Back to School

On Thursday Ellie returned to school. To say she was excited would be to put it mildly. Where last spring we struggled some weeks to get her off to school happily, this week she was giving hugs to the bus driver and bus aides. Her teachers have remarked that she has really grown over the summer -- one of her classroom assistants describes her as the classroom 'social butterfly', giving hugs to all her friends (they're working on getting her to ask permission first). Her teacher Ms. K shared that she was one of the first to run to the carpet for circle time, sat down right in front, crossed her legs, and did her 'bubble mouth' (filling her cheeks with air so she's not talking) all without being prompted. I don't think she was so quick last year to follow directions!

One last quick story... In Ellie's classroom there are quite a few individuals working with the children in addition to the primary classroom teacher. One of those is a special ed teacher (Ms. Tammy) who works in the room every other day, with her aide filling in on the off days. Yesterday was Ms. Tammy's day to work with the class next door. Apparently, during lunch in the cafeteria, Ellie spotted Ms. Tammy and drug her tray and chair over to sit next to her! We're so glad that Ellie loves her teachers so much and are grateful to see evidence of continued growth and improvement in her!

P.S. All photos courtesy of Jan Graves. Thanks, Jan!