Preparing for Middle School

It's clearly been a long time since I've been on here but I back!! Jahmeir is now and 5th grade and it's been a real journey. Our best year so far has been 3rd grade. His teacher was truly amazing and went the extra mile to help ensure that despite his difference he still excelled and did an exceptional job in 3rd grade. We started behavior therapy, which I have my likes and dislikes about, but overall I've seen Jahmeir really grow and mature in many ways. As he has grown, the social struggles have changed and so we still struggle socially with many things. While Jahmier has become better aware of others feelings and has become well versed in have dialogue that considers all parties involved, he still faces challenges with making friends and interacting with his peers without somehow wondering off on his own or becoming annoyed when he's around a crowd of people.

I must be honest and say I was not at all pleased with the 4th grade. Jahmeir's teacher was a sweet heart but lacked the skills and structure that Jahmeir needed to remain organized and focused. We

watched Jahmeir regress both socially and academically and it drove me crazy!! The teacher wanted so bad to impress me and focused so much on that, that Jahmeir got lost and really did not have a successful 4th grade year.

Moving on to 5th grade... So far his teacher is one of the BEST yet!! Jahmeir jumped 2 reading levels only in a month or so of school and came home so excited about school, which was the complete opposite of last year. He is also back to being above level in math but his test anxiety remains a struggle with testing. I hate testing because it doesn't truly show what a child does or doesn't know. This has been our new task and it's been an interesting one. Thank God Jahmeir loves technology because much of what he has to achieve this year and for middle and high school involves research. So far it's been pretty good because the topics have been of interest to him but we will see when it's a topic he isn't interested in. Jahmier is also playing the clarinet now and is into basketball which is great!! He has identified several friends at school what he has hung with outside of school.

We are now preparing for middle school and I must admit I AM SCARED OUT MY MIND!! I worry for the same reasons most moms worry when their kids are transitioning into a new phase in life. I'm back to blogging so I will be sure to blog the journey.... Stay tuned.