All in school

Having returned just two days prior from a week long beach trip with a crazy sleeping schedule I was worried about the kids starting school.  Sunday night they were anxious for school the next day and they all had a hard time going to sleep.  The kids were a little more nervous because we had missed "Meet the Teacher" during our trip.

On August 22, 2011 Kylee started 5th grade.  She said the day went quickly and that it was good.  She likes having recess before lunch.  When I went to pick her up after school she looked so grown up.  She definitely looked like one of the older kids in the school.

Brayden started 3rd grade. He was happy to have one of his friends in his class, and he got to see his two other good friends.  He loved his teacher last year because she was really nice.  He is still trying to figure out how he feels about his new teacher.

Julia started Kindergarten.  She was happy to get to play with play doh on the first day and she was especially excited that she got to keep it.  She said her teacher is nice.  Julia had a hard time adjusting to the full day of school.  For the first week she would break down and cry for anything, she did a lot of whinning, and generally acted like she was tired.  If you know Julia this is very out of character.  She has mellowed out as time has gone on.

Blake was sad he was not going to school with them, but he did better at home alone than I thought he would.  He hung out playing next to me while I tried to clean the house.  

In the afternoon on the 1st day of school they are smiling.  It must not have been that bad.

Blake had his first day of MDO (Mother's Day Out) on September 6th.  He had been recently asking about when he was going to go to school and was excited to start.  He is going two days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the same place Brayden went 5 years before.  We went to an open house to met his teacher and he was a little shy.

They do a 20 minute rest time for which they take a blanket, towel, or sleep mat.  When Blake opened up his new spiderman backpack and saw his froggy blanket inside he took it out and did not want it in there.  I told him that there was a quiet time and he was going to lay down and rest.  He told me, "I am not going to sleep there.  There are no beds at school."  I snuck it back in before we left. When I received the report from his teacher at the end of the day.  He didn't want to be quiet during the rest time.  He did much better on his second day.  At the end of his first week he seems to be enjoying it.  I like that he goes from 9-2 twice a week so I can use that time to help out at the elementary school and go shopping with no extra helpers.  It is my first time in the past 11 years to not have a child continuously with me.

I was nervous to have him start with his current risk of a potty training accident.  He has been in training for the last two months.  At first he did very well until we went on vacation up to Dallas and put him in pull ups to travel.  He enjoyed returning to the freedom to be lazy and pee whenever he wanted as it is basically a diaper.  I let the teacher know that he doesn't volunteer the information that he needs to go potty and to just have him go every few hours.  I was not surprised when I went to go pick him up and he was in different clothes than what he was dropped off in.  The 2nd day was better because he stayed dry.