This year, we were so excited for Brooks to begin first grade, in the classroom, at a local school for gifted learners. We did homeschooling last year, but thought that a traditional school might be a good idea for first grade. Everything seemed like it would be ideal. And then, it wasn’t.
Brooks is a bright little guy. He is read at a 5th grade reading level (or he was at the beginning of last school year). He catches on to things quickly. He is a hard worker and he is determined.
Brooks’ First Day
In this school, students are placed in math and language arts courses based on their abilities. This sounds great, right? The problem is this… he is five years old, being placed in an homeroom class with 1st and 2nd graders, and being treated as such…like a seasoned second grader.
While Brooks was so excited for his first day at school, it was a disaster. The school requested that we drop him off at the curb, and cross our fingers that he would make it to the appropriate classroom. They wanted us to wait in our cars after school, and cross our fingers in hopes that he’d make it back to our car. He is FIVE YEARS OLD at a brand new school. After 50 minutes, he was nowhere to be found. Panicking, we got out of the car to go find him. He was still in his classroom, and when he emerged, he had tears in his eyes, as he was one of the last kids in the classroom. No.
This was just one of many issues we faced this first day. The message was clear…this wasn’t going to be a safe space for a bright, gentle hearted five year old boy.
What did Brooks Think?
Brooks had some fun on the first day, but he faced many challenges, too. He couldn’t open the classroom door to go to the bathroom, he opened his lunch too early, and when his teacher told him it wasn’t time yet, he struggled to close it, dumping his whole lunch on the ground. He was placed at the back table, and struggled to hear the teacher over the chaos in the classroom. At recess, they were taken to a rock wall, designed for the older students at the K-8, instead of the playground. He tried to be really strong, and assert that he had a great time. But, as he talked more about his day, and as we woke up, crying throughout the night, we knew that we had to make some decisions.
Back to Homeschooling We Go
So here we are again. We withdrew Brooks from the school, again. And we are embarking on our homeschooling journey, again. And I couldn’t be more excited. We are choosing K12 this year for our curriculum, to ensure that Brooks is getting a well-rounded education from the safety and comfort of our own home, while I continue to work from home full time. Bu this will give us opportunities for extension for Brooks, to keep him challenged and engaged.
Stay tuned for more about our adventure.
Read more about our first attempt at homeschooling, here:
