Kaylen - Fourth Grade, Aug 2012

Kaylen was so excited to be assigned to her first choice of teacher for 4th grade. I don't think she really knew the other three fourth-grade teachers though. The teacher she got had been a 2nd grade teacher - not her 2nd grade teacher, but her class had been right next door and had done some activities together, so she knew her and really liked her.

She also was super-excited to have one of her best friends from last year in her class again this year. They've seen each other several times over the summer - her friend would try to come to the pool on daycare pool trip days, and they've also done a couple sleep-overs. Her family was out of town when the class list was posted, so I let them know via Facebook. :)

Kaylen was very excited to go to the mall to shop at Justice for back-to-school clothes, as I'd promised. It was an interesting trip, but we both survived, and we did come home with a couple tops instead of an entire outfit and a fancy new bag. She also was able to spend a little of her own money as well. Shoes were even more difficult to find some that fit and we could agree on, but we finally found some tennis shoes - the day before school started!

Kaylen was most excited to see her friends again. Her excitement was evident, although since she's older she had to pretend she wasn't excited for school to be starting. She is excited, however, to be starting the extended learning program (ELP) class for humanities (reading mostly). She's a super reader, and after their first year of standardized testing last winter, they got her signed up for this school year. I think it makes her feel so important! I think she'd do well in math/science too if she applied herself, but math isn't fun to her, so she usually just tries to finish as quickly as possible and doesn't test well with simple errors.

After the first day of school, Kaylen's first comment was that she really liked her teacher, and she's enjoying seeing her friends every day again. She's told a few stories of her friends' summer activities. She was excited to start ELP class. When Elijah told about his first day, she told me that 4th grade only gets one recess. :( She also really took on a nice big-sister helper role for Josephine - helping her get to where she needed to go the first few days.

I'm so proud of how well she's doing in school! How does the time go so quickly?!? In another two years she'll be in middle school!