Monday August 30 2010
Aidan stayed home from school today sick. He had a slight fever and congestion in his chest & nose so at the last minute, I decided to let him stay home and rest. If your child has not been in daycare/pre-K before starting Kindergarten, He/She is GOING TO GET SICK! & Quickly! Being around so many children in such a confined space makes it really easy for all children not use to that environment to get sick. I use hand sanitizer as soon as he gets off the bus but I have no idea how many times a day if any he gets to wash his hands. Now of course Aidan is fine today and back in school, but I just wanted to make sure and I did not want to give him any cold medicine and have him be groggy all day at school.
Me, not so lucky. I feel like I was run over by a bus! My head is so congested & runny. My entire body aches and my left ear is throbbing (I have always been prone to sinus infections & ear aches). Aidan is back in school within 24 hours and I will probably be laid up in bed for a week. Today (Tuesday) Skylar (2 1/2) is now a little congested and starting to cough -no fever.
SO Monday's lesson is your child is going to get sick and probably pretty quickly when they start school. SO when you are out buying supplies for their classroom, don't forget to stock up on a few extra boxes of tissues, some tea bags, honey or lemon, cough drops and your antihistamine of choice, Because when your child gets sick, most likely everyone in your house will get sick as well.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Kindergarten DAY 5
WE SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK!
I'm am so relieved to finally have the first week behind us! It is Saturday and although Skylar still woke me up at 7am, Aidan got to sleep in until about 8:30. He has been so worn out this whole week :) He apparently has been sleeping on the bus ride home a few times. He says the bus is too bumpy :)
Aidan came home yesterday (Friday) and I said he could play a video game on my computer after he practiced cutting paper into strips again. I have about 10 different websites as icons for him so he knows which games are his...PBS kids, Nick Jr, Playhouse Disney, Cartoon Network, Etc... I also made a new icon for the website "Starfall.com" It is an educational website with games, activities, & reading. He loves it! He actually picked this game yesterday as his game of choice to play instead of a much less educational yet fun (cartoon network). I am so excited that he is excited about reading, letters, & words. I read to him almost every night and although he has always been interested in books and stories, he seems to like them even more now. He tells me everyday about the stories they read in class.
This is the first time in as long as I can remember, I can't wait for Monday!
I'm am so relieved to finally have the first week behind us! It is Saturday and although Skylar still woke me up at 7am, Aidan got to sleep in until about 8:30. He has been so worn out this whole week :) He apparently has been sleeping on the bus ride home a few times. He says the bus is too bumpy :)
Aidan came home yesterday (Friday) and I said he could play a video game on my computer after he practiced cutting paper into strips again. I have about 10 different websites as icons for him so he knows which games are his...PBS kids, Nick Jr, Playhouse Disney, Cartoon Network, Etc... I also made a new icon for the website "Starfall.com" It is an educational website with games, activities, & reading. He loves it! He actually picked this game yesterday as his game of choice to play instead of a much less educational yet fun (cartoon network). I am so excited that he is excited about reading, letters, & words. I read to him almost every night and although he has always been interested in books and stories, he seems to like them even more now. He tells me everyday about the stories they read in class.
This is the first time in as long as I can remember, I can't wait for Monday!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Kindergarten DAY 4 (picky eater & scissors 101)
Wednesday August 26 2010
Not too bad of a day. Aidan was reluctant to wake up this morning but after Skylar jumps on him for about 10 minutes, he figures he should just give in. Refuses to eat anything for breakfast but lunch is at 10:30 so maybe he will actually eat everything I have packed.
Since Aidan is quite the picky eater his lunch consists of plain Nacho Cheese Doritos (his fav) Tyson Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets that I pre-cook every morning and put into a zip lock bag, a chocolate pudding and a fruit punch juice box. This is my picky eater. French Fries and Chicken. I have spoken with other moms who say their children are also picky eaters but when they say their child does eat veggies or some fruit that isn't an apple or banana, I sort of quit listening. Uh huh your kid is picky but he/she eats fruits & veggies. No Aidan likes literally a hand full of things. Now our policy is to make him try everything. He has to eat at least 1 thing new everyday unless it's taco night :) he refuses. I'm grateful because he doesn't eat sweets then either but something has got to give. I did finally get him to eat pizza. Plain cheese pizza that by the time I'm done cutting it so he can "choke" it down there isn't any cheese left anyways. He will only eat 1 slice. *slaps forehead* What child doesn't like pizza? I did have to bribe him with Pepsi. Usually the only soda I allow him to have is sprite when we get Burger King but with pizza I started to bribe him with Pepsi. He could have a sip after he took one bite, and so on and so on. It since has worked, and I no longer have to bribe him. He loves green granny smith apples, thankfully but that is the ONLY fruit he will eat. No veggies, I've tried corn & carrots to be simple, no luck. He psyches himself out and starts gagging before I can get the piece of tiny yellow corn to his mouth. Now I know how my parents must have felt. He has inherited this picky eating from me, however I am a lot better now as an adult. What child cannot eat corn? Or a carrot?
Last week I was eating a romaine salad and he was interested. I let him rifle through my salad and as he is pushing everything yummy aside, he decides to try the romaine. He makes me wash off a few pieces of romaine because it has little dots of things stuck to it that look gross to him (that is called Italian dressing). So he takes the tiniest bite I have ever seen someone take of a piece of lettuce and he says to me "mmmm yummy, mom I like it" *sigh* Really? Is it the romaine you like or all of that air you just swallowed? He continues to spend at least the next 30 minutes eating 4-5 tiny pieces of lettuce that has been washed of all yummy-ness but I am grateful, it is a start. By the way Romaine has a cold wet crunchy non flavor. Lettuce/romaine should be the absolute easiest thing for any child to try because it is virtually flavorless, which leads me to believe you can not trust anything a 5 year old tells you.
