Anyone else nervous????

[bugsmom]

Is anyone else nervous about the new school year? I mean I know that we all are, but I was thinking about Josh starting school in a week and I actually got butterflies!!!

Even though he will have 4 other teachers this year, his homeroom teacher, the one he'll be with the most, is making me a little nervous. She's very nice and a great educator, but she a bit reactive and I'm starting to feel icky about it. I have a meeting with her the day before school and I'm not sure how to put it in words that "over-reacting" to Josh's behavior is the worst thing she could do. I've never had a teacher have a problem with this infromation, but I don't feel good about this one. I'm afraid she'll take my helpful information in the wrong way. I don't know, maybe I'm just worring for nothing.

Any suggestions?

[misty]

I'm a lot nervous too, bugsmom. We don't have any idea who Shannon's teacher will be this year yet. Theres an orientation Wednesday evening We'll go to, but the homerooms won't be posted until Friday afternoon. And they haven't even sent me her bus # or time yet! Plus this is the first year she'll be changing classes & having a locker & with her HUGE attention deficit I have no idea how she'll do. And then she'll need to take gym & swimming clothes to change into a couple days a week...

You're lucky to get a chance to meet Josh's teacher in advance. At least you can try to get some ideas in her head. I can't remember, does Josh have an IEP? Most of the things I worry about are at least touched on in Shannon's IEP. We even have some organizational goals written in, but at the very least I know her academics are covered in there.

[puzzled]

I am nervous too about Chase starting middle school. He will have gym 3 days a week (luckily our school is too poor for a pool. LOL). As proud and happy as I am that he is skipping to pre Algebra, I am a bit nervous about that as well. We have open house tomorrow night and school starts on Wednesday. I am planning on trying to go and pick him up every other Friday to straighten up the locker....

Still have to go in and modify his 504, but the principal has been bending over backwards on that front. If the teachers are as accommodating we will be in business.

I am going to get hard copies of any notes given in class....I know he won't take coherent notes, and I want to get the teachers to email me once a week with assignments incomplete or missing, and I would LOVE an assignment list...they can give me a syllabus or whatever, but I want to know what he has coming up....I know there is a leaf collection in 6th grade...better start pressing leaves soon. I would also like him to have a slight leeway on turning in assignments...I remember Jonna (undx ADHD) would have an assignment done and forget it in her locker/at home/in another book, and a teacher would not let her retrieve it...I would like him to be able to do so within a reasonable amount of time with little/no penalty....do you think I can get that in a 504?

[charliegirl]

Frankly, I'm terrified. I am afraid he didn't learn things in homeschool he will need and with him going into 7th, it will be a double whammy.

At least they have a homework hotline so I can check to see what he has each night. I have a feeling that we are going to have many groundings because he didn't bring the necessary books home and will have to catch up. I just hope the teachers will allow that.

I don't know any of them at all this year. There is one who is the son of a great teacher I had but I hear he isn't like his father, so who knows how that will work out.l

[bugsmom]

Gosh I'm glad we have this forum to come to! I get so worked up this time of year worrying over the "what if's". All my friends that have "normal" kids just don't get it.

To answer your question Misty, we don't have an IEP. Josh goes to a very small private christian school and they have been so accommodating that we've never had to put one in place. But as he gets older, I really feel we should have something formal in place. I'm lucky that Josh's school is K-8 and I don't have the middle school anxiety that you all are feeling. I couldn't even imagine Josh going to our local middle school. They would chew him up and spit him out in a minute. That's one of the reasons I've kept him at this school, everyone knows him and has been so helpful. But this 6th grade teacher has me a little worried. She was his math teacher last year and over-reacted to something he did in class and she ended up calling me at home to apologize. I just don't want to start the year on a bad note. I'm trying not to ask for too many things. The main things I always ask for is an extra set of books for home, less math homework problems, and letting him type out papers instead of writing, writing, writing. He also has had card blanche from the principle to come to his office ANYTIME he feel any anxiety or frustration in which he is feeling overwelmed. He didn't have to do that but twice last year. I don't know...I'm praying things will be ok. His teacher last year was a God Send, she totally brought his self-esteem back up to par after a disasterous 4th grade year. I just don't want to take any steps back with a teacher who isn't as understanding of ADD.

I feel for all of you...I don't know what I'd do if I didn't know what teachers Josh was going to have. That's really got to be hard. Let's hang in there together...it's all we can do.

[katiekat]

Im definitely nervous. I am so worried about how Sean is going to make through a full day. I have re and re-read everything his teacher sent home over the summer about what they will be doing in 1st grade. I am worried about everything down to him eating lunch at school. He wants to buy his lunch but there is no way I can let him. He takes 45 minutes to eat half a sandwich so he can't waste any lunch time standing in line. He is also so clumsy that I dont think he'd make it to the table without dropping his food. So I bought him a lunchbox in the shape of a Power Ranger head and called him and told him so now he's ok about packing lunch.He's quite excited to see it. Also I heard from other parents that his teacher is very hard on the kids so she's the one that ends up with all the "behavior problems." And mostly I am still discouraged from all the resistence I met with last year and I don't feel like dealing with that again. I will have less time to deal with it as well since I'll be in school myself. And I'm very nervous for myself because I have to take a math class. On a good note Joseph is confident and bold and ready to tackle middle school. On another good note my husband agrees with me about moving and were going to put our house on the market. I am confident that the town I want to live in will be much more helpful with Sean.

[notellin]

Actually, my son's school has given me such a hard time that I'm numb. I'm beyond tired of them and their comments, notes, suspensions, and whatever. I can't even get myself interested enough to fill out the paperwork.

[lcdc1]

YUP, I did not think it would sneak up so fast and yes, I am dreading the start of the IEP season and meeting with the shcool to see how unprepared I am and how ADHD I am!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHH - you are not alone.

[annem]

Wow .. you guys are bringing back so many memories in this thread !! .. Yep sure I am SOOO pleased school life is now behind my son ... but I can remember feeling just the same way as you all describe !!

In my experience of my son going through school the "key" ingredient was the teachers he had ... some he would be an "angel" with and they "loved him" and others just rubbed him up the wrong way INSTANTLY(and they hated him!) and it stuck like that for the whole school year ... every year through high school !!

I remember his Head of Year (who oversaw the bigger picture) saying "Some of them think he is just WONDERFUL and others can't wait to see the back of him!" ...

GOOD LUCK everyone... for the upcoming new school year !!

[lcdc1]

Hey, I made it through registration with my 8th grader, I wanted to scream the whole time and had to use all my focus and will power to get through it.............

Hate to complain about it, but they have got to get a better process. I thought I had everything filled out ahead of time, but NO, I had to update forms, read this, fill out that, redo packets of stuff, pick up handfuls of phamplets and stuff. Now I have a stack of papers I will never look at again - This is a time I hate having ADHD!!

But we survived and she seems happy with her schedule except the IEP math class in the LRC room at the end of the day!

Now I just have to make an appt in the next couple days to meet her new IEP math instructor and caseworker for the year.