The First Week of Kindergarten!

Well, we survived the first week of kindergarten.  Actually, we more than survived the first week, we rocked it!  M absolutely LOVES kindergarten.  He was a little nervous the night before, but once he woke up on Monday morning, he was totally ready.  He was vastly more efficient than I had expected him to be at such an early hour.  All in all, I believe he was moving faster than I was - I don't know where he gets his energy.

Taken just seconds before I uttered my first, "M, it's time to get ready for kindergarten."

A breakfast for champions - complete with stuffed armadillo onlooker.

I'm pretty certain I stood out as a rookie parent of an elementary school student.  For starters, we got to school at 7:10...school doesn't start until 7:45.  Also, I was the parent who was a complete stalkerazzi.  I'm not just referring to the posed pictures in our front yard.  There's also the pictures of M in the car, the pictures of M walking up to the school, the pictures of M opening the door, the pictures of M milling about the hallway because we got there so early, the pictures of M walking down the hallway to the classroom, the pictures of M putting his supplies away, and so on and so forth.  For his sake, and mine, I really hope I'm not such a prolific photographer when he's in junior high, let alone high school.  Well, I doubt that will happen, hopefully, at least, I'll be a bit more discreet.

I think by now he was trying to ditch me.

See, he's not even looking at the camera anymore.

I'm pretty sure he's pretending not to know me.

When I picked him up the first day, and every day thereafter, he had a smile on his face and reported to me that he had had a fun time at school.  Though he hasn't learned everyone's names yet, I get the sense that he's fitting in and playing with the other kids.  He really enjoys his teacher and he's done a pretty decent job of filling us in on what he did during the course of the day.

The biggest difference, though, is that he is T-I-R-E-D at the end of the day.  Next week should be very interesting.  This week the kindergarteners only went to school for half the day (7:45-11:45), whereas next week the kids will be there for the full seven hours.  I hope M can hold up.  It goes without saying that I was completely and utterly relieved when I found out that the kindergarteners would be able to have an afternoon snack - especially since they eat "lunch" at 10:50.  Up until last week, all the information I had received indicated that the kindergarteners would NOT be allowed a snack.  I had visions of M leading a rogue group of kindergarten rebels who, after ousting the teachers (I'm sure a defenestration would be involved), go rampaging through the school in search of goldfish or Teddy Grahams.  Hopefully the snack will give him the energy to last the full day and will curb his desire to lead an uprising.

On that note, I will leave you with some more pictures from the first day.  We woke the kids up extra, extra early in order to take some pictures in the front yard.  L wasn't terribly pleased about having to get up before the sun, but she did a pretty good job of hamming it up during the pictures.

This is one of my favorites.  I was explaining to M that his school mascot is the Gator.  Then, after having to explain what a mascot is (it's not that easy), I encouraged him to make a Gator Face for the camera.  Apparently this Gator growls.

It's Almost Time!

Well, I learned my lesson.  Note to future self:   BUY THE PREPACKAGED SCHOOL SUPPLY KIT!!  For some unknown reason, a certain someone in our family, not me, had the grand idea that taking M shopping for his school supplies would be a wondrous and glorious bonding time that would stay with him for many years to come.  Sounds nice enough.  The reality?  Gone are the days of picking out sparkly pencils and Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers.  In our district, at least, the kiddos need to bring a cartload of very specific items - like 6 Expo dry erase fine tip BLUE markers.  No, they aren't sold in packs of 6.  No, they aren't even sold in packs of 1.  In any case, M and I went off to Wal-Mart to purchase said school supplies.  Little did we know that pretty much everyone in the metroplex was heading to our Wal-Mart to engage in the very same bonding moment with their children.  It took a little while and a lot of cart maneuvering to find most of the supplies.  *drumroll please*  Ta-Daaaaaaaa!  M's first batch of school supplies.  (not pictured:  6 Expo dry erase fine tip BLUE markers)

In addition to our recent school supply spree, yesterday afternoon we me met up with some of the other kindergarten kids and moms.  The kids had a fun time playing on the school playground, while the moms chatted and sweltered in the shade.  M seemed to fit right in with the other kids - I suppose it's their herd mentality.

Last night was "Meet the Teacher" night.  M got to see his classroom and, obviously, meet his teacher, Mrs. K.  She's new to kindergarten this year.  She's been teaching third grade the past few years and WILLINGLY chose to teach kindergarten this year.  The room was very cute - everything looked so small, to me, but I'm pretty sure M was slightly overwhelmed.  Fortunately, M already knows a few of the kids in his class, so that should help his first-day jitters.  He had a fun time exploring the classroom.  He found the Legos, the computers, and his very own seat.

On our way back to the car, we kicked off what will probably become a yearly tradition.

Welcome to Our World!

We're in for some big changes around here.

With M starting kindergarten in just about one week and L getting ready for her second year of preschool, we've decided to write about our upcoming adventures.  Since we have family spread across the country, hopefully this will help everyone stay connected.

I am in the process of getting this blog up and running, so please bear with me over the next few days.