Ideas for a smooth school transition

[Amy]

Dd will finish her 2nd grade school year in NY. I am trying to think of ways to make it flawless for her. I was thinking of some small token gifts to bring from Colorado to give to her new class, but have come up blank so far. She has always gone to private schools, so she has never taken a school bus before. She is a little scared of that because somewhere down the gossip line, she heard there are bullies on buses.?( How much control do I have in picking out her future teacher too? I want to pick a teacher who will go out of her way in making dd a part of the class. I'm also tentative that the existing class has established friendship ties already and might make it hard for dd to break into. Any ideas or thoughts about any of this? TIA

[KarlaB]

I'm really no help, but I have talked to several teachers who say definitely pick your dks teachers whenever possible. My question is this though - how will you know which teacher you want?

I love your idea to bring gifts to her new class!! I understand your worries and I know I would be the same way, but everything will work out. :tinysmile Good luck and I'll let you know if I magically get some brilliant ideas for you...don't hold your breath waiting! :newwink: :D

[littlesista06]

Amy - good luck with it all.

Could she finish this year w/out taking the bus, then make a buddy in the neighborhood and be more comfortable next year riding it??

I'd be worried about everything you've mentioned. Is dd worried about fitting in?? Maybe she'll get more attention as the new kid since she is coming in the middle of the year - at the beginning of the year, everyone is trying to make new friends but this way, everyone will get to know just her and want all be her friend.....
I hope it works that way! :)

[Amy]

Dd is a little apprehensive about starting a new school. Her current school is rather sheltered, so I don't think she knows what to expect.

I did a rather bizzare thing (even for me LOL) I called an old high school friend who I haven't talked to in about 7 years that lives in the same school district. She gave me bare minimum info on the district, but getting specific info was like pulling teeth. It was wither because she is not very involved her kid's education or she wasn't exactly beyond thrilled to talk to me. LOL

Supposedly there is a primary school k-2 and another school that is 2-5 grade. She said that the two schools have second grade, but then for third, every child moves to the 2-5 school. She said there weren't any relationship between where you live and what school you go to. Her son goes to the k-2 and the next door neighbor goes to the 2-5?( (both kids are in 2nd) I think me first reaction is to put her in the 2-5 grade school, so she doesn't get used to one school for 3 months and then move to the 2-5 school the next year. YET, she will be the youngest of the grades in a school that has much older kids. Does this make sense? I'm going to call the school district on Monday to see what my options are.

Can anyone think of a cool idea to give the kids that is easy to make?

[KarlaB]

Originally posted by Amy/CO
Can anyone think of a cool idea to give the kids that is easy to make?

Are you moving around Valentine's Day by chance? Last year I made little people for oldest ds....box of Conversation Hearts for the body and then I glued on Tootsie Rolls for the arms, Smarties for the legs and a piece of Dubble Bubble gum for the head.

I'll keep thinking....

[KarlaB]

Not sure what you're thinking, but here are a few ideas....

Snowman pin: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/season/feature/famf19wintercraft/famf19wintercraft4.html

Other Valentine crafts:
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/season/feature/famf0102valentine/

Snowman chalk:
http://www.craftsayings.com/projects/kids/chalk_snowman/index.shtml

Exotic Sand (you could put it in little jars or bags with instructions for them to add water)
http://www.craftsayings.com/projects/kids/sand_castle/index.shtml

I used to have a recipe for homemade clay, but can't find it. :\ You make HM clay, dye it any color and then cut it into thick shapes with cookie cutters and put a shape or two into a bag for each kid. The idea I saw was red hearts for Valentine's Day.

Or what about homemade crayons where you cut crayons into pieces and then melt them in cupcake tins or other fun shaped tins? You can make the crayons a solid color or mix several together.

And, what about having your dd's current class do something for her to remember them - like have them put their handprints and names on a pillowcase or a tote??

[Amy]

Those are some really cute ideas Karla!!! Unfortunately, we are moving around Feb.24th. I probably won't start her in school until March 2nd. I'm going to look over the sites you gave me too for more inspiration. Thanks!

[Lynda-WA]

I think we'll be going through this (AGAIN) at about the same time as you are. We are in the process of selling this house and the only possible holdup is the FHA accessor. It's passed inpection the other possible holdup as well as them being approved for the neccessary amount. Right now closing is schedualed for the week prior to your move.

