I can’t believe summer has already ended and school is back in full swing! Here are some updates on how the kiddos are doing!

My oldest, Elyssa, is in 1st grade and we are finding that homework for Elyssa has definitely increased from last year. I think Elyssa is better at times at getting her homework done, but then on other occasions she has little breakdowns. She’ll cry and say, “I don’t want to do any more work!” She asks me why she is the only one having to do homework. She wants to know why Natalie doesn’t have homework. I’ll remind her that when she was 4-years-old that she didn’t have homework either. It is amazing how a 2-minute reading assignment can drag out into a 30-minute ordeal! Ah, the drama that comes with this girl!

My middle daughter, Natalie, is in 4K and loving it. Natalie comes home, makes pallets all over her bedroom floor and puts babies on all of them. She will turn out the lights and turn on lullaby music. She will tell all of her babies to go to sleep and she even takes names of the babies that talk out of turn! Attention, Mrs. March! Natalie must mimic everything you do when she gets home! Ha! We have already seen in Natalie a natural-born teacher!

Our special little girl, Victoria, is in an inclusive Pre-K class in the public elementary school. Victoria is the only child in the class with Downs so far. The other children either have autism or learning disabilities. There may be a child or two in the classroom that are considered “typical” children. Victoria has already stolen the hearts of her teachers, principal, cafeteria workers … pretty much everyone at the school! Victoria is still so tiny, so it is funny to see her walking down the school hallway to her class with a backpack on her back. She has quickly gotten into the routine of her class. She unpacks her backpack when she enters the classroom and quickly goes to her seat. She sees an Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist at school and is progressing, but at a slower rate.

Mark and I have had the privilege of going into Victoria’s classroom on Fridays and leading the kids in a fun music time. We have really enjoyed being able to be a small part of what goes on in the classroom and hope to leave the kids with some fun memories from this year.

To conclude this update, we want to give a big “thank you” to all of the wonderful teachers helping our kids along in their learning journey! You are all a blessing to us!!