Another School Year Starts
I read somewhere online about how we should be savoring the moment we are in and not continually wishing for the next stage of life. It really spoke to me.
Enjoy Summer; don't wish for Fall too soon.
Enjoy your baby crawling; walking comes so soon after.
Enjoy reading out loud to your little ones; soon they'll have their noses buried in chapter books.
And although it may be hard in the moment to enjoy those sleepless nights, I really can attest to the fact that you'll blink and have a teenager that you can't get out of bed in the mornings :P
I tried very hard to enjoy our Summer and not wish it away. However, I'll be honest and say that the last two weeks were hard on everyone in our house. There was a little *too* much togetherness: too much whining, too much bickering, too much bossing each other around.
I was very much ready for school to start. I think the kids were, too.
This is Jaina's last year of middle school. Next year she'll be a freshman in high school. That concept blows my mind. My friends with older kids have all told me that once high school starts, the next four years fly by and we'll be touring colleges before I know it.
Jaina gets so mad at me when I mention this. We had recently talked about turning the bonus room into a bedroom and moving kids around. And then I said, "Well, it may be pointless. I mean, you'll be going to college in 5 years anyway."
"MOM! Five years is forever from now!" she insists. But I know it's not. Five years isn't that far away at all.
She'll be getting a learner's permit in two years. Driving a car by herself in three.
This little kid right here:
I'm not quite sure when I started making collages of first day pictures. This was the earliest one I could find. I'm sure Jocelyn's birth had something to do with my sudden need to document their first day of school.
What a difference a year makes!
And her current picture:
I wonder if she'll even let me take a picture on the first day of high school :)
Jaina is in honors math and english this year. This means that it is actually 9th grade level and counts towards her high school GPA. She's also in chorus again and finally got into art class. She also has PE, SC history, and Science. Her best friend Eva is in one class with her. Her best friend Sarah isn't in any :(
Jayce is excited to be at CSF elementary school again this year. Although we miss Hendrix something awful, we can't help that it ends in third grade!
He LOVES his teacher. His best friend Roman is in the same class. His best friend Deep isn't, but he still gets to see him at recess.
And then there's this little one. My baby.
And this year, she's not home with mommy any more. Definitely mixed emotions about this!
I know she doesn't *have* to go to pre-school at all. Or, really, go to public elementary school either. But as much as I admire all my homeschooling mom friends, I've never felt called to do it. Well, I did one year for about 2 weeks, but that's beside the point. It also deflated my ego a bit when my 5 year old was begging to return to public school. Sigh.
Anyway, because our family did choose public school for our kids, I'm a firm believer in easing them into it. I truly wish we had a half-day option for Kindergarten around here. But we don't. Little five year olds go from 7:30-2:15. It's such a long day.
Jaina went to preschool for 3 hours a day, 3 days a week when she was three. Then increased to 4 days a week when she was four. That way Kindergarten was just a few hours more the next year and only one more day a week.
Jayce went to a SN preschool class for 3K and 4K. It met for 2.5 hours 5 days a week. It was important for Jayce to go every day to be on a consistent schedule. He also had ABA therapy before and after his preschool class. This prepared him for the long day of 5K the next year in a regular non-contained classroom.
Jocelyn, by far, is my most attached kid. This little girl loves and wants her mommy 24/7. I chose to put her in the 2 day a week program just to give her a little taste of preschool so next year 4K for four straight days wouldn't be such a shock.
There were tears this morning as she told me she didn't want to go to school. She continued to sniffle all the way there in the van. But, once we got there, she was fine.
She remembered where her classroom was and found her name on the door.
Then she walked right in, hung her back pack in her cubby, and sat down at the table.
I chatted with the teachers for a bit and then made my exit. No tears!!!
However, when I went to go pick her up, she had big tears running down her face and a kleenex in her hand.
They said that she was fine until 11:30, just before pick up time. The teachers thought she was overwhelmed and tired by that point.
