First Week: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well I find myself here on a cool Saturday morning, alone in the house because Don took the kids fishing, and thought I'd take a moment to recap our first week of kindergarten, for our own enjoyment, and I hope for yours as well. And I should say that despite the title and organization of this post, it was on the whole a fantastic week. Here we go.

The GOOD:

- Amy did an awesome job. She was cheerful and excited every morning and was just as cheerful and excited when I picked her up each afternoon. She has had no shortage of details to share about her classmates, classroom rules, each day's specials, the lunchroom, recess, and everything else. Her account of everything sounds great and she seems to be truly enjoying the experience.

- Amy's teacher spoke with me on two separate mornings about Amy's reading ability, reassuring me (though I had not said anything) that she would be working with Amy on a higher level since she already can read. It pleased me to no end to see that her teacher had tuned into her so quickly, even in a class of 30, and seems to be actively considering ways to work with her individually.

- I really am pleased not only with her teacher (actually teachers, there are 2 plus an assistant), but her classroom and the school in general. It just has a good feel to it. I love that it is only 2 miles away, and I am also happy that I can still drop her off and pick her up.

- Don has still been on leave this week and it has been wonderful to have him around to help us all ease into this new routine. He's stayed with William for most of the drop-off/pick-ups so I haven't had to schlep everybody out the door together quite yet (though I did it one day and it went fine).  The boys have gone on some adventures during the day, I've spent more time one-on-one with William, and I've enjoyed the mornings just the three of us together.

- Also, Tuesday was our eighth anniversary - eight years!  Don and I have been apart for more anniversaries than we've been together for, so it was special just to have him around.

The BAD:

- Waking up early. I realize plenty of people do it all the time. But I have had the luxury all summer of kids who sleep soundly till 7:30 or 8, and I am not enough of a morning person to get up before they do.  So a 6:00 wake-up call for me and a 6:30 wake-up for them has been a bit of an adjustment.  The mornings only got better as the week went on and Amy seemed the least tired of all. Friday morning the first thing she said to me upon waking up was "Hola!"

- The adjustment in my own routine. For a creature of habit it is always a little tricky to establish new habits... again, the week only got better as we went along but Monday and Tuesday definitely found me not knowing what to do with myself halfway through a really long morning.

The UGLY:

- Despite Amy's unflappable energy level and general positive attitude, some predictable signs of stress crept out through the week. Every day had some minor tearful incident, usually over something that otherwise would not bother her.  Then last night, during clean-up time before bath, William moved all the trains which she had carefully arranged on the track they spent all afternoon playing with and O M G did she flip out.  I mean, full on, freak-out temper tantrum the likes of which we haven't seen since she was probably three years old. It was kinda funny. But of course she did get a grip, fixed the trains, and the incident was quickly forgotten. It was nice to be reminded that she is, after all, still a little kid.

But like I said, this week has been great and one I will always remember quite fondly. Proud of Amy for going out in the world so successfully, pleased for her that she's got nice teachers and a nice school environment, pleasantly surprised at the academic attention she'll be getting, happy to spend time with my little boy, thrilled to have had a nice week with my Donny home - a rare treat. I know the weeks ahead will have their natural ups and downs as we continue to adjust to the new routine but whatever comes I'm just happy that the first week was so good.

I'll sign off with a couple of pictures: Mommy-William park time, fishing with the boys yesterday, and a nice little Saturday project with Daddy. Time for lunch now; I'll be back soon with a post about something other than school, I promise. Have a lovely weekend!