Welcome to 2nd Grade!!!

Tomorrow is the big day! Jack will be in 2nd grade and has the distinct blessing of having his most amazing Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ward, (seen here) as his now-2nd grade teacher!

Today we organized a playdate for all the upcoming 2nd graders at the school's playground. We thought it might be fun to get back into the swing of things by seeing all the old faces as we were learning who was in each class. It was an incredibly hot day (97, heat index 104) but there were lots of troopers who braved the heat to join us!

Lots of Jack's former classmates were there and several of his current classmates, who will join him in Mrs. Ward's class, were there too!

You know it is hot when the kids choose to sit UNDER the playground equipment!

The highlight of the event was when Mrs. Ward came out to see the kids. As soon as they saw her, they all ran toward her like she was carrying ice cream! She is one of the most loved teachers. There was lots of hugging...

There were lots of cuties there! Here are a couple that stopped running with their friends long enough for me to grab a picture!

Vishnu - Jack's classmate for 2 years now! He pushes Jack as one of the best readers in the class.

Niles and his brother, Nicholas, and mom, Andrea. Sweet Niles was in Jack's class last year.

Charlie, little brother to Clarissa.

Clarissa, Jack's friend since Kindergarten. Clarissa claims she and Jack are going to get married some day!

And, my ever adorable 2nd grader! I can barely believe it!

Jack, here we go! Another year to learn, navigate & grow! I'm so glad you have such a kind heart to guide you on your way this year! I'm so proud of you already!

School Days...Welcome to First Grade!

Summer's over. School's in session! No longer at the bottom of the totem pole, Jack is returning to school with a notch in his (proverbial) belt, comfortable with his surroundings and routine on day 1 because he's done this all before...but now he's a First Grader! Woo hoo!

Friday was the official start of school with a warm up consisting of a 3.5 hour day. Just enough to get your feet wet but not a full commitment to the program! Jack and I drove to school, outfitted in a selection from his newly expanded assortment of Standard School Attire (think uniform) and sporting his excellent "rock star" coif.



Though nervous, he put on a brave face and walked confidently on the school grounds that seemed as comfortable as last year's bathing suit at the start of the next summer. A little unfamiliar but still a good fit...



Already mapped out and committed to memory, we found Mrs. Stark's classroom right away. She is a sweet and inviting teacher and made all of the students feel welcome immediately!


We found Jack's cubby, #10, and his DESK (this is new!), where he was seated beside new friend Reid and across from his Speech Teacher's daughter, Natalie. Though no old friends were in sight, Jack seemed to welcome this new experience and sat comfortably, attached his name tag to his shirt and checked out the papers on his desk.

Oh my goodness, textbooks!!!

Mrs. Myers stops by to welcome Jack to school.

His sweet friend Jayden came over from the classroom across the hall and, ever so brotherly, told Jack that he'd be right across the hall if Jack needed him. My heart melted!!!

I stayed for a few minutes longer, soaking up this moment and all of the nervous drama that was NOT occurring (no clinging to my leg, asking me to stay, with big eyes pleading) and then kissed him and assured him that I'd be back to pick him up at the car rider line at 11:30.

That was it! Wow. How easy! What a brave, sweet, big boy! I went to the parents' reception for a moment and then, on my way out, stuck my head in his doorway and peered in the room. I found the class, seated on the floor at Mrs. Stark's feet, captured by her every word. And in the middle, quiet and attentive, was my amazing little man.


The report that followed at pick up was short and positive. It was a 'great' day. He was only nervous for the first part of the morning. He sat with only 1 friend at lunch (because he was at the end of the table). He got to be the line leader on the way to the cafeteria, which he loved. And he received a "Perfect Day" behavior rating from the teacher. He was quick to share with me her scale for the class:

1. Perfect Day
2. Warning
3. 5 minute time out
4. 10 minute time out/note home
5. You blew it! (principal's office)

I am thrilled with the start of the school year for Jack. He has 2 full days under his belt now as well and is still enjoying it. I am so excited to watch him learn and grow this year in a new classroom with new academic challenges! I think it is going to be a great year.

Kindergarten Week 1 (plus some)

The first week is in the record books. And it was a great one. For a long time we've all been nervous about starting 'big kid school'. In fact, just before Jack's birthday in April, he was dead set against going. So much so that he declared that he was NOT turning 6, he was NOT having a birthday party and he was NOT getting presents....because he didn't want to go to Kindergarten.

So I was very proud when he was ready to visit the classroom on the "Sneak Peak" day the week prior and equally proud when he actually walked in to the classroom on Monday for his first day, a half day, in Mrs. Ward's class. He was nervous, and he didn't really care to have his picture taken, but he wore his 'uniform' (standard school attire), allowed me to tuck his shirt in, wore his backpack without complaint, and said hello to Mrs. Ward when we got there. He helped me sort all our required school supplies in bins by reading the categories above them and a couple of parents were amazed that he could read so well. Sometimes I forget that many Kindergarteners aren't reading yet!

Tuesday nite, with the first full day of school looming the next day, he cried at bedtime saying that he didn't like the 'big kindergarten day' (the full day). He said that he just liked the 'little' day. I assured him that he would like the full day once he got there, just like he had ended up liking the half day, once he tried it. Sure enough, he enjoyed himself on Wednesday. I know that it is a lot of work for him to keep himself quiet and attentive for 7 hours, and I'm not sure how well he's actually doing that, but he is telling us a lot about his day, so I know he's paying attention! He knows 13 of the 19 kids' names in the class. And he's happy to go each day. No separation issues...I think Tyler is having a harder time with it than Jack is! Tyler is sooooo excited to see his brother each day at pick up. He giggles and squeals when Jack gets in the car. It is adorable. And Jack must first talk to Tyler before he'll give me the time of day. He says "I want to talk to my brother first!" I love watching the two of them together. It's too bad they only have about 4.5 hours each day to enjoy each other's company.

Just when we thought that Kindergarten might be a piece of cake (I'm exaggerating now, for sure!) day 7 hit and we found out that Jack was the first child in the class to grace the Time Out chair. I must say I am shocked. He's never been in time out at preschool in the 3 years he has attended and rarely does he get in trouble at home. He was accused of kicking another student and, quite frankly, he didn't explain himself or try to get out of it. I think it was more of a tap (it happened during circle time when they were seated on the carpet and he doesn't even know who he kicked) but rules are rules, and he certainly won't be scarred for life by it. I, on the other hand, might be though! In his wrong sense of things, he actually bragged a little when he realized he was first to be in Time Out. His silly little head. I guess being first usually does have its accolades. But not today. Time will tell how easy or difficult this year will be for him. But I dare say we're off to a great start, Time Out chair and all.

I hope that by the end of the year we can all have a good laugh over this incident.

First day of school. Daddy and Mommy walked Jack in to his class.

Meeting Mrs. Ward on the previous Friday during her Open Classroom time. Jack said, "I'll see you on August 11th!"

There goes our Big Boy! (sniff, sniff!)