Anyways, that means our kids will be in a new school. Possibly two more new schools since we haven't found anything to buy yet and we may need to do the rental thing while we look again.

This will be DD's second school and she's in 1st. She's majorly excited. She's always been very fearless though. I've been helping in her class here and I may see if I can there as well. Depends on how soon I get a job.

DS on the other hand isn't happy at all. He's in 5th grade and this new school will be his 4th school.

He started his second school half way though his first grade. We didn't do anything for the class. I took him in after school so he could meet the teacher and have a look around the class. We also made sure he had everything he needed when he walked through the door.

His third school he started at the beginning of 2nd grade. For that one we went to the orientation day they had at the end of 1st grade. It was a day where they sent all of the kids to meet their teachers of the next year. I thought it would be more like the K orientations. Mingle around and meet people plus talk a little bit. She just had them sit in a seat and things were pretty quiet. Maybe the problem was the teacher though since this is the one that I've complained about before.

The only consulation for him is that if we do rent, another move when we buy probably won't impact him. He'll be going to middle school anyways. He's at that age were kids hate to be different. Being the new kid is as different as you can get.


If I were you, I'd go to the 2-5 school. She's in a K-5 now right? So what will be the difference?

[Marla]

Amy, I would put her in the 2-5 school, therefore minimizing the amount of transitions that she will be having.

Have you met any of your new neighbours yet? Anyone that you can talk to regarding teachers? Why don't you give the principal a call and tell him/her your concerns. Perhaps he/she can help you with placement. Is there more than one grade 2 teacher in the 2-5 school? In our school, when a new child moves in, they don't have a choice of teachers. They are placed where there is room for them.

It would be great if you could introduce her to someone before she actually goes to school. Again, maybe you could talk to the principal if there is someone that will be living near you.

I love the idea of bringing little items for the kids or something to share with the whole class. I'll put my thinking cap on too :)

[kat]

I just had this thought. When you've talked with the principals and decided on a school, see if the school could place her with a teacher and then start a pen-pal type relationship or do it via e-mail. That way the class would already know her. She could even make a video journal of her trip across country to share with the class when she arrives. The kids I think would get a kick out of it.

[littlesista06]

Kat! What neat ideas!!

[Amy]

I called the school this morning. I think I will be registering her in the 2-5 school. They need to screen her before they can place her in a class. :( I told the lady who I was talking to about Kat's idea of wanting a penpal for dd before we leave here; therefore, would rather know who her teacher is now. She didn't quite know what to say, but told me if I could get a hold of her records now, I could fax it to the lady who would be screening her and maybe they could have some idea of who to place her with. I just emailed this lady again to reiterate that I don't want to have my dd placed in a class without any advanced warning to her or her new teacher. I would prefer that her class be "expecting" her, so it won't be so hard on dd. I would love to set up a penpal program with dd's current class and the new one, so it will bridge both classes together for her. It will all depend on the flexibility of this screening lady. I'll keep after her though! :D Thanks for all of your advice!!!!!!

[kat]

I really don't see where screening at this time of the year helps unless the school has the kids ability grouped in the first place. Here we screen prior to the start of school and then try to evenly divide kids that are high, middle, low. Then I try to get a mix at each table. After the initial class division we take new kids on the basis of who has the fewest kids and rotate if numbers are the same. The last two new kids I got were very low and considerably behind even my low group because of differing curriculums.

I'd definitely keep after the new school especially if you can go ahead and fax records and get current teacher to write or call new school to give additional info. Personally if I had a new child whose parents were as interested in making this a smooth adjustment I'd jump at the chance to get that child in my class.

[AnnW]

Originally posted by kat
The last two new kids I got were very low and considerably behind even my low group because of differing curriculums.



maybe that's why they do the screening, so that they can keep the classes balanced.

[kat]

Originally posted by AnnW


maybe that's why they do the screening, so that they can keep the classes balanced.

I know why they do the screening. My point is that now it's a numbers game. The teacher with 20 kids is not going to get any new kids and me with 17 after losing 2 (both top kids) I'm getting the next 2 kids because everyone else has 19 & 20.

[MaryL]

Originally posted by kat


I know why they do the screening. My point is that now it's a numbers game. The teacher with 20 kids is not going to get any new kids and me with 17 after losing 2 (both top kids) I'm getting the next 2 kids because everyone else has 19 & 20.


Yep...sadly that's the way it works!!!!