The end of first grade - Where did the school year go?

> Wow - School is out for the summer. Where did the year go - it just flew by. It was a fast ride. Quite stormy at the start, some bumps along the way, but it was the most amazing, fantastic ride. Yes, I absolutely mean that - our neighborhood School is amazing. I have turned 180 degrees. From being the mother that did not want her child to go to the large school to safe at just that school. I was so worried when coming out of our "safe" small private school, where there were only treats allowed when everyone could enjoy them, that Alena would feel left out, not be protected, etc. Silly me! Where did I come from :)
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> I endend up packing lunch every day. I could have worked with the district on determining which foods are safe, but truth be said packing your own is so much healthier :) Alena was OK - there was an Aide close by to help in anyone needed anything. Alena knows not to eat foods from other classmates, and the Aide also made sure that there was no sharing. For treats, we kept popsickles in a freezer, and her teacher made sure to get her one. At Halloween we brought in the treats for everyone and it turned out fantastic. Not once did we have to worry that she would be left out, felt left out, or anything else.
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> School in itself was not easy and in retrospect, I think we would have done things differently and started her in the neighborhood school in Kindergarten. Therefore things were harder for her, it took the teachers a while to get to know Alena and her learning style. And yes, Alena does have an Individualized Education Plan; she does receive speech therapy, and reading help. All of that is great, and no, I am not that saying that this is because of Galactosemia. A bunch of kids receive services, and my wonderful husband also received services in elementary school. - So she works hard and does not stick her head in the sand - She is so eager to learn t is amazing. The sky is the limit - She can do anything she wants to do. There are no limitations!!!
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> Now it is time to say thank you to Alena's first grade teacher extraordinare Mrs. Parr. Thank you so much for caring, and being amazing. Alena loves you :)
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> Have a great summer everyone and remember the glass is always half full!!!
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