First Days of School

Paul waiting in suspense.

Our house is in the middle of the two bus stops--one at the top of the hill, one at the street below us. We chose to wait at the bottom one so Scot could be with his friend Austen. I knew Austen would be able to lead the boys were they were supposed to go since he's always attended this school. In a melt-down-kind-of-morning, the kids could catch the upper stop. The bus has to back-up into the lower street to turn around which would give them just enough time to run up and catch the bus at the corner. My wanna-be philosophy: always be prepared and always have a back-up! There are quite a few kids at the stop. The first day there were 8; so between all the stops there are at least 12-15 kids just on our street. The bus fills up quick, and I'm glad they can get on a little earlier so it's easier to find a seat. The only have a 10-15 minute bus ride in the morning; 15-20 minutes in the afternoon.

James making his 3rd grade debut.

Scot turning on the 5th grade charm.

Amy, Maggie, and James waiting for the bus on Maggie's first day.

The bus surprised us by being about 5 minutes early, and the kids all had to run to the bus stop. Paul, Amy, and I had to wait on the other side of the street, so all I could see of Maggie getting on the bus were the flashing lights of her new shoes.

Maggie's first day of kindergarten. To school, she rides with Scot and James; coming home she is on the kindergarten-only bus. This bus drops her off in front of the house.

Today she came off the bus looking a little dazed, like she'd just seen the Wizard of Oz or the most magical creature imaginable. It took a long time for the stars in her eyes to wear off.

Here are some of her answers to my quizzing:

How was the bus? Good (with a smile)

Where did you sit? Behind the bus driver

Who did you sit with? A girl

Did you talk to her? No

How was kindergarten? Good

What did you do? I can't remember everything

What was the first thing? We sat on the carpet. At the end my teacher read a silly story. (giggle)

Was your teacher nice? Yes

And that was about it! Hopefully tomorrow she'll be able to elaborate more without being so star-struck. At least I know she wants to go back--as does Scot, who said he couldn't wait to go back 5 minutes after getting home.