Belated School Update

Hi Friends!

This update is so overdue.

Charlotte loves Kindergarten. Even though everything has been review so far, she doesn't seem to mind. She loves homework, she loves computer lab, she loves checking a book out at the school library. Every day seems great.

Those of you who know Charlotte know just how happy she is all the time. I don't think I really appreciated it until I had other moms ask me if this is really how she is all the time. And it really is. Her happy nature just attracts people to her. I don't know where she gets it - I'm definitely much more mercurial. A few months ago, Chris and I were talking about this and Chris turned to her and said, "You really have a gift." And sweet Charlotte said: "Gift? What do I get?"

Last Friday I accompanied the three Kindergarten classes on their first field trip to Apple Hill, which is a place about 20 miles east of here where there are a few dozen different apple orchards. It was the first time most kids were on a yellow school bus. 

Charlotte and two of her soccer team friends

Charlotte had a great time. We went on a tractor ride through the apple orchard, saw apples being peeled and cored, and drank apple cider. Charlotte's favorite part was getting to eat an apple. (because we never get to eat them at home?)

Most of the other parents opted to drive their cars up there, but I was happy to sit on the school bus. It gave me an opportunity to get to know Charlotte's two teachers. Mrs. M declared Charlotte a "hoot" and Mrs. O' whispered to me that Charlotte is a really bright girl, which is always nice to hear from someone who has obviously seen many different students.

I asked them their opinion on the moving the cut-off day for Kindergartners to turn five from December 1 to September 1. Mrs. O' gave an emphatic thumbs' up. She said that the kids are just so much more prepared now. She told me that this was the first year that all of the Kindergartners knew how to write their names on the first day. Apparently, there used to be kids that had never been to preschool and were just lost. This was interesting because from a working parent's perspective, I would hate to have to spend money for an additional year. In any case, I'm glad neither Charlotte nor Phoebe will be in that predicament.

After riding the bus with the two teachers and chatting with them, I'm even happier that we were able to place her in that class. They really are great.

Next week, I'm starting my every-other-Tuesday volunteering in the classroom. I'm really thankful that my boss is so flexible and encouraging that I do this (he told me that you never get these years back, which definitely is true). But I'm also super excited about volunteering tomorrow for "Meet the Masters", which is an art history program the elementary school PTO puts on to teach the students about various "master" artists. Even though it's been 18 years, I still remember so much from my AP Art History class. I'm thrilled that this year Charlotte will learn about Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andrew Wyeth. If only I had known, I would have bought some prints for Charlotte from our trip to the Museum of Modern Art in New York back in June.

Georgia O'Keefe's Calla Lillies on Red - Georgia O'Keefe Museum

Henri Matisse Dance (I) - MOMA

Finally, every child gets a special day every couple months or so. On their special day, the kids get to choose something to share, and then that night, they get to bring home Corduroy the Bear. This is all cute, but then the kids have to "journal" about what they did with Corduroy, which really ends up being a homework assignment for the parents. Here are Charlotte's two Corduroy pictures from her special day this week.

Corduroy doing homework 

Corduroy getting ready for gymnastics

So there's a little update on our Charlotte. I'd better do one for the Phoeber-bieber pretty soon - she is quite the character!

Charlotte B. Goes to School!

The day we've been waiting for has finally arrived! Today is Charlotte's first day of Kindergarten.

First, let me give an update of Parent Orientation. I am so, so glad we got switched. These two teachers have been teaching at the school since it opened in 1990. In fact, one of the teachers pointed to a man in the back and said, "You sure look familiar!", and he said that he'd had her for Kindergarten in 1990! Amazing (his daughter is one of the girls on Charlotte's soccer teams). You can tell, just from hearing them talk, that they know exactly how to get the kids ready to learn. They're organized and have their system down. I'm not suggesting that the other teacher for the K-1 Combo wouldn't have been great, but it just wouldn't have been the same.

