First Day of School

After much anticipation, the big day finally arrived. Yes, the kids were wired. It probably did not help that I fed them our traditional donuts and chocolate milk breakfast for the first day of school. We might need to choose a healthier tradition. Ally and Brook were almost as excited as the older two.
Sariah is now our big second grader. She loves her teachers and is making new friends in her class. She still makes her "visiting" rounds through the school. Last year she would just slip out of class and go to visit people. Popular stops were her speech therapist and her kindergarten teacher from the previous year. This year she likes to see her friend across the hall, her first grade teacher, her kindergarten teacher and Zac. We have had many talks about staying where she is supposed to be. Her teachers are very patient. Most of the faculty knows Sariah and they get a good laugh from her wanderings. Zac did inform me that one day they had to call over the intercom to ask her to go back to class. We'll keep working on that. She is doing great with her spelling and reading.

Zac looked forward to first grade all summer long. He could hardly wait to go to school all day and eat lunch in the lunchroom. When the moment arrived, he was a little nervous. He did great. He comes home excited every day to tell me what he has learned. He loves being timed for his math facts. Lunch is living up to his expectations as well. His little group of friends has fun "stealing"each other's food -- which they all find hilarious. So we had a little chat about lunchroom etiquete, including the fact that it is probably not a good idea to share bites of the same piece of pizza. No wonder they all get sick during the first month back to school.

Ally's wish to attend "real preschool" finally came true. She started school a few weeks after the big kids. She gets to go to Miss Laura's class just like Zac and Sariah. She loves it. On her first day, she asked me at least twenty times if it was time to get ready. 12:30 did not come fast enough. As I was helping her get her socks on, her nerves kicked in. She sighed and said, "Mom, I don't know if I'm ready for this." It was adorable. She has made fast friends with one of the little boys in her class. They collect wood chips from the playground (Ally's collection is in her backpack). Apparently, wood chips make great light sabers for their Star Wars games. What an imagination.



It has been an adjustment having just the two little girls at home. The first few days were long as we got used to each other and figured out a new routine. I really missed the big kids. I knew I would, but I was surprised at the actual ache I felt in my heart. Ally and Brook are becoming good friends and finding games to play together. Brook is a great pal when Ally goes to preschool. She likes to snuggle on my bed and watch Seasame Street. I love my Brookie time. The video gives a little peek into that first long day.