Anna's loving her bus rides. She has a new friend she sits by, and they figured out that Anna should have me write our address and what our house looks like on a piece of paper so she can find it. Which I thought was pretty clever.
Here's what Anna said about the bus today.
Anna: One girl on the bus said that spinach was disgusting.
Me: What did you say.
Anna: I said spinach was yummy!
Me: Were you all talking about food you like and stuff?
Anna: Yeah.
Me: Like what foods?
Anna: Um, pretzels and popcorn and macaroni and cheese and suckers.
Me: Cool. Did it come up that you were vegan at all?
Anna: Yep, I said, "I'm vegan," and a girl didn't know what that meant so I told her.
Me: And what did she say?
Anna: She said, "Oh."
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Anna's First Homework
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
First Day of School!
Yesterday was Anna's first day of school and it went great!
Anna likes to sleep in. She always has. And me staying home with her and all, I've always let her. But no more! She probably would have slept till 9:00 had I not woke her up at 7:30 yesterday morning. It took her a few minutes to get out of bed, but once she was up, she was up.
We sat her down to a bowl of granola and some raspberries (from the bush out back! It's been a great year for raspberries in the Piggy household). She ate some raspberries and a couple bites of granola. I suppose the lack of appetite was either from waking up too early or maybe nerves (though she didn't seem nervous at all).
After getting ready to go, we all drove to the school. Jen was able to start work a bit late so she could come, too.
Anna's teacher came outside to gather all the kids and greet more as they come. She immediately recognized Anna and called her by name, even though she'd only met her once (the ability to do this is one of the many mystical teacher superpowers, in my opinion).
Anna's friend and neighbor Sophia showed up a few minutes later and they were happy to see each other. Anna is, by chance, in the same classroom as Sophia and also her friend Cameron. Montessori schools combine pre-K and Kindergarten into one class. Sophia is an "old friend" and Anna and Cameron are considered "new friends."
So the two girls hung out for a while and then another old friend walked up to Sophia and they started talking and, kids being kids, Anna wasn't introduced. (I don't remember ever introducing anyone until I was in my twenties. I still forget to do it all the time.)
So Anna stood there and listened to the girls talk, and after a while there were a couple more girls and they all talked and Anna still stood there, listening, digging the sole of her left shoe into the sidewalk, working the stress and anxiety out with her feet.
After a couple minutes she walked back to me, took my hand and pulled me toward the group of girls. I hung back and let her hold my hand. Then her grip loosened bit by bit until she let go of me. About a minute later she ran up, hugged my leg for a second and ran back to the group without the aid of my hand.
Next, she just looked around for me, saw I was taking a picture and smiled.
Then they got into a line and the teacher led them into the school.
Jen and I said bye, have fun. Liam whined a bit because he couldn't follow them into the school.
About four hours later, her bus pulled up to our house and she got off, all smiles.
Today was her second day. She woke up by herself at 7:00, had a full bowl of oatmeal and was ready to go a full 45 minutes early.
The teacher met them outside again. Anna was clingy until Sophia showed up. Then they started to goof around. Anna noticed a girl wearing her backpack on her front, so Anna tried it out and laughed. Her and Sophia bumped bellies like two sumo wrestlers. Then they got in line and went inside.
Later that day, her bus pulled up to our house and she got off, all smiles.
So far, so good!
Anna likes to sleep in. She always has. And me staying home with her and all, I've always let her. But no more! She probably would have slept till 9:00 had I not woke her up at 7:30 yesterday morning. It took her a few minutes to get out of bed, but once she was up, she was up.
We sat her down to a bowl of granola and some raspberries (from the bush out back! It's been a great year for raspberries in the Piggy household). She ate some raspberries and a couple bites of granola. I suppose the lack of appetite was either from waking up too early or maybe nerves (though she didn't seem nervous at all).
After getting ready to go, we all drove to the school. Jen was able to start work a bit late so she could come, too.
Anna's teacher came outside to gather all the kids and greet more as they come. She immediately recognized Anna and called her by name, even though she'd only met her once (the ability to do this is one of the many mystical teacher superpowers, in my opinion).
