Chance graduates from elementary school

Chance is officially  no longer an elementary school child.  He has moved into the realm of junior high school.

Wow.

Chance has transitioned before of course, like when he graduated from the School for the Deaf  and was fully integrated into a neighborhood school. 

Now, he will transition to junior high.  It is a little weird.  I think each time any of your children reach these milestones it is a time of reflection for the parents.

I don't worry too much about Chance in junior high.  He has done really well in school thus far and he is confident and secure in himself leading into this new phase.  One of the boys during the last week of school could not fulfill his role as a mathematician in the Renaissance festivities so Chance learned the lines of the joke and beautifully played Sir Issac Newton working out a math problem.  In about 10 minutes he memorized the part and then went on to perform the skit with his brother for the different grades in the school all day long.  He has confidence to go out there and try things.

Any concerns I have about Chance in junior high can be summed up as follows:  junior high school is not the most pleasant of years for most people.  Not many people I have encountered in life would go back to those junior high years given the opportunity.  Even though those years find you fully supported by your parents financially as you can't yet qualify for a job, living at home, hanging out with friends and still on the cusp of childhood.  Junior high is when many people start to get a complex about themselves because of their weight, height, clothes, and any difference they perceive.

From the first, it occurred to my husband and me that Chance's implants would always be highly visible.  Girls can kind of hide theirs with their hair if they feel the need.

Chance has never expressed any negative thoughts about wearing  implants.  In fact a few weeks ago, I tried to feel him out a little bit about how he felt about being deaf.  I just said something like,"Chance, how do you feel about being deaf?"

He paused, and I thought maybe something was going to be revealed that I had not realized before. Instead, Chance said with conviction,"It's awesome!  I can hear if I want to, and I can take my implants off if I don't."
It's awesome.  We want to keep that thought.

I have a meeting with the school Chance will be attending next year  to get a feel for things and make the school aware of Chance.  He is on an IEP (individualized education plan) and we will discuss any accommodations he may need.  Chance does not require much anymore.  He has speech, he has it written into his IEP that he can request to be tested in a quiet environment or make other modifications if needed.  He has been working with the special ed teacher at his old school on vocabulary and expression. This was at my request to try and correct some minor glitches that I wanted to try and take care of before Chance hit junior high.  She worked on just what I wanted her to and we are grateful.

With his new school, Chance will be required to read.  A lot.  This should not be hard for Chance as he loves to read, but reading what you want and reading assigned books that have hard words and that make you have to really think is another thing.

The school uses mostly classic books which I love.  It also means that some of those books have different vocabulary and are not written the same way books are today.  The wording and the expression are not familiar in our society.  Once the books are read, Chance will have a class where they discuss the books, flesh them out and really think about them.  I love this aspect too.  This all just means that Chance will have to read fast and comprehend deeply so that he can discuss and debate what he has read with his peers.

I want to give Chance a leg up on this so I have acquired the book list for next year from Chance's assigned counselor at school and I will read them over the summer.  Some of the books I am already familiar with, some I am not.  I figure if I read them and can discuss them with Chance too, it can only help.

I am thinking of having Chance read the books this summer and get a feel for them so he will already be familiar with the material and can dig deeper when he is assigned the books in school next year.  Some of the books will be easier to read than others so I may not have him  read the easier ones during the summer. The boy should have some fun this summer and have time to read whatever pleases him or catches his eye.  I envision long summer days and good books as part of our summer plan.

This is the list of books that I know of so far:

"The Hiding Place":, by Corrie Ten Boom(one of my favorite books)
"The Home Ranch,:by Ralph Moody(another favorite)
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
"The Bronze Bow"
"Greek Gods and Goddesses"
"Children's Homer"
"Tales from Shakespeare"

I am excited to begin my summer reading list. 

Here is Chance's skit from the Renaissance Fair at school. Quite cleaver I thought.  Kudos to the Drama teacher who made this fair highly entertaining and gave the kids some great memories.