So Riley started grade three today. He was a little anxious, and held tight to my hand as we approached his old friends (most of whom he didn't see all summer). He just smiled, but didn't say too much. It is kind of neat how they return to their previous classroom and teacher, and they actually know everyone. By the end of tomorrow, he will be placed in his new room with a new mix of kids. Exciting!!
By the time I picked him up, three hours later, he was back running around with his good friend Ben and they are currently having a playdate.
In order for our school system to save some money on bus fees, they moved the school hours up to a ridiculous hour of 8:13am, so we had to leave the house right after 8am. It was ok, but having them done already at 2:10pm is not my favorite. Another thing that drives me absolutely bonkers is the kindergarten set-up. I don't get it! After one or two years of preschool, and hyping up the whole idea that they get to go to kindergarten!!! Then they have to wait til Thursday to start. But wait...it's only half an hour the first day. Then 45 minutes the next day. Then an hour. Then an hour and 15. Seriously. It is so frustrating. Half of these kids are in day-care or have been out of the house before!! He'll be getting up to a normal day by next Wednesday and then Friday is already a pro-D day!! Get on with it!
I don't know if you read about this yet. My friend was letting me know that the B.C. gov't has been proposing the idea of full-day kindergarten (every day) for 2010. I don't know if it'll fly, but this would apply to Shea if it does. I'm kinda split down the middle as to what I think of the idea. It is mainly to help the parents who are working and trying to juggle day-care and kindergarten schedules. I can imagine that it would SO hard for them. It is hard enough for me to go to the school three times a day and I have Greg at home to stay with Shea while he's napping. I suppose some kids have a hard time leaving home, but I know that Liam would definitely be able to handle a full-day of school this year. He hasn't napped since he was three and would love playing with friends (as we all know, kindergarten is mainly organized play time). I wouldn't want it forced on my child if I knew they needed more quiet time or I wanted more time with them. Maybe it'll be optional. Curious what you think.
So there won't be pictures of Liam til Thursday. He'll be darn cute, so stay tuned!
5 comments:
Yep, Eli's kindergarten had a "staggered entry" too, where they only go for an hour the first 2 days. I just sat in the playground and waited. Liam's start sounds just ridiculous! Hope it all works out for you running back & forth! Not sure why they do this.
Riley is so cute! Great that he's in the same class with his buddies again!
So cute. That's so funny about different k's. I started a K class last year, and it was whammo full day on the first day, right out of the gate. The kids did great.
Oh my goodness! That kindergarten start up thing is SO ridiculous! Seriously?!? I'd wait until they were going full tilt and then send him. Bummer about the super early start and early send-home time too. Oh dear. They need to do more parent surveys or something. Gee whiz. Here they just called around to all the private schooled kids this last week and told them that they could no longer ride the public school buses! Ummm, don't we pay taxes too? Annnnnyyyyywaaaaay. Riley looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing Liam's pics too.
I agree that is a silly way to start Kindergarten. I also think that a full day is too much.
Things here are done differently, preschool for 3 year olds is everyday from 7:45am-12:15pm, and includes lunch. For 4 year olds it is the same.
Kindergarten is everyday from 7:45am-2pm.
Gr.1-Gr.12 is of course everyday from 7:45am-3pm. Kindergarten to Gr.12 also includes lunch.
We have met with the Preschool (age 3) teachers and they are very flexible about how often a students attends, so it is not expected that they be there everyday. I am happy about this that it is an option, although I think that Marin will want to go everyday so we will see how things go.
School this year will be starting on Sept 26th.
I love the collage of Riley's first days of school, it will be fun to add to it as the years go on.
Taya (SK) and Logan (JK) have the same staggered starts. Taya was so ripped off to have to wait until today. Logan went on Tuesday, then has to wait another week, just to go for another hour!! I think most kids going into JK have some previous experience, but even Logan, who doesn't, is rarin' to go. Makes it hard to plan the whole month of September! I can't even count how many times I'll be going back and forth to school next week with three kids all on different schedules! Good thing we live close. And I guess we should just "suck it up" because it'll be Christmas before we know it!!
Post a Comment