Meet the Teacher

It seemed odd to take Ella to the “upper classmen” hallway this year to meet her teacher. Where did my little kindergartener go? Her teacher this year is Ms. Head and her room was decked out with a theater theme which included popcorn. Ella was thrilled. Ms. Head is a relatively new teacher at Donald and she exudes creativity and fun. It looks like it will be a great year for Ella.
We escorted Kayla to the first grade hall to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Bratton. She was a little sad to have to pass by the kindergarten classrooms and said repeatedly, “I wish I could still be in Mrs. Redden’s class.” I am excited about this change for Kayla though because Mrs. Bratton is a reading recovery specialist and I’m sure she has a lot of tools to help her grow and progress this year.
Another change that occurred this year (we’re still not sure if it is a welcome change or not) is the addition of iPads in the classroom. Every child in first to fifth grade was issued their very own iPad. Kayla dropped hers in the driveway just after we picked them up and I sighed. I am trying to withhold negative criticism yet, but the truth is that I live in fear of the iPad! (There’s the fact that it may break or be lost or stolen, having to police it all the time, having my kids grow smarter at technology than myself, having them miss out on important socializing opportunities in favor of the iPad, having them cross something inappropriate, having their moral sensibilities tested—I didn’t say that I was being rational with all of this, of course, but many of my concerns are valid.) But for now, we are actually looking forward to beginning school and trying to fall into a routine that includes my first grader typing her spelling words into “notes.” What a crazy world they are growing up in!