Happy new school year, fellow parents. Oof. There are many different emotions around our house about going back to school. The structure of school is hard for us, and the lack of structure in summer is also hard for us. Different pros and cons.

My daughter told me in tears a few days before 2nd grade started that school just feels so overwhelming. I was proud of her for being able to articulate her feelings and so sad that I couldn’t change this for her. I know school is probably really overwhelming for her most days because of how many tasks she is asked to do that she can’t quite do yet. She is such a rule follower and really enjoys doing what she is supposed to do, so to consistently feel like she can’t measure up to what is expected of her by her teachers crushes her a bit. She is going to be okay and these struggles are going to be part of what makes her who she is. And also, it sucks to see your child crushed at all. I gave her a long hug and told her she wouldn’t be alone. And then we watched a movie.

I have a meeting with her new school tomorrow to discuss her IEP. She’s been in a new school every year so far, partially due to the pandemic and partially due to lots of family transitions. I am really hoping that this place can be her place for the remainder of her elementary school journey. We shall see.

I’m curious to hear what supports they are going to propose. I’m confident about the support I want to ask for and fight for if it comes to that. In my own work, I’m spending this year diving deeper into what the best curriculums are for students like my daughter and what the best ways of training teachers in these programs are. I’m eager to see what I continue to learn, like if she’s a better candidate for speech-to-print or print-to-speech. Or if a dosage of 2-3 times a week will work for her or if she will need a full-day school program. Or if it’s just her reading, or if math and writing are also going to be their own types of challenges.

I love her so very much and believe in who she is with my whole heart. She can do this and I feel so honored to get to be a part of the story. I’ll let you know how the IEP meeting goes.

Cheers to another school year of doing our best,

Kait