Preschool for Matteo

Matteo started preschool over a week ago and I'm only now posting his back-to-school photos. The truth is, by the time I had gotten my last child off to what is just one of the three schools my four children are attending this school year, back-to-school fatigue had already set in. It felt like a win just to get some pictures taken. Such is the life for a fourth child.

This fourth child had longingly watched his siblings start school and knew what he was due and walked into preschool like he owned the place. Because of his September birthday, he couldn't start Pre-K with Kiera and Soren through the St. Paul School District, so he's back for another year at the preschool he attended last year and with the same teacher. She adores him and eagerly accepted him into the Pre-K class.

When I arrived home from work after his first day, he was excited to show me his "All About Me" poster, which he and Nina had almost finished. 

Pre-K

My "twins" started Pre-K today.  Don't they look so ready and full of promise?

We opted to send Kiera and Soren to Pre-K at the school down the street from our house to not only take advantage of free tuition, but also the routine of going five afternoons a week and extra support and services for Kiera.  There are 20 students in the class and four teachers, one of whom is an early childhood special education teacher. A speech therapist working exclusively at the school will provide Kiera's speech services in the classroom. 

I came home at lunchtime so I could walk with them to their first day of school.  Soren told me he was both nervous and excited.

The students and their parents gathered outside, but when the teachers asked the kids to line up, Soren started to cry. Just as it is for his older brother, new places and new people are tough for Soren. As I comforted him, I was surprised at how teary-eyed I became, even though I knew that with time, Soren is going to love school. He settled down, and when the line of children started to file into the building, he sought out comfort from his sister by grasping her hand and walked semi-confidently side-by-side with her into the building.

Despite a couple of emotional moments during the rest of his afternoon at preschool, Soren gave the experience a thumbs up. He reported that he probably won't cry tomorrow, or maybe just a little.

Kiera was also excited to start Pre-K and if she was nervous, she didn't show it. She generally goes with the flow in new situations. Her teacher reported that she didn't communicate more than with some nodding of her head, which I wasn't surprised by given it's a new environment, but she was otherwise engaged in the activities and happy to be there.  When I asked her what she did at school, the most I got out of her was "played".

From these quiet and nervous beginnings, I can't wait to see what this year as in store for Kiera and Soren.

Oliver Starts First Grade

And just like that, summer is over.  Oliver started first grade today. We sent him off with a brand-new backpack and a beautiful Schultuete Nina had made him.  I think Oliver was bummed summer was over and possibly a little jealous of his siblings who haven't started school yet and are getting an extra week and a half of summer, but overall, he seemed happy to be back. 

Our au pair, Nina, with Oliver and the traditional German Schultuete she made him.

This year's first day of school was vastly more relaxed and tear-free compared with last year's. There's much less for Oliver to be anxious about since he knows the school. Unlike last year when there were very few familiar faces, he now has friends, including one particularly close friend who's in the same class this year.

The chaos of the first day of school was also alleviated by the school's decision to start kindergartners two days later, which meant fewer parents and children packing the hallways, and fewer children in tears. The morning felt unusually calm, and actually, quite anti-climatic.

We helped Oliver find his seat and when I asked if it was okay if his dad and I left, he quietly answered no.  Although he wasn't crying, I could tell he was nervous. His mood changed when he saw his good friend Atticus arrive and once they were seated together and laughing and catching up, Oliver indicated we could leave. A friend who dropped off her daughter right after we left reported back that Oliver was all smiles and excitedly waved at her and motioned for his classmate to join his group at the table. 

Despite being a little nervous when he first entered his new classroom, Oliver radiated confidence by the time we left.

Oliver's first grade teacher is Frau Zinnow, a native German. Parents of older students think very highly of her and my hope is that Oliver thrives academically and socially in her classroom.

Goodbye Kindergarten!

It wasn't that long ago that Chris and I returned from the hospital with a brand new baby and no freakin' clue what we were doing.  With nurses no longer attending to us, it took both of us (and a little bit of arguing between us) to figure out how to even feed him. From that awkward start, I find it hard to believe that our little baby completed kindergarten today.

I saw Oliver grow up a lot this year.  He went from being nervous about school and only liking it to truly loving it. He devours chapter books as fast as someone will read them to him, he discovered a love of drawing and his handwriting improved so much that had printed his name on a piece of his artwork and I assumed an adult had written it. He made friends on his own and developed such an attachment to his classmates that he told Chris he wishes he could be with the same 24 kids through college. 

Oliver received the "Sports Star of the Year" award from his gym teacher, who told me that Oliver displayed a good attitude each class, showed good sportsmanship and was always willing to try a new sport or activity.

