day 3 of school, N came home and told me he had steak for lunch. Some other items have been chicken parmigiana, beef burgers, pizza, some Chinese dishes, and spaghetti w/meatballs. All done from scratch. They also always have an Indian option and fruit.