Back to School 2022

 Sometimes this summer seemed to fly by. Other times it came to a screeching (and scorching) halt. To make sure we went out with a bang (or at least a little fun) we got ice cream.

This kid and ice cream....

I don't remember why I took this picture of Henry ready for bed but here it is.

Time to meet the teachers! That morning I dropped Henry off at the middle school for 6th grade orientation. When I picked him up and as we were pulling out of the parking lot he told me he didn't get a chance to open his locker. So I parked again and we went inside to practice. He has an upper locker which makes it pretty difficult for him to see the numbers on the dial. He only opened it once on his own before he said he was done and wanted to go. We stopped by the counseling office to ask if they could switch him to a lower locker so we'll see what happens.

Once I brought him home it was time to take the littles to meet their teachers at the elementary school.

James starts kindergarten with Mrs. Carpenter. 

And Erica is in third grade with Mrs. Hines who is new to the school.

She's not very excited to have to start the school year with her blue ramp behind her bottom teeth. She didn't get the teacher she was hoping for but her best friend Delaney is in the class so she's happy about that.

And then we got home in time to see Sarah off to the junior high open house. She didn't want me to come. I remember feeling the same way at her age.

Justin worked from home that day so that he could make them breakfast and see them off. And stand creepily behind the door.

Sarah is most excited for student council, her foods and clothing class, and orchestra.

Henry left next for middle school.

He's most excited for PE, having a locker, and seeing his friends from Rees (only at lunch, the poor kid doesn't have a single class with any friends).

Crazy moment that I think is a good omen for the school year, a deer walked along the street across from us.

For some reason unexplained to me by the district, we are no longer in the bus zone. So Henry gets to ride his bike to school each day. If he takes the dirt road shortcut, it's only 1.4 miles (legitimate roads we are 1.9 miles away). Justin rode with him the first day to make sure he crossed Maple Street safely and knew how to use the bike lanes. He gets home so quickly by bike; much faster than by bus or if I were to pick him up and fight the traffic.

Then it was Erica's turn. She had her outfit picked out for weeks. 

She was most excited about seeing her friends and pretty much everything about school.

We dropped her off with her bike so she could ride it home. She's not too keen on riding home without Henry. She relies on her big brother a lot and has never gone to school without him. But there are several kids near us that also ride their bikes so she has a fun group to ride with.

And then there was one.

Delaney's mom sent me this photo of when she met Delaney to ride home with her.

When they got home they were all exhausted but happy. James and I baked them cookies and listened to them talk about their days. I was worried all day that Henry would lock his lunch in his locker and not be able to open it when lunchtime came but he said he did fine. He said the first day was so boring and all the teachers just talked and talked and they didn't play anything in PE. He said the same thing about PE the next couple of days too "All we did is get our gym lockers today." I spent the next few days signing a mountain of disclosure statements and making special trips to Walmart to buy must-have school supplies. I really wish teachers would send their supply lists as soon as the schedules are out instead of making me go when it's crowded and picked over.

And then James finally got his turn today. He and Erica got up early and were watching TV in the morning as they always do when I told him it was time to get ready for school. "I'm kind of scared," he said. He was nervous the night before too. I tried to reassure him without going overboard. I think it's easy to make a kid more worked up by over-reassuring them so I tried to validate his feelings but briefly and positively and then distract him.

Justin had to work in Ogden this day so he wasn't able to see him off. James was a little reluctant to get out of the car but when I asked him if he wanted me to walk him to his class or have Erica do it, he chose Erica.

So I watched her walk alongside him to the bike rack and walk him right into the wrong classroom.

So I quickly ran to catch up and redirect him to the right door. Erica just shrugged and went to her class. There was more confusion for James to find the right cubby and pencil box since there's another James in the afternoon class. Then when we found his seat, someone's little 2-year-old was sitting happily in James's seat scribbling on his paper and telling his mom, "good-bye Mom, I'll stay here." I would have thought it more funny if it wasn't so confusing to James. It took a minute to figure out who the kid belonged to. We had to get another coloring page from the teacher and then he was settled. He barely looked at me as I walked away. He didn't look for me as I stood in the hallway and watched him. He didn't run after me as I walked out of the school. 

I thought I was going to cry today but I didn't. I didn't get much done while he was gone because I was too distracted. I worried he was lonely or lost or confused or wanted to come home. I watched the clock for the 2.5 hours he was gone and then it was time to pick him up. He bounded to the car with a big grin on his face. He told me, "first we sat on the rug and then we had recess and then we came home" which is actually a lot of detail for him. 

He was happy to report that his friend Tessa from preschool was in his class but didn't know anyone else's name. He picked Chick-fil-a for lunch and he told me that the day went by kind of fast and that he's okay going back tomorrow.

So now it's time to get settled with a new routine. 4 kids, 3 schools, 3 start times, 4 end times, 16 teachers, 2 instruments, 3 home lunches, 3 bikes, 0 busses. Thank goodness football and piano don't start for a couple more weeks.