The kids will be attending public school this year (and hopefully for at least the next 2-3 years while we pay off debt) and tonight was orientation night. We all got haircuts, put on clean clothes, and showed up a few minutes late (oops). And the school is barely 5 minutes down the road from our house... It's summer still though - surely we'll have our act together by Monday...
I'm fighting some serious disappointment tonight, since neither kid was placed with the teacher we requested (conflicting reports told us we SHOULD request certain teachers vs. we should NOT, so there's that...) I know that I need to give these teachers a fair shot, but it's hard when you've been planning on one scenario all summer... Cora's teacher is well educated (she basically read us her resume, which is very good), but seemed very nervous/by-the-book around the parents and wasn't too friendly with the kids. Luckily, her teacher's aid (who is there all day, every day - I asked!) seemed extremely friendly and helpful and just lovely (she's grandma-aged and she bent right down to Cora's level for welcome hugs). Her class has 16 kids (for now - apparently that could change in the next few weeks) and her classroom looked to be really well equipped to entertain and teach a room full of curious little 5-year-olds. When we left, I asked Cora if she liked her room and her teacher, and she said "Oh yes, and there are LOTS of books!" Fingers crossed Monday goes well and things just take off from there!
As for James, by the time I arrived over at his classroom, it was just him and his daddy and his teacher (who also has a teacher's aid, but she was not present tonight). His teacher seemed very excited to be welcoming her students (this is her first year teaching 1st Grade, so we shall see how she feels in a few weeks!) and was very nice to us and to James (and Cora). James' room had an equal number of books, but was definitely geared toward an older crowd (fewer decorations = more focus on the front white board?) He has his own desk (just like in Ms. Tina's class), grouped into fours (and I failed to count desks, so I have no idea how many kids are in his class - maybe 20? maybe 24?) He loved seeing his name at his place, but was even more impressed with the computers (Cora's classroom has them as well, and there is a large computer lab elsewhere in the building too). He can't wait to use the computers to play learning games!
And that's it for tonight. It was quick, overwhelming (to me, not to the kids), and even though I'm excited for next week, I'm also terrified...
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