The Good and the Bad

The best part of this school year so far is definitely that 13 of my 17 students from last year returned this year. It is kind of like having a huge family with all the kids the same age. I feel very connected to my students now. We had our share of struggles last year but this year most of them evaporated. I know where every student is in all of the domains. I know each child's strengths, when they need a hug, and when they need me to stand firm. And, all of my 6 new students have fallen right in line with the class. It is going great.
Now for the bad. One of my returning students has been diagnosed with leukemia. It is really great that her mother was able to help the doctors catch the disease. L. is having spinal taps and chemotherapy. She is really being a trooper. I went by to drop off some work, a cd, and to check on her on Monday. She really, really, loves school. Of all of my students from last year, she will probably be affected by missing school for long periods the most.
As I was sitting there and her mother mentioned how her oldest daughter was using her laptop it came to me what I needed to do.
L. needed her own blog. I new she would feel more connected to the life of our class if she could see and talk to us each day. Her mother is teach savvy enough to do the posts at home. She named the blog, Missing School.
Each morning now we check to see what L. has to say. We have posted video of our class singing our favorite songs, posted some wishes from the kids, and I will begin posting video messages from the kids soon.
I will probably try to get the class to dictate what they want to say to me at some point and maybe even have them copy it down. L. Seems to be really happy about it too.
So, now we have a way to cope and hopefully L. will beat the disease handily. She is hoping to return for brief periods after the holidays.
Due to privacy constraints I can't share the blog with the world but I will keep you posted.