School Days

Joey has been in Kindergarten for about a month and a half now.  If you talked to me last spring or summer, you probably knew that I was worried about him adjusting from 3 day a week, half day preschool to 5 day a week, full day Kindergarten.  I was absolutely not going to send him on the bus, because I felt that it would make an already long day, that much longer and I would have a little zombie on my hands.

But Joey is so excited about school and he's adjusted really well.  Picking him up in carline was a nightmare.  It was so inefficient, we spent nearly an hour in the car and Abi was about to explode.  So the second week of school, he started riding the school bus.  It really doesn't add much time to his day and he LOVES it!  His bus driver is friendly, says that he's well behaved and plays gametime music on Fridays before Saints games.  Joey now knows all of the words to "Get Crunk" (for the MI folks, it's a rap song that they play for the Saints).  I'm so proud. *sarcasm*  Haha.

The bus coming in the distance.

Me: "Joey, do you want to take a sandwich for lunch or do you want to buy lunch?  Today's lunch is gumbo."   Joey: "GUMBO!  YUM!"  Joey buys lunch most days, except when we might be having the same thing for dinner, it's overly messy (think sloppy joes, which we call "sloppy Joeys"), or on the rare occasion when it's a food he doesn't like.  They actually have an impressive menu and have a Gold Award from the USDA (only 59 schools in the US have this award) and for $1, I can't pack a lunch for that.  And his lunchbox isn't nearly as exciting as the lunch tray, I guess.  He loves it!

Joey's making lots of friends and loves to fill me in on their ages since many are 6 or are turning 6 soon.  He's thrilled that he sees kids from school at soccer and at Catechism class (which started this week). He trades those awful silly bands on the bus, but it keeps him happy so as long as they don't enter the classroom, I let him.  Side note: Why do all fads (this one being silly bands) have to be things that drive parents nuts?!

A school year for Joey wouldn't be complete without girls.  He got married during the first week of school, but the little girl's grandma told me that she's too young to get married.  Haha.  We need to put a stop to his girl craziness!  I think a little girl on the bus has given him new perspective.  Yesterday afternoon he came up to me and said, "Mom, there's a girl on the bus that makes weird noises.  She ignoys (annoys) me.  She asked me to date her and I said no.  She ignoys me."

These are the things that Joey tells me about after he gets home, but I promise you there are academics at this school!  I'm so proud that he goes to a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.  He likes his teacher and I'm amazed at what he's learning.  He's quickly learning to read and write and of course, can list lots of facts to me about whatever the topic of the week is.  They have wonderful enrichment programs: art, PE, music and library.  He's struggling with socializing less and getting his work done on time.  But I think this will improve over the course of the year.  I have to remind myself that he's 5 and many of his peers are 6, so there's some maturity to be gained, but we're already seeing improvement.

Joey has homework Monday-Thursday.  Lots of worksheets and library books occupy our afternoons.  He doesn't always want to do more work after such a long day, but when he gets home, we set the timer for 10 minutes to unwind and we plow through the 10-15 minutes of work before he can play or watch tv.  It's become a part of our routine and it's good to see him practice the things he's learning at school, especially his handwriting, which like most 5 year old boys, needs PRACTICE!

Kindergarten has opened up a whole new world for us.  School buses, hot lunches, recess, enrichment classes, READING!, homework, PTA.  Whew!  It's a big adjustment, but I think we're all doing ok and Joey still loves school.  I've asked a friend to help me run the Pray & Play group at church, so hopefully now I'll have time to volunteer at the school.  They highly value parent involvement and I know Joey would love having me there during the day.  So Abi and I may find ourselves covered in glue and markers soon!

I'm so proud of Joey and am so impressed by the knowledge he's gained so far.  I pray that his love for learning continues over the years!!