Anna's friend and neighbor Sophia showed up a few minutes later and they were happy to see each other. Anna is, by chance, in the same classroom as Sophia and also her friend Cameron. Montessori schools combine pre-K and Kindergarten into one class. Sophia is an "old friend" and Anna and Cameron are considered "new friends."
So the two girls hung out for a while and then another old friend walked up to Sophia and they started talking and, kids being kids, Anna wasn't introduced. (I don't remember ever introducing anyone until I was in my twenties. I still forget to do it all the time.)
So Anna stood there and listened to the girls talk, and after a while there were a couple more girls and they all talked and Anna still stood there, listening, digging the sole of her left shoe into the sidewalk, working the stress and anxiety out with her feet.
After a couple minutes she walked back to me, took my hand and pulled me toward the group of girls. I hung back and let her hold my hand. Then her grip loosened bit by bit until she let go of me. About a minute later she ran up, hugged my leg for a second and ran back to the group without the aid of my hand.
Next, she just looked around for me, saw I was taking a picture and smiled.
Then they got into a line and the teacher led them into the school.
Jen and I said bye, have fun. Liam whined a bit because he couldn't follow them into the school.
About four hours later, her bus pulled up to our house and she got off, all smiles.
Today was her second day. She woke up by herself at 7:00, had a full bowl of oatmeal and was ready to go a full 45 minutes early.
The teacher met them outside again. Anna was clingy until Sophia showed up. Then they started to goof around. Anna noticed a girl wearing her backpack on her front, so Anna tried it out and laughed. Her and Sophia bumped bellies like two sumo wrestlers. Then they got in line and went inside.
Later that day, her bus pulled up to our house and she got off, all smiles.
So far, so good!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Beginning of a Great Adventure
Anna starts pre-Kindergarten tomorrow. In Saint Paul, pre-K is done through the public school system. The school she's going to is a Montessori, which I'm sure I'll blog about at some future date.
We're all pretty excited about it. It's about three hours a day in the morning and she even gets to take the bus home. She's in class with two of her friends too, which I think is really going to help her ease into things.
A few weeks ago Anna said she'd probably be shy for the first few days, but that once she got to know the teacher then she would talk and not be shy. "Just like in Spanish class!" she said. (She took a Spanish class once a week over the summer.)
I feel like this is the first Great Unknown for her. I remember my stomach getting tied into knots over the these huge unknown moments when I was a kid (and teenager, and young adult, and adult), but Anna seems to be genuinely excited and ready for it.
But then again, when I think back on my first day of Kindergarten (my school didn't do preschool), I vividly remember my stomach NOT being tied up in knots. I remember being excited and ready for the Great Unknown. I don't know if I can pin down exactly what happened (though I'm sure I can come pretty damn close) that changed all of it for me and caused me to dread change; to fear meeting new people; to stay up late at night practicing potential conversations and replaying old ones.
At any rate, here's hoping the same thing doesn't happen to Anna. Or if it does, here's hoping she doesn't let it get to her like I did.
We're all pretty excited about it. It's about three hours a day in the morning and she even gets to take the bus home. She's in class with two of her friends too, which I think is really going to help her ease into things.
A few weeks ago Anna said she'd probably be shy for the first few days, but that once she got to know the teacher then she would talk and not be shy. "Just like in Spanish class!" she said. (She took a Spanish class once a week over the summer.)
I feel like this is the first Great Unknown for her. I remember my stomach getting tied into knots over the these huge unknown moments when I was a kid (and teenager, and young adult, and adult), but Anna seems to be genuinely excited and ready for it.
But then again, when I think back on my first day of Kindergarten (my school didn't do preschool), I vividly remember my stomach NOT being tied up in knots. I remember being excited and ready for the Great Unknown. I don't know if I can pin down exactly what happened (though I'm sure I can come pretty damn close) that changed all of it for me and caused me to dread change; to fear meeting new people; to stay up late at night practicing potential conversations and replaying old ones.
At any rate, here's hoping the same thing doesn't happen to Anna. Or if it does, here's hoping she doesn't let it get to her like I did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
