My kids started back to school this week. I am down to one kid in the grade school with two middle schoolers now. Not only am I not sure where my summer went, I'm not sure where all these years have gone.
Briggs is in 3rd grade with Mrs. Coartney, who is new to Davenport but taught the past 10 years in Goodfield. He is very excited that George is in his same class this year. Briggs is easy going about school, and so far he likes his class, likes his teacher, and is happy to be back at school. He also thinks it's pretty great that he can walk to and from school on his own this year. This morning Zach offered to walk him to school, and he declined, preferring to walk by himself.
Adelie was so excited about going to the middle school this year. Her homeroom teacher is Mrs. Baner, who is new to Eureka this year. In 5th grade, Adelie will stay with her class while they move from classroom to classroom for each subject. Although her closest friends are not in her class, she is excited that Stanley, Trevor, Sadie, and Nella are in her class. Since Adelie is always ready to do whatever Staley is doing, she has been anxiously waiting her opportunity to go to the middle school since Staley started there, so she was ready and excited!
Of all the kids, Staley was the least excited about the return to school. Since she sees all her friends almost daily at cross country, the perks of returning to school were greatly diminished for her. Either way, she has had a smooth return to school and doesn't mind being back. Her homeroom teacher is Mrs. Bellini, who she really likes. This year Staley gets to choose her own electives (band and chorus), play sports (cross country, dance team, and track), and mix around with different students for all her classes. She likes that she gets a PE locker next to Opal to keep her cross country gear in, has her hallway locker next to Noel, and has friends in all her classes. It's going to be a good, busy year!
The return to school is always a little bittersweet for me. I enjoy having my kids home. I like the less hectic schedule of the summer. I enjoy getting to be spontaneous and do fun things with our free days. But I also know that the school routine is good for us. The kids like going to school, enjoy learning, relish the time with friends, and need a break from each other. And I always have a long list of to-dos that get pushed to the back burner when we are all home for the summer. (Like catching up on the blog, for example.) So although I miss the kids and the house feels weirdly quiet at the moment, the start of school has been good. We are all ready for another great school year!