The teachers went over all the great things the school does. The kids are going on a field trip to Apple Hill at the end of September and then in October, they'll be going to a pumpkin patch. The PTO President explained that parents hated having their kids sell wrapping paper and cookie dough, so instead, we'll just be donating money to the school (fine by me - I hated selling all those things). The PTO funds, among other things, the librarian, the computer lab, and the ceramics program. Yes, the Kindergartners will get to do ceramics - the school has two kilns. I can't wait to see what Charlotte will make.

I was also thrilled to learn that six of the girls on Charlotte's soccer team are in her AM class.

Last Friday, KinderCare did a trial run for the Kindergartners who will be picked up by bus. They sent this adorable picture.

~

We've been preparing the past two days by getting her up earlier, so she can eat breakfast, get dressed, and be out the door by 7:40. We quickly learned that it's much easier to get Charlotte up and eating, than it is to get both girls up at the same time. Phoebe can still eat breakfast at Susan's, so there's no need for her to eat at home. Plus, if she sees that Charlotte's eating, she'll want to eat too, and she's a very slow eater.

While Charlotte eats breakfast, I start the long, painful task of brushing out her horribly tangled hair. She has very thick hair, but it's baby-fine and it gets tangled simply by doing nothing more than shaking her head. I bought her a satin pillowcase, which seems to help a little, but really, it just requires a gallon of detangler spray and extra time. It's awful for everyone involved.

I wanted to walk her to school on her first day because it seemed more special, and because I was working from home. Chris and Phoebe went in the car so they could leave right after. Charlotte was so excited that she walked much faster than usual. She loved seeing a baby bunny on the lawn of one of the houses we passed. She talked the entire time, all the while never letting go of my hand. I think I'll remember that most from today. She's such a big girl now, but she loves holding our hands.

Charlotte said as we were walking, "Can you believe it's the first day of Fall?" I said, "No, it's not the first day of Fall, Honey." Charlotte replied: "Oh, it's the last day of Summer?" I guess that's the problem with starting school in the middle of August. It feels like Summer is over.

We arrived at the school at 7:42, ten minutes before the official start of the day. Phoebe ran around the playground and also tried to get in other kids' photos by standing next to them. That girl. At 7:52, the classroom door opened and the two Kindergarten teachers stepped outside. They told all the kids to line up. (Phoebe, of course, tried to get in the line with the Kindergartners.)

We went in the classroom and helped Charlotte find her cubby. Apparently, she's not the only Charlotte in her class, so her cubby says Charlotte B. (The other Charlotte is Charlotte M.). Mrs. Moffitt, one of the two teachers, told us that there was a Charlotte B. in her class last year, so she's not even the only Charlotte B. at her school! (It made me flashback to my first day of Kindergarten, when I was one of two Stephanies in my class. I would forever, from that day forward, be known as Stephanie H.)

Charlotte B. got her name tag and went and sat down on the carpet. I was holding Phoebe, who desperately wanted to sit on the carpet. I told her we were leaving, so Charlotte gave each of us a half-hug and sat right back down. That was it. The room was super crowded, so it made sense that we leave, but it sure felt like we should hang around. Surely, she'd need us? This was, after all, a new experience for her. Nope, she never even turned around as we left.

After that, we dragged Phoebe away from the play structure. She said, as I was putting her in her car seat, "Bye, my school. Bye, my school!" Poor thing is going to have to wait three long years before she gets her chance at school.

~

When I went on a run during the mid-morning, I made a point to run by the school. The kids were outside for recess, and I saw Charlotte running around, happy as can be. I was across the street, so she didn't see me; and really, I didn't want her to see me. It felt a little silly to be checking in on her.

Even When You Do Everything Right...

Charlotte's first day of school is next Wednesday, and we're already dealing with a setback.

I diligently checked her school's calendar in January and noted the first day of registration on my calendar. I printed the required two utility bills (to prove residency), made a photocopy of Charlotte's birth certificate, and filled out information requesting an AM Kindergarten class. You see, Charlotte's school is small. It only has two straight Kindergarten classes, a morning class that starts at 7:52 and an afternoon class that starts at 11:17.

