Thursday, November 9, 2017

Back to School

At the end of August, it was time to head back to school. We had some more trickiness this year when we found out that Natalie had gotten into our neighborhood school but Nate hadn't yet--he was number 2 on the list.  We thought about just leaving them both at the overloaded school (they wanted to stay there anyway) but since Nate was so close to getting in we decided to have them attend the neighborhood school and hope he got in quickly.  That way, Eli would get into the neighborhood school when he starts next year and we would hopefully be done with all of this mess! 
So, we started out at 3 different schools--Elizabeth at the junior high, Natalie at the neighborhood school, and Nate at his same school as last year.  Thankfully we had friends to carpool with that made it easier.  When I had to pick up all of them, some would have to wait for quite a while for me to get them.  Nate was excited that he got his same teacher as last year since she moved up a grade.  She was a great teacher so we were happy about that.
First day of school:
Keeping track of pick-up and drop-off times on my white board:
It was complicated!
Nate eventually got into the neighborhood school a month after school started. That was hard for him.  He was sad that he wouldn't have any recesses with his neighborhood friends (who are just a few months older and in 3rd grade).  He really didn't want to leave his old school and his good buddy Pedro.  It broke my heart to see him so sad but we hoped it would all be for the best eventually. He has been adjusting slowly.  We like his new teachers (he actually has 2 that split time).  He is getting to know more kids.  He still wishes he could go back to his old school, though.
Natalie started yet another year at a new school.  That was hard for her.  She just feels really tired of doing that.  She always seems to make friends pretty quickly but she misses her good friend, Daniella, from her old school. I think she is slowly getting used to the new school, too. It makes me happy that she and Nate are at the same school again.  I like having them there together even though they don't always see each other much.
Elizabeth has adjusted well to junior high.  She was probably the most nervous to start but has been doing well.  She's still figuring out how to keep up and stay organized with her homework but her grades are great--as always--and she is in some pretty challenging advanced classes. 
Eli has started a preschool class that he loves three times a week.  His teacher is great and it's been nice for me to have some extra time to myself every week.  He is always asking to play with friends.  He's a social little guy so it's good for him.  
All in all, it's been a good year so far!

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