Back to School

It's a happy day!!!  School is finally starting!  

I love the first day of school!  I'll be the first to admit that you won't see me cry when my kids head off to school on the first day.  And no, that doesn't make me a bad mom either.  I love when my kids head off to school because I love having them learn.  I loved going to school and I hope they do too.  They make new friends, socialize, learn things in new ways, become more responsible, learn to handle things on their own, and get a break from their siblings and me.  The fact that I get a break from them is just a bonus.  

The one sad thing about today was that Hubby, for the 3rd year in a row, wasn't there to wish them good luck and to see them off.  Maybe next year he'll finally be home for the first day of school (we can dream, can't we?).

This year Mr. R headed off on the bus to begin his adventures in 2nd grade!  He's pretty excited to have his Kindergarten teacher teaching him again this year.  Confused?  So was one of his friends who thought they were bumping him down to Kindergarten again.  Mr. R's old Kindergarten teacher switched to teaching 2nd grade.  This year she'll be teaching a 2nd grade cluster class, which means that the majority of the class is considered "gifted".  The gifted resource teacher will be coming into the class room several times during the week to teach them as well.  Mr. R is one of the non-gifted students in the classroom. I'm interested to see how he does in this type of classroom.

The neighborhood crew

Boo started Kindergarten this year.  However, I did not put her in public school with Mr. R.  Her preschool started a Kindergarten program this year and I decided that their program would be a better fit.  The class size is small (8 kids) and they get an hour and a half extra time in the classroom.  I was afraid that Boo would be behind when we move to Japan in February and that she wouldn't make a lot of progress in public school since she's already far ahead of other preschoolers.  Boo's preschool was amazing and she learned so much.  She's already reading on the same level that Mr. R was when he finished Kindergarten.  I didn't want the teacher to not push her since she is already where the state expects them at the end of the year.  Since we know we are moving in the middle of the school year, I'm afraid of her being behind going into a full-day Kindergarten program from the local half-day one.

Since Boo's school didn't change, the first day of Kindergarten was a breeze for her.  After meeting her new teacher and introducing herself to the 3 new kids in her class, she was off happily doing the various activities the teacher had set up for them.

Teacher gifts

Of course with Hubby gone I had too much time on my hands, so I made back-to-school emergency kits for the kids' teachers and Mr. R's bus driver.  Honestly, I was trying to suck up to the bus driver (it's a long story) so I made some for the teachers while I was at it.  I think they turned out really cute!  I threw some essentials for dealing with lots of other people's kids in a cute apple bag I picked up at Target a year ago.  Each bag has a small bottle of hand lotion, hand sanitizer, tic-tacs, gum, chap-stick, and Godiva chocolate in it.  Hopefully the teachers will enjoy the bags, but I'm truly hoping the bus driver sees it for what it is, a bribe, to keep her stopping at my house.