New School Year

Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade for the kids this school year.  The first year since I became a mom that I had my days free from kids.  Bree's is the inaugural year here in Oregon of free all day kindergarten.  I wasn't thrilled at first when I learned my baby (and I) wouldn't be eased into the whole separation thing, but it has worked out well.  With all 4 of them gone all day I decided to get a job!  I work as a Title 1 teaching assistant at the grade school for 3.75 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Its perfect.  I get to hang with some really fun, and sometimes not so fun, little kids and help them to become better readers.  I still have a couple hours to myself in the afternoons to accomplish things or just chill out, which rarely happens.  I think I'm more organized when I know I have limited time to get things done.  I really enjoy the job and the great women I work with.  Its nice to be Tiffiny or Mrs Erickson again and not just mom.

Anyway, Drew is in 6th grade.  She's doing awesome like usual.  She gets to help out in Bree's kindergarten class in the mornings and afternoons, which makes me wonder if she gets any work done in her own class but she has great grades so far so I'm not too worried.  Drew loves school and is a dedicated student.  

Mason is in 4th grade and pretty much can't stand it.  The school year started with some drama, stomach aches, headaches, any kind of pain he could imagine that might convince me to let him stay home.  I think it boiled down to a clash of personalities with his teacher.  For the first few weeks mornings were absolutely awful, trying to get him and then the rest of us all off to school in a somewhat decent mood.  I have since decided to volunteer in his class one day a week which seems to make him feel better.  He has adjusted  pretty well on his own too.  This will never be a great year for him, but right now I'll be happy with surviving till June where we can write it off and move on.

Darcy is in 2nd grade and loves it!  She's a great student and a bit more social than Drew.  She has come so far from where she was 3 years ago at this time.  She rarely shows signs of the debilitating anxiety that controlled her in preschool.  She's kind of my hero in that way.  What tremendous growth this little person has already achieved and she's only 7!  I see bright things in my sweet Darcy's future.  I don't think she'll settle for anything less.

All Bree ever wanted to do was be like the big kids and go to school.  She got her wish!  She walks to and from school every day with all the big kids, she has her backpack, her special lunch box, she's arrived!  She loves kindergarten and her teacher.  She is already able to read quite a few things and she loves to count as far as she can, which is highly annoying as she wants us to listen to her.  But everyone has to start somewhere and I can't wait for her to be able to pick up a book like the rest of the kids and read!  What a great age, full of learning potential.  Bree came home severely disappointed at the beginning of the year that she wasn't assigned daily homework.  She wants to be like the big kids!  She cracks me up.  She has grown so much in so many different ways in the 3 short months she's been in school.  We miss our alone time and the peace and quiet we used to enjoy, but I think she really enjoys the whole school process.  I've adjusted to having the kids gone all day, it can get a little quiet at times, but on the whole I think we will all survive this school year together.