Going back to school
It has been a busy week; life goes on. (Funny how that happens, but it does.)
Our kids have all had a great week at school.
Eldest Son came skipping off the bus Thursday afternoon, proclaiming with glee, "Second Grade is WAY better than First!" He seems to find the math more interesting, and just claims that they "do more of the subjects I'm interested in." Everybody else is complaining about how much harder Second Grade is; he likes it better. Go figure.
Precious Princess adores kindergarten and has found a friend on the bus, who was also in her gymnastics class over the summer.
Littlest Brother has done fine going to his preschool twice a week, and for most of the day, not half-days any more.
We've found a great caregiver and she has come for the past two days while I was home, for a good transition. The kids seem to like her a lot already. (We'll see how next week goes when she has them all by herself...)
Additionally, Eldest Son and Precious Princess have begun their dance classes -- to Dear Husband's groaning over the cost of dancing shoes, etc. And they love these classes, and they're SO CUTE!!!
Eldest Son has got natural rhythm and he just loves dancing, on his own. Being that he is who he is, he at first resisted the idea of taking dancing LESSONS, since he "just wants to do it my own way." Also, I think he had a sense (already) that it was "for girls." But then I found him an all-boys hip-hop class and managed to sell him on that. The very first day, he discovered that another student in that class was a boy he knew from preschool and the kindergarten bus! Yay! So not only is dancing done by boys, but there was even a boy he already knew. So then he watched the other students in other classes for a bit and really seemed taken with the tap classes, and had so much fun in the hip-hop class, that he agreed to sign up for tap, too. (More shoes; more $$ down drain...)
And he really, really likes it. He's not disruptive in class, he gives a good try at whatever the teacher tells him, and he enjoys it and feels he is good at it.
Team sports are SO not his thing.
Soccer? Uh, no.
Baseball? Nuh-uh.
Track, maybe, that's more about individual effort (or it can be) but he's not old enough yet.
But, here with the dance, he's got a physical outlet that he enjoys, so, yay.
So. Back into the fray!
Comments
I think he hit the nail on the head with his reasons for liking second grade. I was pretty amazed that Jack sat happily doing his math homework the other night. Not just doing it, but really wanting to master it. I didn't have to get my whip out or anything. And amazingly, his numbers are so much more well written than his letters. He writes better numbers than his father.
It struck both Tom and me that he wants to learn this year.
Maybe it's the crucial maturity year for boys. We'll see. Maybe the novelty will wear off, but so long as his teacher continues to be so great with the positive reinforcement, he won't burn out.
I love the dance class idea! Jack has been doing a lot of hip hop on his own. Organized sports haven't worked out so incredibly well for us, either, but Boy Scouts (I know, sore subject) has been great for him.
Been thinking about swimming, and a neighbor is willing to give the kids piano lessons. Just haven't nailed down a schedule yet.
I'm excited about second grade. Reading this has reinforced my good feelings.
May it be a great year for all of our kids...so that we can start relaxing a bit.
Knocking on wood.
Dear Fuz, I wouldn't say you are antisocial, AND, you turned out more than "OKAY"!! (And in my opinion, D.G. isn't really about death, per se.) I think you've got a good grip on life, girl, and what's important in life.
Yeah, I don't have a problem with Eldest Son not being the team-sports kind of guy. I mean that's who he is, he's an introvert. A talkative introvert, but that runs in the family. :-) (It is possible to be a talkative introvert... you just, you know, like to talk to people you already know...) But, he needs to have some kind of sports outlet for his energy, and at his age, it all seems to be team-oriented.
Yeah, it's still going well at school. He's got a teacher who really "gets" him, this year. At least so far.
Cheers,
C