Kristian’s started the 1st grade on Wednesday. In addition to this being a major milestone (big kid grades), she had to start at a NEW school that is a very different demographic from St. Richards. As much as we would have loved to have Ms. Kristian return to St. Richards, financially we could not do it; so we had to do research to find the a new school for her. We started this search really late in the game (we kept thinking we could somehow do another year at St. Richards) and I have to warn other parents out there NEVER EVER NEVER wait to the last minute to switch schools; especially if you want to find the best one. The school that we would love to place her in requires an application and they are completely booked. Our second option is Greenbriar Elementary and THAT is where Kristian is now attending.
Kristian’s initial reaction to having to switch schools was less than stellar: she cried for two hours and that ended with her crying herself to sleep. Because of this previous reaction, Stan and I were a little concerned about her reaction on the first day. Kristian had told us that she was excited about the new school, but we still were a little leery.
This first day of school rolls around and we set out; the traffic around the school is horrible (it took us 15 minutes to make a five minute drive) and the traffic in the school was bananas. Because the teachers were meeting the kids out by the buses, any kids that were being dropped off waited outside of the classroom. We waited with the other parents and children until about 8:30 and Stan and I were just speechless. At St. Richards everything is so ordered and quiet, and this seemed like a child/parent explosion went off in Greenbrier. When Kristian’s teacher arrived, she spoke with the children in small groups about finding their seats and NOT opening their backpacks. Once she walked into the classroom she never looked back. We stood outside the window looking in taking pictures of the back of her head hoping she would turn around and give us a wave…but no such luck and we have the pictures to proof it.
We thought Kristian would get to ride the bus home for the first time, because she was going to stay with Granna (my mother, Granny is Stan’s) who lives 5 minutes away, but the school did not want to confuse bus drivers during the first weeks of school with students that weren’t going to consistently ride that bus. I had to make a quick call to Granna telling her that she would have to pick up Kristian from school. But Kristian’s reaction was priceless (they were a lot of “Oh man’s”). When I picked her up that afternoon and asked her how her first day went she said, “AWESOME”. She made four new friends, but she couldn’t remember their names, two brown and two Spanish (my kid refuses to view this world as black and white; Afro-Americans are brown, Caucasians are peach, Asians are yellow and Hispanics are Spanish and you better not tell her any different). So she had a great day and Stan and I worried for nothing.
I have stated before that I’m lucky to have the most resilient kid who really rolls with the punches and the way she handled her first day of big kid school in a totally different school with a totally different demographic of students…maybe I’m doing something right.
My kid standing outside the school ready to begin the day…
Me without lipstick (my Mom will probably kill me), waiting to kiss my "baby doll" goodbye
The twins…I know I carried her, but there’s nothing the eye can see to prove it.
Red Oven Creations 