It was the girls' first day of school. They did great, of course. Julez came home downright giddy, and Emz fought coming home at all. They like their teachers, they're excited and happy.

Emz is in 5th grade now, and this will be her first year to have homework on the weekend. It's only a "reading assignment" which may be simple (if the book is one of her choice) - or it may not (if it's chosen by the teacher, and Emz kicks and screams over how BORING it is). We'll see.

Julez is in 3rd, and has a teacher that Emz had 2 years ago. That feels nice. We know what to expect, we know the pros and cons (many more pros than cons), the teacher knows Julez, and Julez is already comfortable with her.

The school did a smart thing (surprise, surprise) in that they swapped lunch and recess. The kids used to go to lunch, and then line up near the door to go out to recess. You could go out (or line up?) as soon as you finished.

The result? Kids wouldn't eat. They would take 2 bites, and then line up to go outside. If the class was running late b/c they couldn't get their act together - they'd take one bite.

Now, they're going to recess first, instead of lunch. This way, they have more time to eat and they also go back to the classroom a bit more settled.

It's very freaky to me that Emz is on the verge of not being an elementary school student anymore. Next year is 6th grade. That's kind of old.

Their school is K-8, and the grades are grouped so that 5th and 6th stay together with the 1,2,3. Then when they hit 7th grade, they go to another building, which is also the Kindergarten building. I think this is very good - keeps the older kids away from the 5th and 6th graders that they would perhaps be otherwise prone to bullying, and allows them to have a feeling of caretaker and/or mentoring of the VERY little kids.

This set up is what makes me think that Emz can continue to be thought of as an elementary school student until the end of NEXT year. It's also the last year she's able to go to after school care. As of 7th grade, she's on her own.

Speaking of which --- beloved has had a good bit of success in a new field lately. A field he's wanted to enter for some time, and I am very happy for him and proud of him. He had a short-term thing going on over the summer which he was hoping to turn into a Foot in the Door, and he received an email yesterday that it is a real possibility that it will be the case.

I am very excited for him.

posted by Zuska @ 12:00 PM

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