First Day(s) of School!

Drew and Mason started 3rd and 1st grades this year!  I am excited for Drew to branch out and learn things other than how to read and how to add 2+2.  She is excited about the science her teacher promised the first day of school and also the arts and crafts, imagine that.  She has had a smile on her face when she comes home from school and there have been no emotional outbursts so far so I think this is going to be a good year for her.  Her class is 2 kids smaller than last year and she knows almost all of her classmates already so its business as usually for Miss Drewsy!

 

Mason is in school all day now.  That means he gets to take a lunch and have 2 recesses!  As for what he's learning?  Who knows!  So far he is OK with school.  He likes his teacher, knows a couple kids in his class, and is bugging me to get his lunch account set up so he can buy pizza on Wednesdays.  Gotta have priorities I guess.  All else will fall into place I'm sure.  It looks like a good year for Mason too.

 

I was hoping I could get the kids off to school and all would be well, but that isn't the case.  I am fighting with the new bus company and the school district to get our bus stop changed.  As it is now, 6 kids 8 and under got off at a major intersection and have to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get to our sidewalk.  This could all be resolved if the bus would just go counterclockwise in our neighborhood instead of clockwise.  I have been fighting with the bus company manager, the district transportation representative, and sent an email to the superintendent who promised to get back to me Friday but has yet to make contact.  Other parents have voiced their concerns too so we are hopeful we can get this changed for the safety of our kids.  It seems the bus/district people are more concerned about being right than about doing what's right.  Unfortunately this fight pretty much ruined the first week of school for me but I tried my hardest not to let it affect the kids.  But of course they heard me yelling on the phone ;)

 

 Little Miss Darcy is in preschool!  Today was her first day and she did an amazing job.  For the past 2 months Darcy has been seeing a child psychologist about her anxiety and transition issues, along with potty training issues, and I was extremely anxious as I dropped her off for school this morning.  I was prepared for a meltdown but it never came.  She was too busy with the train set to even remember to give me a hug goodbye!  Bree and I left Darcy's school sobbing, though Bree was crying about leaving the train set, not Darcy.  I think that was my toughest drop-off yet.  Darcy is one of my little girls and it was quite a blow to my emotions to leave her in the care of someone else.  She is definitely mentally ready for preschool, I just wasn't sure about emotionally but she has proven me wrong.  I explained Darcy's situation to her teacher last week at the open house and she wasn't bothered at all by the situation and I left there feeling like Darcy would be in excellent hands.  Today her teacher let me know Darcy did very well with no problems at all.  I am so proud of my sweetheart.  I would like to say that all my anxiety over her anxiety is now over but tomorrow is another day and with Darce you are never quite sure how she will react.  Hopefully she enjoys herself enough over the next couple of days that she can be comfortable with her school and teacher and I won't have to worry about her while she's gone.  Who am I kidding, of course I will worry about her but maybe just a tiny bit less. 

So for 3 hours a day, 3 days a week it is now just Bree and I at home.  It was very strange and will take some getting used to.  I'm sure I will eventually love it but I also miss the sound of my kids' voices, even if it is just them fighting with each other.  I'm expecting wonderful things for all of my kids this year.  What a fun stage we are in!