After (the Big First Day and the First Week Reaction)

The night before school the girls were so keyed up they could hardly sleep. Madeleine was up past ten, just "thinking about school."  We had practiced getting up early and getting ready quickly, but it was hardly necessary. I went to wake up Beth and she blearily smiled, "Today is my first day of school mom!" and was up and at it in no time. Madeleine was less enthralled since waking up for school holds no novelty for her, but she still jumped to it. Mary was caught up in all the excitement but looked as though she still wasn't quite sure what all the excitement was about.  There was some hustle and bustle, but all went according to plan and we had plenty of time to snap a few pictures before we loaded in the car.  The first day was different for both Beth and Mary. Instead of a typical classroom day, they each had individual appointments with their teachers.  When I reminded Beth that she wasn't going to have class or recess, her face turned stony and she yelled,"That's not fair!" That's not fair!" She was good and ready for some kindergarten action and by golly, she was not going to be content until she got some. She toned down pretty quickly though. 

We dropped Madeleine off first. Her steps slowed as she got near the door, and she needed three hugs good-bye, but then she headed in like an old pro and didn't look back.  Beth and Mary explored the library with me until it was time for Mary's appointment. Trying to keep Mary entertained and relatively quiet while reading a book to Beth was a feat in and of itself, requiring my cell phone, a pack of gum, multiple lipsticks, and promises of food. 

Finally it was time to take Mary to her teacher. I was asked to stay in the room and fill out paperwork while Mary was guided around by one of the three teachers and introduced to the classroom routine. I didn't bring her little blue and yellow nursery-school standard book bag (it's not like she had anything to put in it yet anyway -cut me some slack!) so she used my purse to practice hanging her bag in her cubby. I had to smile when I heard her explain to the teacher, "There are lipsticks in there. That's ok."I was glad the teacher agreed that it was ok to have lipsticks in your bag or Mary may have formed a lasting grudge.  Mary seemed comfortable enough and was her usual talkative self. Before I could finish filling out the forms they had given me, she was done.  We took a break at a nearby McDonald's to wait for Beth's turn, where we called Grandma Rosie and played on the playground. 

Then it was time for Beth to go to her sort-of-first-day of Kindergarten. As we approached her classroom  She literally skipped  down the hall and bounced through the doorway. Her teacher remarked, "There's enthusiasm!" and for the next 30 minutes she had her teacher and her classroom all to herself. She was a proud little piper and I was happy for her.  Appointments complete, we went home for lunch and quiet time and before too long it was time to get Madeleine. She came bounding out grinning and exclaiming all kinds of things about her wonderful first day. (sigh of relief) One day down - one hundred and seventy nine more to go. . . 

Since that first day all three girls have done tremendously well adjusting to school and the routine. At the end of the second day (and her first day of class), when I went to pick up Mary, she greeted me by scolding "You weren't supposed to drive off without me!" I guess I didn't really explain that when she went to school I wouldn't be going with her. The third day she greeted me by moaning, "You leaved me and leaved me and leaved me here!!"  Once in that first week she did wake up and claim she didn't want to go to school, but the reminder that she needed to go trade her library book snapped her out of it and got her going. Last Friday I went to get her a little bit early, thinking she would be relieved not to be "leaved" there, but when I walked in she indifferently stated, "I haven't had my lunch yet" and left me waiting while she ate. 

Beth's expectations of Kindergarten so far have been met and exceeded. She likes to sleep in foam rollers and go to school with her hair curly. She looks forward everyday to going to her "specials" and she is pretty proud to have homework.  She has a best friend in class, Tori, and she is making more friends everyday. One day out of the blue she sighed, "I love school," and she told me that she can't believe she is in Kindergarten - that she tells herself over and over, "I'm in Kindergarten. I'm in Kindergarten and I'm not even 6 yet!" When the weekend finally came around Beth woke up on Saturday and was dissapointed to be reminded that it wasn't a school day. On Sunday night she exclaimed,"I'm so glad that in the morning I can wake up, get dressed, and ship right off to school!" She told me yesterday, "I had a fun day, and I get to keep having fun days, because everyday I get to do the same things!"

Madeleine's reaction to the first week of school was similar. One afternoon in the middle of homework she blurted out, "I LOVE third grade!" She always comes home with something that she is excited about from one of her classes - currently her hot topic is tracking a whooping crane re-population effort. Most of her friends from last year are not in her class this year so socially she is trying to get a feel for where she fits in with this new group, but that will come. She loves her teacher and says she is "sooooooo nice." 

We are soooooo glad that they are doing soooooo well. We're definitely off to a great start . . .