For snack yesterday afternoon at school, Aidan's teacher gave them pretzels. I love pretzels. They are my midnight snack of choice. I have tried countless times to get Aidan to try one with no success of course. Yesterday Aidan comes home from school and informs me that he has eaten pretzels and he likes them. You Lie. I said well I have some right here (thin pretzel sticks) why don't you show me you like them. He eats a small bowl of them. Wow. It's amazing that 3 days in school has gotten Aidan to like pretzels and I have been trying for over a year. I'm happy. Maybe watching all of the other children eat their "strange" lunches will make him want to try more foods. Monkey See Monkey Do.
Scissors 101
A Quick note: Aidan's teacher sent home a little note attached to a few pieces of badly sliced strips of paper "Aidan needs help using scissors" I'm hoping there wasn't a tone in that little note, because as a mother to a newbie Kindergartner it is going to be really hard not to get defensive of her baby. My sister was here and told me I was being silly. So I got out a pair of children's plastic scissors and made a few straight lines on some paper and let Aidan go to town. I'm watching him and it never occurred to me to teach him how to use scissors. *mental head slap* This should have been in the "prepping your child for school" manual. Of course he's cutting his fingers and holding everything all wrong. His cuts are jagged but pretty must on course. We will try again over the weekend. I try to pick up his scissors and show him how to do it when I realize, I can't do it. It is these tiny cheap plastic scissors. I give him a pair of my small orange handled scissors and he does remarkably well. Too bad he can't use these in school. Although I kept trying to tell him to watch his fingers where he was holding the paper, he did ok. I'm wondering how perfect of a line the teacher wants from him?
I see that a bright yellow flyer has come home to "teach" the proper use of scissors :) It is brought to you by "Fiskars" the official spokes scissor for classrooms. I find it funny that the flyer does say "choosing a good pair of scissors" Select a pair of scissors that... 1) Is made with a durable pivot point and corrosion-resistant blades. The angle of the grind on the cutting edges should be five percent or less. Great, Now I need to go to Home Depot to buy scissors for him as well as these elusive plastic folders
So as a quick reminder...If your child has never used scissors before, now is a good time to teach him or her. I always just cut whatever he needed and handed it to him, but with the 25 glue sticks that were on his school supplies list, there is bound to be ALOT of cutting in school with scissors.
Not too bad of a day. Aidan was reluctant to wake up this morning but after Skylar jumps on him for about 10 minutes, he figures he should just give in. Refuses to eat anything for breakfast but lunch is at 10:30 so maybe he will actually eat everything I have packed.
Since Aidan is quite the picky eater his lunch consists of plain Nacho Cheese Doritos (his fav) Tyson Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets that I pre-cook every morning and put into a zip lock bag, a chocolate pudding and a fruit punch juice box. This is my picky eater. French Fries and Chicken. I have spoken with other moms who say their children are also picky eaters but when they say their child does eat veggies or some fruit that isn't an apple or banana, I sort of quit listening. Uh huh your kid is picky but he/she eats fruits & veggies. No Aidan likes literally a hand full of things. Now our policy is to make him try everything. He has to eat at least 1 thing new everyday unless it's taco night :) he refuses. I'm grateful because he doesn't eat sweets then either but something has got to give. I did finally get him to eat pizza. Plain cheese pizza that by the time I'm done cutting it so he can "choke" it down there isn't any cheese left anyways. He will only eat 1 slice. *slaps forehead* What child doesn't like pizza? I did have to bribe him with Pepsi. Usually the only soda I allow him to have is sprite when we get Burger King but with pizza I started to bribe him with Pepsi. He could have a sip after he took one bite, and so on and so on. It since has worked, and I no longer have to bribe him. He loves green granny smith apples, thankfully but that is the ONLY fruit he will eat. No veggies, I've tried corn & carrots to be simple, no luck. He psyches himself out and starts gagging before I can get the piece of tiny yellow corn to his mouth. Now I know how my parents must have felt. He has inherited this picky eating from me, however I am a lot better now as an adult. What child cannot eat corn? Or a carrot?
Last week I was eating a romaine salad and he was interested. I let him rifle through my salad and as he is pushing everything yummy aside, he decides to try the romaine. He makes me wash off a few pieces of romaine because it has little dots of things stuck to it that look gross to him (that is called Italian dressing). So he takes the tiniest bite I have ever seen someone take of a piece of lettuce and he says to me "mmmm yummy, mom I like it" *sigh* Really? Is it the romaine you like or all of that air you just swallowed? He continues to spend at least the next 30 minutes eating 4-5 tiny pieces of lettuce that has been washed of all yummy-ness but I am grateful, it is a start. By the way Romaine has a cold wet crunchy non flavor. Lettuce/romaine should be the absolute easiest thing for any child to try because it is virtually flavorless, which leads me to believe you can not trust anything a 5 year old tells you.
For snack yesterday afternoon at school, Aidan's teacher gave them pretzels. I love pretzels. They are my midnight snack of choice. I have tried countless times to get Aidan to try one with no success of course. Yesterday Aidan comes home from school and informs me that he has eaten pretzels and he likes them. You Lie. I said well I have some right here (thin pretzel sticks) why don't you show me you like them. He eats a small bowl of them. Wow. It's amazing that 3 days in school has gotten Aidan to like pretzels and I have been trying for over a year. I'm happy. Maybe watching all of the other children eat their "strange" lunches will make him want to try more foods. Monkey See Monkey Do.
