Thoughts on Kindergarten!

We are a month into kindergarten! It seems like a terrific time to jot down my thoughts so I can look back later to see how much has changed.

Teacher: Evie LOVES her teacher! I think she is the perfect mix of sweet and strict. She pushes Evie to work hard but also encourages her as person. I think she has excellent communication and is welcoming to parents in the classroom. Her teacher is a mom and gets what life is like with young children. I think she is the perfect teacher for Evie!What a wonderful answer to my prayers for Evie. I am so thankful for this teacher and the influence she will have on Evie this year. 

Bus: Evie loved the bus until last week and now she has decided she wants to be a car rider. She has decided the grass is greener but I am not ready to sit in car line yet. I am pretty sure she will change her mind again. Evie does love sitting with her friends from our neighborhood on the bus so that makes it seem like a treat. Henry is a big fan of the bus stop. He hangs out with the little brothers and brings a toy to pass the time. Henry announces the bus to everyone when he hears it coming. I like the bus stop too because it is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the neighbors. It sure is convenient since the bus stop is our front yard. 

Time: It is a LONG day. Evie leaves at 8 and gets home a few minutes after 4. The first few weeks it felt like the bus would never arrive. All of us have adjusted to the long days! Evie is tired by Thursday and exhausted by Friday but she is hanging in there. I still miss her a lot but am getting more accomplished while she is gone. Henry and I are really enjoying our time together too. He loves our "date days." Tuesday and Thursday are my two favorite days because I get to spend my days with the cutest three year old out there. Henry and I go to the zoo, the dirt pit, parks, story time and hang out with friends. We have a ball but definitely miss our Evie. I decided not to do any extra curricular activities this semester to allow Evie the time to adjust to her new routine. It has been wonderful to have lazy afternoons playing outside, reading books, drawing, or even watching our favorite shows.  

Homework: YIKES - I was not prepared for this much homework but I think it keeps me in the loop. Evie is really learning a lot. Her teacher creates a worksheet each week that reviews the skills for the week and then Evie has to cut out pictures for the letter of the week too. She reviews her flash cards every night too. Henry likes to do that for her and he holds them up to check her reading skills. 

Pace: Kindergarten is not what it used to be - I taught first grade for 7 years and still find this shocking! Evie is already writing and sorting rhyming words, counting syllables, solving equations and counting higher than my first graders could towards the end of the year. I volunteer in the classroom and see first hand that the ability levels are all over the board. These kids sit at tables and work like first graders for six or seven hours. It is truly unbelievable but the kids can do it! Evie keeps asking when she can play in the kitchen center. I told her I was not sure that is going to happen. Evie responded that there should not be a kitchen in the room if they cannot play with it. 

Friends: Evie is making lots of new friends and comes home with stories about them every day. Her feelings have been hurt and I am sure she has hurt feelings too. It seems like it is already becoming boys play with boys while the girls play with girls. Evie has always had lots of boy friends so it funny to hear her talk about boys as if they are from another planet. Campbell and Christian are excluded from her new preference for girls because they are still her best friends even if they are boys. She also likes the boys in her class but not the other boys in the kindergarten. Are you confused? We are too!

Lunch: Evie has bought her lunch twice but prefers for me to pack it. That works for me because canned fruit, frozen pizza and overcooked veggies are not nearly as nutritious as her ham sandwich, bell peppers with hummus and berries. She is packing a dessert now and thinks that is a real treat since dessert was not allowed in preschool. Dessert is a few gummy bears, a granola bar or a cookie.

Influence: Evie has been to preschool for years but this is the first time she has spent so much time away from me. It has been interesting to see how much she has changed. I am getting more sass and she seems like she has grown up so much in the last few weeks. Evie is being reminded a lot that we do everything without complaining or arguing even when we are in kindergarten! Sometimes I laugh at the things she has learned and sometimes it makes me sad to see her lose her innocence.  She did not know about divorce, adoption or even a friend that was different from her until now. Evie is embracing all the new changes and has become such a big girl. 

We are so proud of our Evie and look forward to seeing what this year brings for Evie and our family!