Our back to school night is sacred and steeped in family traditions. I'm not sure when these things became so set in stone since our oldest in only in 2nd grade but these are things that everyone looks forward to every year. I always decorate the table and make it look really festive. I always make these rolo pencils for desert.
We measure each of the kids and marvel at how much they've grown in the last year. Seriously, it's crazy for every single one of them. Jack is going to be my height in maybe another 2 years. And then we end the night with fathers blessings for each of them. It's such a fun night and my school kids were beyond thrilled to be going back to school. We partied hard all summer and had lots of lazy days around the house too so they were ready for the change of pace.
We always have crepes for breakfast that first day too. That's by far everyone's favorite breakfast. I HATE crepes because since I can only make them one by one there are always lots of fights and taunting about who gets the first one and who gets the second one and why does that one seem bigger than mine. Ugh, the things I do for my children.....
I was always a nervous wreck on the first day of school so I kept trying to be aware of that but these guys were so ready and excited. Love their teachers. Love the kids in their classes. Easily work through their homework. They are amazing.
A couple weeks later Charlie started preschool. I've never put any of my kids in a formal, pay monthly kind of preschool but John and I have some concerns about Charlie and starting kindergarten next year. He's just a different kind of kid so we thought he could use a year of really structured practice. I'm not sure what this face was about, he was really excited to be a big guy and start school like Jack and Lottie.
It took a couple of tumultuous weeks to get all settled though. First I had him in a morning class but he couldn't take the hunger. I'm not even kidding. I fed him enormous breakfasts and he would just complain all morning to his teacher about how starving he was and how his mom feeds him nothing but "sauerkraut and caffeine" So John and I decided that the afternoon class might be a better fit. But his new teacher didn't seem to be a great fit though. Every time I came to pick him up she seemed so exasperated with him and would tell me, "I just need him to learn to LISTEN!!!!" It broke my heart for him. Because I of all people know that Charlie needs to learn to listen. I suspected that he was going to struggle in school unlike Jack and Lottie and now it seemed all my deep fears for him were correct.
But then something amazing happened. His teacher had to go out of town for a week so there was a sub. That first morning as I dropped him off just mentioned to her that I hoped it went ok today... She asked me about Charlie and what she needed to know and I said " oh, you know.. he's just kind of a free thinker. He loves to talk and talk and he has a really hard time focusing and he's really adorable but you just have to get past a lot of nonsense to get to that part." When I picked him up I asked how it went and she shrugged her shoulders and said he was great! She said that she didn't even know what I was talking about with my warning, that he was easy. What a shock!!! She seemed to really get Charlie, to bad she was just temporary. But then about 2 days after his original teacher came back I got an email from the director that said that for whatever reason his teacher was resigning and that substitute would be taking over for her. Best News Ever!!!! He's been loving it ever since.
Also, we started a little Tuesday morning ABC's preschool for Ivy and a couple of our neighborhood kids. Us moms just rotate each week and it's been so fun for Ivy. To have her own little thing apart from the pack. Although she looks miserable in this picture..
My life has greatly improved too. I adore school. It's good for them and it's good for me. Every morning the 2 big kids leave and we all sigh a breath of relief while I clean up breakfast and make beds. Then the 3 little kids and I run errands or exercise. On Thursdays I clean the house from top to bottom. Then after lunch we drop off Charlie, put Wren down for a nap and I get to lay down with Ivy. After a bit she falls asleep and the house it dead silent. It's heavenly, I can read or start dinner or an after school snack. Or I can just sleep next to her. At 3 everyone comes home and it's crazy and the volume reaches decibels you wouldn't think possible outside of a rock concert or a football game but I can handle it because tomorrow, they'll all leave again...
1 comment:
You're glowing in that last picture. It's so nice to have that settled time during the day. I'm glad Charlie doing well with his new teacher. Good luck with the rest of the year
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