Day 35

So Zack amazed me today in that he is already able to count by 10s using his abacus! Most of my kids did not know how to count by 10s, but he was really confident. I used (and made, I think) an abacus in sixth grade, but I don't remember much. Maybe math is an area I should explore more as Zack is in my class for my entire 90 minute math block every day. I think the latest schedule for our vision teachers is finally set, and I'm going to be keeping my AWESOME teacher with me. She was with him all day on Friday, and it was SO nice to have Zack back to normal. He just behaves so much more maturely with her. I think she has much higher expectations and is much stricter with him. Also, she takes care of any discipline issues and doesn't rely on me. It is a huge load off of my shoulders having her in there. She is also the most positive and energetic woman, always doing things for the class and for other staff members. Having her with me all day has just been a boost for my energy and attitude. I will miss not having a vision student next year since she won't be with me! The change was definitely a good thing a month or so ago--who would have known?! So I watched really closely this week when we went out as a class for our extra recess, and Zack ended up swinging by himself (with his teacher pushing him) for the entire 15 minutes. The other kids were preoccupied by a visit from our middle school helper who spent the first three days of the school year with us. They adore her, and she had more than half the class (if not all the class!) following her around the playground. Poor Zack was left by himself, but he seemed very content on the swings. Maybe next week I'll get to see a more normal play time as I'm curious how the kids interact with him. They are so "into" him in the classroom that I can't imagine that him swinging all alone is normal. His social development and interaction is clearly the most interesting piece to me as I'm curious to see his friendships (or lack there of) begin to form.