Back to school

 

School started yesterday and that means mornings just got crazy in our house!

 

This school year brought some exciting changes for our family- Riley moved to a new building (middle school) and Aidan is starting school in the 4K program (at our elementary school) which makes Isaac the big brother of the building.

 

 

First out the door is Riley! Now at the middle school, as a 6th grader, he starts school at 7:25 (dang that is early for a mom that works 2nd shift!).



 

 Most days he plans to ride his bike (while he can) but on band days and once the weather gets crappy I have to get up early to drive him- ugh!

 

Isaac is excited for this year - starting 3rd Grade! Isaac was a bit worried as he didn't know this teacher at all but after meeting her last week at open house night you could see a sense of relief- his whole mood and body language changed after meeting her. I think we all loved her instantly and after talking with her a bit we KNOW it is going to be a great year!

Isaac starts the school day at 8:15 so he gets to sleep in a bit compared to Riley.

 

Then there is Aidan- he has been excited for this day for at least a year. He is starting in the 4K program and will be in the same building as Isaac. He starts at 8:00 and is done just before lunch. Lucky for me I am able to drop Isaac off a bit early so I can make one trip to the school in the mornings to drop them both off. We already knew Aidan's teacher from when Isaac was in her class (when Aidan was a newborn- crazy how time flies).

 

Aidan was super excited to go visit his classroom and meet Mrs. Lang during open house. He wasn't so excited to have his picture taken WITH her though.

 



Aidan loved playing in his classroom but wasn't sure about meeting his teacher.

 He spent some time checking out the classroom and found lots of fun stuff to play with. After leaving open house he was even more excited about going to school. He talked about it all weekend!

 

The first day of 4K the parents go with the child for orientation and you spend about an hour at school. Aidan couldn't wait to get there. Once we were in the classroom and they were asked to join their teacher on the rug he went without hesitation. After a couple songs and stories the para took the kids out to the playground so the teacher could visit with the parents about what to expect this year. Once again Aidan went outside without hesitation. He was excited to get to play on the playground.

 

Aidan at home, Aidan in front of his school, and Aidan with his daycare friend- Sophia

 Once the parents were done we collected our kids from the playground and made our way around the building to see where drop-off and pick-up takes place. After that we were done for the day. On the way home Aidan asked why he didn't get to stay longer! He kept saying how much he loved it and couldn't wait to go back.

 

This morning was a whole different story for Aidan. Once he realized that I wasn't going to stay at school with him he didn't want to go back. I took him to the drop-off area and he wouldn't go near his teacher and wouldn't look at me for a picture.

Right after these photos were taken is when the tears started. I had to hold him because he kept trying to get away and he cried quietly on my shoulder until the teacher said it was time to go in. At that point I had to put him down, make sure the teacher had a hold of his arm, and implement the turn, walk away, and not look back method! I have done this numerous times over the past few years as he "plays" this game with us at the Y too. Over the years at the Y I have gone back and peeked in and he is always fine. The staff have also told us that he is fine as soon as we are out the door so I feel like an expert on the method! Still- it makes me feel like people think I am a horrible parent for not trying to make him feel better! I know that in the end that is just going to drag it out longer and make it harder on him. This way he knows what to expect and he knows that when I say I am leaving that is what is going to happen- even if it is hard.  It is hard to watch him go through that but once I changed my attitude it got easier. I finally looked at it in the way that he is in a safe environment with people who are looking out for his best interest so it is a great way for him to learn to be independent and to experience new things and new people. He is starting a new chapter in his life and this is just the beginning of so many wonderful new experiences to come! It is only going to be hard for a little while and before I know it he will be in 6th grade like his older brother!

 

Aidan being in school Monday-Thursday mornings means I need to figure out a new morning routine for myself now that I don't have my "little buddy" here. It will be different for a while but I am sure I will get use to it and the 3 hours or so that he is in school will feel like it goes by in a flash.

 

I am sure there will be a bit of an adjustment period for all of us but right now it feels like we are off to a decent start and it looks like it is going to be a great year for everyone. There are going to be bumps in the road but those bumps are what keeps things interesting, make us stronger and help us learn to be flexible.  

 

 

Once again I am late on posting my Weekly Chase! Better late than never, right?

 

 

Here is a look at my goals for last week and how I did on them:

Run 4 times-  3 out of 4- missed my 2 mile

8/27- 4.02 miles on the treadmill at the Y due to heat (38:26)

8/29- 4.25 very hot and sticky miles (43:48)

9/1- 6.1 very hot and sticky miles before it cooled off in the afternoon (1:00:39)

Cross train 2 times- Done! Biked 2 times.

8/26- 11.43 miles

8/31- 10.25 miles

Daily plank- Success!!

8/27- 1:10

8/28- 1:15

8/29- 1:30

8/30- 1:35

8/31- 1:35

9/1- 1:40

Try 1 new healthy recipe- This didn't happen but we did make good choices and had healthy meals!

Continue to keep my food and workout journal-  Success! I have documented everything that I have eaten and all workouts. It helps so much to be able to look back at it and to see patterns and progress! Now I just need to get better about measuring out my food so I can document exact amounts.

Make the most of the last week of summer vacation!- Success! See my post about Our SUP Adventure.

 

It is a new month and that means there is a new challenge for the Weekly Chase!

 

The challenge for the month of September is to try something or learn something new each week.

 

Here are my goals for this week:

Run 4 times

Cross train 2 times

Strength train 2 times

Daily plank

Try 1 new healthy recipe (challenge goal)

Try 1 new workout or class (challenge goal)

 

 

Are your kids excited to be back in school? How did it go going back and how is it going now?

 

What are your goals this week?

 

What is something new that you would like to learn about or try?