First Days of First Grade

Fans! We know. We have been holding out on you. It ends now. Our Hero has been making us so proud these first days of first grade. Two other mothers with whom Julie is friendly reached out to her to relay stories of Our Hero smoothing their kindergartener-son's way on their first days running the Kid's Place gauntlet. Our hearts were filled to bursting with pride.

Thursday night, Julie attended the annual Parent Information Night at Joe's school. Here we pause to share that Joe's teacher, Mrs. Stolutsky, seems like a real gem--really thoughtful about her work and committed to the best ideals of her profession. She is the sort of person who get genuinely excited talking about the school's integration of the international baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.  Thursday night she shared that just that day, two of her students had told her they had picked up some papers on the floor in the bathroom; they "were being principled!" Principled is one aspect of the IB learner profile. Later, when Julie introduced herself to Mrs. S and ask for a second classroom volunteer firm, she learned that one of those students was Our Hero.  Pretty cool, right, Fans?!  Mrs. S added that he was "such a happy boy, filled with lots of joy."  Julie managed to thank her without crying or gushing I appropriately.

So far Joe has left his jacket behind at school once, his lunch box behind once, his water bottle so many times we've lost track. . .So sometimes, it would seem, his head's not always in the right place, but it looks like his heart is.

Our Birdie, a Pre-Kindergartner

Birdie had a first today, too: her first day in the pre-K room at the KinderCare.  She'd been spending most of her days last week there, but today was her first official day in that room.  It was also the first day there without the graduating kindergartners-to-be still in the mix and--perhaps more important--both Daphne and Silvia who are both attending different pre-K programs this year in advance of attending different elementary schools.  She has other friends, but Daphne and Silvia have been her most constant companions at school for the past four years.  It's always tough to be parted from a friend, and even if new beginnings are not without excitement, they are also largely without the comfort of the familiar.  We think this craving of the familiar is why last week Clara told Julie through tears at drop-off that she was crying because sometimes, she missed Mommy and just wanted to be home with her.  Frankly, Julie sometimes just misses Birdie and wants to be home with her.  Julie acknowledged as much, but also said that there are times we have to be strong and brave and these are such times.  Tough stuff no matter how old you are.  But when Julie and Joe arrived for pick-up during afternoon story time, as is usually the case, Birdie was sitting up in the very, very front and did not want to leave until the story was over.

So she is making her way.  She is already writing her first and last name on the sign-in board outside of the room.  She's getting better at her lowercase Ks and Es and totally has the three arms only on the uppercase E bit down.  She rocks a backpack.  Although it is not required, Our Birdie never really met an accessory she didn't like (especially if Big Brother Joe has it, too!), and this one has Elsa and Anna on it--and it lights up with twinkle lights when hit as Biride will demonstrate for you at every possible opportunity.  It's not as good as snuggling in at home with Mommy (or Daddy), but a twinkly accessory can help a lot.

A First Time For Everything

There's a first time for everything, and today was the first day of first grade for Our Hero.  We met his teacher, Mrs. Stolusky, at last Friday's Meet Your Teacher event, and thus learned the first thing that is different about first grade versus kindergarten: you don't meet with your teacher individually, but rather, all together.  We can also report that Our Hero has a locker instead of a hook and a shelf!  And, there is no AM snack; only PM, and you bring it from home for yourself rather than providing enough for the whole class to be doled out each day.  We also discovered that the PTSO has some spirit wear at a deep discount that must be gone by the time one goes for Parent Information Night about a week after school starts.  (Joe scored a hat with an orange pom pom on it for two dollars.  He is so sad that it is still seventy plus degrees outside.)  Otherwise, we learned that cubbies and take-home folders, and the big, plastic tote in which lunches from home are stashed for lunchtime all make a return appearance in first grade.

And then the day was upon us.  And then, 9:20am, when the first bell rings, was upon us.  It always takes a little bit longer to walk to the school from White House than you think it's going to, especially when you realize halfway there that you need to double back to get the PM snack.  And the recommended snacks are, of course, like, fresh fruits and vegetables, or dried fruit--not prepackaged carbohydrate type products.  That's all well and good, but Joe is crazy for dried fruit products and so already takes, like, two different kinds in his lunch--and applesauce.  So recommended pickings were slim when Julie scanned the options before ultimately grabbing two boxes of Craisins and then speed walking back to school with Our Hero.

