The kids were so excited to start school this year whereas I was a nervous wreck. They were starting at a new school where they didn't know a soul and I was so worried about them making and friends and fitting in and what not. After I dropped them off, I got back in the van and was so overcome with emotion I started bawling, my babies. They had a great first day and are loving their new school and teachers.
Can you tell by their shirts that they are just a little into Ninjago.
Conner is in the 3rd grade and his teacher is Ms. Rostal. Conner's the one I've worried about the most for lots of reasons. Luckily we've started carpooling with another kid in his class and they've become friends. They always eat lunch together and play together at recess. All the boys in his class are in the Pokeman club except him, Peter and another boy and they always battle at every recess. You have to have cards to be in the club so I told him I would buy him some cards so he could be in the club but he told me he didn't want to be in it because if he did then Peter wouldn't have anyone to play with. Conner is still pretty bored at school. He says they are still going over a lot of stuff he already knows in math. His teacher's expertise is English, which is not Conner's forte so he is totally struggling with that but I think it's good that he has a teacher who hopefully will be able to help him become a better writer. For the first month of school they concentrated on keyboarding skills and now that that is over they will start doing Success maker, a self guided math program, which Conner is so happy about. He says that there is a lot of work and that it's not that fun. He does enjoy it but just complains that the days are so long. This is the first year I've noticed some of Conner's weaknesses. Two being disorganization and initiative. I'm trying to help him stay organized but he's driving me crazy. Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up in a couple weeks and I am anxious to talk to his teacher about her take on Conner. I knew going into this it was going to be a change. Before he always stood out as extraordinary amoung his classmates but now he's the norm and that may be hard for him to adjust too as well as his momma. I'm such a perfectionist, luckily Conner's not, so it kills me when he comes home with 75% or anything lower than a 90% on his work. I guess if it doesn't bother him, I shouldn't let it bother me. I'm not able to be in the classroom so it is killing me not being able to see how he is doing first hand.
My little Sammy Sam has truly blossomed. Every day I am more and more amazed at how responsible and smart he really is. With Conner it was just apparent because he likes to talk about what he learns. Sammy always talked about his friends, which he has made plenty of. He's always sitting with different people at lunch and playing with everyone. He loves his teacher and thinks his class is pretty awesome. He has such a positive attitude about everything. I really can't get over how responsible he has become. When they get home from school they get to watch their favorite show, Wild Kratts. As soon as it is over he runs to the kitchen and sets the timer for 20 minutes minimum, usually 40 or more and will read. After he's done reading he does the rest of his homework. I don't have to ask him once to do his homework. He gets up first thing in the morning and gets himself dressed and backpack ready without any prodding. He is just maturing so much and it is so refreshing. He absolutely loves to read and learning. When I pick him up from school he usually immediately pulls a book out of his backpack and starts reading on the way home. I am amazed at what he's learning and understanding for the 1st grade. The second week of school he comes home and starts telling me about systems and how our bodies are systerms because they have the three following characteristics: made of elements, has boundaries and I can't remember the third. He went on to tell me about other systems and why they were so. I was like hold your horses, aren't you supposed to be reviewing your letters and sounds and stuff. Amazing. Needless to say he is loving it and I knew he would.
Fridays are Discovery Days in his class and each student's family is able to come in for an hour and spotlight their child and teach the class anything you want. We made Sam a poster with pictures of his favorite things and he was able to talk in the microphone and tell his class all about himself. Now that's right up Sam's alley. Sam signed up early in the year so it was so fun to go in. Sam went through the Big Book of How and decided he wanted to teach his class how to make ice cream (ziploc bag method). Sam loves food so it was perfect and the kids had a blast. We brought a ton of toppings they could put on top of their vanilla ice cream. We loved going in and interacting with his class. They are quite the energetic bunch.
Mikey was so excited to start preschool. His teacher is Mrs. Jensen and he goes Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. My friend told me about her and we were so lucky to get in. She is amazing. On the first day of school he hopped out of the van and began running to the door. I got out to take him inside and he turned around and said no Mom, stay in the car I can go by myself. He waved and blew me a kiss and ran inside. What? Don't you need me a little bit longer? Aren't you just a little apprehensive? Don't you need one last reassuring hug. Nope. Mikey is our little singer and they learn a new song almost every day. He learned a song about the 7 continents and couldn't wait to sing it to his brothers. They are so supportive and when Mikey was done Conner and Sam exclaimed they couldn't believe Mikey knew all the names of the continents because even they didn't. It made Mikey feel so smart. He's learning things and sharing them with them and they encourage him. Mikey's confidence has grown by leaps and bounds this last month. I've always heard about the 3rd child syndrome and worried about Mike. Of course he exhibits some of those behaviors and I always worry about him always being in his brother's shadows and hearing that they are so this and that. Well Mikey is definitely developing his talents and it is so great to see. He all of a sudden is starting to sound out words and will yell something out in the store or while we're driving, which always amazes me. I'm like where did that come from. I worked with you all last years and you hardly knew your sounds. For some reason, being in the school environment has really helped him. He has even started to try to read the scriptures during family scripture study. Now those are some pretty hard words but at least he's trying. Before school he wouldn't even try in fear of failure but now he is past that.
Lucy has even started going to school one day a week on Wednesdays. I'm in a little preschool/playgroup with 3 other little girls in the neighborhood. We take turns teaching a lesson on a letter. Lucy loves it and asks every day if she gets to go to school. Just like Mikey, on her first day she ran inside with no qualms what so ever. I'm so glad that she gets to play with some little girls each week. She needs that girl time and it's nice for me to be able to go run a couple errands with No kids in tow.
I just love seeing my kids learn about and get excited about the world around them. It's the best experience.
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