Since the big kids have been in school for over a week, I thought it was time to update. Theona and Kaden are both at Pennington Elementary, in 3rd grade and pre-k. The Monday before school started, they had the meet the teacher night. I didn't know what to expect because Theona entered public school during the second semester. Her teacher had called Loren's cell the week before so we knew that Theona had Mrs. Mayes.
We went to her class first. Mrs. Mayes is a sweet girl, around my age. She showed Theona where her desk was and offered to move her if that wouldn't work. She's close to the teacher's desk which is perfect because she has a tendency to get distracted easily. We weren't in there long before another boy came in. Hugh. The cutest little Asian boy!! He was in her class last year so I was glad she'd have at least one friend she knew. We didn't stay very long because we had to go down to Kaden's class.
He has Mrs. Greenwood. She wasn't there because of a death in the family so we spoke with a volunteer. The kids played while I asked a few questions. When I was done, Kaden didn't want to leave because he was having so much fun. I had to bribe him with the cookies they were serving in the cafeteria!
We went down there to get a car rider tag and when I first walked in, I saw a friend who has a kindergartener this year. She asked a few questions and told me how nervous she was for her daughter. She later said how glad she was to see a familiar face who had been in that school before. After getting the tag, we saw Victoria and the girls. She told me Mrs. Greenwood was Grace's kindergarten teacher and she's been teaching that age group for 20+ years! What a relief! And when I told her Theona has Mrs. Mayes, she went on and on about how great she is! She had Ally when they first moved to the area. She would let her sit on the floor to do her work because that was how she was able to focus and work the best. I love that! It was nice to know that she isn't so strict on her classroom policies for work. Theona is smart, but has a hard time focusing so I'm confident that she's going to have a good year. Christiana had Mrs. Mayes too and she loves her.
The cool thing about Pennington is that their 3rd and 4th grade teachers loop with the kids. Theona will have Mrs. Mayes next year too!
Kaden was very excited to start school. Especially after getting to play in his classroom. On the first day of school, I went in to wake him up and he just about jumped out of bed! He had remembered that he was going to school that day. I got the kids ready and Loren was able to go with us. We brought Theona to her class first because they prefer to keep the big kids separate from the pre-k kids. She was pretty excited too.
Then we took Kaden down to his class. He sat right down in his seat and started coloring. He didn't want to give me a kiss goodbye at all (broke this mama's heart). He was just ready to get down to business. So we left and that was that! They only had a half day, and the pre-k kids always have an hour less in their day so I had to go back and pick Kaden up at 10:30. He had a blast!
And now that he's used to the routine, it's like he's always been in school. He loves his class and Mrs. Greenwood and Mrs. Louda (her assistant) and "his girls" as he calls them. I'm assuming he means a couple of girls in his class. He is so funny! They have nap time everyday and so far he has actually slept. His first day he told me about "timing out". Ha! He got a time out for getting out of his chair. A problem, he'll have for a while, I'm sure! The kid can't sit still to save his life! But that's exactly what this year is about!
Theona's year is really going to be about TCAP. She hasn't had any super hard homework yet but I'm sure it will come. She loves Mrs. Mayes though and I'm a SO grateful! She comes home everyday in a good mood. Last year was a different story. Her teacher was older and very set in her ways. She had a short fuse too. I'm glad we can put that year behind us! I really think this year is going to be much better!
3rd grade and pre-k are going to be a blast!
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