How can it possibly be the first day of school again? And so soon? It feels like school just let out. And with the beautiful, hot weather we enjoy for another month of so, it just doesn't seem fair for the kids to be cooped up in classrooms and sweltering on the hot playground. We should be at the beach!
But my kids were all excited to head off to school this morning. We had to park half a mile away and walk in. The school is a complete zoo the first day. There are over 1400 students at our school as it is both a middle school and an elementary school. I think the middle school enrollment is around 480
(around the size of my graduating high school class!) and the elementary is over 1000. ( I don't think my high school was as big as this school is!) So the first day is always crazy with all the parents walking their kids in to meet the teachers and see the classrooms. They just posted class lists last Friday at 5 pm (and then they get the heck out of there for the long weekend and avoid all the complaining that is sure to happen with disgruntled parents). It was fun to see my big girls walk happily off to class and a little sad, since they didn't need/want us to walk them to their classes anymore. We got Nathan settled in his line and met his teacher and then had to leave him there to walk Ashley to her class. She insisted on both Craig and I walking her over (yes, that's our wannabe only child). Her class was just going into their classroom, so a quick hug and picture with her teacher and we walked back to Nathan. His line was just walking to his classroom, so we followed him in and got him settled in his desk. He had that quiet, serious look on his face that he gets when he's not quite sure about something but is being brave. Tugs on my heartstrings as I left him for his first day of all day school. Maren was just bugged at this point that she wasn't going to school right then. She is in afternoon preschool and had to go home and straighten up the house with me. She kept asking when it was time to leave for school.
Emily entered 7th grade today. When I asked her how it went, she said, "Awesome!" When I asked why, she said, "Like, my teachers? ...So good!" She's got a great group of friends and is set up for a great year.
Lauren is in 5th grade this year and got a great teacher, Mr. Horton. She has lots of friends in her class, including one of her best friends, Cassidy. There are 6 fifth grade classes this year with about 37 kids in each class (thanks to those budget cuts). Lauren is especially excited about the chat feature on her class website. With her making 41 posts already this afternoon, Craig had to have a little talk with her about better uses with her time. That's our social butterfly!
The best part of starting 3rd grade for Ashley was "seeing Mrs. Johnson again". Mrs. Johnson is Ashley's teacher this year, but last year Mrs. Johnson taught 2nd grade and Ashley grew quite fond of her because her son sat next to Ashley in Ash's 2nd grade class and Mrs. Johnson would frequently pop into their classroom. Lauren had Mrs. Johnson for second grade 3 years ago and we are thrilled Ashley gets to be in her class this year.
Nathan is a first grader this year. I was particularly concerned about the teacher he would get because he was still having trouble wanting to go to kindergarten last year. I felt he needed a "warm and fuzzy" teacher to ease him into first grade. His teacher isn't a warm and fuzzy type, but I've been reassured that she is great and is especially good with boys. So we are optimistic about a great year for Nate.
Maren is off to her last year of preschool at Ms. Dianne's. This year she has 3 girls and 3 boys in her class, so it will have a different flavor than the all-girl class she was in last year. She and the 2 other girls are from the same class last year and are great little friends. Maren knew all the names of the boys when I picked her up today but couldn't (wouldn't) tell me much else:
"What was your favorite thing about your first day of preschool?"
"I don't know."
"What did you do today?"
"Nothing."
Maybe I'll get more out of her after tomorrow's class.
All in all, a great day for everyone. I guess I need to just accept it and get back into the routine of things: packing lunches, supervising homework, piano practicing, running the kids to their activities, planning and preparing dinners. Oh, boy! Ready or not, here it comes!