the first full week

The first full week of full-day kindergarten has successfully come to an end. It was mildly adventurous, and not without its ups and downs, but we all survived and even enjoyed it. On Monday the report from Garrett's teachers, who I now know are named Ms. Coppola (as in "Francis Ford") and Ms. Ciulla (pronounced "Chew-la"), was that he cried a lot. But it was a big and overwhelming day -- his first full one -- filled with lots of activities like gym and a fire drill. Also, someone apparently took his juice box at lunch (I suspect because, in the confusion of a loud and chaotic cafeteria, Garrett unwittingly said it was okay) and that made him miserably sad. But we had a talk about how to avoid that in the future and he took a much-needed afternoon nap, and by the morning he was prepared for a better day. Unfortunately, however, on Tuesday I got a call from the school nurse, who reported to me that Garrett's cheek was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was accidentally scratched by one of his classmates. I think he was more sad than hurt because after the nurse handed him the phone so I could give him a little pep talk ("Sometimes mom is the best medicine," she told me), he was much happier.

The rest of the week went better. He's starting to learn the way of things and comes home happy and full of stories of the misbehavior of his classmates. ("Jason was taking all the crayons and got in trouble so he got a red." And "GianMatteo was screaming and he got a red and now he can't have a vacation." Apparently "reds" are bad.) Every morning when I drop him off in the school yard he meets up with his friends, Gracie and Ava, and they dive right in to conversations only five-year-olds could have. He doesn't look back as he enters the school with the other children, which gives me the feeling that he's really loving the independence that the routines of kindergarten afford him.

Meanwhile, back at the home front, we're trying to find our own routine as we also adjust to kindergarten. The mornings are chaotic trying to get everyone up, ready, and out the door by ten minutes to eight. But the calm that settles after Garrett's been settled in at school is blissful. Caleb REALLY enjoys being the man of the house for a good chunk of the day, and consequently his behavior has improved dramatically. (Unfortunately, most of the headway we make during the day is dashed to pieces once Garrett comes back home, but we'll get there, even if we get there taking two steps forward and one step back....or so I have to keep reassuring myself.) We play together with his cars and at the park. On Wednesday we ran a few errands in Manhattan and it was actually a pleasant experience. (Two kids are easy! I can do anything with only two in tow!)

Quite a bit of our day is spent walking back and forth to the school for drop offs and pick ups. This is something I'm still trying to figure into the daily routine because as things stand right now, they severely interrupt Matthew's naps and mealtimes. Poor baby. Either we'll find a compromise that everyone's happy with or he'll grow into an ability to be a little more flexible. But whatever ends up happening, I hope it happens soon.

Thanks to the Jewish community of New York City, the schools are closed on Monday and Tuesday as Rosh Hashana is celebrated, so we'll have an extra long weekend to recover from a mildly overwhelming week. But rest assured that we'll all be anxious to get back in the saddle again on Wednesday because, as I've learned this week, full-day kindergarten is a good thing for all of us.