Three weeks down!

The 1st day of school 2012

Well it has taken me a while to get on here and finally blog about school. It has been a process (especially for Kindly) so maybe it was good that I'm not posting about it until now. Since now I can say that both girls are enjoy going to school and are excited to go each day. That wasn't the case for the first couple of weeks though.

We bought the girls charm bracelets with special charms on them (you can see them in the pics above) that they were supposed to rub if they got lonely and then they would know that we were thinking of them too. I think this helped both of them feel confident the first day and the first day actually went quite smoothly. Kindly was a little reluctant to let me leave her in the classroom but after a couple of please don't go's she let me leave and did great. Passion was really excited and couldn't wait to get to school. So the first day went well.

Walking into the school. 
All the hallways are outdoor.This is view into the courtyard 
that separates the Kinder & 3rd grade classrooms.

Then the second day Kindly was a little more reluctant to go but let me leave her and Passion did great again. But by the third day, Kindly had it figured out that when I left her, it was for a LONG time and she was getting a little tired of it. When I picked her up the third day she said she had had to rub her bracelet three times (the most yet!). And Passion was starting to not enjoy lunch because she said she didn't have anyone to talk to. She also complained about not having recess since there was a heat advisory going on (110+ temps). So the first week ended a little rocky with tears from both girls and Kindly clinging to me. And a lot of drama each night!

Kindly in front of her classroom door.

Part of Kindly's struggle was that she had gotten comfortable the first few days of being dropped off at her classroom. Then her teacher asked that we start dropping the kids off at the Kindergarten playground in the mornings. At first Kindly was quite excited about actually getting a little recess in but that only lasted until we got to the kindergarten gate. She clung to me and cried and begged me to just take her home . . . I almost did, it was awful! We survived though and over the weekend we talked a lot with her and helped her work through some of her worries and fears.
My mom was coming to visit after the end of the 2nd week. We had told Kindly about this but I guess she had forgotten because I told her that if she could go to school for just 5 days, then Grandma would buy a plane ticket and come visit. I was half teasing since I thought she remembered Grandma was coming but her immediate response was, "really?!" And that was that. She was determined to go to school so that Grandma would come. The second week still had its ups and downs and a few tears but a whole lot less than the week before. And each day Kindly would tick down the days on her fingers until Grandma would come. By the end of the week she walked right in to the playground and lined up with her class as the bell rang. It was quite the accomplishment and I was very pleased with my little 5 year old!

Kindly sitting at her table before our goodbye.

Passion really only struggled that first week then she started making a lot of friends and loves school now. Her teacher has a system where the kids can earn school money and in the afternoon on Fantastic Friday she can spend it at her teacher's store. She typically buys pencil tops, erasers, candy, etc. She has earned money everyday at school and her behavior chart comes home with a happy face each day (which is a breath of fresh air compared to last year at the charter school).
Each day this past week has seemed to be easier than the day before. Kindly has really grown up and actually told me once this week that she "was excited to go to school today!" Amazing! I think we've made it over the toughest hill and hopefully it will be down hill from now on.

Wisdom has adjusted pretty quickly to having the girls gone all day. I was surprised since he and Kindly are pretty inseparable lately and play so well together. For the first few days though, each time we would leave the school he asks where Passion and Kindly were. I think he was confused about why we weren't bringing them home with us. He's learning to play more on his own now and when he doesn't want to then he gets some one-on-one time with mom (which is good for both of us)!

Here's Wisdom as we were leaving the school.
He kept pointing and saying "Pasha, Ky Ky!"
It was kind of sad.

As for me, well I'm adjusting. It was really pretty quiet and lonely that first week. Especially when Wisdom was napping but I'm getting more into a routine now and starting to look forward to my "quiet time" each day. Travis started school this past week so life will really start to take off and get kind of crazy pretty quickly here. I miss hanging out with him. Weekends have become our treasured family time together. It kind of feels like we hit the pause button last May and now we've pushed play again. Life is still not feeling "normal" but hopefully our new life will feel normal soon. I'll let you know when it does!