New School!
With the start of the new month we had another new beginning... Colin and Ryan started at a new school. As I mentioned before, I went into this with some trepidation, as I am inherently cautious about change. I knew it needed to happen for various reasons, but was worried that the new school might not work out.
Thankfully my hesitation was unnecessary, and I have to say I am really thrilled with the new school. Things aren't perfect (we do live in the "real" world) but I'm very impressed so far, and am generally pleased with the way things are going.
Colin is the easy one: he clearly loves his new school and is really happy. He has a new "best" friend (Aramis, a 5-year-old boy with stunning green eyes), really likes his teacher, is excited about the projects they are doing, loves the new playgrounds (inside and out!) and his teacher says he is doing very well. I'm extremely impressed with his teacher as well. She is calm, soft-spoken, and clearly has complete control over the class but in a very loving way... AND she never raises her voice. I swear she's like a combination of a seasoned Navy Seal and Mary Poppins! Nothing flusters her, she clearly loves the kids and likes being around them, they respond well to her, and they work to meet her high expectations.
In Colin's old class it was controlled chaos. Kids were throwing books around, things were on the floor, children were running around the room, teachers shouting to try (ineffectually) to gain control... it just wasn't functional. Yesterday at lunch I saw a boy raise his hand, and when Ms. Sarah addressed him he asked "Miss Sarah, may I be excused?" She gave him permission, then quietly told him he needed to clean up his lunch plate, go to the bathroom, then get a book and go lay down for nap. And he did! It isn't that the kids don't have fun, or are under military lockdown - that isn't the case. They clearly are enjoying themselves, but she expects them to be polite and use their manners instead of running around like a bunch of hooligans! I seriously am trying to model some of my behaviors to get her level of quiet control at home!
Ryan is doing OK, but his transition has been a little harder. First and foremost he had (in my opinion) the best teacher possible at the old school - Jill set the bar ridiculously high, and I just think she was extra special. Plus she was effectively like a second mom to him... he knew her since he was just 12 weeks old, and adored her. When we would walk into the school Ryan would reach for her, practically jumping from my arms into hers, and would then wrap his arms around her (sometimes with slobbery baby smooches!) and that was that. It was a very special relationship, and I honestly knew I couldn't expect that to happen again.
Generally Ryan is doing well at school so long as I'm not around, but when I drop him off he makes sure to sob and reach for me to let me know that he doesn't approve of the new situation. Similarly when I'm getting to leave after my lunch visit he does the same... a giant frowny-face, tears, and his little arms reaching for me while doing crabby hands. His new teacher is very nice, and is taking good care of the Ryan and the other babies (he's the only boy in the class!) - it just isn't Jill and Ryan is making sure that I'm aware of his opinion. (I know he misses his "girlfriend" Iris as well, but she'll be babysitting for us in a couple of weeks so at least he'll get his fix on that front!)
On the downside, I found out that the infants don't do water play which Ryan really would love, and they don't seem to be doing any art activities, but Ryan will only be in that class for a few months and then he's going to move up to Toddlers (YIKES!) where the rest of the curriculum will be in full effect. And honestly I haven't asked the teacher - they may be doing somethings that I'm not aware of, but I haven't seen any little paintings since we've been there. Strange - I just to just look at them and pitch them, but now I miss seeing his little art efforts. Guess that means this is on my plate and I need to stop being so lazy and start making time to do art projects with the boys!
In addition to the teachers I have to say that it is really, REALLY nice that they provide school lunches. I can't believe how much time it saves me not having to pack breakfast and lunch for Colin every day. Yes, I have to make extra time so Colin can eat breakfast at home, but it is still a time savings since I eat with him. And it means I get a few extra minutes each morning with my boys! The schedule change is still a bit of an adjustment (Colin eats SOOOOO slowly, and doesn't always want to wake up, and Ryan can be a bit of a challenge at times depending on his mood), but all in all this is working out pretty well.
The cherry on top was this morning. Colin was being EXTRA slow eating his breakfast. He at his yogurt without delay, but I also made him some apple-maple chicken sausage and cut up some cheddar cheese and I swear I think he was eating one bite every 5 minutes. I had given up and was about done loading the car (diaper bag, purse, Colin's bag for Water-Play-Thursday, baby) and was getting ready to come back for Colin when... Hari said "Why don't I drop Colin off?"
