The First Day of (Hippie) School!

Was largely a success, despite the fact that Elsa was scheduled for the morning half of the day and Ashagre was scheduled to start 20 minutes AFTER Elsa finished her day.  Elsa took on the day like a champ and came back smiling and proud.  She learned three new songs, one in Spanish, English and Sign Language, decorated her name tag for her cubby, played a stomping game, had circle time, read The Kissing Hand and had strawberries for snack.  She also made sure to confirm that she did not let anyone see her underwear under her dress.  I absolutely LOVE her guitar-playing teacher and think this could be a great year for her.  Elsa loves her too - she told my mom three separate times at the end of the day.

Ashagre had a hard time figuring out how his day was going to unfold since he had to wait until after lunch to go to school, and he was a bit hesitant when he showed up.  His reviews at the end of the day were mixed - an excited, "Yeah. I liked it!" and a scornful, "No like it school," were both heard multiple times.  However, when encouraged to share about his day he did so with enthusiasm and a huge grin on his face.  He also learned some new songs, learned how to speak and listen using talking sticks during circle time (he got to speak first!), played a freeze dance game, read a story about a big dog's first day of school, guessed how much a watermelon weighed, weighed it and then ate it for snack, decorated his name tag, and played outside.  Our family already has an invite up to one of his classmate's houses to swim in the pool and get to know each other better.

The door to Elsa's classroom.

She emerges with the first day under her belt.

Enjoying the lunch in the shade of the tree with the
rope swing while Daddy helps Ashagre get settled.

Feeling a bit apprehensive.

A good book will always calm my boy's nerves.

The door to Ashagre's classroom.

The school's garden.

Worm composting.

Main courtyard.

Love Sees No Color.

Toes in the sand, decompressing after the first day.

Mom and Dad are hanging in there too.  We've seemingly made the impossible possible again and have juggled our responsibilities and schedules to make sure the kids are off to school in the morning, cared for when they're not in school (despite the school's nearly absurd schedule), and loved by Mommy in the afternoon rather than held in a childcare program.  Our work responsibilities will be covered and so will our requirements to volunteer at the kids' school.  Our free time, time for each other, and time for ourselves still is non-existant but we'll keep on moving forward until something else presents itself.  Truly it didn't even feel like we'd be able to pull off the whole school/work thing just three days ago.  My mom has been here for the past week and a half and I will openly cry when she leaves on Saturday.  She has been a HUGE help and the kids adore her.  Onward and upward!