First Day of Kindergarten

His first day is officially done.  I think he had a good day and I have a hunch that once he knows the routines and is familiar with the school and his teacher, he will love it.  June is like me in the sense that he needs to know how things will run before he's comfortable in a setting.  He's more outgoing than me, but as his old pediatrician said, he's an ice cube.  June freezes in new situations and it isn't until he (on his own) melts that he can really relax and enjoy something.  

He got on the bus hesitantly this morning but without tears.  He climbed on, sat down, and was ready to go as the bus pulled away.  at 3:40, I got him off the bus and he bounded off, happy as a clam.... without his backpack.  He left it in the bus, so he (against the flow of kid traffic) attempted to get back on the bus to retrieve it.  There must have been 30 kids getting off the bus at the time... June started crying as he tried to reach the first seat, and his back pack.   Thankfully the bus driver saw him and stopped the kids so he could grab his bag.  He came off the bus again, in shambles.  He was completely a mess, tears everywhere.   Poor peanut.  

The silver lining is that he said that was the worst part of his day... he enjoyed music class, a lot.  He wasn't able to eat much of his snack because he couldn't find which cubby he put it in, but he loved that they colored.  I think each day will get more interesting for him.  He has art tomorrow and June is so into drawing and coloring right now, I think he will adore art class.  I'm personally excited for homework to start coming.  I know he's going to learn so much this year.  

(pre-bus silliness)

(it wouldn't be normal without some wrestling...)

So anyway, I'm excited to see what this year brings.  I enjoyed doing PA Cyber last year, but it felt too... controlled, yet impersonal.  I felt like a little fishy in a big sea, but at the same point, I felt like we were always watched.  They had a weird attendance policy (which I ignored, ha) where you had to go on a random site and "click around for 10 minutes" in order to count attendance.  Um, no.  How 'bout you monitor his online Little Lincoln site where he's ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK and count that as attendance... or what about watching the actual submitted work come in and count that? Hm.  

It'll be interesting to see how this year differs from last because I'm fairly certain the curriculum will be very similar.  I'm looking forward to comparing and contrasting last year and this one.  For this year, I'm looking forward to being a cheerleader and homework helper but not in charge of June's core education.  I still feel like I will homeschool at some point... taking it year by year, but right now being 29, married 6 years, with a 4th child on the way, I'm just thankful that I have the option to pass on the responsibility of June's education for this year.  Our life has TAKEN OFF and hasn't stopped since 2006.  School is one thing that I don't have to shoulder (for June) this year.  I'm excited to see him learn, do the homework with him, and be involved in his school, but I'm glad it's not my sole responsibility right now.

Now that said, you know me, the wheels are already turning for future years.  Susie Susie Susie!  I just want to be ready... what if we do homeschool next year?  I need to be prepared. ;)   I have PA Cyber under my belt, but I don't know if I would do PA Cyber again.  I may consider a different cyber charter school... I didn't mind the curriculum, I didn't like the procedures or I have a gammet of Catholic curriculum that I could  (majorly) save up for and do.  I also could piece together my own curriculum too, which may be the most appealing, but also the most work and still not be the most cost effective approach.  The teacher in my longs to be utilized, uber organized and planned out.  The mommy in me just wants to get through a day with my sanity in tact, so we'll see where the cards lie.  All those options (as well as keeping June in school for now) swim around in my head... in the back... but still there.  For now, I am going to do my best to be a great mama to a Kindergartner and try to take advantage of the 1 on 1 time I get with Josh while June is in school.  

Welcome 2012/2013 school year!