One and half weeks before the end of school for Christmas, Ryanne was moved to a different class at school. Apparently her school was overcrowded (20 new K students since August) and they had finally received approval from the district to hire a new teacher. They did and Ryanne was one of the ones chosen to move to the new class.
The difference is night and day. Ryanne is reading, coloring and, generally, being more pleasant at home. No longer will we have to console her about hurting unborn children's ears (something the previous teacher used to keep the class quiet). She seems much happier with the new teacher. The vibe I got was so much more supportive of children and their needs. She's experienced, but still new (5 years) and came with great recommendations. Other parents seemed apprehensive, but we were overjoyed. Ryanne received a 4 (the top score) on her progress report in her first week in the new class and the teacher said she was having no problems.
At home, Ryanne learned to ride on two wheels last month. She was using a 20" bike that a friend had given to us. She was riding pretty well, but still struggling with stops, starts, turning, etc. I finally convinced Chrys to take the training wheels off of her 16" bike and WOW! She's amazing. She's stopping, starting, turning on a dime. She's going to wipe out (and hard) pretty soon, but the difference in her confidence from bike to bike is definitely noteworthy. She's definitely a two-wheeling fiend now. Even the neighbors noticed the change.
