Beautiful Butterflies and Dancing Dolphins

Ahhh, yes. The weekend after the first week of school always makes for quite a weekend. I have to admit it's been a pretty mello day with very little activity. We went out to run a few errands this morning and found some great deals on back t0 school clothes for Chuck ... $5 for shirts ... heck, yeah! :) It's been quite a week. I thought I'd jot down a few of the highlights to share with you. First, 4/5 of the family attended their first day of school at Union Hill on Wednesday.

Zack is a Beautiful Butterfly in the AM preschool class. His teacher is Ms. Debbie and I think it will be a great fit. Lately he's been such a talker ... seriously, the kid can wear you down with all his questions, but he wouldn't tell his teacher or the class his name on the first day. That's okay. He'll open up. Apparently on Thursday they painted butterflies in class and he seemed to enjoy that. He's told me he has made some friends, Michael and Cooper, and enjoys circle time and the songs they sing.

Chloe is a Dancing Dolphin in the PM preschool class. Her teacher is Ms. Riley and this will certainly be an interesting year. Chloe spends the morning in the Bearcat (daycare) program on campus and then after lunch attends her preschool class. The transition away from nap ... although it's been in the works for a while ... will be the most challenging. School after a morning of play could be tough! I have no doubt she will pull through though! She's already done some painting and art projects as well.

Gavin made his way to lower campus to join the elementary classrooms this year. His teacher, Ms. Thibedeau (that's a tough name!), has already made an impact on Gavin. He has come home each night with stories about classroom activities. He has his very own homework planner and is required to get a parent signature each night. (One of his "chores" on our board is to do his homework, so this will be interesting to see if he remembers every night!) He was given the job being a "sub" in class. This means that if any of the students with classroom duties are absent, he will take their place. Wow! That means he has to know how to do EVERY job rather than just one. He was very excited!

Chuck started the year at Union Hill as well. He'll be teaching 7th and 8th grade health and PE. It's a combination class so it's actually called "Wellness." For the first time in a really long time he will have his own classroom! It's kind of a big deal since sharing rooms can always get a little tricky. Last year he had to share with both the GATE program and the homeschool classes. We spent a few hours the night before the first day decorating his room. (I was very excited to do this, especially since my classrooms can't be decorated on the college campus!) It appears it's going to be another great year. Chuck will continue to run the mountain bike club on campus and DJ the school dances. He also has one more mountain bike race for this season ... the state championships on Sept. 21 in Big Bear! So, as you can imagine he is in full race mode these days! :) 

I was the lone duck this week ... I started school on a different campus ... only about seven minutes from the house. Ghidotti Early College High School is going to be fantastic! This starts the third year the school has been opened and the kids are great. It's a little strange getting used to teaching on a college campus since the classrooms are so different and we're moving around, but I think it will be fantastic. Once I can get adjusted to 80 minute periods life will get easier too. I'm very excited to get American Lit up and rolling next week. Our first novel is The Crucible. Nothing like delving into the tough stuff to kick off the year!! 

Our morning routines have gotten pretty interesting too. We don't have all the kids every morning, so we only have a few really busy days. Wednesday mornings we just have Zack, Thursday and Friday mornings we have everybody and every other Monday morning we'll have Gavin and Chloe. I start school at 8 and everyone else starts after 8. This means, that Chuck is responsible for getting the kids to school! :) Essentially, we're up at 5:30 to get ourselves ready before the first munchkin meanders downstairs. I am in charge of getting everyone dressed, doing Chloe's hair and making lunches (5 of them!). Chuck takes care of breakfast and then getting everyone out the door after I leave. It seems to be working pretty well! Friday mornings are even easier since I don't start school until 9 and can help with getting kids to school. 

I think the thing I have enjoyed the most is the dinners at night. Wednesday and Thursday we had all the kids here and it was so nice to sit down at the table and check in on everybody's day. Those of you who know me know that I'm not the best cook in the world. Well, I do okay cooking, I've just never really be motivated to do it! (Who would be with a chef like Amanda at home when I was growing up!) Anyway, I made homemade dinners both nights and much to my surprise, both were pretty big hits. Well, at least Chuck, Gavin and Chloe liked them ... you never can tell what Zack is going to eat! He did pretty well with the spaghetti and homemade meatballs ... although he didn't try his greenbeans so he missed out on the homemade brownies. Thursday night it was meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes. Apparently that was so revolting he opted to go to bed hungry rather than try it! *sigh* It means he missed out on all my hidden veggies in the meatloaf too! Darn! Gavin paid me a very nice compliment on the meals. I was honored. :) 

So, there you go. One week down and lots more to go! 

This is going to be a great year! :) 

Hope this finds everyone doing well. 

Much love,

--M