 |
| Natalie and Abby - 1st day of Kindergarten |
Well, the time has come. Despite my best efforts, Natalie and Abby
turned 5 and started school. I'm actually incredibly proud of them. We
had a great time shopping for supplies, talking about school, reading
books about school, going to meet their teacher and starting the first
day. They did absolutely amazing - no tears and barely a glance back.
Mommy and Daddy both walked them to their class the first day, but once
they saw the play dough at their table - they barely even said good-bye!
 |
| Abby |
Oh,
since someone is bound to ask...we had every intention of separating
them for school. I'm a firm believer in letting them be their own
distinct selves. I have rarely dressed them the same - and not in
years. They are individual people and should be treated as such.
However, as we began discussing school and telling them that Natalie
would have one teacher and Abby would have a different teacher, it
became clear this was extremely distressing for them, especially Abby.
Her sweet little eyes would get big and nearly fill with tears, and she
would say,
"I don't want to have a different teacher than Natalie. I want to be with Natalie." After
some discussion, we decided that since they had never been to
pre-school, going to school AND separating them might be too much all at
once. So, at the last minute, we decided to keep them together. They
do sit at separate tables, and it appears that they play separately on
the playground as well as together at times. For this year, it seems
like the best decision, and we will be probably separate them next year.
 |
| Natalie |
Their new school is a year-round calendar - so they
started on July 19! They had a staggered entry which meant the first 4
days (16th -19th) a 4th of each class came to school. On Friday, July
20, everyone was there. It worked out great for us since their start
day was the last staggered one and we could just start - and keep going -
like they would every week. I think we are going to love the year
round calendar. Our first break starts September 15 for three weeks and
I am already planning a trip to Michigan, camping, and time with
grandparents.
 |
| Abby and Natalie at their classroom |
As far as adjusting, the girls are really
doing well. They love recess - of course - and playing something
called, "puppy pants" with some boy named Matthew. I wasn't really sure
what to think of that until I learned it's basically a game of tag with
the girls (with other girls as well) shouting, "puppy pants" at
Matthew. I have no idea what that even means. They have also enjoyed
making sand pictures in the shady area under the slide. It sounds like a
pretty good place to play - since it's been nearly 100 degrees here. I
was thinking back to the days before AC. I am SO glad they don't have
to deal with that.
They also, ironically, seem to
like lunchtime. I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with the actual
eating part, and everything to do with getting to sit at the little
tables in the cafeteria. We have had some issues with various parts of
their lunch not being opened by the teachers. I'm trying different
things to make it easier. There are also still days they don't eat much
at all, which frustrates me from a place of nutrition and calories, but
also of waste. This week's trial: not sending as much food.
Hopefully, they will either eat it all, or I'll at least have less to
throw away.
 |
| Natalie and Abby at their table |
The only thing the girls don't like is
computer class. Apparently, they were put in front of a computer and
given an educational game to play. They had a really difficult time
working the mouse and making it click the right place. The other kids
apparently seemed experts. I think it frustrated them, especially
Abby. But, I'm actually kind of proud of this deficiency. It means
they have NOT spent their days parked in front of a computer playing
games - even educational ones. They have played, colored, dug for
worms, played with snakes, read books, watched animal and history shows
with me, played outside, visited museums, zoos, and parks, and learned
to be creative and innovative. I figure we have plenty of time to learn
how to use a mouse - they can never re-do their first 5 years of
development.
As I anticipated, we are having a few issues
with Natalie and her inability to maintain focus. We've seen this
behavior at home for a while and been working on it. Natalie is sort of
like a cartoon character who gets distracted by every single shiny
thing. The character stops everything to follow the shiny thing and
walks into a wall.
We have a meeting Monday with all
relevant parties to figure out the best options. We have to determine
the cause for her behavior. Is it ADD, and OT/fine motor issue,
immaturity or simply, "this is not what I want to do right now"? The
good news is that she is not disruptive. She's not wandering around or
bothering other children. It sounds like she's mostly just staring into
space. I know we will figure out the best thing to do and get Natalie
on track asap.
Overall, Natalie and Abby are enjoying school. The only hint we've had that trouble could be brewing in the future is a repeated question,
"mommy, how long do we have to go to school?" My answer is usually,
"forever:-)".
I'm pretty sure though, that they don't fully understand what that
means for them over the next 13 years - and beyond!! At least I can
tell them they will have a break in about 5 more weeks:-)
 |
| Abby |
 |
| Packing our Book bags the day before! |
 |
| Natalie |
 |
| Abby's Mouse and Baby Sam waiting for her in her seat |
 |
| Natalie's Baby Kitty and Rainbow Sparklepups |
They also, ironically, seem to
like lunchtime. I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with the actual
eating part, and everything to do with getting to sit at the little
tables in the cafeteria. We have had some issues with various parts of
their lunch not being opened by the teachers. I'm trying different
things to make it easier. There are also still days they don't eat much
at all, which frustrates me from a place of nutrition and calories, but
also of waste. This week's trial: not sending as much food.
Hopefully, they will either eat it all, or I'll at least have less to
throw away.
