Back to School / La Rentreé

This wraps up the first full week of school. The girls started on Wednesday the 21st, and have had some time to get adjusted to things. I am still struggling. I forget how much time it takes to make breakfast and lunches, help with outfits and hair, pack the bags, give them enough time to play or watch a show while they eat...and get myself ready, too. Plus, the commute to two schools is not fun. We have to get Macy to school by 8:45, which is the earliest she is supposed to be there. I try to make it a quick goodbye, but she isn't always cooperative. Then Kennedy and I race out to her school (in the opposite direction from my office) so she can line up with her class at 9:00. I'll get through this, but I need to get things a little more under control. I have given up on trying to exercise in the morning, and at night I have no desire to cook anything. Sadly, we are all living on a pathetic diet of kid food - pancakes, peanut butter sandwiches, bean and cheese burritos, mac and cheese. I need a salad! One thing I plan to do this long holiday weekend is some meal prep.

So, back to the first day of school...
Macy's day was pretty familiar. She's in the same class, with the same teachers, and most of the same kids. She had a couple of lessons, did some works, ate lunch, took a nap, played outside, had snack, and finished the day with circle time. She was so excited to see Caitrin, and I'm thrilled that those two seem like they are going to be buddies!

Le premier jour de classe...
At Kennedy's new school, they line the kids up outside by class, and then the teachers walk them inside. That means that I couldn't take her to her class, help her find where to hang her backpack, see her at her desk, meet the teachers, and take pictures of my big first grader. It's pretty much chaos trying to find a place to park around the school, and then when the bell rings the kids go crazy running from the playground to the appropriate line. Kennedy found her friend Claire (really more like an acquaintance from Montessori), and they played a bit before getting in line. When I picked her up, Kennedy said that she was in the English class for the morning, even though  I thought we'd arranged with the office to have her in French for the morning. I fretted about that, but we got it straightened out the next day. Her first day was learning the school rules, going on a tour, coloring, tracing letters and numbers, some introductions in French - really basic stuff. She said the most exciting thing about her day was that they got to have three recesses! It made me sad to hear that she mostly played by herself, but I told her not to worry about making new friends because she is such a sweet girl!

Since then, Kennedy has been working on uppercase and lowercase letters, some very easy reading, numbers 1-10 in French, and colors and animals in French. She has an assigned desk in each room. There are 34 kids in her class! About the same size as she had at Montessori, but there she had three teachers. I think the homework will start next week, and maybe the spelling lists, but I have no idea what to expect. Last night we spent quite a bit of time putting together her math workbook, which is all in French. I'll have to start brushing up in order to help her. Things are maybe improving with the friends. Claire wouldn't sit by her for the first few days. Kennedy thought maybe she was worried that Kennedy would try to talk to her during class. She's mentioned a few other girls, but still mainly plays by herself on the playground. She claims to like first grade so far.

Jake covered the back to school night for Kennedy. I feel like I missed out by not being there. Instead I was at Macy's school. Both meetings were scheduled for the exact same time. Grrr! I'm one of the ambassador/community builder parents for the Sequoia Class (new name), so I felt an obligation to attend. At least Kennedy does a pretty good job of filling me in on her daily activities.

Career paths

I couldn't help taking an online quiz about what career your child might have when they grow up. Some of the questions were hard to answer because I felt multiple choices fit, but here are the results:

Kennedy - Careers with Words or People
Your child enjoys anything to do with words—reading, writing, jokes, rhymes and wordplay, as well as debating. Kids with strong verbal and interpersonal skills communicate their thoughts clearly. They can also "read" other people and understand social cues. They're frequently empathetic and outgoing, and friends turn to them for support. They tend to be natural leaders and know how to work the room.

Possible Careers: Writer, journalist, news anchor, editor, blogger, speechwriter, social media expert, teacher, comedian, lawyer, politician, publicist, sales executive, clergy member, psychologist or psychiatrist.