Before (The Weeks Leading Up To The First Day)

Summer is officially over. I don't know which was harder; saying good-bye to summer or saying hello to school. Thanks to uniforms, school shopping was painless, but the emotional fluctuation around here was more drastic than a theme park roller coaster. Throughout the summer Beth would cringe and whine whenever she heard mention of school. One morning she took something from Mary and got reprimanded. When I asked her why she snatched from her sister, she wailed, "Because she took it from me first and I DON"T WANT TO GO TO KINDERGARTEN!" Upon any such outburst, Madeleine would come to her aide with confident words of comfort and encouragement about how wonderful school is. She personally couldn't wait to get back to school. Any time we mentioned to Mary that she was going to go to school she reminded us that she was NOT going to school. Then, one fateful day, a fat envelope arrived containing the much anticipated class assignments. Madeleine was so excited you would've thought it was her college acceptance letter or something. She literally trembled waiting for me to open it. I read Beth the letter from her teacher first. She whimpered and sniveled through the whole thing, but the second that she heard her little friend Tori was in her class, her face lit up and she beamed, "I don't even know what all that fussing was about. I can't WAIT to go to kindergarten!" She happily skipped off to go try on her uniform. Madeleine read her letter with enthusiastic haste. She exclaimed, "I got Mrs. Johnson!" but while her face was smiling, her eyes were panicked. Of the three third grade teachers possible, that was the one she didn't want. Her grin became even more forced as she read through the class list and didn't recognize many names on it. She tried to act excited still, but by this time her eyes were brimming. She walked away soberly, and returned tearfully to confess that now she was afraid of school and didn't want to go. From then on SHE cringed when we mentioned school and she couldn't sleep for worrying about it. I read Mary's letter to her and she asked, " You mean I'M going to school??" Boy, did I have my work cut out for me. Over the next two weeks the tension mounted. Beth was still excited, Madeleine was still not, and Mary was still bewildered. I started finding reasons to stop in at the school and walk the girls through the halls. We called school friends and set up play dates. The Saturday before school we attended the family breakfast so that the girls could meet their teachers. That helped a little bit. Then during the week each girl got to attend a class party, with their teachers and classmates in their own classrooms. That helped a lot. By the weekend before school Beth was counting down the days and reminding me what she needed to bring for the first day. Now Madeleine couldn't sleep because she was missing school so much and wanted to go back so badly. Mary was all matter-of-fact about going to HER class, acting like it was something she'd been doing everyday for years. With that roller coaster ride out of the way, we're ready to move on to the next attraction. I have a feeling the weeks to come are going to be a cross between go-cart racing and bumper cars - a lot of "hurry, hurry, hurry" and a few jolts along with all the fun. 

Under the Blue Umbrella

I'm under my blue beach umbrella watching my children splash in the pool. I've been here in this very spot almost every day since June. We'll stay until we've had enough of the afternoon sun and then we'll go have popsicles on the porch while we wait for Dad to come home. Dinner will be late, and though I know I should probably enforce bedtime, I won't. I'll let them stay up and play - it's still light outside after all. The long, slow days of summer ironically seemed to fly by this year. It feels like it should be July when it's well into August. We're making our final check marks on our list of goals ( Summer Goals 2008 post). We did pretty well, all things considered. We visited This Is The Place, the petting zoo, and the aviary, along with the Children's Garden and Wheeler Farm. Madeleine worked on riding her two-wheeler until an high-velocity encounter with a tree squelched her enthusiasm. Uncle Chad came over and gave Beth her first soccer lesson. Mary spent many a blissful hour with her little friends. Luke improved his golf score significantly.

As for my goals, I did ok. If you only count the first and last week of the summer I get credit for the goal of keeping the kids on a routine. I thoroughly enjoyed our little pioneer adventure. Mary is in fact potty trained - it was the lipstick incentive that did the trick. As far as my blog goes, well, what you see is what you get. I also read a few books and started learning to play golf. Some day I may even be good enough to have a score. And of course, I've been here, under the blue umbrella, watching my children laugh, play, and sometimes cry. I forgot to bring my camera this year. I usually video them swimming and doing tricks so that the next year we can see how much they've learned and how much they've grown. But they grow so fast. With or without the videos I can't keep up.

I already miss them, the ages they are right now I mean. I miss the thought of waking up in the morning and having the whole day open to spend with them however we want. I miss the freedom of sending them out the door in nothing more than a playdress and sandals. I miss the anticpation of all the fun things we'll do together over the summer, because now summer is over. But, there's always next year. We'll make new goals, and have more adventures, and we'll be here, splashing and playing almost every day. Come join us - you'll find us under the blue umbrella.