First Week of School

Sorry I haven't posted sooner (and thanks to Marcie for the sweet reminder that I should do an update!). The first week of school has gone well. Daniel was a very nervous boy Sunday night. He had a very hard time going to sleep. But come Monday morning, he was excited.

We drove to the park near the school, and the four of us walked to the school from there (the traffic the first week of school is insane!). 

Daniel at Open House last week

Excited about Kindergarten

Our big Third Grader

  

We took Daniel to his class first. We walked in through the doors he'll be walking into every morning. We showed him to look for the monkeys on the wall (yes, his room is a monkey theme - how perfect is that?!?!). And then he went in the room. He said hi to his teacher, hung up his backpack and filled up his water bottle. He found a place to sit and do his morning activity (coloring a picture of yourself on the first day of school). He sat down with another boy and said hi, and quickly got to work. Zack and I gave him hugs and I told him I loved him. He smiled, and then quietly went back to his work.

We then walked down to William's class. He walks through the place like he owns it. Everyone seems to know him, and everyone seems to like him. No surprises there - I have sometimes referred to him as our future politician :) We got to the door of his room, and he said bye. I asked if he wanted us to go in with him or stay in the hall. We were told we could leave. Oh well, at least he let us walk him to the door. By next year, we probably won't even get to do that. My big third grader...



William with his teacher
(taken during open house)



As we left, we had to walk back by Daniel's class, so we looked in. He was now sitting with about 3 other boys, and they all seemed to be having fun, doing their work and chatting.

Zack and I went on to work, and I got home about 5 minutes after their bus. They were already in the living room with Zack, telling him about their days. Two very excited boys. One very happy jack russell terrier (Zack said she looked for them all afternoon). And one very relieved mommy.

Daniel was thrilled to ride the bus and to get to take a drink in his lunch (they only drank water at preschool). We looked through their backpacks and talked about their days. And they both seemed excited to go back.

By Tuesday afternoon, things were continuing to go well. William walks Daniel to his class before proceeding to the older kids' side of the building. William gets on the bus and immediately makes sure that Daniel has made it safely (kindergartners get to go to the bus first). I love how he takes his big brother role so seriously!

By Wednesday night, our Gremlin hit the wall. He'd had another really good day at school. But he was weepy at dinner, and couldn't hold his head up. School was obviously wearing him out.

Last night he almost fell asleep at the dinner table (at 6:00!). We told him that today was the last day for the week. He cheered "the last day of school!" and we quickly reminded him that he gets to go again next week, too! Didn't want him thinking it was over that fast! Thankfully, he seemed okay with that, as long as he could have a couple of family days (that's what he calls the weekend) in between.

I got to talk to his teacher this morning. She was calling to discuss something totally unrelated, but I asked how he's doing. She said he's doing really well, just sometimes has a hard time controlling his body. I almost laughed out loud, because I knew if there was anything she'd say, that would be it. Nothing inappropriate, he just tends to swing his arms around in line and things like that. I appreciate the feedback because it gives us something to work on.

William has had a great week. He's had homework every night, but nothing too extensive. They are doing projects this year about their family's country of origin. He's going to do his on Ukraine. I sent an email to his teacher and briefly explained our situation and how it relates to the project, including the fact that we told him he didn't have to share anything he didn't want to. She sent an amazingly supportive reply, and even shared the fact that she herself is adopted :) I love how God works things out like this. William is so excited to get to do a report on Ukraine, and I'm excited to see his enthusiasm.

So one week down, and a lot more to go. But both boys seem to be excited about the new school year. And with a Gremlin on the loose, that elementary school will likely never be the same again!