Julie and Joe arrived just--just--at 9:20am.  Here, we must pause to relay that it is, apparently, a tradition for parents to gather outside the front doors of the school on the first day of the new school year and blow bubbles at the kids as they walk in the building.  A lone bubble blower remained as Julie and Joe made for the door.  But she blew a stream of bubbles in Joe's confused face.  We were getting those bubbles blown.  Julie would have laughed at the expression on Our Hero's face if she hadn't felt so awful about mistiming his drop off.  (They don't blow bubbles at the kindergartners which we think is a good call on the part of Susan Lindgren Elementary leadership.)

Of course, it was fine.  Multiple buses were late; kids were still streaming up the stairs from Kid's Place in the cafeteria; and many, many kids were in the halls looking for their rooms, or still stashing their stuff in their lockers.  Julie and Joe made it to Mrs. Stolusky's room and as she waved Joe in all friendly and unconcerned, Julie pressed the two boxes of Craisins in his hand and said they were for snack, then said "I love you," and then left before Joe saw her cry, which she did--in part because that first-day-of-school-drop-off was not the recommended first-day-of-school-drop-off.  But after some texted perspective from Ted, she was fine and, more important, we are certain Our Hero was.

He was a happy camper at pick-up, for which (the now apprehensive) Julie arrived approximately half an hour early.  He walked out eating Craisins.  The first thing he said to Julie was that Audrey and the Lily with the glasses were in his gym class.  (There were two Lillies in his kindergarten class and one wore glasses.)  The second thing he said was that he met Karlis in the sandbox; that every day, Karlis was going to tell Joe where to meet him.  (Karlis is in a different kindergarten class this year, Fans.  The two friends both took this news totally in stride, saying they would still see each other at recess.  Apparently, Karlis will be relaying the meet-up location in the lunchroom in advance of recess.)  Julie said, "Mrs. Stolusky seems like good people.  Is she good people?"  Joe said "Yes.  But she's a person, not people."

What a big little person.

Take Us Out To the Ballgame

Ted has taken Julie, Joe, and Birdie each to Twins games at Target Field, but on Sunday he took all three at the same time! The bambini were filled to bursting with all they'd learned on their solo trips. Like, upon pulling into a parking space, Birdie chirped, "We won't be trapped. The bars are just there so our car can't get out."

As you can see, everyone was prepared for sun glare. It was not so much sunny as humid. By the end of the fifth inning, Julie and the bambini were wilting and Ted took them home before any of them pitched a fit. But it was still a preview of more good times to come.

"Reading" Bird

Birdie can often be found "reading" to her (stuffed) friends after being tucked into bed for the night. Sometimes, a quarter of her bookcase makes it into a pile that forms at the foot of her bed where she tosses them after she's "read" them. Around eight-fifteen last night, Julie told Clara it was time to put her book down and go to sleep. About fifteen minutes later, wails broke out in stereo. Ted dashed upstairs to investigate. Joe was crying because he'd heard a police car siren and--and this is not quite clear--possibly thought they were coming to get him. Clara was crying because Joe was crying--and because she thought the police were coming to get her a take her to jail because she was reading her book after bedtime.  Oh Fans. It's just too dear, isn't it? Do you think there's a library at such a prison?

Birdie recently "read" to Joe and Julie, too. The trio begins each day in the big bed snuggling and reading while Ted showers. Birdie read Grumpy Bird, which features a bird who wakes up too grumpy to fly and so walks instead, collecting friends along the way, all of whom want to know what he's doing. Our Birdie was, of course, "reading" by summarizing from memory and, of course, this just slayed Joe. Joe is six. He knows stuff. He is a stickler for The Rules and Doing a Things Right. Naturally, he could barely contain himself and demanded Julie re-read the book as soon as Birdie had finished "reading" it. It continues to be true: sometimes it is a drag to be the Big Brother, and sometimes, the Little Sister.

But Birdie is getting there. She has been  working hard at tacking down, definitively, alphabet neighbors G and H. They are collectively referred to as "challenge letters." (Guess who is always ready to throw down a challenge? Big brothers! Argh!) Other challenge letters include K and Y; W is also sometimes confused with Y.

Sooner enough, she'll be reading, too.