 

Oh yes, that sure sounds like Kennedy! She is obsessed with logic puzzles right now, often doing ten or more a day (and these are at a third grade to fifth grade level.) Sometimes she can figure them out quicker than I can. Yesterday morning while we were driving to grammie and pamp's she came up with the idea to tell stories using rhyming words. She has also started telling me a series of stories about Oliver, a magician's rabbit who learns to perform his own magic tricks. Perhaps she will be an award-winning author of a series of Cat Detective books. Now that I could totally see! Maybe Macy could illustrate them because she is always drawing cats, and most of the time the two of them work and play really well together.            

 

Macy - Careers with Creativity, Art, or Music

Creative kids with visual and spatial skills love to draw, paint, sculpt, and build. They may want to draw on their bedroom walls or choose their own outfits. They respond to colors and recognize patterns. They sing well, pick up musical instruments, respond to melodies and harmonies, and are sensitive to noise. They may also have an ear for foreign languages.

Possible Careers: Artist, graphic designer, illustrator, architect, clothing or interior designer, museum curator, photographer, filmmaker, musician, conductor, songwriter, sound engineer, foreign language translator.

 

Sometimes I forget just how creative Macy is. She really does have an ear for music and loves to do all kinds of art. Her teachers say that she has a knack for Spanish, and she also seems very interested in learning French. She is the one who usually picks out the French apps on the iPad and knows all the songs in the "Princesses Learn French" series. Maybe she will move to Paris and become a famous painter of cats, or travel the world as a musician. Guess it might be time to sign her up for art classes and piano lessons - or the trumpet, which she says is her favorite instrument. Macy is also very skilled at holding her breath underwater. I'm amazed at how long she can swim without coming up for air! Could prove useful for a trumpet player. Although, some field in the movie industry is a strong possibility because boy, oh boy, does that girl love to watch movies! But, perhaps not. She claims that she wants to be a super hero when she grows up.

Reading this makes me wonder what my future career path might have looked like based on my personality at four to six years old. Clearly, I'm more of a words person, like Kennedy. Could she be destined to be a third generation fundraiser?

 

           

Shark teeth

Kennedy finally has a loose tooth, two in fact! She's been dying over the wait since all her friends have lost several already - seven in one case. The two bottom teeth have been a bit wiggly for at lease a month now. Kennedy works at them and patiently lets me check them every day. When we first noticed, I told her that maybe she'd be starting first grade with a big hole in her smile. Well, probably not going to happen because school starts next week! Last night, Kennedy did her best to help the process along by accidentally falling off the couch face first into the coffee table. Now one is really loose and kind of snaggle tooth looking, which goes nicely with the scrapes on her chin from the fall.

Even if one or both teeth manage to come out before the first day of school (I'm betting on at least one), she's already got the two new teeth coming in. It's funny to see two rows of teeth when she opens her mouth, just like a shark. And, she loves that comparison. This summer she has been obsessed with learning about animals and watches the PBS show "Wild Kratts" everyday. Sometimes she even takes notes!

Maybe she can be the marine biologist I always dreamed about becoming when I was a kid. I was in heaven at the Baltimore Aquarium when we visited last week during my research conference. I could watch all those fish swim around for hours - just as long as I'm not underwater with them.

Lately her list of potential career choices has been: cat detective, actress, or choreographer. Seeing her friend Amelia in a children's production of "Romeo and Juliet" while Jake and I were gone has really sparked the acting bug in Kennedy. I have literally had nightmares about acting, but I'll completely support her if she wants to try it out!

She is all registered for her new school, and we were able to switch her classroom so she will be learning French in the morning and be with two girls she knows (Claire from Montessori and Ava from dance class.) I'm so glad to know that she already has a couple of friends. Amelia joined Kennedy's dance class this summer and they will be in the same class again for fall. We'll see Mairead (MaeMae) at soccer, and hopefully find a way to stay in touch with Lucy, too. Kennedy is so excited for all these changes first grade will bring, especially to start learning French. Moi aussi. It's been a long time, and I hope it comes back quickly!