Scissors 101
A Quick note: Aidan's teacher sent home a little note attached to a few pieces of badly sliced strips of paper "Aidan needs help using scissors" I'm hoping there wasn't a tone in that little note, because as a mother to a newbie Kindergartner it is going to be really hard not to get defensive of her baby. My sister was here and told me I was being silly. So I got out a pair of children's plastic scissors and made a few straight lines on some paper and let Aidan go to town. I'm watching him and it never occurred to me to teach him how to use scissors. *mental head slap* This should have been in the "prepping your child for school" manual. Of course he's cutting his fingers and holding everything all wrong. His cuts are jagged but pretty must on course. We will try again over the weekend. I try to pick up his scissors and show him how to do it when I realize, I can't do it. It is these tiny cheap plastic scissors. I give him a pair of my small orange handled scissors and he does remarkably well. Too bad he can't use these in school. Although I kept trying to tell him to watch his fingers where he was holding the paper, he did ok. I'm wondering how perfect of a line the teacher wants from him?
I see that a bright yellow flyer has come home to "teach" the proper use of scissors :) It is brought to you by "Fiskars" the official spokes scissor for classrooms. I find it funny that the flyer does say "choosing a good pair of scissors" Select a pair of scissors that... 1) Is made with a durable pivot point and corrosion-resistant blades. The angle of the grind on the cutting edges should be five percent or less. Great, Now I need to go to Home Depot to buy scissors for him as well as these elusive plastic folders
So as a quick reminder...If your child has never used scissors before, now is a good time to teach him or her. I always just cut whatever he needed and handed it to him, but with the 25 glue sticks that were on his school supplies list, there is bound to be ALOT of cutting in school with scissors.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Kindergarten DAY 3
Wednesday August 25
The day started out pretty good. I woke up Aidan for school, he reluctantly got up and started getting ready for school. He still barely drinks anything that early and now refuses to eat the fruit loops. I figure lunch is actually breakfast at 10:30am so that is probably when he'll be hungry anyways. I pack up his backpack and I write a note to the teacher. Aidan had stepped on some glass Tuesday night and sliced pretty good his big toe. If they have P.E. today (I have not been given their daily schedules from their teacher), I want to make sure if it's bothering him that they know he might not want to jump up and down on it. I also add that I don't think he's drinking enough. It's very hot here and he is use to being home and whenever he is thirsty, I give him a drink. Aidan drank maybe 3 ounces of tea before he left for school yesterday & today so I want the teacher to show him where the water fountain is and remind him to drink plenty of water. I also packed a cold water bottle in his backpack in case he has P.E. I was given an information sheet that says to bring a water bottle every day to class. I show Aidan that I'm putting it in his backpack and that he NEEDS to drink more at school. I've been informed that all communication with the teacher to parent is done in a blue PLASTIC folder that stays in his backpack. The teacher collects it everyday and sends it home everyday with notes, homework, any fliers with info. So I put the note to the teacher in the folder & also put his necklace/bus tag with name in the folder so she can put it back on him when it's time to leave for the bus in the afternoon. We walk to the bus stop. I'm very happy that Rachel isn't embarrassed to help out a Kindergartner. Aidan sits with her on the bus so he isn't alone. This makes me feel so good.
Today is early day. Why we have early day on Wednesdays is beyond me. Only 1 hour a week they get out early. So I have set an alarm in my cell phone for Wednesday to remind me that he gets home at 2:37 instead of 3:37. I go about my day. It is very quiet here. Skylar is trying to make up for Aidan being gone. She plays in his rooms, tries on his clothes and enjoys all of the attention just on her. She asks me every 30 minutes if it is time to pick up Aidan. :) She is adorable! She puts her shoes on an hour before his bus is supposed to be here because she is so anxious. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed. I'm trying to get in this new groove of getting Aidan ready for school, having the entire afternoon to be with Skylar & to get some work done around the house and on the computer. Then when he gets home he's always hungry and sleepy but he hasn't taken a nap yet.
My sister arrives again to walk down to Aidan's bus stop with us (she lives in the same neighborhood). Her & Skylar are already out the door early before I've even found my shoes! I wait for the bus, the big yellow flat front bus comes around the corner and I'm very confident that he'll be on it. I wait & watch all of the kids one by one walk off of the bus, Finally I see Rachel and right behind her is Aidan. Smiling. They sat together and Aidan showed me the stick people drawings he made while on the bus. Super Cute! Rachel told her mom who told me that She's happy to help Aidan, It's like having a little brother she says. That makes me very happy.
We walk home from the bus stop and I'm digging in his backpack. I ask if he ate all of his lunch, what stories he read today, and If he played on the playground. We get home & I look in his little blue folder, and there is my note to the teacher and his bus necklace still in there. I also have a note shoved into his backpack saying to "please return the blue folder & the bus pass to the teacher EVERY DAY thanks!", I'm confused. I've also been informed that due to new "privacy rules" teachers are no longer allowed to touch a students backpack, therefor my 5 year old has to understand to give the blue folder to her everyday all by himself. I found her email address (I was never given his teachers proper contact information) and I sent her a message saying his folder, a note & his bus pass were in his backpack, why didn't you get it. She replied she asked him for it and he said he didn't have it. Well there is your first mistake, trusting a 5 year old on the 3rd day of school to understand that he has an important blue folder he must keep track of & hand in to the teacher. I don't know how she asked him or any other student for the folder, but I'm pretty sure is she walked up to him and said open your backpack, Aidan is there a blue folder in there, can I have it please? He would have looked or showed her his backpack WITHOUT HER TOUCHING IT :( that is was or was not in there. Do not expect a 5 year old to be in charge of answering truthful questions like that. Aidan is the sky blue? "no I think it's red". Again, he's 5. Now I'm not saying Aidan would actually think blue is red, he does know his colors very well (you know if the buses were named colors instead of vague animals he might have gotten on the right bus the first day), but I needed an example and it's all I could think of.
