First Day of School

For those of you who have been dying to know what I decided... the kids went back to Wasatch this year. I spent the whole summer studying, thinking, praying, pondering and finally decided that with all we have going on this year, homeschool would be one thing too many. It helps that I felt REALLY good about the teachers they were assigned to for this school year.

So, today was the first day of school. It always makes me a little sad. I hate sending my kids away for most of the day. Believe it or not, I like having the kids home with me. I enjoy teaching them and watching them play. That's why I had kids - to spend time with them, raise them, not to send them off so someone else can do it. And, with all the thought I've given to homeschool, I must admit I have a little guilt, too.

Monkey is starting 6th grade and Bucket is starting 4th. Monkey seemed very pleased with her first day - happy with who's in her class (she can name everyone, and where they sit) and who she played with and already enjoying her teacher's quirky humor. Bucket had a harder time. Going back to the structure was rough. He didn't get as much art time as he wanted. And when he thought of something he wanted to share with his teacher (that the art teacher said his hair looked like the statue of David) he tried to do so during math time and was told to go back to his math. Hopefully things will get easier as he gets used to the new routine and as soon as we can get him back on meds. We took the summer off and both times I've tried to start back up again - he hasn't slept. At all. So, we're meeting the Pediatrician tomorrow. I think we'll lower the dose and slowly move back up so he can learn how to sleep despite a stimulant in his system.

Here are our pics for this year - including the fake "walk" to school. Something I picked up from my dad. Every year he would video us "leaving" for the first day of school. My favorite video is the one where he forgot to turn off the recorder before he called to us to turn around and come back. So there's this cute video of us "leaving" for school, then turning back and coming back up the driveway. Funny.