Ready or Not....

Last night we attended Matthew's new school's open house.  We went down his schedule and met each of his teachers one by one.  All of the teachers that we met were very friendly and very helpful as far as accommodating his English limitations.  We had to purchase his PE clothing, gym bag, his lock and a student planner.

He had the opportunity to meet and speak with the soccer coach, if he makes the team.  It will be difficult to make the team since he's never actually been trained in soccer or learned any disciplines. However, we figured it doesn't hurt to let him try out so he can see where he needs to be to make the team.  We think it will be a good learning experience for him.  If he does make the team, it will be great for him to finally have some soccer training and learn the actual skills and disciplines of the game. 

We needed to get his sports physical and shots before the first day of school.  His regular doctor's office is out of the shot he needed until October and the doctor was out of the office today so she couldn't fill out his Sports Physical paperwork, so we just went to the Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic because they do Sports Physicals.  It was fast and easy.  It just cost extra money since they don't take insurance for Walk-In Sports Physicals.

When we got home from open house Tim worked with him on how to open his lock with the combination inside the box.  He picked it up pretty quickly and he taught Kylie and Haley how to open his lock as well.  We went over his schedule and where the different classes are located.  We told him what to do if he gets confused or lost at school.  We went over what room number he needed to show up for his soccer briefing and practice and reviewed what the coach's name is.   We went over what different school supplies are called, "Notebook," "3-ringed binder," "Planner," etc. He has so many things to learn and understand.  It's all of these things you really don't think about until you have a child who has no clue what the English words are for these things.

Today we had to go shopping to get him a few smaller clothing items like socks and underwear.  He needed soccer cleats for his tryouts and PE sneakers.  He wanted me to teach him what outfits "matched" for school and what shoes look best with what outfits.  He is very particular about matching and looking nice.  He likes things ironed and neat.  He likes to wear cologne and smell good as well so that is a real blessing.  I love having a neat and clean boy because I know so many boys his age are NOT neat or clean and they definitely can't keep track of their belongings like he does!

Monday we have to go meet the ESL director at a different public school.  He wants to check Matthew's laptop for progress on his Rosetta Stone.  Then we will need to sign the laptop out for this entire school year.  The ESL director will give us another briefing on how the ESL program works.  It is my understanding that they will pull Matthew out of his regular classes for ESL tutoring every day for 30 minutes a day.  Somewhere in there they will do some testing on him to see exactly where he is and if he has any learning disabilities.

We have had a lot going on with getting him ready for school.  It is exciting to me that his school seems to be so helpful and motivated to help him succeed.  He looked a little nervous on Open House night, but he told me today he is really excited for school to start.  He prayed last night in family devotions that he would do really well in school and learn English really fast.  We think he will be stretched this year, but he is a very competitive boy and I believe he will work hard to catch up to the other "guys" in his class.  With his positive attitude and determination we really think we will see a lot of growth and maturity in him.  Ready or not.....2014-2015 School Year, here we come!  (Pray for him...and also for me.  I will probably cry for him like I cried for the girlies on their first day of Kindergarten!!)