First week of school...check!

Well we made it through the first week of school....whew!  It has been the longest week ever!  I think that's because we've been trying to establish routines and figure out how everything works.  Overall, I am not thrilled with kindergarten here, but I guess that's the way it goes.  Having five-year-olds sit at a desk for seven hours a day with just one recess is somewhat ridiculous.  Kindergarten should be the trasition year into school, but instead they just get thrown right into the mix and are told to sink or swim.  Calli comes home each day whiney and overtired and it really tries my patience.  I know that she needs time to adjust, but I really feel that it's not what is best for her.  I understand that there are a lot of two working parent familes and having full day kindergarten benefits them, but it should be about what is best for the children, not what is best for the parents.  And the best thing for a five-year-old is not to sit at a desk all day long.  I remember kindergarten very well and there was lots of playing, along with learning.  In fact, we learned through play in a half day of school.  Nowadays they push the kids so hard to learn things early and I just wonder why?  Are kids today graduating high school knowing so much more than I knew when I graduated?  I don't think so.  So what's the point?  Kindergarten sets up a child's foundation for the rest of their school career.  If they come home each day tired and saying they can't wait for their day off, what kind of foundation is this?  They are learning from an early age that school is something to dread and that will follow them for the next 13+ years.  My daughter should not be coming home after three days of school telling me she can't wait for the weekend.  She should come home excited and full of stories about her fun day, especially in kindergarten.

Suffice it to say, it's been a very up and down week of emotions.  We've all been adjusting to having Calli in school.  Each day I pick her up I don't know the child I am going to get; yesterday she was actually in a good mood and excited to tell me about the new folders she got to take home (three folders to take home each week, woah!).  And the pick-up process is just a joke.  They basically hold your child hostage in a certain area and you can only pick them up right there.  They told us they let the kindergartners out at 2:30pm, fifteen minutes ahead of the rest of the school because they are younger and it gives us a chance to get to them first.  This was a great idea, only there are two problems. 1) The parents in the pick up line start lining up for their older kids even before 2pm.  So if I want to sit in the pick up line I wouldn't get to Calli until about 3pm.  So really what is the point of letting the kindergartners out early?  Can I please have a special badge for my car that says I can go to the front of the line?  Thanks.  And 2) Calli's class is constantly the last class out and never out at 2:30pm.  So I go at 2:30 to pick her up and sit and wait and wait and wait.  They get there closer to the actual dismissal time.  Okay, fine, I thought she would be getting out at 2:45 anyway when we started school, but don't tell me that you will release them at 2:30 if you are not going to make it out there at that time.  It's a waste of my time to sit there and expect my child to be waiting.  And it sure would be nice if I could set up a meeting place with her instead of having to navigate the crowds inside the school, but what do I know, she's only my kid.

On a positive note, Calli has seemed to enjoy her days mostly.  She comes home telling things she's learned and that is fun to see.  She is making friends and even has one of the boys from her preschool at this school.  They are in different classes, but they get to play together at recess and she was delighted the first day of school to see him there.  She is also making friends in her classroom and has learned one name so far.  She's the only blonde girl and one of about five caucasions in her class and I guess all I can do is laugh at that.  So far there are twenty students so I guess one thing I am happy with is the student to teacher ratio.

Meanwhile my days have been quiet without Calli around.  The little ones and I have been going to the gym or running errands.  Jameson had a dermatology appointment on Thursday and has his 15 month check-up next week.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out how to drop Calli off when I have somewhere to be.  Most of the time my appointments are at 9am and we can't walk because I wouldn't have enough time to get home and shower.  But when we drive, it's much quicker to drop her off and there's too much time to head straight to the appointment, but going home for fifteen minutes seems pointless and quite a hassle.  Serena has assumed the role of "big sister" and has been helpful with her brother.  She's quite an easy child without Calli around ;).  I've been enjoying my quiet time with the two of them and we've just been playing a lot and having fun.

So here's what we've been doing without Calli during the days:

Jameson has been putting on this raccoon hat that she made at school

Serena has been enjoying having all the toys to herself

And, okay, they haven't always been getting along perfectly ;)