Just like in kindergarten, they were ready to go! They each had a few friends in their class and were excited about their teachers. Kyran was excited because his teacher is pretty and Karyssa was excited because, for the second year in a row, one of her teachers lives in our neighborhood!
I'll admit, I had big plans for summer "school" and I failed miserably! We did read a lot, and they wrote stories, but the other stuff just didn't happen after the first week or two. Toward the end of the summer I started printing handwriting practice sheets. To make these more fun, I wrote song lyrics or turned the sheets into a riddle. If they could complete the lyrics or answer the riddle, they got a prize. That went over really well and they loved doing them!
Now they're back in school and learning Spanish, science, social studies and so many other things that I'm just not good at teaching.
They have reconnected with friends from last year and made new friends.
Karyssa has decided she wants to eat a tray lunch every day, so aside from the first day, we haven't had to make her lunch at all. She is such a good eater! Kyran is my more picky child when it comes to food, so it has been about half and half for him. I have to keep the menu handy so that we can check each night to see if he wants to bring a lunch the next day.
Another big change this year is that Kyran likes PE! He still isn't crazy about running, but his confidence level and ability have gotten so much stronger that he is not afraid anymore. (He even played basketball with some big kids at an event we went to Saturday!)
One thing that didn't change is their lunch time. Apparently the first grade teachers asked to switch lunch with the kindergarten teachers, so they are still eating lunch at 10am! We were looking forward to having a little bit later lunch dates when we went to eat with them, but we do understand the teachers wanting a longer academic block in the afternoons with no interruptions.
Another thing that is nice about this year is their classroom locations. Last year, they were all the way down at the end of the very long hallway. This year, Kyran's classroom is one of the first two, right across from the cafeteria and next to the main office, and Karyssa's is down the third hallway. It's a much shorter walk for them in the morning, and, if they ever forget anything, we won't be trekking all the way down to their classrooms!
They seem to have teachers that fit their personality and needs very well. On the first day of class, we dropped Kyran off and there were kids putting book bags up, parents saying their goodbyes and lots of talking. When we walked into Karyssa's class, there were no other parents and all of the kids were sitting quietly at their seats with their hands on their desks. I think that Karyssa will do well in the more structured environment and Kyran will thrive in the more free atmosphere.
And this is how Gemma felt about them being gone! Her world turned upside down!
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