The big back to school post

The girls finally returned to school this week.  I say finally because they were more than ready, even though they said they didn't want to go because it's boring.  Yeah, okay.  They all had a super awesome first day.  On Day Two, Emily had her lip busted open in gym (on someone's head) and a boy in Allie's class told her she was stupid and mean.  He sounds like a real sweetheart.

With twelve fifth grade classrooms this year, there was no problem placing the girls in separate rooms.  I believe there are seven sets of twins in their grade and they are all in separate classrooms as well.  I'm pretty sure all of them are with teachers who co-teach though.

There's a whole big long process in placing the kids because there are so many of them.  As parents, we are allowed to make certain requests with respect to placement.  You can never request a specific teacher though.  We requested that the girls be placed on the same side of the school - this was more for my sanity than anything else.  It's an extremely large school and with two different entrances, drop off and pick up would have been chaotic.  We also asked that they have the same lunch/recess.  This was for Anna's benefit.  Her sisters have always had her back and watched out for her at recess.  Last year, she had the added benefit of protective friends too.  There was also a teacher we didn't think would be a good fit for Anna.  This had come up at her 504 meeting last year because she really needs an organized classroom setting and this particular teacher is known for the opposite.  We made all of these requests to the principal.

Teachers often recommend "travel buddies" so that kids have someone they know and get along with in their class each year.  Last spring, Anna's teacher told me she really thought Anna should have a friend for next year and asked for some names.  I ended up giving her two because I thought it would be better to keep the list short.

The girls were all placed on the same side of the school.  Emily and Allie are right next to each other and their teachers co-teach.  One of them teaches math and science, while the other will teach ELA and social studies.  They have the same lunch/recess.  Emily's BFF and another good friend are in class with her.  Allie has a good friend in her class and her BFF is in Emily's class (so they have the same lunch/recess.)

Anna is down the hall from her sisters.  She was placed closer to the nurse's office.  Emily and Allie have good teachers but Anna's teacher is the one everyone exclaims, "Oh, I just love her.  She's the best teacher ever!" when they hear who her teacher is.  Neither of her suggested travel buddies are in her class.  (I was quite disappointed in this considering she's on a 504.)  In fact, none of the girls from her class last year (who know she has SB and hydro) are in her class.  She does not have the same lunch/recess as her sisters.  She's on her own.            

I could have called the school to complain but what good would have come from that?  We didn't want her removed from that class and they certainly wouldn't move other kids because of our complaints.  I felt better after we learned of more kids in her class.  She knew five of the girls and they are all good kids.  Her biggest fear was not having anyone to play with at recess.  (From the first day of school, she hasn't been alone at recess.  She's such a sweet kid and she does know a lot of girls.)

Another mom and I were talking about class placement, etc. and we both agreed that there's only so much you can do.  When does it end?  When they're in their 20s and have a difficult boss or co-worker, am I going to get on the phone to set up a meeting to straighten things out?  We're only in the first week of school but Anna's been absolutely fine.  There are two kids in her class who have been in class in prior years with Allie and Emily so I know they are usually placed in "calmer" classrooms.  Anna's reconnected with girls she danced with five years ago and hopefully she'll make some new friends.

The transition back to school hasn't been overly difficult because we pretty much kept the same sleep schedule throughout the summer.  Before I had kids, I always thought I would be that parent who let my kids stay up super late with the hope they would sleep later in the morning.  After ten years, I can tell you that my kids are creatures of habit who function their best on a schedule and that schedule includes going to bed at a decent hour.  If they do sleep extra late (happens sometimes), it takes them forever to fall asleep that night.

The girls turn their lights off at 9:00, but they are in bed before that time.  On school nights, they are brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed at 8:00.  They read in bed every night before lights out.  It's become a habit they look forward to and when they do go to bed late, they usually ask to read a few pages.  There are times they do stay up late, usually when we are away, but otherwise we stick to the schedule.  They actually came in and woke me up this morning.      

The day before school started, we hit up Target for back to school shopping.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  Honestly, it's still summer weather here and they have summer clothes.  Did they really need anything this week?  No.  (We don't have to buy any supplies for elementary school either.)  They will need pants so we picked up Cat and Jack leggings and few other things.  I freaking love Cat and Jack.  I bought the girls C&J leggings last year and they have held up really well.  There's minimum fading on the dark colors (much better than those from Gymboree) and no rips.  Allie and Emily did need athletic sneakers in the next size up.  They also all picked out dress (as opposed to winter) boots.

After searching around for the lowest price, I bought the girls new jean jackets (needed to size up) last spring at The Children's Place.  I was going to tell you to check them out if you need any - they are 25% off and you can stack a coupon code - but I just checked OshKosh's website (my other favorite store for jean jackets) and they are on sale for $16.  I don't think you can beat that price!