I do not like all of these new stupid rules that schools come out with. All food must be in a sealed store bought container for all school functions. (Another parent informed me of this, not the school that would wait until I show up with something homemade then make me take it back home.) I will NEVER be allowed to bake cupcakes for Aidan's 6th birthday in school. How sad of a world we live in. The teacher is NOT allowed to help him in the bathroom whatsoever. She's not allowed in there when he is. I understand that for 2-5th graders but the first week of Kindergarten? Ridiculous! She isn't ALLOWED to look in his backpack for any reason. Who came up with that stupid rule? There is nothing in a Kindergartner's backpack that would invade his privacy. Can I opt out of this rule? Is there a waver I can sign? Please go digging for gold in his backpack. Find his jacket if he's cold, make sure his lunch box is in there, this elusive blue folder you speak of, please go digging for that one! His water bottle I hope he's using but probably isn't because you aren't allowed to get it out of his backpack and make him drink it. I'm not saying I want his teacher to be 100% mommy. After all him going to Kindergarten is the next stage in him growing into a big boy. I get it, but I want a loving caring environment for his Kindergarten year. IT IS a transition between mommy to teacher, so why shouldn't the rules for Kindergarten be 1/2 mommy, and 1/2 teacher? First grade can be teacher/student, but for all of us first time mommies out there with their first born off to school, I think whoever is coming up with these rules and plans should be fired.
For now Aidan is home safe and sound, an hour early for some strange reason, and hopefully tomorrow he will wake up willing and wanting to attend kindergarten yet again. 3 days down, 1 whole more year to go! Can't wait :)
The day started out pretty good. I woke up Aidan for school, he reluctantly got up and started getting ready for school. He still barely drinks anything that early and now refuses to eat the fruit loops. I figure lunch is actually breakfast at 10:30am so that is probably when he'll be hungry anyways. I pack up his backpack and I write a note to the teacher. Aidan had stepped on some glass Tuesday night and sliced pretty good his big toe. If they have P.E. today (I have not been given their daily schedules from their teacher), I want to make sure if it's bothering him that they know he might not want to jump up and down on it. I also add that I don't think he's drinking enough. It's very hot here and he is use to being home and whenever he is thirsty, I give him a drink. Aidan drank maybe 3 ounces of tea before he left for school yesterday & today so I want the teacher to show him where the water fountain is and remind him to drink plenty of water. I also packed a cold water bottle in his backpack in case he has P.E. I was given an information sheet that says to bring a water bottle every day to class. I show Aidan that I'm putting it in his backpack and that he NEEDS to drink more at school. I've been informed that all communication with the teacher to parent is done in a blue PLASTIC folder that stays in his backpack. The teacher collects it everyday and sends it home everyday with notes, homework, any fliers with info. So I put the note to the teacher in the folder & also put his necklace/bus tag with name in the folder so she can put it back on him when it's time to leave for the bus in the afternoon. We walk to the bus stop. I'm very happy that Rachel isn't embarrassed to help out a Kindergartner. Aidan sits with her on the bus so he isn't alone. This makes me feel so good.
Today is early day. Why we have early day on Wednesdays is beyond me. Only 1 hour a week they get out early. So I have set an alarm in my cell phone for Wednesday to remind me that he gets home at 2:37 instead of 3:37. I go about my day. It is very quiet here. Skylar is trying to make up for Aidan being gone. She plays in his rooms, tries on his clothes and enjoys all of the attention just on her. She asks me every 30 minutes if it is time to pick up Aidan. :) She is adorable! She puts her shoes on an hour before his bus is supposed to be here because she is so anxious. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed. I'm trying to get in this new groove of getting Aidan ready for school, having the entire afternoon to be with Skylar & to get some work done around the house and on the computer. Then when he gets home he's always hungry and sleepy but he hasn't taken a nap yet.
My sister arrives again to walk down to Aidan's bus stop with us (she lives in the same neighborhood). Her & Skylar are already out the door early before I've even found my shoes! I wait for the bus, the big yellow flat front bus comes around the corner and I'm very confident that he'll be on it. I wait & watch all of the kids one by one walk off of the bus, Finally I see Rachel and right behind her is Aidan. Smiling. They sat together and Aidan showed me the stick people drawings he made while on the bus. Super Cute! Rachel told her mom who told me that She's happy to help Aidan, It's like having a little brother she says. That makes me very happy.
We walk home from the bus stop and I'm digging in his backpack. I ask if he ate all of his lunch, what stories he read today, and If he played on the playground. We get home & I look in his little blue folder, and there is my note to the teacher and his bus necklace still in there. I also have a note shoved into his backpack saying to "please return the blue folder & the bus pass to the teacher EVERY DAY thanks!", I'm confused. I've also been informed that due to new "privacy rules" teachers are no longer allowed to touch a students backpack, therefor my 5 year old has to understand to give the blue folder to her everyday all by himself. I found her email address (I was never given his teachers proper contact information) and I sent her a message saying his folder, a note & his bus pass were in his backpack, why didn't you get it. She replied she asked him for it and he said he didn't have it. Well there is your first mistake, trusting a 5 year old on the 3rd day of school to understand that he has an important blue folder he must keep track of & hand in to the teacher. I don't know how she asked him or any other student for the folder, but I'm pretty sure is she walked up to him and said open your backpack, Aidan is there a blue folder in there, can I have it please? He would have looked or showed her his backpack WITHOUT HER TOUCHING IT :( that is was or was not in there. Do not expect a 5 year old to be in charge of answering truthful questions like that. Aidan is the sky blue? "no I think it's red". Again, he's 5. Now I'm not saying Aidan would actually think blue is red, he does know his colors very well (you know if the buses were named colors instead of vague animals he might have gotten on the right bus the first day), but I needed an example and it's all I could think of.
I do not like all of these new stupid rules that schools come out with. All food must be in a sealed store bought container for all school functions. (Another parent informed me of this, not the school that would wait until I show up with something homemade then make me take it back home.) I will NEVER be allowed to bake cupcakes for Aidan's 6th birthday in school. How sad of a world we live in. The teacher is NOT allowed to help him in the bathroom whatsoever. She's not allowed in there when he is. I understand that for 2-5th graders but the first week of Kindergarten? Ridiculous! She isn't ALLOWED to look in his backpack for any reason. Who came up with that stupid rule? There is nothing in a Kindergartner's backpack that would invade his privacy. Can I opt out of this rule? Is there a waver I can sign? Please go digging for gold in his backpack. Find his jacket if he's cold, make sure his lunch box is in there, this elusive blue folder you speak of, please go digging for that one! His water bottle I hope he's using but probably isn't because you aren't allowed to get it out of his backpack and make him drink it. I'm not saying I want his teacher to be 100% mommy. After all him going to Kindergarten is the next stage in him growing into a big boy. I get it, but I want a loving caring environment for his Kindergarten year. IT IS a transition between mommy to teacher, so why shouldn't the rules for Kindergarten be 1/2 mommy, and 1/2 teacher? First grade can be teacher/student, but for all of us first time mommies out there with their first born off to school, I think whoever is coming up with these rules and plans should be fired.
For now Aidan is home safe and sound, an hour early for some strange reason, and hopefully tomorrow he will wake up willing and wanting to attend kindergarten yet again. 3 days down, 1 whole more year to go! Can't wait :)
Kindergarten DAY 2
Tuesday August 24th 2010
My alarm goes off and I go to wake up Aidan. I tell him get up it's time for school. He wakes up very sad and tells me he doesn't want to go back to school, he doesn't like it, or the bus. I'm trying very hard not to just let him stay home today. Daddy had to go back to work today with our only car so there is no "taking him to school", he has to ride the bus. I promise him video games & movies and whatever he wants, just to get him up and on the bus. He reluctantly listens and it's almost time for the bus. We walk to his bus stop and I tell my neighbor all about what happened yesterday. Her daughter is in 2nd grade and she has agreed to help Aidan. She is going to walk him to where they meet their teachers in the morning and to help him find the right bus in the afternoon, I feel alot better. Aidan is now wearing a name tag with his name, my phone number, his teacher AND his school bus animal. Apparently someone came up with the idea to name the buses with pictures animals, instead of colors. Children that are between 4-7 would remember a color with the matching color wrist band alot better then an animal.
Yesterday Aidan WAS paired up with a boy to get on the bus but Aidan's bus is "Eagle" and the little boy's bus was "Butterfly". Why would you pair up a child with someone that doesn't even ride the same bus? That one will go unanswered I'm sure. I ask Aidan again, what bus do you ride? he says butterfly. I say, no, butterfly is bad, we don't like butterfly, we like eagle. (I Google a picture of several eagles last night so he can see what the picture on the side of his bus should look like)
The bus arrives and the bus driver pulls Aidan aside and says this is Aidan? I said yes, green shirt, bald head, he better be on your bus today because I will be here waiting! I don't care if you personally have to put him on your bus, I am trusting no one. In fact I have more faith in my neighbors 2nd grader then ANYONE at Aidan's school. He leaves, I wave, I walk home and check my phone for the loudest ringer available and I anxiously wait until 3:37
Me & Skylar (my sister has arrived again also) walk down to his bus stop and wait. We see this large flat front bus pull up and I wait....and wait....and I see the blond neighbor's child Rachel get off the bus and right behind her is Aidan!! I could have cried, I think I did, I was so happy!! Aidan now has 3 different labels, tags, & necklaces stapled to him from his teacher to make sure he got on the right bus. I knew they would not be making that mistake with me twice. We walk home and Aidan tells me about his day. I ask if he played outside, If he ate all of his lunch I packed him, He tells me he's hungry for hot dogs and Doritos. No problem! Whatever my baby wants today, I call daddy to let him know he made it home ok. Aidan is happy, he says he likes school and can't wait for tomorrow. I thank Rachel so much for helping Aidan, & we walk home. Skylar is so happy to have her big brother home again to play with.
My alarm goes off and I go to wake up Aidan. I tell him get up it's time for school. He wakes up very sad and tells me he doesn't want to go back to school, he doesn't like it, or the bus. I'm trying very hard not to just let him stay home today. Daddy had to go back to work today with our only car so there is no "taking him to school", he has to ride the bus. I promise him video games & movies and whatever he wants, just to get him up and on the bus. He reluctantly listens and it's almost time for the bus. We walk to his bus stop and I tell my neighbor all about what happened yesterday. Her daughter is in 2nd grade and she has agreed to help Aidan. She is going to walk him to where they meet their teachers in the morning and to help him find the right bus in the afternoon, I feel alot better. Aidan is now wearing a name tag with his name, my phone number, his teacher AND his school bus animal. Apparently someone came up with the idea to name the buses with pictures animals, instead of colors. Children that are between 4-7 would remember a color with the matching color wrist band alot better then an animal.
Yesterday Aidan WAS paired up with a boy to get on the bus but Aidan's bus is "Eagle" and the little boy's bus was "Butterfly". Why would you pair up a child with someone that doesn't even ride the same bus? That one will go unanswered I'm sure. I ask Aidan again, what bus do you ride? he says butterfly. I say, no, butterfly is bad, we don't like butterfly, we like eagle. (I Google a picture of several eagles last night so he can see what the picture on the side of his bus should look like)
The bus arrives and the bus driver pulls Aidan aside and says this is Aidan? I said yes, green shirt, bald head, he better be on your bus today because I will be here waiting! I don't care if you personally have to put him on your bus, I am trusting no one. In fact I have more faith in my neighbors 2nd grader then ANYONE at Aidan's school. He leaves, I wave, I walk home and check my phone for the loudest ringer available and I anxiously wait until 3:37
Me & Skylar (my sister has arrived again also) walk down to his bus stop and wait. We see this large flat front bus pull up and I wait....and wait....and I see the blond neighbor's child Rachel get off the bus and right behind her is Aidan!! I could have cried, I think I did, I was so happy!! Aidan now has 3 different labels, tags, & necklaces stapled to him from his teacher to make sure he got on the right bus. I knew they would not be making that mistake with me twice. We walk home and Aidan tells me about his day. I ask if he played outside, If he ate all of his lunch I packed him, He tells me he's hungry for hot dogs and Doritos. No problem! Whatever my baby wants today, I call daddy to let him know he made it home ok. Aidan is happy, he says he likes school and can't wait for tomorrow. I thank Rachel so much for helping Aidan, & we walk home. Skylar is so happy to have her big brother home again to play with.
