School!!!

Is this my first official post about school? I have been so pleasantly surprised by our experience so far. It has been much different than Trevor's K experience, which just goes to show that much of an experience is based on how we choose perceive and remember the events. The kids had a great first day of school, though Ariel and I were a little sad. In fact, the first week was wonderful for both kids. I dropped them off with no tears and, when I picked them up, the first thing Rachael did was fling her arms around my neck and say "Mommy, I LOVE school! I LOVE my teacher! I want to go back tomorrow!" It was quite cute. She has loved every minute of her experience there, so far. Her teacher and assistant are wonderful- kind, warm, funny. Everything you think a K teacher should be. No wonder Rachael likes her.

Trevor had a great first week, but then realized he would be expected to go for a whole year. Our second week of drop offs was ROUGH, to say the least. Trevor can make himself really anxious about a situation and he has trouble calming down. While he always ended his school day with smiles and enjoyed his actual day at school, transitioning away from me and into the building was another thing entirely. It was almost a repeat of his experience in K. Lots of crying, lots of agonizing over going to school as he was getting dressed in the morning, etc. It helped to speak with the counselor and have her help him transition. It also helped to get his school schedule and let him know what to expect out of his days. He has friends in school and really enjoys his time there, it's just the drop off. This evening, for the first time, he was excited about going to school tomorrow. So that's a definite positive! He also walked into the school without anxiousness all last week, too. So I hope we are over that hurdle.

We had their Back to School Night and got to meet the teachers and Trevor's second grade teacher is wonderful, as well. It sounds like their year will be neat, too. Every Tuesday I get a paperwork packet with the school newsletter and class happenings and worksheets the kids have done. I get one for each child. In the last one Trevor was thrilled to see his much anticipated sign up for Lego Club. So I have signed them up for some extracurriculars. Lego Club only accepts 50 people, so I sure hope he is one of those 50 kids! He has been talking about it since the beginning of last year! I also signed him up for a science class that has hands on experiments and I signed Rachael up for a little acting class where they read a book and act it out. They all look like neat things to be in.

Ariel and I have been getting along. Our days are so quiet. I was going to sign her up for preschool, but our local preschool had a waiting list. She keeps asking when she gets to go to school like her brother and sister. She frequently begins things with "When *I* go to *my* school...." so I am not sure if I am going to expand my search out of our immediate area yet. So far we run errands, or hang out playing games. We go to local parks in our neighbourhood or make little field trips to nature centers, bigger playgrounds, etc. I started scrapbooking again with a friend. So we just started a standing date at her house. She has two kids in school, so Ariel has a place to herself and lots of toys. Last week she chose to stamp out die cuts and glue and color. She will also be coming with me for any volunteering I do at the school. I have made it really clear I am eager to help and think they will be using me. They needed a volunteer for some art program for Trevor's class. I need more details before I commit, though, as it sounded daunting at first. heh.

That's about all that is happening here. Actually, lots more happens, but we either haven't taken pictures or I haven't had a chance to blog it. And all I have are iphone pictures. Here are a couple (though my parents have already seen them!)


Outside the library. They have a huge metal book decorated with hearts. It's cool. We still do a weekly library trip. We all read too much to visit less often.


Ariel enjoying some hot chocolate at the Target Starbucks. This was the first day I dropped the others off at school. We went to Target for "first day treats" Rachael got a little set of horses and some hot chocolate. Her brother got a Bionicle and Rachael got Littlest Pet Shop.


After school. Rachael ADORES her brother. She is his number one fan. The K kids come out first and so Rachael, Ariel and I are always waiting for Trevor to come out. When he does, Rachael LEAPS at him screaming "TREVOR!" and throws her arms around him in his huge hug. Everyone around us always laughs. Trevor always looks a little less than enthused. He usually says "Hey, Rachael. OK. Get off me now. You're hugging me too tight!" as he pushes her off him. Every day. Yes.


Ariel riding the tractor on a trip to Frying Pan Park.


Rachael and Trevor doing an after school project. I found little models for a dollar each at Michaels. You paint them and glue them together. Rachael has a minibird house and Trevor has a fighter plane.