It was not only a year of grow for Oliver, but also for Chris and me as parents.  As a friend with a first grader in the school told me, it takes nearly the whole year for parents to figure out how "to do kindergarten" and he promised me that next year will feel less chaotic. Grade school is a lot busier than preschool and it was an adjustment to keep on all the field trips, supplies needed and events to attend. There were times I felt like I was one step behind what was going on even though Oliver's teacher kindly sent out a detailed e-mail every week to keep us parents in the loop.  We also had to learn when to let go of things we weren't completely satisfied with and when to step in and advocate for Oliver. 

Some of the favorite parts of the year for Chris were the times he was able to pick Oliver up from school because Oliver hopped in the car pumped to tell his dad everything he had done that day and excitement radiated from him. My favorite part came near the end of the school year when I had a conversation with Oliver in German. It was a very simple one about what he did that day and an upcoming trip to the cabin, yet it was truly amazing.  Oliver can't read yet and wasn't formally taught German, yet he could have a conversation with me. Since I didn't marry a German, I never imagined I would have a child who would learn how to speak the language. 

Earlier this week the entire family attended an end-of-the-year program in Oliver's kindergarten classroom.  The kids sang us songs (in German of course) and each child received the gift of a book. Then we watched a slideshow of pictures from the school year, and as I watched the pictures of events I wasn't present for flash up on the screen and the children laughed and reminisced with each other, it was more apparent than ever that Oliver has entered the next part of his life where he's making his own memories separate from Chris and me.  

Each child received a book that reminded the teacher of him or her. Oliver received the Bremen Town Musicians, a famous German fairy tale, in honor of our au pair Celina.

In her last final remarks to her students and their families, Oliver's teacher broke down in tears talking about what a wonderful class she had this year and about much she learned from them about how to be good people. She spoke of her confidence that they will achieve great things in first grade and in all the years to follow.

These Three Are Off to Preschool

Oliver started kindergarten two weeks ago and my other three finally had their first day of preschool today.  It was an extra special day for Matteo, because after accompanying his three older siblings to school last spring, he got to walk into school, not as a younger sibling, but as a classmate.  Due to a mixed-age class and a teacher willing to be flexible with a September 1 age cut-off, (Matteo won't be three until the end of the month) Soren, Kiera and Matteo are all in the same preschool class this year.  When I learned that there are only nine kids in the class, their teacher pointed out that if my kids get sick, there goes a third of the class!

Aren't little kids with book bags just so adorable?

Celina dropped them off on their first day and reported that everything went very well.  Kiera and Matteo knew exactly what to do and were happy to be there.  Soren also did better than we expected since he only needed a few extra hugs and reassurance.  It warms my heart that they like school and am thankful for those three mornings a week they get to play with other kids their age. These next two years are precious to me because they're the only time these three will spend in the same class together before they're going to be split up across two grades. 

Oliver Starts Preschool

I remember reading a Family Circus comic in early September one year, probably when I was still in school myself, where the kids were peering solemnly out the bus's back window and one commented, "I didn't know mom knew how to do a back flip."  Now that I'm back at work and away from home during the day, sending Oliver off to school, even if for just a total of five hours a week, is less about liberation for me and more about giving him the chance to have fun and do something independent of mom and dad for the first time. 

Because of Oliver's fall birthday, we had limited preschool options since the programs for the youngest children require them to be three by September 1.  I respect the need for a cutoff and I wasn't going to try to push him ahead for preschool, but I still felt he was ready for something.  He loved ECFE last year, but that was only one night a week, and he still has five long days worth of finding an outlet for his energy and desire to be around other kids. Luckily, the St. Paul Park and Rec Department not only randomly operates a couple of preschools out of their rec centers, but offers a program for two-and-a-half-year-olds.  The school we picked is highly regarded by other parents we've encountered in the neighborhood and the best part of all, it's affordable at an incredible $100 a month.  That's a third, or even a fourth as much as many other preschools I looked into. 

Chris and I had been talking up preschool in preparation for Oliver's first day.  We got him his first bookbag, a red kid-sized version of the iconic L.L. Bean bookbag, talked to him about the schedule and what he could expect and reminded him that two of his friends would be in the same class.  At breakfast this morning, he seemed content, but I couldn't describe him as being excited.  I headed to work and an hour later the nanny texted me a picture of Oliver standing in front of the rec center building with his giant bookbag on his back. 

I surprised Oliver by picking him up and when I first spotted him as he emerged from his classroom, his lower lip quivered as he scanned the crowd of parents for a familiar face.  When he saw me, he matter-of-factly told me how he was "just a little sad" at the beginning and then told me how he cried.  His teacher overheard our conversation and confirmed that he did become upset when he was dropped off, but that he quickly cheered up and had fun the rest of the morning.  I couldn't get out of him much about his day, but he finally talked about playing with trucks, going to the gym to play with a ball and walking in a line to the gym.  But just like he'll eventually grow into his bookbag, I'm confident he'll grow to love going to preschool.