School Has Started

Everett and Ashley started school almost a month ago, in mid-August.  After a fun, relaxing summer in which they forgot too many sight words and other important things, I think they felt ready.

Everett and Ashley are good buddies at school.  They often played together during recess last year.  This year, though, Everett and Ashley do not share recess times and rarely see each other, but that doesn't stop Everett from helping Ashley with her scooter on the way into school or walking her to her classroom area (whether she needs him to or not).

Everett is a big old second grader this year!  His teacher is really, really fantastic.  On the first day she whispered in each of her student's ears their Very Important Class Secret:  That they were the most awesome second grade class.  Everett carried this secret proudly for days.

Everett loves school.  He would almost rather die than break a rule.  He loves to win the admiration of his teacher with his good behavior.  (This may slightly overshadow his tendency to rush through his schoolwork.)  Everett also genuinely likes everyone in his class and tries to befriend them all-- troublemakers or the well-behaved, girls or boys.  So far his teachers have been good about appreciating Everett for who he is, quirks and all.  I think Everett's teacher this year even actually enjoys spending her day with seven and eight year olds.  Sometimes I think she must be crazy!

Everett is always happy to see me when he gets home from school.  He gives me a big hug, tells me he missed me, and then proceeds to tip the entire contents of the refrigerator into his mouth.  To his great dismay, I have had to close the kitchen after snack time and before dinner to save my sanity.  But it's really no wonder he is so starving, having to wait to eat four hours after his 11:20 lunch.

Ashley is a big old first grader!  She has a brand new, just-graduated teacher.  Ashley loves her.  This teacher happens to be the daughter of Ashley's kindergarten teacher, which is an interesting coincidence.  I keep asking Ashley how she likes her teacher this year and her answer is always, "I love her!"

Ashley likes school but doesn't love it.  She is very well-behaved but I think she feels she doesn't have enough time to do the things that interest her.  She is not in love with reading (yet--I'm still holding out hope).  Right now we are dragging ourselves through our daily reading practice until she gets on her feet with it.  She has a vivid imagination and dreams her way through her days, and I think her slow reading pace stunts her enjoyment of the stories.  She often gets lost in the illustrations mid-way through a sentence.

Ashley loves to veg out after school.  She would love to watch cartoons all afternoon until dinner if I let her.  But she has the neighbor girl to play with and plenty of other things to do.  By the time evening rolls around, she is totally exhausted and sleeps in as long as she can the next morning.  Ashley has very specific tastes in her clothes and so we have to lay them out the night before.  I bought her several things she refuses to wear.  I can't believe this is starting so soon.

Ashley is still her happy, delightful self.  All of her brothers adore her.  She loves to draw pictures for them and do other crafty things to show how she values them.

Ashley, William, and the neighbor girls before the first day of school.  William is best friends with the youngest and Ashley is best friends with the middle child.  It is fun to see them have fun together.

Everett and his best friend from our street had to step in the picture as well.  My kids are very lucky to all have best friends right on our street!  It makes walking to school more fun, too.

I got to walk Everett and Ashley into school on their first day.  It is always a bittersweet day for me.  I like our school schedule but I do miss them when they are gone.

A few weeks later, William had his first day of preschool.  He had been looking forward to that day for weeks and weeks.

I don't think William thought it was fair that Everett and Ashley got to start school before he did.  But the day finally came and William was thrilled beyond measure.  He didn't even care that he had to use Ashley and Everett's old preschool backpack.  He was finally headed off just like the big kids.  

William's school is great.  He loves everything they do.  I had been worried for a long time that William wouldn't be ready.  He had no desire to do any sort of craft, no patience for coloring or cutting or pasting (it was torture for both of us to attempt any of those things), and he didn't really like to hold a crayon the right way.  I wondered how he would do with preschool.

Then, just like a switch flipped, William took to all of those things.  It was almost like I had a different boy all of a sudden.  He now loves to color, loves to cut and paste, and loves to do any sort of craft.  All of this happened before school even started.  William spends time doing all of those things at school and still wants to do more when he gets home.  It just goes to show that I often worry needlessly.

William always sneaks a little stuffed animal buddy to school in his backpack.  Since he doesn't take it out while he's there, I let him.  Usually it is Pups, the beloved dog that gets to go.

William is happy and enthusiastic about everything.  He laughs all the time, about everything.  I think he will continue to appreciate everything about preschool.

And so James and I are left to our own devices (with Charlie, but he hardly counts) in the morning hours when William is gone.  I keep trying to convince James that it is so fun to be home with Mommy!  But he wants to be off doing important things just like his siblings.  He asks me all the time when he can go to school.  I don't have a satisfactory answer for him.  

I appreciate the quiet morning hours with him while Charlie is napping.  It is even fun to play Candy land with a two year old who is still excited about everything.

We also may or may not have fallen asleep on my bed together a handful of times.  Ah, bliss.

I, for one, am looking forward to a great school year.  I think my kids would agree!