Since Adele showed up just a week before our kids started school this year, I totally felt like I missed out on the beginning of school. I've ben playing catch-up since then!
I just met the last of the kids teachers last week and finally got into volunteer in Nathan's classroom. Luckily, they're all pretty independent this year and no one was traumatized by a new school year so I haven't had to worry about anyone having a meltdown with a new situation.
Ava's in third grade this year and has Mrs. Way for homeroom, Mrs. Shankle for Language Arts, and Mrs. Gangel (or G - ANGEL as Ava kept telling me the first few weeks). She is in all the advanced classes and except for a few rough weeks of math, is doing great in everything. I think she's realized now that the math book really does have to come home everyday and that math homework really doesn't need to take an hour a night!
By far, her favorite area is reading and writing and she brings home original poems and stories daily. She is at that "adoration" stage with a few of her teachers and makes little drawings and writings for them often. Most of them reciprocate and when I finally met them they raved about Ava and how they wished all students were just like her. All my memories about school start in third grade so I really hope she has a great year to build good memories for the future.
Nathan's in first grade this year and has gotten more used to the idea of school. He's still not in love with it and asks me every few days if I will homeschool him (I'm pretty sure that my kids think homeschool = doing nothing but I think they'd be sorely disappointed if they were to really figure it out).
He has Mrs. Proper (Ava had her also and we loved her so much we requested her again!) for homeroom and got Star Student the second week of school. Again, I dropped the ball cause I thought the certificate was just something that everyone got until he started telling me (a week later) about how the little girl who got it the week before him got a new dress for being Star Student. John asked him if he wanted a new dress too but he settled on dinner at Pancho Villas instead. I was tempted to ask them if they'd gotten the wrong kid since he's so crazy at home but I've heard from his teachers what a model student he is while he's at school. I'm glad for them but wish he'd bring some of that "model" behavior home!
He has Ms. Turpen for reading and is making huge progress there, thank goodness, since he was pretty much reading in kindergarten and then regressed, I think, during that year. He's in the highest reading group and just told me yesterday how he noticed that some of the other kids are reading harder books. Hum, I sense a little competitiveness here. Oh, and a touch of narcissism as he told the pediatrician that he's the fastest runner in 1st grade.
How fun is it to have a local school and a dad who takes the time off work to walk you in the first day? I'd like to say this is just because I wasn't in walking shape but really, he'd do this for them even if I wasn't laid up with a new baby. I especially love this picture because I even know all the people in the background, which makes me feel like we're really integrated into the community. Yay!
After checking out a few different preschools for Elias, we settled on Epiphany Catholic in Culpeper. Ava had gone there and it was a great family involved preschool, which is what I really like. Also, it offers a 2-day four year old program and, lets be honest, there's no way I'm getting Adele, me and Elias out the door more than 2 days a week!
He started 2 weeks after the big kids and he was so excited to have his own bookbag. I was nervous that he'd be sad but he marched right in - after giving me a hug and kiss, of course. He's grown up so much over the past few months that he really isn't the baby anymore. Good thing, cause he really isn't anymore!
He has Mrs. Terry (we practiced this name a ton the first few weeks since Perry the Platypus is one of his favorite cartoon characters and he was scared he was going to call her the wrong name) and Mrs. Watson as a helper. Every Tuesday and Thursday when I pick him up his book bag is bursting with his artwork. Painting is his favorite, followed by cutting and gluing and I'm told he's one of the best with scissors in the class.
Lias is extremely detail oriented and will take 10 minutes to tell you anything. He has to fill in the color of shirt everyone was wearing and how exactly they moved ("and then the-ay went over to the garbage and threw thee paper a-way and then the-ay walked back to the chair and pulled it out and sat down and then the-ay….etc) all with hand motions and restarting if you dared to interrupt. It's endearing and exhausting all at the same time. I can say that today since he's on a 4 day trip to FL with John and I haven't had to tell him to "get moving or I'll light a fire under you!" at all in 2 days. Ah…..
He loves preschool and jumps out of bed each morning to ask me, "Is today a preschool day?" and "Which clothes should I wear today? Play or nice?". I'm so glad he loves it (Elias doesn't ever just like something - it's either he loves it or he doesn't) since there's a little bit of this going on over here lately.
He absolutely loves her too, but sometimes a boy has had all he can take and wants his picture taken too!
With all that school that leaves just me and this little pumpkin together for a few hours each week. I keep thinking I'll get something productive done but usually we just grocery shop or take naps in the car. And that's ok with me cause it's just a few hours till everyone comes home and the craziness begins again.
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