To Repeat or Not To Repeat?

I've had mixed feelings about sharing this with our blog readers, but I've decided that you'll soon find out anyway.  No, nothing is serious and some of you, mainly family, already know.  In regards to school this year for Henry and Emma, they will be continuing at Treetops, but as students in the Kindergarten class again.  We knew this was going to be happening last year before Christmas break.   There were areas for both of them that needed improvement in order to be placed in 1st grade this year.  Jason and I and the teachers worked with both of them, but we all decided that it was best to hold them back this year. It would have been too stressful for all involved to advance them to 1st grade this year. So we will be repeating Kindergarten for the 2011-2012 school year.

We told the kids last year before the end of the school year.  They both took the news well. They will still see their friends from their first year of Kindergarten at school and they will be making new friends this year.  They are both super excited about returning to school.  They will have different teachers and so there will be a different way of learning for each of them.

The slate is clean and it will be a fresh start for them.  We will start from scratch and hope to improve in all areas, not just the ones that needed work.  Henry and Emma are eager to get started and have been asking when school starts.  We meet the teachers and their classmates this Friday at a "play date/meet and greet" at one of our local McDonald's.  And then Monday is the first day of school.

We feel that it is the best decision for Henry and Emma.  We'd rather hold them back at this point, than later on when it will be more difficult.  It was a difficult decision to make, but we all agreed.  And they aren't the first kids to be held back nor the last.  So we'll be hitting the books hard(er) this year!

So there you have it, Kindergarten Take 2.

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

This morning started out bright and early at 6am. We got the kids up and dressed and got breakfast going. Neither one of them ate much which I'm sure we'll hear about later. I'm thinking that they were just a little excited. We were ready early and they kept asking when we were going to leave. We left the house about 7:30am and got to the school at 7:45am which is normal dropoff time. Jason took Emma to her classroom and I took Henry to his classroom. They are in separate classes,but in the same building. We got our picture taken and then went to pick a locker. Then came back inside and grabbed a seat at one of the tables. The first table that Henry picked had two boys that were playing with blocks. Before he got settled, I noticed him checking out the rest of the room. His eyes caught the table that had the bends with the animal figures just like the ones at home. He decided that he wanted to move to that table. And wouldn't you know it, it was a table full of girls! He settled right in and started playing right away. Jason said Emma settled right away as well. She headed over to the big table in her room that had the Lego bend and started building with the other kids. Jason checked on her and she told/asked him when he was going to leave. She was ready to be on her own. After I gave Henry a hug and kiss and double checked to make sure he was ok, I headed over and did the same with Emma. Total time for us to be there was 20 minutes. The kids did really really well and we are so proud of them! And I was surprised with myself as well...Mommy didn't cry. I do feel weird though. I'll go with Jason this afternoon to pick them up. We're both curious to see and know how their day went. So far no emails or calls from either teacher saying come pick up your kids! Hope everyone has a great first day of school! I'll post pictures when we get home and will also tell ya'll how their first day went.

Monday night-Both kiddos had a good day. They are tired and a little cranky, but that is to be expected until we get into the swing of things. They each got re-aquainted with at least one friend that they made at the meet and greet Friday night. They learned some of the school rules and practiced some of the everyday classroom activities that they will be doing. They have recess twice a day, once in the morning and then after lunch. And they eat lunch outside(picnic style) every day as long as it's not pouring down rain or freezing cold outside. They thought that was pretty neat.

They both looked so cute and so grown up when we went to pick them up today. I was anxious all day right up to the point when they came out and waited to be loaded into the car. I missed them a lot and they say they missed me, Daddy, Chance, Boots, Buddy, BG, and Ella. We got home and had a snack and talked about their day some more and then played for a bit before dinner. After dinner it was change into pjs, brush teeth, bedtime prayers and stories, and hugs and kisses goodnight. I wish I could say that they are passed out cold, but they aren't. So I'll be headed back into their room to get them settled again. Six am comes early and not only do our Kindergarteners need the rest, but Mommy and Daddy do too:)

Hope everyone had a great first day back at school!

***A few more pics from today are on my Facebook account. I took the small camera and accidently dropped it while getting Henry checked in so the only pics I have from school are on my phone. Once I get mobile blogging down, I'll post them here.***