Normally, I would carefully work on choosing a back-to-school outfit with them. But David is a boy. He will be perfectly happy wearing one of his two thousand Star Wars shirts. Besides, he refuses to wear any shirt without "something big" on the front, so, really, I'm not going to bother trying to wrestle him into a nice preppy shirt. (I gave up last year.) And he can wear a pair of his many old, faded shorts. These are all the same shorts he's been wearing since he was four. That's how skinny he is. (People, please please make me get rid of his shorts! I'm sure they'll still fit around the waist next summer too, but another summer with them would be just wrong.) Anyway...Star Wars T-shirt, faded shorts. Check. David's all set.
Mary, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to go school clothes shopping. But that girl can just wear one of her new summer outfits. We had to go mid-summer shopping for Mary. This was our first summer out of the toddler section, and I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the summer. For one, I completely underestimated the shortness of the shorts in the girls section. So all summer Mary's underpants have been hanging out the bottom of her shorts. Frankly, I was too sick to care, and, besides, she's only four (and it's not like we managed to get out of the house much). But come August, it occurred to me she was going to have NOTHING to wear during those first few warm, summery weeks back at school--unless she was going to be showing off her bum cheeks to the whole school. So I basically bought her a whole new summer wardrobe, one that keeps her bare cheeks and panties out of sight. As long as the weather stays warm, she'll have plenty to wear. So no new school clothes.
As far as school supplies go...I've been just as lazy. I am normally super uptight about buying EXACTLY what is on the supply list, driving around town to five different stores in search of the teacher's preferred brand or size. But this time I decided I was making one trip to our nearby Target, and it would just have to do. When I arrived, I realized the major flaw in my plan. I should have made my one trip to Target six weeks ago. Everything was picked over and out of stock. (Why is it not reasonable to expect to be able to do your school supply shopping the week before school?) But I took a deep breath, recommitted myself to making it work, and got to work with my favorite shopping companion, Mary. Trudging back and forth between the back to school area and the office supplies, we managed to cobble together a near-complete list. So the markers are the wrong color, the erasers the wrong brand, the pencils crappy, and the glue sticks too small...I don't care! This is a monumental achievement for the OCD/Type-A/perfectionist/people-pleaser person in me! Yeah, David's teacher might be a little annoyed. But any therapist would be extremely proud.
As far as Mary's school supplies...nada. It aligned perfectly with my laziness. (Though we did have to write a big fat supply check to her school. Ouch. But, honestly, less painful than buying the supplies yourself.) We did, however, have to buy her a lunchbox since she will be going full day. Which was no small matter. Her school aims for waste-free lunches. We're definitely zip-lock bag/juice box/paper napkin folks in this house. But I can be a team player. So we had to find a kid-friendly, dishwasher-safe (my requirement!!) bento-type system and a lunch box it would fit in, all in pretty colors of course. Definitely more work than one trip to Target.
The last step before starting school (except for a couple of important-ish things I'll take care of this weekend) was visiting their classrooms. Yesterday morning we stopped by Mary's school for a tour of the new building. It's beautiful!! I was feeling a little grouchy during the 25 minutes it took to get there (ugh), but the new location is lovely and the building is wonderful. We checked out the whole school, but the best part was seeing Mary's classroom. It's big and bright with a gorgeous view of a Wisconsin prairie. Anna, Mary's teacher, happened to be there working in the room, and as soon as she saw Mary she immediately ran to her and scooped her up. Anna loves Mary so much. I almost started crying when I saw how safe and loved Mary felt in Anna's arms. Needless to say, Mary loves Anna so much too.
Mary is going to have a great year. She's been going to a Montessori school for the past two years with the same teacher and same kids. She was in what's called the Children's House, which is for 3-6 year olds, and it's really meant to be a three year experience. The first two years the child attends every morning. And the 3rd year is the capstone experience. It's called Extended Day, and it's the Montessori equivalent of Kindergarten. After the younger two-thirds of the class leaves each day, the older children stay for the afternoon. They are a small, intimate group, of about 7-12. They spend the afternoon refining reading, writing, and math skills; cooking; taking nature walks; sewing; listening to chapter books; working on projects. They also learn how to be leaders and how to help the younger kids.
It's an experience we realized we want Mary to have. It will be a change, her being gone all day. And I have no doubt the transition will be bumpy--she will be so tired after school! But she is ready. It doesn't feel like sending her off to kindergarten though. She will be with a teacher who has already loved her for two years. She will be with good friends. Though the building is new, the classroom feels comfortable and she's already familiar with the materials and methods and routines. It's a relief not to be sending her into the unknown.
I'm excited to send David off to school too, for him. We visited his classroom last night and dropped off his school supplies. He got a WONDERFUL teacher! (David had a brand new teacher last year, and, while I have the deepest sympathy for new teachers, I was ready for David to have someone more experienced this time around.) I have heard she's the best, and, since she was one of the science fair judges last year, I got to know her a little, and I can see why she's so beloved. As soon as we walked in the door, she recognized him (her classroom was across from his last year) and gave him a big hug. My heart melted--he's an affectionate kid, and I felt like he was going to be in good hands.
Also, David is in the same class as his best friend Bailey. Again! That's three years in a row! I know a few other BFFs that have been in classes together for years at his school. I just don't think it's a coincidence. I think the principal and teachers make an effort to keep good friends together. In fact, David has a number of other good friends in his class too. Hooray! If it's a good, healthy friendship, why not allow the kids to foster it and be happy at school? That is so different from how I grew up--they always made a concerted effort to use class assignments as a way to break up groups of friends. (Why??? Looking back, it seems so cruel and pointless. Obviously you need to separate kids who are truly disruptive or in some kind of dysfunctional relationship, but if it's a normal happy friendship, why try to break it up?) Apparently, David's school is keeping up with the latest research. Just another thing I really like about his school: They encourage friendship, instead of fearing it. (For example, you don't see things in the classrooms like having the seating chart be "shy girl," "rowdy boy, "shy girl.")
So, now that I have rambled enough, I am coming around to my point. I think this is going to be a very good school year for my kids. I know there will be bumps along the way, but overall I expect it be a positive experience with lots of learning, growth, and friends. That is why it is hard for me to be sad about David and Mary going back to school. I really will miss them, but they have greater things waiting for them.
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By the way, next year, when they're both at a new school in a new state I'm sure I will be a WRECK!! Oh, it's going to be so hard. I'm saving all of my tears for then.
By the way again, we have no idea what Mary will do next year. She'll be quite young for first grade--her birthday's not until October--but it's hard to imagine her going to kindergarten next year, especially if it's only half day where we move. I love Montessori, but not the tuition. So who knows. We try not to play up the "you're going to kindergarten this year" thing, in case she does go to regular public school kindergarten next year. But most of her friends are starting kindergarten this year, so we do tell her she's doing kindergarten too but it's called Extended Day at her school. And that she might do regular K next year but maybe first grade but really we don't know so just have fun this year and we love you a lot. She takes it all in stride. (Probably the only thing she takes in stride.)
