Back to (a new) school

Bode and Gianna started school today.  I tried to prep them yesterday, interspersing info about their new school and new teachers in our regular conversations throughout the day.  I didn't want to overwhelm them! They seemed excited to start...yesterday.  This morning, it was a different story.  First, I told Gianna that she couldn't wear a dress (not practical).  Then, when Gianna saw all of the gear she had to wear (boots, rain pants & jacket, down jacket, hat, mittens), she said that she didn't want to go to school after all.  And then of course Bode chimed in that he wasn't interested in school, either. I folded, and let Gianna wear a dress.  But I didn't compromise on the gear!

Finally, with a lot of prodding and dressing-them-myself (and yes, I'll admit: a bit of screaming on my part), they were ready to go.  We were late. Arriving late on our very first day of school, quelle horror!  I know it's not a big deal but I just hate to be late, any time.  And really, I know it's my fault for not allowing more time for resistance and slow-to-get-dressing from the children.

Once at the school, Bode immediately joined his class with no prompting from anyone.  But he tends to follow kids around like that. It wasn't until I went up to him much later to say goodbye that he resisted, and told me that he wanted to go home. I hugged him and told him that I would pick him up from school soon.   

Gianna was frozen in place as soon as we arrived, never acknowledging the new teachers who welcomed her. She ignored all requests to join the class, standing outside the group and just looking at everyone.  I stayed with her longer, but eventually, I had to make the break!  I told her that I was leaving, and she whispered, "I don't want you to go," and that broke my heart.  I promised to be back soon, and asked her to remember what she had for snack so that she could tell me when I picked her up.

The school is different from their other schools in NY (of course). They have to bring a lunch from home. This is fun and challenging for me!  I love the idea right now, the challenge of packing a lunch for them every day, but the other part of me is not accustomed to packing a meal. (and from what I've been told, lunch-packing gets old, real fast!) So I have to learn the ropes on what travels well, what sits well, and what packages they can open by themselves. The school is "zero waste," which means that we are asked not to pack anything in disposable packaging. (My guess is that most schools are going this route, or have already adopted this policy?)  The containers, the napkins, utensils, etc. must not be disposable.   It's like the old backpacking motto: pack in, pack out. It's not insanely hard or anything. But I did have to go to the store to stock up on Thermoses and cloth snack bags.  We have a few, but not enough (and not in small, kid-friendly sizes but in large, RWF-eating sizes).  I had the children try to open some other containers at the store, but learned quickly that Gianna was not able to open most containers with snap-on or screw-top lids. So I'm relying mainly on cloth bags for her lunch right now, plus the Thermos for hot meals.  I want her to be able to eat everything easily, and not have to wait for a teacher to help her unpack her food.  Today's lunch (at their request):  pasta with peas, olive oil and Parmesan, Goldfish crackers and cheese, blackberries (for Bode) and a banana (for Gianna). Tonight I'm making lentil soup for dinner and absolutely plan on using leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Gianna's class starts first at 9:30 and Bode's class starts at 9:45.  The teachers have agreed that Bode may join in Gianna's class until his class starts. This is tremendously helpful because I don't want to stand around with Bode for 15 minutes (with Nico in tow).   Gianna's class also ends 1 hour before Bode's class lets out.  This means that I will be picking up Gianna and running an errand or hanging out at a nearby coffee shop before picking up Bode.  After awhile, if I'm feeling especially ambitious and energetic, I plan to take Priscilla, Nico and Gianna for a walk while we wait for Bode...but that won't happen for awhile.

I'll report back soon on how school goes for everyone.

Happy Tuesday, friends.

xo