Well, the first week went pretty smoothly. The mornings were still early (if you know us, you may also know that none of us are really morning people), but it was only three half days, so we were still able to have afternoon naps and she didn't feel like she was missing out on too much.
The following week consisted of four, full days of school, starting at 8:00 with Mass and being picked up at 3:00. She would come home and give us little details of her day. We started learning some of her classmates' names, the daily schedule, what she liked and didn't like at snack time, what she usually did during "rest" time, etc. We learned that there was a James that sat at her table in her class, but "James" was also the name of her 7th grade Mass buddy.
She generally told us that her favorite time of the day was recess. We knew she was making new friends, sometimes older kids in the 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd grades. We learned that she had gym class on Mondays and Wednesdays, Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays, that Tuesday was "Library" day, and that Thursday was "Computer Lab" day.
That first week, we also started hearing and noticing that she was having at least daily episodes of crying. It might happen at recess, at lunch, or even during class. Sometimes she would say that she missed me, sometimes she was "just tired", and sometimes it seemed the littlest thing would upset her. Mornings were also getting to be rougher. I had a brief talk with her teacher, and we basically decided that she was still getting used to school and needed to get more sleep.
So, we instituted a rest time after getting home from school and also bumped her bedtime up as much as possible when we could. She was still excited about school, but would also make comments that she didn't want to go because she had to get up so early. We took comfort in the fact that at least by the time she went out the door, she was chipper and smiling.
Now that we have four full weeks under our belt, it is still sometimes a struggle, but she is doing much better. We have gotten a couple of encouraging emails from her teacher. And, as far as we know, she went the last two without crying at school. PROGRESS! It has been a transition for us all. Going to bed early, getting up early, spending more time in the car, adjusting nap times for Joey and Stevie, etc. It has been good for us all...I'm sure we'll settle into a routine sooner or later. We are looking forward to seeing everything she will learn and how she will grow this year.
Marie and her classmate and "BFF" Sarah on their first day.
In the midst of the starting school transition, we also celebrated Marie's 5th birthday. It snuck up on us a little bit. But, we enjoyed immensely a visit from Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, Gracie, Aunt Jess, Grandma and Grandpa Shibata, and Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart. Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah also made it over for a big chunk of the weekend. The weather was nice; the kids got to play outside a decent amount.
On her actual birthday, she got her present from us and requested to be able to go out to dinner at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. She was super excited about her new matching raincoat and boots and it was a good night out, and by good, I mean that everyone pretty much ate their meals, there was no crying or screaming, and we didn't draw too much unnecessary attention. Marie even got to enjoy a Birthday Sundae to finish off her meal. It is hard to believe that our little girl is already five years old. She is growing up so fast!
I'll close with a kid-ism from Marie and a few recent pictures of her little brothers as well.
Marie has been enjoying Mad Libs lately and at one point, I was doing them with her.
Peg: "Name something strange."
Marie: "Toilets."
Peg: "Toilets? What makes toilets strange?'
Marie: "You know when they flush all by themselves and you're not expecting it."
Okay. Now I get it. Yep, that is kind of strange.
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