Second Grade Has Begun!

Not sure what happened in terms of the color. I must have had my camera on a strange setting.

Eva on the first day of second grade -- August 12, 2010.

Eva at her desk next to her buddy Henry Burch -- lots of curls in that front row!

Wow – how is it possible that Eva has started second grade? Seems like not so long ago that we were coming home from Guatemala.

All summer, I have been thinking that there is a meaningful difference between 1^st and 2^nd grades, something I didn’t feel between kindergarten and first. My thoughts were confirmed at parent orientation. The kids will be getting letter grades this year, which seems more “real” to me for some reason (means nothing to Eva, of course; she didn’t really pay attention to her non-letter grades the last two years). I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when the teacher began talking about the “math facts” they should know within a few weeks. First, I had to ask what “math facts” are and then I had to gulp to think Eva needs to know addition to 20 within a few weeks. Now some of you may be thinking piece of cake, and that’s great for you and your child, but math and Eva (and me!) aren’t such good friends. So, I rushed off to Target to buy some addition flashcards! Now if I can just convince myself that that will do the trick.

Eva’s teacher, Mrs. Green, seems great. The classroom is a great environment. As you can see, they sit at “real” desks in rows. Thankfully, fidgety, social Eva’s desk is in the front row. I don’t know if Mrs. Green read through Eva’s report cards or spoke with her first grade teacher to learn that front row would be helpful or if it was just chance. From my perspective it is great!

Hopefully, I’ll update more regularly as the year proceeds, so you can experience 2^nd grade with us.