On School

It is amazing and wonderful, but my children slept until 6:30 this morning. Should that be exciting? Well, 10 years ago I would have told you waking up at 6:30 when one didn't need to leave the house until 9:15 was ridiculous, but it is certainly better than the 5:45 they've been pulling. So maybe, school will get them so worn out, they will have no choice but to sleep until actual morning.



I still have mixed feelings about the late school start we have. It's great on one hand. I mean, we have so much time to do our morning stuff. I can let them finish homework if need be. We've switched baths from evening to morning (which is awesome if someone crashes on the couch, or melts down and gets sent to bed. Not that that's happening daily or anything.) On the other hand, we have so much time in the morning. Perfect to fill with arguing, and craziness, and basic grumpiness.



It seems that everyone in the whole world is picking their kids up from school this year. I'm getting there roughly the same time as last year, and yet I'm all the way around the pick up line, out of the parking lot, and in the street. Pretty crazy. I either need to get used to it or start getting there earlier. But the prospect of spending an hour waiting for the kids to get out of school pains me. If I could read, it might be lovely, but I have my little budding conversationalist in the back who needs to "tell me" questions and stuff.



Last night was Open House. For Zack, it was a thrill. He showed me everything with great enthusiasm and delight. I, of course, pretended like it was the first time I'd seen it all. How could I not?

Mark's reaction was a bit different. He was grumpy. Not in a way that was noticeable to his teacher (I hope) but enough to try my patience. When they mentioned that the 2nd graders would participate in a Science Fair he grumbled "there's no way I'll win. Why should I try." I reassured him then told him we'd discuss it later. I truly believe he'll be fine in every aspect of second grade. He was just ready to move past the information and on to the ice cream.



I'll be honest I was really nervous about Eric going into third grade. Yet, he was so excited and is doing great so far. He has an I Can Do It attitude and it seems the anxieties are at bay. He's thrilled about participating in the Science Fair, and even revealed to me the other day that he finished his assignments when the other children did. His teacher let me in on a little more information. She had asked him what he did differently to finish on time, and he told her "I started when everyone else did." If only I'd known, I'd have told him that last year. I think he's starting to figure things out.



This year is going to be great. I can feel it!