Well, the summer flew by, and it's already back to school! This time of year is ripe with emotion. I am always ready for the kids to be back in a routine. By the end of August it is too hot to play outside, and we have had lots of bonding time. Plus, the kids enjoy school so much, it's hard to be sad! I do get a bit emotional watching the little kindergartners walking into school, knowing that each year puts me farther away from having little kids. It seems like this feeling is most palpable on the first day of school.
More than the morning routine and school hours, I think the thing I dread starting the most is all the evening activities. I love a lazy summer evening, and that stops dead in its tracks on Day 1 of school! Here's a few things we are doing this year:
Matthew gave up piano lessons this year, much to the chagrin of Bryon and I. He has taken piano for 7 years, but has been begging to quit for the past 2. With his increased work load this year, we finally gave in. Matthew is getting up at 5:45 each morning to be ready to go to football by 6:15. He is taking 4 pre-AP classes as well as Pee Wee football in the evenings. This kid has always amazed me at his ability to take on huge challenges and never seeming to tire from it. Monday nights are now dedicated to school football, where he could be traveling over an hour for games, Tuesday/Thursday is Pee Wee football, and Wednesdays are church. The late evenings are spent studying. He has already had 2 tests! It was great getting to spend lots of time with our boy this summer, because he is going to be quite busy this Fall! I will also mention that his middle school is where I graduated from high school. It was very surreal walking through those hallways and classrooms that I had not walked through since I was 17!
Thomas started Intermediate School last week. As with all changes in his life, Thomas has taken it all in stride. Not a single fear about changing classes 7 times and converging with two other schools' students. He adores his teachers (several of whom had Matthew), his challenging classes, and he is the 5th grade ambassador from his class. Thomas is still taking piano lessons and plays Pee Wee football as well.
Mary Beth started 3rd grade last week. One of Thomas's GT teachers from last year was told at the end of last year that she would be moving to our school to teach 3rd grade. Since Mary Beth found that out, she talked all summer about wanting Miss G. She is a young teacher (MB has never had a young teacher) and so sweet. Well, much to our surprise, Mary Beth actually got her this year! She was over the moon excited! A big change for Mary Beth this year is that the 3rd grade students rotate with 3 teachers! There were so many changes to 3rd grade this year, but I was very familiar with the 3 teachers she was given, her math teacher being the "crown jewel" of 3rd grade teachers. I could not be more thrilled for her this year, and want to enjoy every minute of my last year in 3rd grade. My PTA position this year is the 3rd grade coordinator, so I am getting to know the teachers very well, as well as see Mary Beth a little more in the classroom. Mary Beth is taking piano again, and is now in the big girl dance class. She takes jazz, tap, and ballet in a 2 hour class. Her first class was this week, and she has been dancing around the house even more than usual!
So the school year is off to a fast, furious, and fun start. I am slowly adjusting to 3 kids at 3 schools and the driving around that this has entailed. We all (me) may be a little bleary eyed still, but everyone comes home with huge smiles, so what more could a mama ask for?
Sweet Mrs. B, Mary Beth's reading teacher
