Buckle Your Seat Belts

Life has been so exciting lately that it's gotten in the way of my blogging.  But that means I have lots to catch up on, so buckle your seat belts as I give you installments over the next week or so.  First up:

BACK TO SCHOOL!

ALEX started preschool at Shayla's Preschool this year.  My preschool selection was based on three basic factors:

1) The school needed to be pretty close to home.
2) I needed to cost less than what I paid for Adam's preschool.
3) The school had to have some actual sort of curriculum (not just glorified playtime).
4) The teacher had to be someone who wouldn't just give in to adorable brown eyes.

I was fortunate enough to find all of this at Shayla's, and bonus, she's just around the corner.  Alex and I get to walk there together each school day, and I've really enjoyed the opportunity to actually get to know my middle child.  He gets side-aches easily (I'm going to have him officially tested for the munchkin version of asthma here pretty soon), so we play games like I Spy with My Little Eye to practice colors, or we count the sidewalk sections from point A to point B.  There are 31 from the corner to the first lamp post, if anyone was wondering.  So far, he loves it there, and when I ask him who his friends are, he responds, "That same gwirl," referring to a neighbor's daughter who we saw walking there on the first day.  One of these days he might actually learn her name!

ADAM had to unbearably wait until the 30th to start school, giving time for the kindergarten teachers to complete the assessments.  He did very well on his assessment, struggling a bit with the letters (as expected) and shining with the numbers (as expected).  Mrs. Wallis was particularly impressed at his performance on the "bean game."  She showed Adam four beans, then hid a certain number in one hand.  She showed him the remaining beans and asked him how many were hiding.  Without a moment's hesitation, he nailed each question.  She also gave him a set of items to count out for simple addition and subtraction problems, but he did them all in his head instead.

On the first day of school, I was excited to show Adam the assortment of snacks he could choose from for school.  After sorting through Teddy Grahams, fruit snacks, granola bars, and crackers, he turned and said, "Mom, my teacher said I could bring an apple.  Can I just bring an apple?"  Sure thing, bud.  You are certainly welcome to choose fruit any day!  Then, "Mom, please don't cut it.  Big boys need to eat big apples."  He took an apple for the first two days, finally choosing from the snack bin on the third school day.

MOM also started school again this year as a music teacher at Navigator Pointe Academy, a charter school near Airport 2.  I've helped out with their after school theater program for a couple of years, so when they lost their music teacher, I was surprised to get a phone call.  What did surprise me was the content of the interview, when the principal basically said, "Tell me what subject(s) you'd like to teach and what hours you want to work, and we will make it work for you."  Hard to turn that down!  I told her "only music" and "only afternoons," so I teach 2nd to 5th grade music and continue to help with the after school music and theater programs.  I work 16 hours a week, and so far, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to make a difference outside of my home. 

The kids are adjusting, and Alex really loves his babysitter.  When I dropped him off earlier this week, he said, "Mom, are you going to leave me here?" 

Worried I might be inciting tears, I answered truthfully, "Yes." 

"Thank you!" he said, as he bopped into her house.

Dylan, on the other hand, is punishing me, acting good for the babysitter and good for Daddy (who picks the kids up about 15 minutes before I make it home) but then starts to cry and whine the moment I walk through the door. 

We're all adjusting to the new and varied school schedule, and I'm relying heavily on the "village" it traditionally takes to raise a child.  Thanks to all those involved in helping shuttle my kids to or from their assorted schools.  It has been such a relief to know I am surrounded by people I can trust with my goons.