I nearly fell over! At the old school this never would have happened - it was close (15 minutes away) but in the opposite direction for Hari so he couldn't drop the kids off unless there was some sort of seriously extenuating circumstance. Now? No problem - it is 2 minutes from the house, right on the corner, and he could drop Colin off without significant impact to his schedule. This was an absolute godsend - seriously! I zipped over to the school, dropped Ryan off, and went on my merry way.
So... while I do miss some of the teachers and some of the moms from the old school, I am now fully confident that we made the right decision and that my boys are in the right place. Hooray!
Thankfully my hesitation was unnecessary, and I have to say I am really thrilled with the new school. Things aren't perfect (we do live in the "real" world) but I'm very impressed so far, and am generally pleased with the way things are going.
Colin is the easy one: he clearly loves his new school and is really happy. He has a new "best" friend (Aramis, a 5-year-old boy with stunning green eyes), really likes his teacher, is excited about the projects they are doing, loves the new playgrounds (inside and out!) and his teacher says he is doing very well. I'm extremely impressed with his teacher as well. She is calm, soft-spoken, and clearly has complete control over the class but in a very loving way... AND she never raises her voice. I swear she's like a combination of a seasoned Navy Seal and Mary Poppins! Nothing flusters her, she clearly loves the kids and likes being around them, they respond well to her, and they work to meet her high expectations.
In Colin's old class it was controlled chaos. Kids were throwing books around, things were on the floor, children were running around the room, teachers shouting to try (ineffectually) to gain control... it just wasn't functional. Yesterday at lunch I saw a boy raise his hand, and when Ms. Sarah addressed him he asked "Miss Sarah, may I be excused?" She gave him permission, then quietly told him he needed to clean up his lunch plate, go to the bathroom, then get a book and go lay down for nap. And he did! It isn't that the kids don't have fun, or are under military lockdown - that isn't the case. They clearly are enjoying themselves, but she expects them to be polite and use their manners instead of running around like a bunch of hooligans! I seriously am trying to model some of my behaviors to get her level of quiet control at home!
Generally Ryan is doing well at school so long as I'm not around, but when I drop him off he makes sure to sob and reach for me to let me know that he doesn't approve of the new situation. Similarly when I'm getting to leave after my lunch visit he does the same... a giant frowny-face, tears, and his little arms reaching for me while doing crabby hands. His new teacher is very nice, and is taking good care of the Ryan and the other babies (he's the only boy in the class!) - it just isn't Jill and Ryan is making sure that I'm aware of his opinion. (I know he misses his "girlfriend" Iris as well, but she'll be babysitting for us in a couple of weeks so at least he'll get his fix on that front!)
On the downside, I found out that the infants don't do water play which Ryan really would love, and they don't seem to be doing any art activities, but Ryan will only be in that class for a few months and then he's going to move up to Toddlers (YIKES!) where the rest of the curriculum will be in full effect. And honestly I haven't asked the teacher - they may be doing somethings that I'm not aware of, but I haven't seen any little paintings since we've been there. Strange - I just to just look at them and pitch them, but now I miss seeing his little art efforts. Guess that means this is on my plate and I need to stop being so lazy and start making time to do art projects with the boys!
In addition to the teachers I have to say that it is really, REALLY nice that they provide school lunches. I can't believe how much time it saves me not having to pack breakfast and lunch for Colin every day. Yes, I have to make extra time so Colin can eat breakfast at home, but it is still a time savings since I eat with him. And it means I get a few extra minutes each morning with my boys! The schedule change is still a bit of an adjustment (Colin eats SOOOOO slowly, and doesn't always want to wake up, and Ryan can be a bit of a challenge at times depending on his mood), but all in all this is working out pretty well.
The cherry on top was this morning. Colin was being EXTRA slow eating his breakfast. He at his yogurt without delay, but I also made him some apple-maple chicken sausage and cut up some cheddar cheese and I swear I think he was eating one bite every 5 minutes. I had given up and was about done loading the car (diaper bag, purse, Colin's bag for Water-Play-Thursday, baby) and was getting ready to come back for Colin when... Hari said "Why don't I drop Colin off?"
I nearly fell over! At the old school this never would have happened - it was close (15 minutes away) but in the opposite direction for Hari so he couldn't drop the kids off unless there was some sort of seriously extenuating circumstance. Now? No problem - it is 2 minutes from the house, right on the corner, and he could drop Colin off without significant impact to his schedule. This was an absolute godsend - seriously! I zipped over to the school, dropped Ryan off, and went on my merry way.
So... while I do miss some of the teachers and some of the moms from the old school, I am now fully confident that we made the right decision and that my boys are in the right place. Hooray!
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