After visiting a few different schools and talking to a lot of folks around here, we decided on Learning Ladders - a little church run preschool just a few minutes from the house. I filled out two novels worth of paperwork.....sending your kids to school for 3 1/2 hours 5 days a week is serious business!! I seriously think they asked for EVERYTHING they could think of!! And then I had the awesome joy of filling the EXACT SAME PAPERWORK OUT TWICE!! Just another joy of twins :)
We anxiously awaited their classroom assignment and a calendar for when they would get to go meet their teacher....we were given the choice of same or different classrooms....I'm sure you all have an option on what the right answer for that one was - at least everyone we talked to seemed to have an opinion! They need to be in SEPARATE classes so they can spread their wings and develop their individuality....they should be in the SAME class since this is their first school experience, it will help to have each other as they adjust. We heard it all. When it came down to it, the school said they had had parents do it both ways and had it work both ways. The director said the only time she remembered it being a little tough was when one twin is very dominate over the other or when one gets upset when the other attempts to make other friends - she said if that was the case with our boys she would recommend separate classes, otherwise it was up to us.
We decided to keep them together - that made mommy feel better and I know it helped with the transition. We found out some time in August that their teacher was Ms Karla (which is adorable to hear them say since they can't really say their "r" sound) and that naturally the meet and greet was scheduled when we were going to be out of town :/ Fearful that not meeting their teacher and seeing their classroom would surely lead to a melt down worthy of an Oscar on the first day, I forced myself to be "that parent" and call to see about meeting Ms Karla at some point before we left. Thankfully she was so gracious about my difficult-ness and the boys did indeed get to be introduced before we headed south.
The meet and greet was funny....we showed up with all 5 of us and MacKenzie....the boys said hello and when she gave them the "your welcome to play with the toys" line, I had lost them. We made small talk for a few minutes and then we were on our way.....
Now, fast forward to the night before.....
I was feeling like crap the night before (that's called Murphy's Law). The boys were finally in bed - after having admitted that though they were excited for the first day, they were also a little nervous! I came downstairs and started getting everything situated for the morning. I was bound and determined to start this first day of school off as smoothly as possible and naturally, even though I had known about the first day of school for months I had done very little to get ready ahead of time (those that know me know I work best with a deadline....more specifically I'm the queen of procrastination so pretty much unless it has to be done RIGHT NOW I'm probably putting it off). Anyhow, the night before, while feverish and feeling like I would rather die, I am packing lunches, writing names on lunch boxes and backpacks bad THEN sitting down to fill out some last minute paperwork. The order of that is important.... You see I wrote their names on their backpacks (that I spent entirely too much money on) and then sat down to fill out and read the paperwork that the teacher had handed me two weeks before at the meet and greet.....and of course it said NO BACKPACKS! Awesome! You mean now I can't take back the "super cheap" backpacks I bought that matched their lunch boxes?? (Did you get the sarcasm there??)
I wanted to cry....with a very tight budget I probably shouldn't have bought the silly things in the first place....maybe next year they will still be young enough to not have a strong opinion about their backpack?!? What do you think are the chances? Off to bed I went, while saying a little prayer for healing! This was NOT how I pictured feeling on my kids first day of school EVER! :(
Thankfully God is good! I woke up feeling better....not 100% but better! The boys got up got dressed and brushed their teeth with very little prompting! We are breakfast, did our hair, got our new school shoes on and headed outside for some pictures. We managed to make it on time even! The boys found their cubbies for their lunch boxes and off they went! Daddy and I did manage to get a hug out of them both but we had to ask! (no tears were shed though I must be honest, I did get a little teary but recovered quickly). After our hugs they never looked back - naturals, like they had been doing it for years! Stephen headed off to work and I took E man home to enjoy some very strange hours, twin free before returning to pick them up after their first day!
First all, I was TERRIFIED I was going to forgot them! I was so sure I was going to get caught up doing something and loose track of time only to get a call from the school! I probably checked the time every 15 minutes!!
Second....the house was SOOOO quiet!! It was weird!! I didn't really know what to do with myself!!
Easton missed his "bubbas" too! When I mentioned going to pick them up he got so excited and must have said "bubba" 45 times on the way to the school! I was so excited to hear how their first day went! Heck I've been excited to hear how every day since has gone too!! I had visions of them talking about every detail, bringing home adorable artwork, telling me they missed me and being exhausted. WRONG....DEAD WRONG on all accounts!
That first day I got "why are you here already mom?"
When I asked what they did....I got "I don't remember...." (As the day went on I did manage to get a few details about their day...but they were spotty and I sort of had to sneak it out of them)
Exhausted?? HA! They are fighting naps harder than ever!!
Now, several weeks into this whole school thing....
-I know they have learned the pledge of allegiance and two new meal time prayers - that's about all I can tell you for sure! And I can tell you that because we may or may not hear the pledge being recited ALL THE TIME!! And Stephen and I have gotten good at both the shark prayer and the superman prayer (I'm going to have to get them on video - they are adorable!)
-I rarely get any info from them about what they did durning the day, except recess - which they both consistently say is their favorite party of school.
-They bring home more artwork than I know what to do with (yep, I'm that mom.... A lot of it goes to artwork heaven, also known as the Jacksonville landfill).
-Literally for the first two weeks I thought maybe they were in a class of all girls because I never heard them talk about another boy....I just kept hearing girl names (oh goodness we are in trouble)
-I already HATE packing lunches with every fiber of my being - which is bad cause I have a LOT of years left for that one!!
-And their biggest complaint?? They have to wear tennis shoes and do their hair every morning!! It's a rough life isn't it??!!
All in all. They are doing great! They really seem to be loving school! With the help of our amazing babysitter MacKenzie we have not yet forgotten show-n-tell (yes I'm aware that it has only been three weeks but whatever! And yes, I totally forgot the first week but MacKenzie who has things way more together that I do had it all under control!!) Their lunch boxes come home mostly empty, most days. They have indeed started to talk about a few friends who are male (though we still hear about the girls much more often). And just Friday, Ms. Karla said they were a joy to have in her class - big mommy smile!!
I still can't believe they are old enough for school but at the same time I'm so glad we've been blessed by a great teacher and that the boys are having a blast! I'm sure there are many school stories to come in coming weeks!!! Ill keep you posted!
Love and Hugs!