Kindergarten DAY 1 (this is a long one)
I wake up really early on Monday (6:30ish) although I had not slept very well the night before, being very nervous. Today was the big day. I woke up Aidan and told him it's time for school, he said "again?" I smiled and said yes Aidan, everyday, 5 days a week for the next 13 years (plus college). He turns over and puts the pillow over his head. :) He gets up and I let him pick out one of his new outfits we just got him. He's excited, so I'm excited! Today is daddy's last day of vacation so we could all drive him to school and take him to his classroom. The school is only 5-10 minutes away but we leave at least 30 min before school starts because I'm sure there would be traffic. We get there & have to make a parking spot off road in a field with every other Kindergarten parent wanting to walk their child to their classroom. I keep telling Aidan, so you remember where your classroom is? I get a blank look. Oh brother (mental forehead slap) He's 5 and has NEVER been on any school grounds before. This is all VERY new to him, and I'm sure for a lot of other parents as well.
We walk him to his classroom only to find that the light is off and no one is inside the classroom. After a few minutes of standing there puzzled, someone walks by and informs us that all children must go to the multi-purpose room (inside the lunch room) where they will meet their teachers & walk back to the classrooms with them. I'm upset. No one told me this. Is this just today for the first day? Is this everyday? This was important information I think I should have. I showed Aidan where to find his classroom from the bus ramp not to the lunch room. Plus I had a vision of walking him to his classroom and showing him his cubby hole & where to put his backpack. I wanted to peer in through my glass window. Now I'm sad. (I grab a few quick photos of Aidan and of Aidan with his sister and daddy in front of his classroom door) Then we head off to the lunchroom. Aidan is now sitting with a group of children in his class with his teacher. I'm trying to get her attention to give her some of the paperwork I filled out and tell her I only have paper folders, no plastic. :( It is very crowded and loud, very chaotic. Parents are lined up against the walls with cameras waiting to see their kids walk by. We take our position along a wall, so I can wave goodbye (trying not to cry). I look up and I barely see his teacher walking out of a doorway on the other side of the room and disappear. I missed it. My baby has gone to school and I missed it. Apparently there is another doorway to the classrooms on the other side of the lunchroom and the Kindergartners are so small I never saw them get up and leave. Now I'm not sad, I'm sick to my stomach. This morning has not gone to plan. But I'm ok, he's going to be ok. We walk slowly out to the car and I check to make sure my phone is on the loudest ringer possible.
And now we wait. I try to do laundry and play with Skylar and make lunch, but the clock is always on my mind. I wonder all day what he's doing at that moment of the day in school. I check my phone a million times and say to daddy "well I haven't gotten a phone call yet so he must be ok". We are letting him ride the bus home today so he can get use to it early. Both of my sisters show up so we can all walk down to the bus stop with our cameras, I must document everything! The bus doesn't come for another 20 minutes but I'm too anxious to wait any longer, I'll just walk really slow past the next 4 houses to his bus stop.
3:37 and I see it. Wow that is one of the larger buses. I watch & wait as all of these children get off the bus and then the last one walks off the bus. I have a sick feeling in my stomach again. I walk up to the bus driver and look down the aisle of the bus, this is the last bus stop, there are no more kids on the bus. I frantically ask her where my little 5 year old is? And she asks me his name & tells me to call the school, he might have gotten on the wrong bus. I'm beyond words!!! I'm crying, I want to puke and punch something all in one emotion. We all run back to the house while I'm trying to get through to his school. It is busy. I get a busy signal the entire way to the school. We run into the front office and there is about 10 other parents wanting to know where their children are as well. I see daddy cracking his knuckles in anger and Maybe one of us is leaving here today in a cop car. We tell the lady at the front desk who is already making phone calls to the bus dispatch, Aidan's name & description. She can't pronounce his name over the phone and instead of spelling it just says "Aidan G...Whatever" I want this lady's job for this! Other frantic parents one by one in the next 90 minutes get confirmation that their children are on the wrong buses also and the bus drivers are bringing them back to the school (my eyes are tearing up now remembering this)We still haven't located Aidan. He could have been on the wrong bus, he could have gotten off ANY bus stop with any children and be in ANY neighborhood in Orlando. I want my child found and then I want some freaking answers!!! My biggest fear has come true. His teacher tried to speak to me about how sorry she is this has happened and I'm sure he's ok. I can't even look at her and she knows I'm beyond furious. My next call is the sheriffs department. Ironically as I'm thinking this a sheriff walks into the front office looking for a child as well. Apparently a working mother was told by her babysitter that her child never arrived at the bus stop either so she just called the police. The same lady making the phone calls about my child earlier that couldn't say his name correctly laughed and said "HaHa must be a first time mom, she should have never called the cops and given us a chance to at least find her kid first" I'm floored again! Lady she gave you the first chance when you lost him! It took every ounce of strength to not punch that lady and I'm not a physical person.
Finally after about 2 hours we get confirmation that Aidan is on a bus headed back to the school.
