Couldn't be more pleased

First Day of School

I couldn't be more pleased about our exerience with public school so far. Austin loves it, and we are all settling into a daily routine which basically looks like this:

• I try to get up between 5 and 6 so I can get my day started before everyone gets up.
• The boys get up at 7:00 a.m. They eat breakfast, and Austin gets ready for school.
• Austin usually has half an hour or so of free time before school starts at 9. Today he watched an X-men cartoon.
• I either work or run errands or clean the house, etc. until it is time to pick Austin up. Austin is technically a walker, which means I park my car in the neighborhood and walk him to the entrance of the school. David and I did take the stroller one afternoon to pick him up, but it was too hot! When the weather cools down a bit we will probably do more walking to and from school since it's not that far (about 1 1/2 miles roundtrip). When it is hot, though, we'll probably park and walk. I know it sounds silly to do it like that, but I'm not ready to do the whole carpool thing yet. I've seen the carpool line, and it is really long, and the school has a no idling policy, which means it would be very hot and boring sitting in the car for half an hour waiting for Austin. The biggest perk of Austin being a walker is that I've been able to meet some other moms outside the school when we are all waiting for our kids to come out. I'm getting excited about this opportunity to reach out to lost people. Pray for me that I will be bold and not just blend in!
• Austin gets home around 4:00, strips off his shoes and socks and runs wild with David until dinnertime.
• I usually give the boys a bath, have Austin work on his homework page (which I like because it helps me to see what he is learning in school) and get the boys in bed around 7:00 or 7:30. Austin hasn't actually fallen asleep that early yet, but I'm hoping his little internal clock will adjust to his new bedtime soon.

It's a busy routine for Austin, but really, he is thriving on the structure. I've never been good at having my kids on a schedule at home, so I think he really enjoys his days at school.

It's like pulling teeth trying to figure out what he does all day, but here are a few things I've gleaned from our conversations:

• Austin has made a new friend named Molly. He talks about her every day on the way home from school, so I think they play together a lot. I've been trying to get him to introduce me to her, but have been unsuccessful thus far. Of all the kids he has talked about these past four days, Molly is at the top of the list. I'm very curious to see what Austin is like around the kids in his class.
• Discipline in the classroom- I guess a kid got sent to the "office." (Austin has no idea who the principal is, but somehow he knows that the "office" is a place that you go when you are bad.) Austin has assured me multiple times that he is good at school. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and see how he really behaves in class. At least I haven't had any bad reports from the teacher :) Austin told me once that there is a "quiet carpet" in his class and that sometimes the class has to put their heads on their desks (He's learning the injustice of the whole class being punished for the wrongs of a few.)
• Funny story- Austin said something about somebody getting sent to the office for a spanking, and I was like "Whoa, they give spankings at school these days?" Austin said, "No, they call the parents to come spank their kids." Ha!  I asked him where he heard that from, and he told me he just came up with it on his own. Cracked me up!
• Austin's class has twenty or so students and a teacher and a full-time teacher's assistant. Austin loves his teacher's assistant, Rachel. She is young and little like my sister Megan. I can just imagine him going up to her all day asking her to play with him. Ha! Well, on the walk to the car today, he told me that Miss Rachel was his favorite. After probing a little bit, I found out that Miss Missy (his teacher) got "serious" today when a girl got in trouble for "messing around" with her backpack in class. Miss Missy is very fun and loving toward the kids, so I think he was a little surprised to see her get "serious" at anybody. It makes me chuckle inside to hear him talk after school.
• Austin learned something new about manners. As the child of two "yankees," I was never brought up to say "Yes, Ma'am." I know this is a shock to you southerners, but people in the north don't say "ma'am." It might actually be considered kind of rude to some. Anyway, we've always taught Austin to say "yes, Mommy" or "yes, Daddy" but we've never stressed saying "yes, ma'am." Anyway, to the point... We were in the car on the way home one day, and Austin answered a question by saying "Yes, Ma'am" with a strong emphasis on the "ma'am." I thought it was cute because he was obviously proud of himself for saying it. He told me that it was a nice thing to say "yes ma'am." I asked him if his teachers told him to say it, and he said no. The other kids say it, and he just started saying it too. I was tickled pink that he learned a good habit from his classmates. I guess some peer pressure is a good thing :)
• The class is still getting settled into their daily routine, but I think eventually they will have gym a few days a week, music/art one or two days a week and Chinese class three day a week. Yes, my kindergartener will be learning Chinese, which strange but interesting. He also goes outside every day to play on the playground. He really likes recess time. I think he plays pirates with Molly.
• Austin has had four days of class so far, and I think most of the time has probably been spent learning rules and routines, which is fine. That's probably the most exciting part about Austin going to public school- He's learning how to sit still in a classroom, listen to a teacher, obey rules, etc. It's great!
• I've got my first PTA meeting tomorrow night. Hoping I'll make some new friends.

You have no idea how happy I am that this public school thing is going well. I've been reading some Christian books lately that have reinforced our decision, and I am excited about being able to influence our local public school with the gospel of Christ. Pray for us!