Looking forward to first grade

I am very excited about Aaron's upcoming first-grade year. Towards the end of this school year, Aaron's teacher told me she was recommending him for a 1st-2nd transition class. It's a class they developed for kids who pass first grade but who could benefit from repeating the year in a more advanced class before moving to 2nd grade. They also invite advanced Kindergartners to join the class, so they can do more challenging work. The class is actually more new-first-graders than repeaters, so it's more like a "gifted" class for first grade.

The transition teacher tested Aaron, and my jaw dropped when they told me Aaron was reading on a 4th grade level! I knew he could read anything he wanted to...he reads some of the biggest words and I can't believe how well he reads...but I was shocked to hear it as an actual grade level. I met with the transition teacher a couple of weeks ago, and she told me it was rare to have 4th grade level readers, but she's actually going to have two in the class next year. Wow!

The class will basically skip the normal first nine-weeks' first-grade curriculum, which is mostly review. They will jump right into October-November work. She told me they do alot of non-fiction reading and basically challenge the kids to read more books at their reading level. I talked to her about my concerns about Aaron's size and age...I don't want him to be picked on or feel self-concious about being the smallest and possibly the youngest in the classroom. She seemed confident he would do fine, and the principal even assured me that his new teacher is really good with including the quiet students and encouraging them to make friends.

I'm so proud of my boy!