I'm now wanting answers. Was this not the questions I asked on Thursday? Was I not reassured that this would never happen? What happened to the bus driver checking wrist bands? What happened to the adults stationed outside to make sure every child gets home safely on the correct bus? What about the other child he was to be paired up with that rides his bus? A young blond girl with a walkie talkie (apparently it was her job along with another group of adults) comments "well it is chaotic, there are lots of children riding the buses and we cannot possibly check them all) I'm thinking how about the Kindergartners and the First graders? Or is that just too much to ask of a public school? All of us waiting parents are told that a new better system will be in effect tomorrow and that this won't happen again. They needed to "work out some kinks" I'm sorry why are there kinks? it is not a new school. Didn't they have kids ride buses last year? I'm done. I'm considering home schooling as we walk a scared little boy out to the car. He apologizes for getting lost, he says he's sad & that it was his fault. I hug him and reassure him that in no way possible was it his fault. He's 5.
We walk him to his classroom only to find that the light is off and no one is inside the classroom. After a few minutes of standing there puzzled, someone walks by and informs us that all children must go to the multi-purpose room (inside the lunch room) where they will meet their teachers & walk back to the classrooms with them. I'm upset. No one told me this. Is this just today for the first day? Is this everyday? This was important information I think I should have. I showed Aidan where to find his classroom from the bus ramp not to the lunch room. Plus I had a vision of walking him to his classroom and showing him his cubby hole & where to put his backpack. I wanted to peer in through my glass window. Now I'm sad. (I grab a few quick photos of Aidan and of Aidan with his sister and daddy in front of his classroom door) Then we head off to the lunchroom. Aidan is now sitting with a group of children in his class with his teacher. I'm trying to get her attention to give her some of the paperwork I filled out and tell her I only have paper folders, no plastic. :( It is very crowded and loud, very chaotic. Parents are lined up against the walls with cameras waiting to see their kids walk by. We take our position along a wall, so I can wave goodbye (trying not to cry). I look up and I barely see his teacher walking out of a doorway on the other side of the room and disappear. I missed it. My baby has gone to school and I missed it. Apparently there is another doorway to the classrooms on the other side of the lunchroom and the Kindergartners are so small I never saw them get up and leave. Now I'm not sad, I'm sick to my stomach. This morning has not gone to plan. But I'm ok, he's going to be ok. We walk slowly out to the car and I check to make sure my phone is on the loudest ringer possible.
And now we wait. I try to do laundry and play with Skylar and make lunch, but the clock is always on my mind. I wonder all day what he's doing at that moment of the day in school. I check my phone a million times and say to daddy "well I haven't gotten a phone call yet so he must be ok". We are letting him ride the bus home today so he can get use to it early. Both of my sisters show up so we can all walk down to the bus stop with our cameras, I must document everything! The bus doesn't come for another 20 minutes but I'm too anxious to wait any longer, I'll just walk really slow past the next 4 houses to his bus stop.
3:37 and I see it. Wow that is one of the larger buses. I watch & wait as all of these children get off the bus and then the last one walks off the bus. I have a sick feeling in my stomach again. I walk up to the bus driver and look down the aisle of the bus, this is the last bus stop, there are no more kids on the bus. I frantically ask her where my little 5 year old is? And she asks me his name & tells me to call the school, he might have gotten on the wrong bus. I'm beyond words!!! I'm crying, I want to puke and punch something all in one emotion. We all run back to the house while I'm trying to get through to his school. It is busy. I get a busy signal the entire way to the school. We run into the front office and there is about 10 other parents wanting to know where their children are as well. I see daddy cracking his knuckles in anger and Maybe one of us is leaving here today in a cop car. We tell the lady at the front desk who is already making phone calls to the bus dispatch, Aidan's name & description. She can't pronounce his name over the phone and instead of spelling it just says "Aidan G...Whatever" I want this lady's job for this! Other frantic parents one by one in the next 90 minutes get confirmation that their children are on the wrong buses also and the bus drivers are bringing them back to the school (my eyes are tearing up now remembering this)We still haven't located Aidan. He could have been on the wrong bus, he could have gotten off ANY bus stop with any children and be in ANY neighborhood in Orlando. I want my child found and then I want some freaking answers!!! My biggest fear has come true. His teacher tried to speak to me about how sorry she is this has happened and I'm sure he's ok. I can't even look at her and she knows I'm beyond furious. My next call is the sheriffs department. Ironically as I'm thinking this a sheriff walks into the front office looking for a child as well. Apparently a working mother was told by her babysitter that her child never arrived at the bus stop either so she just called the police. The same lady making the phone calls about my child earlier that couldn't say his name correctly laughed and said "HaHa must be a first time mom, she should have never called the cops and given us a chance to at least find her kid first" I'm floored again! Lady she gave you the first chance when you lost him! It took every ounce of strength to not punch that lady and I'm not a physical person.
Finally after about 2 hours we get confirmation that Aidan is on a bus headed back to the school.
I'm now wanting answers. Was this not the questions I asked on Thursday? Was I not reassured that this would never happen? What happened to the bus driver checking wrist bands? What happened to the adults stationed outside to make sure every child gets home safely on the correct bus? What about the other child he was to be paired up with that rides his bus? A young blond girl with a walkie talkie (apparently it was her job along with another group of adults) comments "well it is chaotic, there are lots of children riding the buses and we cannot possibly check them all) I'm thinking how about the Kindergartners and the First graders? Or is that just too much to ask of a public school? All of us waiting parents are told that a new better system will be in effect tomorrow and that this won't happen again. They needed to "work out some kinks" I'm sorry why are there kinks? it is not a new school. Didn't they have kids ride buses last year? I'm done. I'm considering home schooling as we walk a scared little boy out to the car. He apologizes for getting lost, he says he's sad & that it was his fault. I hug him and reassure him that in no way possible was it his fault. He's 5.
Prepping For Kindergarten
One week ago today was "meet the teacher" day for all new Kindergartners. It is my intention to write this everyday to help other mothers who's children will be going to kindergarten, or who's children also started this year. It has been such a crazy week that I'm already a week behind...so here goes!
