Here are a few pictures from their Orientation Days:
Audrey will be in second grade at Heritage Elementary. This is her first year there. Here they have "Early Childhood Schools" that house the pre-school, kindergarten and 1st grade. Then the kids move to elementary for 2nd-6th grade. It has been rough on Audrey because when we first moved here there was only one early childhood school for the entire district and it housed pre-school and kindergarten. Then after Audrey's kindergarten year they changed the plan, built more early childhood schools and divided up the kids. When they did that, the majority of the close friends Audrey had made in kinder were moved to a new Early Childhood School for 1st grade and she had to basically start all over again with making friends. Then it happened again. In her second grade class, NO OTHER GIRLS would be attending Heritage Elementary for 2nd grade. NONE! You would THINK the schools could have planned the classes a little better ..... However, Audrey and I have been praying and our prayers were answered. The boys in our neighborhood that she rides the bus with will be in the class next door to hers so they can walk down the hall together and they will do some shared activities together during the day. In her actual class is Grace, who lives one neighborhood and rides the same bus, and Rachel, a girl from her American Heritage Girl troop, and we think maybe another girl from dance class. Plus two boys from her 1st grade class are in her 2nd grade class as well. So yea! she will already know a few kids! Audrey's teacher this year is Mrs. Austin and we think it is so cool that the kids from Austin, TX has Mrs. Austin for a teacher.
Amy will be in Kindergarten at Creekside Early Childhood school. Amy is in afternoon kindergarten and will only attend school from 1:20-3:55, which is plum crazy if you ask me!!!! She will have Mrs. Bruder for her teacher. We love Mrs. Bruder, she was Audrey's kindergarten teacher as well. Amy has never been quite as outgoing as Audrey and when we moved to Ohio, Amy became very shy in new social settings. I think it might have a little to do with her not attending pre-school that first year we lived here and pretty much hanging out at home with just me and her baby sister for an entire year. But I was also incredibly shy as a child so it could simply be the way she is wired. I wrote to the principal and requested Mrs. Bruder for Amy to give Amy a slight edge for Kindergarten. My hope is that if Amy already knows her teacher, the transition to a big Kindergarten class in a big school will be a little smoother. Everyone is amazed that I was able to get the teacher I requested and they ask me how I did it. I tell them the truth - I bribed them. All year long, whenever we made any kind of baked goodie for Audrey's 1st grade teacher, we made some for Mrs. Bruder as well. I often picked Audrey up from school and I made sure I was pleasant and chatty with the office staff and sucked up to them whenever possible. This is where being a teacher helps - I know how it all works, I know which wheels to grease ......So all the first-of-the-year forms are filled out, the all important first-day-of-school outfits have been purchased, and the backpacks have been dug out of the closets and emptied of all the various items that were stored in them across the summer. We are READY!!!! The hardest part will be Allison. She is very attached to both girls but particularly Amy. I see some separation issues coming and possibly some tears. Hopefully the adjustment period will be a short one ......
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