First Few Weeks of School

The first few weeks of school have been fun, but pretty exhausting.  It's been tough waking up at 5:45am again.  I'm getting less sleep than ever...when will I learn??  It's also been different this year with Elina and Eli at a new charter school, Great Hearts.  Pick-up and drop-off were a real learning experience.  I've finally found my groove and have come to terms with waiting in a long line of cars 30 minutes before school lets out.  Now I just pack more activities and snacks for the little ones while we're waiting...and plenty of snacks for the older kids once they hop into the car after school.  These days, I'm either packing up to go somewhere or I'm driving to be somewhere.

Elina and Eli started a week earlier than Evie this year.  They were pretty bummed about that....honestly, so was I!  Then, Evie's 1st week of school was just half days.  This made it fun though because we were able to enjoy some last-minute activities without the crowds and we were able to enjoy a few last lunches out together.

Of course we had our back to school cereals of choice (I love how sleepy everyone looks in these pictures!)...
Elina wanted Frosted Flakes...

Eli wanted Lucky Charms...

and Evie discovered a new flavor--Ice Cream Pebbles!  (Yes, they taste as sweet as they sound!)

Elina is already loving her new teacher, Miss B.  She is young and very fun.  Elina really deserved a fun, sweet teacher.  After leaving Discovery School 4 years ago, she has only had 1 good teacher that she's liked.  So I'm really happy for Elina!  And she just loves going to class and she always has exciting stories to tell.  I like this school already!

Eli, on the other hand, probably got the most serious 2nd grade teacher out of the 3 teachers in the grade.  Mrs. D is not sweet as sugar and does not speak with a gentle voice.  BUT, honestly, after coming from Discovery School, every teacher is going to be less than stellar.  This whole thing is a shock to his system....his teacher, all the rules, the longer days, the traffic home.  Needless to say, Eli's been pretty exhausted both mentally and physically.  I'm hoping Eli's teacher will loosen up just a little after everyone learns all the rules.  Luckily, his teacher's assistant, Miss M, is very very sweet.

This new school definitely has a lot of rules for the kids--hands to yourself when walking through hallways, absolutely no talking in class unless called upon--not even talking in the hallways, always seated in a scholarly position (back straight, hips back, feet on the floor, hands on the desk) in class.  They even spent the first 2 days practicing these rules.  It sounds drastic, but the kids are getting used to it and and actually appreciate the quiet because now they can focus more.  I really like that the school has high expectations for behavior.  And even though it sounds strict, the kids never tell me that they don't want to go to school...which is definitely a good thing.

I'm also loving the uniform aspect of it all.  Every day I ask them if they want to wear light blue or white.  Easy peasy!  They weren't thrilled about the idea of semi-dorky shoes and belts, but after they put everything on, Eli said, "Actually, this isn't as bad as I thought."  Phew!  And don't they just look so cute together??

Evie is just loving kindergarten.  She already knows her teachers, so she's not starting the year off too shy.  During her first week, she did a lot of smiling with her classmates.  This week she has started talking to her classmates more...even to the ones she didn't previously know.  I'm just amazed by all this!  I'm so thankful that she is more confident this year.  Every day she says, "I loved everything about school!"  And then she always adds, "But I AM sad that I'm not with you."  =)  I'm definitely sad that she's gone all day, but I also know that she's ready to absorb everything...more than I have the time to give her right now with Eulee around.  Hee hee.

This has been her first week of long days and on Monday, she was ready for bed by 4pm....constantly yawning and rubbing her eyes.  She even told me that she was ready for a nap...she NEVER says anything like that!

And even though school has begun, the fun hasn't stopped.  Eli and I went to a WNBA game with his 1st grade friends...

B took the girls to a pool party that same day...

Evie went on her first 2-wheel bike ride on the greenway (and biked over 2 miles on her itty-bitty-no-gear bike like a champ)...

I took the older girls to paint some pottery...

and we all went to Six Flags for a few hours on a Sunday.  It was awesome because there weren't many people so the lines were short!

The funny thing is that even though all the kids are in school, Eulee and I have not enjoyed a full week to ourselves YET!  I had great plans for us...library storytimes, the children's museum, Gymboree all the time, new fun places...nah, it hasn't happened like that yet.  Eli was home sick one week.  Then Eulee got sick.  This week Elina had to be picked up from school because she was sick.   Then she stayed home another day.  Seriously, people.  What gives?  I told B, "When am I going to get just a normal week??"  And he replied, "This IS a 'normal' week!"  I guess he's right.  It wouldn't be normal unless someone needed something.

Either way, it's been a great start to the new year.  Here's hoping for an ABNORMAL week next week!