[I requested the AM Kindergarten for two major reasons. One, it's early enough that Chris or I could drop her off on our way to work. Two, she's not stuck at KinderCare basically doing nothing for three hours.]

On the day of registration, I left work early and was in line before it officially started. There were, at most, a dozen parents ahead of me. Some of them were told to come back later because they had brought the wrong proof of residency, but I had everything in order. I met briefly with the school nurse to talk about Charlotte's sesame seed allergy, and then I was told I'd hear from the school in late May or early June as to what class Charlotte was assigned to.

I think you can guess where this is going, but I'll lay it all out there anyway.

I hadn't received anything in the mail from the school, so when Chris and I got back from our trip to New York and Boston, I called the school. This was the beginning of July. The message on the school's voice mail was that the administrative office would be closed until July 28. I called the school district next, but they had no information on enrollment information. Finally, I emailed one of the moms from Charlotte's soccer team to see if she'd heard anything. Imagine my surprise when she wrote back and said that she had received a letter in the mail a few weeks before. A few weeks?!

There was nothing that could be done until the principal and administrative staff returned on July 28, but that didn't stop me from picturing the worst - was something wrong with her registration, had the notice got lost in the mail? What was going on?

So last week, on July 28, I called the school. I spoke with the principal's administrative assistant, who listened to my concerns and promised to get back to me within a day or two. (Do they not have enrollment info in their computers?). Two days go by, no return call, so I call her again.

Here are some of the questions I got: Was Charlotte a school choice request? No, we live right around the corner - it's our school. Was she in summer school? No, she's 5. Was she in Transitional Kindergarten last year? No, she just turned 5 - she wasn't eligible for T-K. Oh. Well, let me put you on hold.

Turns out? They had her paperwork, they just failed to assign her to a class. I asked if this was normal and she said, no, they must have overlooked her and that she'd have to talk to the principal about which class Charlotte would be assigned to. I reminded them that I had requested the AM class because of our working full-time.

The next day, Thursday, I got a call back from the Admin. We were at the post office in the middle of applying for the girls' passports (which is another fun tale of bureaucracy gone mad), and we learned she would be in the Kindergarten-First Grade Combo. It's basically a spill-over class because there were too many Kindergartners for two classes, but not enough for three.

Chris and I were livid. I mean, I could have registered her yesterday and ended up with the same result. The Admin assured me that Charlotte would have had only a 50/50 chance of being in the AM Kindergarten class anyway. I was too upset to point out that she had a 0% chance of being in our preferred class because she was never considered when they were assigning the classrooms. I asked if there was a waitlist for the straight AM class and for there to be a note that Charlotte get switched should room become available, but she said it would be unlikely since no one has called requesting a switch.

The K-1 combo starts at 8:22 (why can't they start at nice even times like 8 or 8:30?), which means that we have to drop Charlotte off at KinderCare for all of half an hour before she turns around and pretty much heads back almost to our house. It costs us an additional $100 a month for paying for before and after care, as opposed to just after school care. And Chris is very concerned about how a teacher manages to teach Kindergartners and First Graders at the same time. (There are 13 Kindergartners and 15 First Graders).

We also learned that there is a Parent Orientation this Thursday. When I went by this morning to pick up the letter that was sent to each child, it was dated June 3. June 3. Today is August 4. Good thing our babysitter is available at such short notice, so both of us can go.

What a nightmare. The worst part is that everyone - parents, teachers at KinderCare, neighbors - says that the best thing about this school are the two Kindergarten teachers. They've been there since the school opened over twenty years ago and now Charlotte doesn't get to experience having them.

As for Charlotte? Well, she's excited that she's in a class with one of her friends from KinderCare and has begged me not to switch her. And I know she'll thrive wherever she's placed, she just has that kind of personality.