Back to School

We had one day home and then Molly went back to school.

 

Big 2nd grader!  She was really excited!

 

At the bus stop on the first day, with her good friend Maggie Stephenson.

And off she goes!

Molly has Mrs. James this year and it has been great!  Mrs. James has been a super fun teacher with some creative ideas that make the kids excited to learn.  Molly loves having a class pet (Lizzie the lizard) and gets especially excited when her job for the week is zookeeper because she gets to feed it (crickets, usually).  The kids rotate taking pictures and writing the class blog.  Mrs. James even has camping pads and sleeping bags for quiet reading time...the kids are able to take their books someplace comfy and read.  Last week Molly was excited to earn enough class money that she was able to pay for her and a friend to eat lunch in the classroom rather than the lunchroom.  Mrs. James even brought them some brownies for dessert!

Molly is doing really well in school, has found some new friends, and genuinely enjoys going to school everyday.

One week after Molly went back, Stockton started Kindergarten!  Crazy!!

He had homework before he even started...Justin helped out a little, if you couldn't tell.

Stockton goes to afternoon Kindergarten and he even gets to ride the bus.  The afternoon bus is full of little Kindergartners and I'm sure it's one of his favorite parts of school.

Hailey Maag, Violet Reedy, Clay Reed, Stockton

Stockton has Mrs. Tew this year and she is awesome.  She has a lot of years of experience and Stockton is doing great under her tutelage.  He follows instructions, is a good listener, and stays on task.  Of course he loves recess but he also really enjoys writing in his journal.  He is really starting to read as well, which is super exciting for him and for me.  I'm proud of all he is accomplishing and am really enjoying watching him flower and have this new, positive experience that is just his own and not someone else's.

Brynn and I walked down to see both of them get off the bus on Stockton's first day.  Molly was so excited for him and so excited to have a buddy to ride the bus home with.

 

As for me and Brynn, we are loving our routine!  Brynn gets the best of both worlds...she gets to play with Stockton all morning (they are the best of friends and make up the funnest games) but she gets my attention all afternoon.  We wasted no time in making a jar full of fun little activities that we can do each day.  Brynn calls them our "plans" and knows that as soon as we are done taking Stockton to the bus, it is time for us to do our plan.  She happily reports our plan of the day at dinnertime as well.  We do puzzles, paint fingernails, do crafts, play dolls, have tea parties, just whatever we think would be fun.  I am really enjoying my one-on-one time with her and truly enjoying this season of my life.