Meet the teacher has become a "drop off your supplies to the teacher" day and grab your mountain of forms to fill out & leave day. Nothing against my son's teacher, she seemed nice enough, but I remember growing up in a small-ish town outside of Orlando and my teacher got to meet every parent and child. Now it has become to impersonal. My child is Aidan and she called hm Jake, already a bad sign. I couldn't ask her very many questions, she was too busy handing out paperwork & instructing the parents on how to fill them out properly because "protocol" is very important to them. I looked around and wondered if I was the only sane parent there. My son Aidan is 5 and has never been in Pre-K, and was in daycare for about 6 months when he was 2. I've been home with him and his 2 year old sister since she was born.
I think Aidan had to have been the only "first timer" to Kindergarten because no one asked any questions. On his school supplies list was 4 specific color "plastic" thin folder with prongs. I of course bought paper. She instructed me that they do not last as long and need to replace them with plastic. Apparently Super Target does not carry these & Walgreens sold out, so this will be continued this Saturday when I scour Wal-mart, CVS, K-mart maybe even Home Depot until these mysterious folders are found. Heaven forbid he just uses $.07 paper folders.
My largest concern was how does he find his bus in the afternoon? I was assured a billion times by his teacher that bus riders are dismissed first, and taken to the outside bus area where he is paired up with another child from the same bus. Also he will be wearing a bright yellow wrist band with his name, address, phone number, teacher, & bus "animal" (we'll get to that later). Every bus driver will be checking wrist bands to make sure the children make it on the right buses. I'm not convinced. She passes over me to hand out more papers to parents still walking in. I ask about cubby holes and what time is lunch (10:30am), is there a bathroom in the classroom & where is it, what is their day like? Do they have P.E. or play ground time everyday? Where are the water fountains? What happens if he has a potty accident (my child is a picky eater & therefore prone to constipation)-we will also address this later. I looked like the typical first time worried mother who was letting her baby go for the first time and needed reassurance. An hour and 1/2 flew by and I still have at least 10 more questions that I was still trying to remember. We were the last family to leave. Aidan was playing with some children in the corner with all of the cool toys and he was happy so I let everything else go, this could work and I'm worrying for nothing. This is a school that has been open for awhile, His teacher had been teacher for 10 years, I'm worrying too much. So we leave after getting a car pass just in case we want to pick him up one day with all of the other car riders, we walk around the school showing Aidan where the cafeteria is, the library, his classroom, & why he is not allowed to go wondering up the stairs. (this is a 2 story elementary school!) Aidan seems REALLY interested in these stairs and what is up them. I now have a new concern. He's a boy. He's 5. Is anyone going to be patrolling the stairs to make sure curious Kindergartners don't go wandering around the school?
SO we leave anxious and terrified that Monday morning will be that tearful crazy morning when I walk him to his classroom and watch him find his desk/chair at a table, Meet & greet all of these other children in his class. Peeping in through a sliver of glass window on the door so he doesn't see me. I'm going to try hard not to cry Monday, Or Puke.
Meet the teacher has become a "drop off your supplies to the teacher" day and grab your mountain of forms to fill out & leave day. Nothing against my son's teacher, she seemed nice enough, but I remember growing up in a small-ish town outside of Orlando and my teacher got to meet every parent and child. Now it has become to impersonal. My child is Aidan and she called hm Jake, already a bad sign. I couldn't ask her very many questions, she was too busy handing out paperwork & instructing the parents on how to fill them out properly because "protocol" is very important to them. I looked around and wondered if I was the only sane parent there. My son Aidan is 5 and has never been in Pre-K, and was in daycare for about 6 months when he was 2. I've been home with him and his 2 year old sister since she was born.
I think Aidan had to have been the only "first timer" to Kindergarten because no one asked any questions. On his school supplies list was 4 specific color "plastic" thin folder with prongs. I of course bought paper. She instructed me that they do not last as long and need to replace them with plastic. Apparently Super Target does not carry these & Walgreens sold out, so this will be continued this Saturday when I scour Wal-mart, CVS, K-mart maybe even Home Depot until these mysterious folders are found. Heaven forbid he just uses $.07 paper folders.
My largest concern was how does he find his bus in the afternoon? I was assured a billion times by his teacher that bus riders are dismissed first, and taken to the outside bus area where he is paired up with another child from the same bus. Also he will be wearing a bright yellow wrist band with his name, address, phone number, teacher, & bus "animal" (we'll get to that later). Every bus driver will be checking wrist bands to make sure the children make it on the right buses. I'm not convinced. She passes over me to hand out more papers to parents still walking in. I ask about cubby holes and what time is lunch (10:30am), is there a bathroom in the classroom & where is it, what is their day like? Do they have P.E. or play ground time everyday? Where are the water fountains? What happens if he has a potty accident (my child is a picky eater & therefore prone to constipation)-we will also address this later. I looked like the typical first time worried mother who was letting her baby go for the first time and needed reassurance. An hour and 1/2 flew by and I still have at least 10 more questions that I was still trying to remember. We were the last family to leave. Aidan was playing with some children in the corner with all of the cool toys and he was happy so I let everything else go, this could work and I'm worrying for nothing. This is a school that has been open for awhile, His teacher had been teacher for 10 years, I'm worrying too much. So we leave after getting a car pass just in case we want to pick him up one day with all of the other car riders, we walk around the school showing Aidan where the cafeteria is, the library, his classroom, & why he is not allowed to go wondering up the stairs. (this is a 2 story elementary school!) Aidan seems REALLY interested in these stairs and what is up them. I now have a new concern. He's a boy. He's 5. Is anyone going to be patrolling the stairs to make sure curious Kindergartners don't go wandering around the school?
SO we leave anxious and terrified that Monday morning will be that tearful crazy morning when I walk him to his classroom and watch him find his desk/chair at a table, Meet & greet all of these other children in his class. Peeping in through a sliver of glass window on the door so he doesn't see me. I'm going to try hard not to cry Monday, Or Puke.
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