Back To School

Summer is coming to and end and parents, kids, and teachers are getting ready to go back to school.

Chris has already gone back and is ‘’enjoying” a week of teacher in-service before the kids come back. His college class didn’t make this semester, but he will have three preps at MHS since the board approved his proposal to start a ceramics program. He’s also the president of the local chapter of ATPE and the sponsor for the LEO’s club. I’m sure he will tack a few more things onto his list of responsibilities before it is all said and done. This is Chris’ 5 year of teaching so we are pretty used to the back-to-school-routine.

Last Friday brought a new routine, and it’s taking a bit of adjustment - Alyvia started daycare.

First Day of School (8-13-2010)

We survived the first day drop-off (and all the rest for that matter) with no tears from her or from me. In fact, she generally seems happy to be there, smiles at the teachers and is eager to get to playing. We went ahead and started her in the 12 – 18 month class since she will be 1 in a little over a month (YIKES!) They have a fairly structured schedule that includes outdoor playtime, early learning activities, snack time, nap time, etc. By all reports Lyvi is doing really well at all except the naptime thing. Her teachers have tried everything and she just Will. Not. Sleep. So by the time we get home with her at 4:30 she is exhausted and grumpy and cannot carry on without a nap… a nap that while necessary, totally throws off our evening routine. (I should note that we have considered pushing on without the nap in hopes of encouraging a normal bedtime and a regular nap schedule the next day, but that is just not an option at this point). So for now we will celebrate the no-tear drop off, adjust our evening routine and keep hoping that she adjusts to daycare enough to nap.

Napping aside, we are actually excited about the daycare program she is enrolled in and think that she will ultimately benefit from the program and the interaction with the teachers and kiddos in her class. Everyday they send home a daily activity sheet to tell us about her day and yesterday they sent home her first art work!

I love that I was able to stay home with her for so long and that we are now able to give her this opportunity to learn and make new friends.