Gabriel picked out this super hero shirt to wear on the first day of school because of the the glitter on it...that's my boy. I let him do all the picking within in his size; he wanted a couple size 10 shirts that were huge. I was stressed that I wasn't going to be able to go "back to school" shopping with him. I'd always planned on getting a few things, to augment his hand me downs, that were special for just him. I teeter on the edge of depression and furious anger these days about the financially slow time we're in right now, especially when I have to forgo plans I've had for many years. We were able to pull it off courtesy of my mom. It was frustrating to have to mooch for it, but at least all Gabriel knew was that we were out, just the two of us, getting some special stuff just for him. Watching a 5 year old boy shop is hilarious. I'm not very good at picking clothes he would like, and now I'm grateful he's old enough to go pick out things he likes all by himself. I look forward to, someday when times are better, being able to turn him loose in a store and just watching him in action...so entertaining.
Here he is by the sign in front of his new school. He kept dancing around and wouldn't hold still for the picture. I told him to be still and he said, "I can't the ants are going to eeeaaattt me." I promised to take it really fast if he was still. This is what we got. The full picture turned out well....I don't want the school name online though. I will say I got him in the most fantastic program ever! I'm so happy we were able to get him in here.
At the orientation before school started the kids made these while the parents were given all the information they needed. When he told me all about making it he didn't know the name for pipe cleaner so he started describing it as the long, bendy, fuzzy sticks. He's pretty good at describing things so you can figure out what he's talking about. Random side note: The camera we were using on this day is not very good. It has facial recognition but it never seems to work right. However, when I took a picture of a picture it found his face and right away. I wished it worked that well on real live people.
Here he is with his teacher. Isn't she a cute young thing? Her classroom is fantastic! He did really well on the first day. By the second day he was already in trouble. I'd hoped to get at least a week out of him before we had to start addressing behavior issues. Oh well, it's not to be. On the second day, about half way through, he stopped participating and refused to join in again for the rest of the day. I was worried that would happen in an all day setting. Half day would be ideal for him, but that's not the world we're in anymore, so he's going to have to adjust. We had a good talk about it and he did much better today; his teacher said that he only needed one reminder. I told him I was so happy that he made good choices and only needed one reminder to keep making good choices, and that I was proud of him. He looked up so excited and said, "Yeah I only had one time out today!" He was so pleased with himself for only having one timeout. My mouth said, "Wow, it sounds like you're making much better choices and controlling your body better. Good job, thank you so much!" My mind was thinking, "Are you kidding me?? It's only the third day of school and you've already had a negative report to a parent and a timeout. What the heck?!?!" What's a mom to do? I rubbed his fuzzy head, gave him a kiss and we headed home. He was so excited to see his brothers...it was sweet. Garrett excitedly said, "I want to go to kindergarten too!" Gabriel responded, "You have to have two more birthdays then you'll be old enough." He was right on. The math comprehension this kid has is crazy...it's definitely NOT from his Momma...he really understands addition and subtraction concepts (working in numbers under 5 or so). I'm glad that it seems to be a subject that he understands and will come easy to him; it'll be a nice time for he and his Dad to spend time together because by second grade it'll be over my head. {:-D
I didn't cry on his first day (why is this underlined? I can't get rid of it...Oh well, who cares) He's been enough of a handfull that many of these big life transitions have been easier. His first time to the nursery at church...not hard to leave him. His first time going off to pre-school all by himself...not hard to send him off (except his big brown nervous eyes did tug on my heart strings a little). His first day at kindergarten...not hard to have him go. I DO worry about the social skills kinks, but that's not something to cry about...just something to fix. I am a little weirded out that I have a kid old enough for school though.
We love ya Gabriel, good luck in this new adventure! You're a smart kid and have so much going on in that head of yours I know you'll do great!
4 comments:
Super cute pictures! Ahh, the joys of starting school. I know he will do really well. These little ones just need time to adjust to ALL DAY kindergarten. It is hard on all of them. But when I talked to him about school, he seemed excited. And his teacher sounds really neat!
It is humbling to see how fast your little ones get into school! It is nice to have the quiet time with the younger ones. What is really weird, is when the last one goes to school and what do you do with all this time. You find that it is different to not have the interruptions and all the "help"!
When did they grow up? And when did we grow up? :D Gabriel always reminds me of Logan. He would be going to all day kindergarten next week if his bday was earlier in the year. Instead, he's going to half day pre-k. I fully expect the same kinds of reports from his teachers in the first few days. These spirits are so strong, they won't do anything just because they're told! :D
Your kids are so cute! I wouldn't worry too much about the social skills and behavior. My son was a lot like that and he had an excellent kindergarten teacher who lovingly helped him learn how to behave in class.
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