The First Week of School

Well, we have made it through the first week. It brought anticipation, excitement, tears, sadness, pride, and was just a bit overwhelming!

We started the week with a mini-party, complete with a school bus cake. I did one last year for Lenna and a bunch of friends to get excited for K and seemed to have started a tradition. We toned it down this year, just us and the kids. I didn't have Mike's mom here to help and wasn't really in a party planner mood. I missed the company, it was so nice to come home that first week to a clean house and have someone else already starting dinner! You are invited back for next August, Jeanne!

The cake- turned out more boot-ish than last time, I forgot I was working with a square instead of a rectangle. But they ate it anyway!

Lenna has started first grade. She is having a hard time adjusting to a new teacher, new classroom, new routine, and of course making new friends while trying to keep tabs on the old ones. She ended up with just one child from her K class in her first grade class- which was kind of scary on the first day. Her teacher is pretty young, I think this is only her second or third year teaching- which could really go either way. I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt, so far so good! She already had Lenna read to her from the third grade readers she had on hand and is working on getting her into an advanced resource class. I am not a huge fan of pull-out programs but it is better than wasting another year sitting bored through "see spot run" with the rest of the class. Lenna likes her, and I only had to carry her to class in tears once this week (I think she just stayed up too late). She seems to be adjusting ok and has discovered a friend from her class on the bus.

Lenna on the first day at pick up. She loves this dress. And there is Andy in the background, running away again. He needs a leash in public!

Lenna, tying her new shoes. Must have sneakers for PE! And the new backpack. I am so very proud, the only characters she is sporting are on her underwear! I am fighting hard against the Hannah Montana media giants. So far, we are at an impasse!

Which brings us to our next big change, the bus! Lenna will be riding the bus every morning now and three afternoons a week. I am trying to save some gas and some time and making things a little simpler when the baby comes. So far, she seems to like riding in the morning. She refused to let me take her picture by the bus, though. She hasn't taken the bus home yet, so we will try that this week and see how it goes. Andrew asks each day when it will be his turn to ride the bus, too. What is it about boys and things with wheels?

Lenna also started gymnastics class once a week. She liked it the first day and is learning quickly. As soon as she gets over her fear of heights and can stand up straight on the balance beam, she will be good to go! I know that at this age it doesn't matter too much, but she isn't really built like a gymnast- her arms and legs are just too long. So this will not be a lifetime sport or hobby. We are still leaning toward ballet for next year and whatever sport she shows an interest in. So far, nothing has appealed to her but we will see as she gets older. She liked volleyball in PE and was very proud to be the fastest runner at field day.


Andrew has started preschool this year. His teacher is fabulous, I can tell he really loves her, I couldn't have chosen better myself! Wait, I did chose, and his teacher is me!


I was a little hesitant to have him with me at first, and he is the youngest in the class by nearly a year, but he seems to fit in fine. He even has gotten into the habit of calling me "Miss Jannet" while at school. All of his friends from church are there, so it wasn't a huge adjustment for any of us. It was nice going in on the first day of school and knowing just what to expect from each child because I have been watching them since last year in the nursery, through sunbeams, and CTR class. I knew who I would have to pry off mom's skirt, who would be under the table during circle time, and who was going home with red card for hitting. No, I don't teach at an LDS school, but it just worked out that 8 of my 11 are LDS. I guess it is the draw of a preschool that is not ran by another church, which are really hard to find around here.


Anyway, Andrew has been very excited to be in the big kid class. He is working hard and this week has asked me to teach him to read. I thought he was too young, so he went to Lenna who taught him to sound out words. He is very, very close. He gets tripped up on letters that don't follow the rules (I need to get him an easy phonics reader) and is determined to learn whether I teach him or not, so I am just going to do it. He also excited about his new Batman back pack. He is willing his feet to grow overnight so he can get some new shoes with laces to tie, since I won't buy him new ones until his current footwear becomes too small. He didn't want me to take his pictures, but here are a few I took anyway. He wanted to sign up for baseball this year, but I think we will give him another year to just be a kid at home with mom. He has settled for backyard rounds with us instead.


I think I am having the hardest time adjusting. I can't seem to find a routine that works well for us every day. I get up earlier and earlier, and still can't get out the door as soon as I would like. Dinner seems to be creeping later each night, pushing back bedtime and making the kids cranky the next day. And well, I am completely exhausted by the time I get Andrew home for the afternoon at 2, and just kind of go through the motions the rest of the day, dozing in the carpool line, throwing together a 15 minute dinner, and counting down the minutes until bed time. Definitely not how I want to be spending my weeks! I hope I can find something better the next few weeks!


And of course, now that I have a fully functioning car again, it will make things a little easier. We had to replace the water pump and all the cooling system hoses. I guess in a car with 120,000+ miles on it that is 10 years old we should expect to have to start replacing parts. Anyway, it is nice to not have to keep one eye on the thermostat everywhere I go and to pour gallons of water/coolant in every morning before we start out on our adventures. I am tempted to go back into college and major in auto shop. It could really come in handy, much more than the masters in library science I was planning on! I mean, knowing where to find all the auto shop books wouldn't come in nearly as handy as actually being able to use them to fix your water pump ans save $600!


It is kind of strange at work lately. It is hard putting my whole heart in it when I know I will be leaving in just a few months. I find myself planning ahead farther than I should- "This would be great for Christmas time" or "This will work well in our spring unit" only to remind myself that I have no control over what will be happening those times! I will be stretching it to get the Halloween stuff in! At least the last day will not be a big goodbye day, as I will see the majority of the kids in church every week (even if it is as Sister Jannet, like a nun!) and will still be bringing Andy in a few days a week. That will be another challenge, to step back into the parent roll and have no real control over what he does the rest of the year. Even when he was in a different, class I could influence a little of what went on through feedback to the teachers in staff meetings and by sharing activities and songs I thought his class would like. Now, I will just have to watch and see what the new teacher does with "my room", "my plans", and "my kids". I know it will be hard!

"My calendar wall"


So I guess that is it! And here is a picture of my little cook, making toast to surprise me with breakfast in bed (see two posts down). I regret interrupting his surprise, it would have been interesting to see what he came up with on his own.