The First Days of School - The Recap

It’s been an interesting transition to full time school for us this week. I’ve really not had much of a chance in my day or head for putting together any kind of literate post, and I can’t make any guarantees for this one either. However, considering that the girls have gone to bed early, the plants are watered and things are generally picked up, I seem to have a few minutes to be able to sit down and write.

Both girls’ first day was great. Mouse, as expected, happily trotted into her classroom, signed her name on the white board and ran off to find her friends with barely a backward glance to say goodbye to me.

Baboo, was apprehensive in the hallway while waiting for her teacher to open the door; daunted by all the parents and new kids, but once the classroom door opened, she was the first one in and I had to go and interrupt her cooking up an imaginary feast in the play kitchen to give her a hug and a kiss goodbye.

One of the nice things about our school is that we host a “breakfast” every day during the first week of school. The board (which I am a part of), supplies the coffee/food and it’s a good place to hang out close by if your child needs you or if YOU need to see your child and it’s also a great way to mingle with the other families in our cooperative. We’re not above spying on other people’s children by peeking through windows etc to report back on transitory progress. Overall, most of the kids have done very, very well. So despite having many new families this year, not many have stayed to mingle, and so, our breakfasts, have been attended mostly by veteran members happy to have some grown-up conversation. Yes, yes, I admit that have been there every day. (But it’s my BOARD DUTY to stay for, at least, PART of the time. Right?)

In the post first day chatter on the way home from school, Baboo reported that she did NOT play in the sand table (even though I saw her there), made a placemat with all Nemo stickers, but no Dory’s, had “no hax-sidents” and loved going potty on a real toilet and washing her hands all by herself in the child sized bathroom. She proclaimed that the best part of school was the slides, and went on to mention that she now “owns” all the slides. I’m grateful to know that I did spy on her a bit when she played outside and she did indeed share “her” slides well.

Mouse was thrilled to be with her friends again this year. Of the 14 in her class, 12 moved on from her class last year and there’s a perfect 50/50 mix of girls and boys. She’s loved wearing certain colors every day as a color review, is so excited to be journaling daily and writing “REAL WORDS, MOM!” (as opposed to the “fake” words I’ve been helping her write for the last 2 years) and is just eating up the routine. She did ask how far away the weekend was this morning as she was getting dressed, in a very tired kind of voice. When I told her it was only 2 school days away, counting today, she gave me the resigned “I can make it through 2 more classes” sigh. I think the getting up EVERY day and having to be out the door at the SAME time EVERY day is wearing her down a bit. But it’s good for all of us.

On top of that, this week we’ve had impromptu play dates in the afternoon to burn off the excess school excitement, a piano lesson, and a 1.5 hour session of heavy gymnastics. To say that my girls are wiped is a bit of an understatement. Bedtime is 7 pm these days, ½ an hour earlier than normal and no one is complaining about it. Heck, I’m wiped and I’m just the chaperone/chauffeur/cook/planner/time keeper/house keeper/maid… uh, never mind. I’m busy too, but in a different way.

But, despite it all, I’m thrilled to be back at a place that was our welcome wagon last year, to meet up the friends that *I* made and to witness my girls comfort and happiness in a truly nurturing place. The routine feels like it’s going to work and though we’re still working on hitting our stride, we’re all in the right groove.

And like the “omen” that announces that THIS is where we are supposed to be in our life; when I walk into my kitchen I see mounted on the art wall, Mouse’s name traced in glue on purple construction and outlined with beans. It’s a kindergarten classic and you just can’t beat that.