Jocelyn told me she saw a little girl take a stuffed animal kitty away from another little girl and that's what made her cry.
I calmed her down and she did admit that she had fun there. She went potty (this is huge since she hates to use the bathroom in public!), had goldfish for a snack, read books, and was told she was a good listener during circle time. Oh, and that her friends liked her new shoes :)
I can only hope that Thursday goes just as well or even better!
Enjoy Summer; don't wish for Fall too soon.
Enjoy your baby crawling; walking comes so soon after.
Enjoy reading out loud to your little ones; soon they'll have their noses buried in chapter books.
And although it may be hard in the moment to enjoy those sleepless nights, I really can attest to the fact that you'll blink and have a teenager that you can't get out of bed in the mornings :P
I tried very hard to enjoy our Summer and not wish it away. However, I'll be honest and say that the last two weeks were hard on everyone in our house. There was a little *too* much togetherness: too much whining, too much bickering, too much bossing each other around.
I was very much ready for school to start. I think the kids were, too.
This is Jaina's last year of middle school. Next year she'll be a freshman in high school. That concept blows my mind. My friends with older kids have all told me that once high school starts, the next four years fly by and we'll be touring colleges before I know it.
Jaina gets so mad at me when I mention this. We had recently talked about turning the bonus room into a bedroom and moving kids around. And then I said, "Well, it may be pointless. I mean, you'll be going to college in 5 years anyway."
"MOM! Five years is forever from now!" she insists. But I know it's not. Five years isn't that far away at all.
She'll be getting a learner's permit in two years. Driving a car by herself in three.
This little kid right here:
What a difference a year makes!
And her current picture:
Jaina is in honors math and english this year. This means that it is actually 9th grade level and counts towards her high school GPA. She's also in chorus again and finally got into art class. She also has PE, SC history, and Science. Her best friend Eva is in one class with her. Her best friend Sarah isn't in any :(
Jayce is excited to be at CSF elementary school again this year. Although we miss Hendrix something awful, we can't help that it ends in third grade!
He LOVES his teacher. His best friend Roman is in the same class. His best friend Deep isn't, but he still gets to see him at recess.
And then there's this little one. My baby.
And this year, she's not home with mommy any more. Definitely mixed emotions about this!
Anyway, because our family did choose public school for our kids, I'm a firm believer in easing them into it. I truly wish we had a half-day option for Kindergarten around here. But we don't. Little five year olds go from 7:30-2:15. It's such a long day.
Jaina went to preschool for 3 hours a day, 3 days a week when she was three. Then increased to 4 days a week when she was four. That way Kindergarten was just a few hours more the next year and only one more day a week.
Jayce went to a SN preschool class for 3K and 4K. It met for 2.5 hours 5 days a week. It was important for Jayce to go every day to be on a consistent schedule. He also had ABA therapy before and after his preschool class. This prepared him for the long day of 5K the next year in a regular non-contained classroom.
Jocelyn, by far, is my most attached kid. This little girl loves and wants her mommy 24/7. I chose to put her in the 2 day a week program just to give her a little taste of preschool so next year 4K for four straight days wouldn't be such a shock.
There were tears this morning as she told me she didn't want to go to school. She continued to sniffle all the way there in the van. But, once we got there, she was fine.
She remembered where her classroom was and found her name on the door.
Then she walked right in, hung her back pack in her cubby, and sat down at the table.
I chatted with the teachers for a bit and then made my exit. No tears!!!
However, when I went to go pick her up, she had big tears running down her face and a kleenex in her hand.
They said that she was fine until 11:30, just before pick up time. The teachers thought she was overwhelmed and tired by that point.
Jocelyn told me she saw a little girl take a stuffed animal kitty away from another little girl and that's what made her cry.
I calmed her down and she did admit that she had fun there. She went potty (this is huge since she hates to use the bathroom in public!), had goldfish for a snack, read books, and was told she was a good listener during circle time. Oh, and that her friends liked her new shoes :)
I can only hope that Thursday goes just as well or even better!
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