First Day of School!! (2nd Grade and Kindergarten)

Why are you taking so many pictures?!!



Kindergarten: a dream come true!!

Sigh....I dropped my babies off at school today. I walked Serenity and Strider into their new classrooms...with Serenity starting 2nd Grade, and Strider finally joining his big sister at "big kids' school" for Kindergarten. Both kids were excited, but Strider was practically bouncing up and down... "I can't believe I finally get to go to Kindergarten! It's like a dream come true!". LOL. Gotta love that enthusiasm.

Serenity's teacher was absent from school orientation last week due to a medical issue with her eye, so Serenity had not met Mrs Archer until this morning. After introductions, I walked Serenity over to her desk, which had a word search on it made up of her classmates' names. I chit-chatted with her for a couple of minutes, and she was pretty quiet. We hugged 2 or 3 times and I gave her a kiss, and told her to have fun and I would see her after work. I hovered in the hall unseen, outside the classroom to watch her for a minute. There were lots of parents and kids coming in and out. The poor kid didn't look like she was going to cry, but she did look like she lost her dog or something. Perhaps unsure, nervous, alone in the chaos....something. My heart broke a little, but I knew I had to get Strider to his class. She did see me in the hallway just then, put on a small, brave smile, and waved. I smiled and blew her a kiss and then finally left. I knew she would be fine, but I really just wanted to cheer her up. She did know some of the kids in her class already, but none were her friends from last year. Her BFF, Alivia is in a different class this year, so hopefully Serenity will find a buddy to hang out with soon.

It's okay, SweetPea

Raring to go!

Strider practically dragged me to his Kindergarten class. He made a beeline for the bin that had the cars in them. He and some other classmates were very disappointed to find that they were not allowed to play with them yet. The kids were instructed to sit on the big rug that had a couple of bins of Lego-like cubes. Well, Strider was so disappointed that he started crying. He was used to playing before school started in Pre-K. It's tough being a "big kid". I felt bad for him. I wrapped him in my arms and talked with him for a bit. I told him that he would get to play with the cars, but he would need to wait for the right time, etc, etc.... Mrs Melendez came over and told him that she had a lot of stuff to teach him (how to read, write letters and numbers, etc...), so the mornings were for learning, but after lunch the kids would get to use the play centers (toys). She then went back to greeting more parents and kids. I walked Strider over to the rug and sat down with him. I gave him a couple of suggestions on what he could build with the cubes.....a car with square tires! (nope) or how about making a racetrack like that little girl is doing with a long row of cubes? (Mom, you need two of those to make a racetrack). Another little boy piped up that he tried to help the girl add on the "racetrack" but she wouldn't let him. So I asked the boy...."Do you like cars?" (yes). "Do you watch NASCAR?" (no). Do you have Hot Wheels at home (oh yes, I have those)......ding, ding ding! We have a winner! I said to Strider "Hey bud, he likes Hot Wheels, too!" (But Mom, I don't even know who he is.). Sigh. I asked the boy for his name (Brandon), and I said, "Brandon, this is Strider. He likes Hot Wheels, too.". Strider whispers sotto voce..."Ask him if he likes Mario". Alrighty. "Brandon, do you like Mario?" (Yes, I like Mario). I look over at Strider, and in true Strider-fashion he acted like his mind was blown. I mean a kid in his class that likes Hot Wheels AND Mario?? How awesome was that?! LOL. I told Strider to go over there and talk to him, so he did....and tears were promptly forgotten.

I took that as my cue, and I got up to leave. "Okay, bud, I'm going to go to work. Have fun! I love you!". And no word of a lie.....not.a.single.glance.in.my.direction. He was laser-focused on talking to Brandon, and it was like I was already gone. I chuckled to myself and said "Mission Accomplished!". I stopped in the hallway outside his classroom, and did one last peek. Strider was perfectly fine....and so was I.  

Mom who?