MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT . . .

Last night was Back to School Night for Middle School.  I'm very glad I went, although when I first got there I just kept thinking about how tired I was and that I wished I'd stayed home!  The way it works is you start out by meeting the Middle School Principal and he gives a little talk.  Then you follow your child's daily schedule.  We spent 15 minutes in every class that the kids have.  I started out in Band.  I could have gone to Band or Drama, and since I knew I was going to see Jason's Drama teacher for 4 other classes, I decided to attend the Band session.  Jason has decided to play the Oboe.  I am picking it up this afternoon, and he will actually start practicing next week.  According to his instructor, he's supposed to practice about 15-20 minutes everyday.  I just hope my ears, and my neighbors, can take it!  The 5th grade Band will be giving 2 concerts throughout the year.  He's really excited about it, so hopefully he'll learn something from it! 

Next I went to Math Class.  They are doing something called Everyday Math.  He will have homework every night.  She said it's the hardest Math program she's ever taught.  For those of you that know me really well, you know that math isn't exactly my subject, so I have a feeling it's going to be a long year!  From there we went to Theme.  Theme is Science and Social Studies.  They spend about 6 weeks on Social Studies, and then 6 weeks on Science, and vice versa.  Sounds like they're going to have some pretty interesting subjects and projects throughout the year.  From there I went to Mandarin; all of which went right over my head!  I've decided I have a hard enough time speaking the English language.  The chances of me learning Chinese are pretty much slim to none!  But at least I learned what to expect throughout the year.  I guess my kids will be able to communicate with others around us very soon. 

After that I went to Religion.  I could have chosen between Religion, Health, and PE.  In Religion they are reading portions of the book Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul.  I think I might look for it for Jason.  It sounds like there are some pretty interesting topics in there.  From there I went to Language Arts, and then Homeroom.  He has the same teacher for Math, Theme, Language Arts, and Homeroom.  Language Arts is going to be pretty interesting for him this year.  On Mondays he has a Poetry journal due, Tuesdays is a Blog, and I can't remember the rest of the week.  (I guess I should have paid better attention)!  :-)  The Blog I think is pretty cool.  Every week he has to write a piece on the Concordia Blog, based on what he's currently reading.  Then he also has to respond to 2 other people's Blog's.  She said that it becomes very interesting and very personal throughout the year.  I'm very anxious to see it.  Plus, people from home can see it too, so I'll let you know the web address whenever I get it. 

I asked Jason earlier this week if he liked his teacher, and he told me yes he did.  Then when I asked him why, he told me that she told good stories, she made class interesting, and that she was funny.  I saw during the night why he liked her.  She definitely is funny and knows how to keep things interesting.  It looks like he got pretty lucky this year with his teacher.  I was telling her that he likes to read like 2 or 3 books at the same time, and I asked her if that was typical.  She told me yes that it wasn't her fault, I had a boy, and I needed to talk to God about that.  I told her that I do, EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!!