1st grade - done!

I can't believe it has been so long since the last time I posted anything on the blog.   My son just finished first grade and it was a success!  I think I spent as much time at the kid's school this year as the students!  The first couple of weeks were a bit overwhelming for my son (he required a nap in the afternoon - usually taken in the nurse's office) but he soon got used to the schedule.   It made a big difference that he had an aide with him during the class day.  At the start of the school year, he had an aide for almost the entire school day but by the end of the school year the aide was there only briefly in the morning and in the afternoon (when he was more fatigued). 

It is truly amazing to see how far my son has come since the beginning of the school year.  You know when you get all the paperwork, notebooks, drawings, etc. that your kids bring home the last week of school that you just pile up until you have the energy to go through it all?  Well, I started going through that pile (just a little) this past week.  My son had one writing journal/folder that he used the entire school year.  The difference in his handwriting at the beginning of the year versus the end of the year is just incredible.  It is two different handwriting styles. 

Here is a what my son's handwriting looked like at the start of the school year:

You can tell that the writing is more light and that he had problems with word spacing as well as the size of his letters. 

Here is what my son's handwriting looked like by the end of the school year:

The contrast is amazing, right?!  The words are darker which means he is applying more pressure on the paper from his pencil and holding his pencil correctly.  There is the appropriate amount of space between each word.  He learned how to properly capitalize (for the most part) and write in lower case.  The size of the words on the page fit the space.  The sentences are coherent instead of a bunch of words just written on the page with an occasional correct phrase.  He still needs work on starting each sentence with a capital letter and making the period a little more defined but I have to say much improved.  Definitely a exciting moment for mom and dad to see the difference as we flipped through his notebook! 

The difference is even more apparent in his writing worksheets.  The first month or so he had papers that had these big line and space to write words and again he barely fit three words on a line and there was no spacing between words, etc.  By the end of the school year, the space to write was the size of wide ruled notebook paper and his writing was the appropriate size and space.  All I can say is I am very proud of how much he has improved on his writing this school year!  His OT was also thrilled to see the difference.  She reminded me of how he used to have problems with his lower case "g".  He used to write it with a circle and a line attached to the top of the circle that came straight out and then went straight down.  His OT was so happy to see how he can write it now - correctly!

This improvement that is reflected in my son's writing, is also the same improvement he made in his reading and to a lesser degree his math.  My son is not a fan of math.  He also improved in his artwork and music participation.  

This was also a reminder to me to not set my expectations too low.  I was really nervous and frankly scared that my son would not be able to keep up with the rigorous curriculum and challenge of a full school day but he proved to me that he was and is able to keep up with the rest of his classmates.  Second grade will be another challenging year but he will be more prepared for all that will come!