Other than that, here's where we are:
1) Meet the teacher (1st grade edition): Last Thursday night was busy, with two meet-the-teacher events scheduled back-to-back. First up, the duo went to school and met their first grade teachers. Since they will be in separate classes this year (by choice*), they were excited to see both classrooms, sort through school supplies and see how they would be situated (i.e., proximity, how schedules overlap, etc.). Are you familiar with the importance of your child having a favorite friend in his/her class? Yes, well, our predicament is that there are only two classes so the duo are possessive about who gets which friends. When Lauren realized she would have a favorite friend in her class, Gracie burst into tears. Luckily, I was able to stalk another friend and her family and learn that Gracie would have a friend with her, too. That drama aside, they are excited about the school year with only the usual nervousness and reservation.
2) Meet the teacher (K2 edition): William George had flatly refused to attend K2. When asked if he wanted to go, he said, "No." We had some communication issues with the school and only received their supply list last week, and I managed to elicit a verbal commitment to preschool when I dangled "bye-bye" over his head when we needed to pick up his supplies. Here is George nodding in agreement.
3) Distractions: Since Gracie was nervous about school (and being away from Lauren), we made the weekend two days of distraction. After spending Saturday at the zoo, we went to church Sunday, and spend Sunday afternoon getting the trio's hair trimmed (George's first cut!) and having mani/Pedi's for the duo. We decided to have a family back-to-school party Sunday night because our Grace-bug shines during celebrations. A spaghetti dinner in the dining room took her mind off any worries she may have had.
4) Supplies: If you have been reading this site for a long, long time, you may remember how surprised I used to be when purchasing school supplies in duplicate (see here and here). This year we added George's supply list, and the idea of photographing them was more effort than I could bear. Trust me when I say we bought a lot of crayons, glue, notebooks, etc. And if you have three (or more? God bless you!) children, you are likely nodding in agreement. (We have a neighbors a street over who have....10 children, and they are expecting twins (their second set) now. I cannot imagine the school supplies they have to purchase.) We also moved from Type A behavior (using the label maker to affix names on all supplies) to Type B behavior (scribbling names on with a Sharpie marker). Admittedly, I miss the label maker but simply did not have the time.
5) Weekly buzz: One buzz word for you this week: good change leadership, which is defined as leaders (specifically, those implementing change) providing direction, guidance and support to the people implementing change or those affected by change.
Example: This week I will attempt to demonstrate good change leadership as we shift from casual days at the pool to a return to the classroom.
As you read this, I am likely running errands alone and talking to George -- before remembering he isn't in the back seat. What is happening with you?
*People seem to have very strong opinions about whether or not to separate multiples. (To date I have not met a single person who had not formed an opinion.) Parents of multiples usually respond to individuals (who do not have experience with multiples) weighing in with advice the same way parents respond when people who do not have children offer them parenting advice. Basically, it's tough to pull that sort of thing off. In response, I always recommend the well-intentioned advice-giver to tread carefully, and then we can always agree that everyone should be treated as an individual and that decisions should be made based on what is best for the individuals that are affected by the decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment