First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The first day of middle school for Robert and the first day of Kindergarten for Joshua. Robert decided to head back into public school a couple of months ago ... when we realized that our family would not be able to continue to afford the Liahona enrollment fee. We really enjoyed the past year, but Robert was definitely ready to jump back into the middle school life. He has been nervously excited. He went school shopping with Byron because Byron decided that Robert needed to have more input into his clothing selections than "Mom" allowed him. The result? Robert picked out clothes on his own that I have been trying to interest him in for years. Go figure!

The decision to send Joshua to Kindergarten this year was only arrived at this week. J We had previously decided to keep him home at least one more year (if not permanently as I have been really enjoying the "homeschooling" I was working on). When Robert started to get ready, Joshua really wanted to be included. Also, his friend Will was really excited to go to Kindergarten this year. So between that and Daddy's conviction that Joshua was too old for naptime, we prayerfully decided to allow him to attend. Although he is really tall for his age, his birthday is only 2 weeks before the deadline, so he is literally the youngest in his class.

This morning, the boys were up and ready to go! I got the camera out and Robert groaned. Still, I told him it was obligatory and he submitted with reasonable good grace. Thank you to Ilene who came to play with Ben and Ginny while I took Joshua and Robert to school for the first day. In the future, Robert will take Joshua to the kindergarten courtyard right from the bus ... this is the part that I am nervous about.

When we got there, Robert got out his map and headed off into the unknown world of middle school. I took Joshua to the kindergarten courtyard and we got signed in and his teacher put a nametag on him and told him to pick a cubbie for his backpack. It was probably good that I went in with him because he thought he got to pick a new backpack and there were some pretty cool ones already there! After he put his backpack away, he got to go to where he has wanted to go ever since he learned he might get to go to school ... the playground. There are three kindergarted classes, so there were a fair number of kids there and Josh was in 7th heaven! I didn't see anyone I knew, so after complementing Joshua's teacher on her courage (she grinned), I moved to the side to watch. I saw several mothers (and grandmothers) in tears, but none of the kids seemed phased. When it was time to start, one of the aids blew on a whistle. About half of the kids (mostly the girls) stopped what they were doing and looked up. The other half (mostly boys ... and including Joshua) didn't even flinch but kept on doing whatever they were doing. I waited to see if they had some plan for those who hadn't heard the whistle and therefore missed the instruction. Then I moved over to Joshua and asked him if he had heard the whistle. He looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Yep!" (think ... Duhhh mom, are you hard of hearing?). I told him that when he heard that whistle he needed to stop what he was doing and look to see if there were instructions because he just missed the call to class. He looked to see the kids lining up and immediately jumped over. I had to explain the "stand in line" concept too because he was just ready to walk into the class. When the kids were in the correct line (some kids just joined whatever line was closest) and she could get their attention, Joshua's teacher told the kids to wave good-bye to their parents and go into the class. Joshua waved when everyone else did, but I don't think he really got the concept ... he was just ready to get into the classroom. Off he went without a backward glance. When I picked him up this afternoon (they go all day), the teacher said he had a so-so day (never a good sign and certainly not on the first day of school). She said he needed to work on following directions and that he tended to wander around when he wanted to. Hmmmm we have things to work on. When I asked Josh what he did today, he told me that he got to play outside three times, there was a rest time, and he got to eat lunch. That's my boy! Oh, and remember that him outgrowing napping was one of the reasons to go to school? He was out before we got home ... but he is more than ready to head back tomorrow!!!

Robert just walked in the door from the bus stop. He said that he went to the wrong 5th period (the husband in stead of the wife - same last name) and that he things he is going to like everything but math and english. He also informed me that EVERYONE else had a cell phone. I told him to talk to me when he brought home straight As ... On the plus side, neither one of them came home and told me exactly how many days it was until Christmas vacation!