The Actual First Day of School!!

Here are the pictures of the actual first day of school:

All ready to go. We can't wait!!!

I had 3 very excited kids this morning. Anna Kate couldn't even eat breakfast. Mark said she woke up at 4 am wanting to get ready. She did go back to sleep but was up for good around 6:15am. She couldn't wait to get dressed and carried her back around for an hour. Blake was concerned about being late and Claire was just giggly. First we took Anna Kate to school. On the way she told me I could just let her out and she would go in by herself. I DON'T THINK SO!!! I explained that I had to go in to sign her in but would not go in the classroom, she didn't even look back.

Anna Kate's First Day at Curtis Kindergarten

Now it was Blake and Claire's turn. At Sidney Deener parents drop off their children at the gym for Deener Daybreak, a morning meeting of the entire school. All the kids sit as a class and at 7:50am they begin the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the Star Spangled Banner, announcing the lunch menu for the day, word of the week (attitude is this week's) and a quote for the week. Then the kids walk as a class to their room with their teacher. It's really cool as it creates a cool community atmosphere and gets everyone started off on the right foot. This happens every day. This morning of course we walked them into the meeting and stayed until they left the gym. They were ole' pros.

Blake and Claire outside the gym

They all had a great day. Ms. Ryan said Anna Kate had a wonderful day, obeyed beautifully, and tried everything on her plate at lunch. That's a miracle. She also said Anna Kate came up to her around 10:45 and said "Ms. Ryan I'm exhausted can I take a nap now?" Blake and Claire loved their teachers and each one did something different. Blake went to Art and Claire went to Music. It's going to be fun keeping up with two different classes and schedules.

First Day of School !!!

Today was the first day of school for all three kids. Blake and Claire are in first grade at Sidney Deener Elementary and Anna Kate started Curtis Kindergarten for Pre-K. They were all so excited. Yesterday we had an open house at both schools. First we went to Anna Kate's. She already knows her teacher Ms. Ryan because she was our children's minister intern this summer at church.

Anna Kate and Ms. Ryan

Anna Kate and Connor (her boyfriend)

Anna Kate's boyfriend Connor is in her class although Anna Kate is going for 5 full days and Connor is only going for 3 half days. But they can be partners in crime for the mornings. Her classroom is decorated as Ms. Ryan's ranch and she actually has two rooms, one that has tables for work and another big room for playing and napping. They will cook lunch for her and it will be interesting to see if she actually eats what they fix. She says she's going to try. This is going to be so fun.

Then we moved on to Sidney Deener. This year Blake and Claire are in two different classes. Claire is in Mrs. Raines class and Blake has Mrs. Lawson. It was amazing to see how they got the right teacher with the right kid. At least first impressions.

Claire and Mrs. Raines

Mrs. Raines has taught for 3 years and last year taught 3rd grade. I think she will be great for Claire. She welcomed her with a great big hug and has a very organized but fun room with a great story corner. She seemed very sweet.

Blake and Mrs. Lawson

Blake's teacher Mrs. Lawson is a seasoned teacher who loves little boys, so we've been told. She had a very organized and structured room and schedule. Just what Blake loves. We've been told by others who have had her that she'll get Blake on the AR (acclerated reading)program quickly and move him along at his pace. I can't wait to see what happens.

It's so funny to watch Blake and Claire with school. Blake is so outgoing and an intellect especially with reading and writing. Claire is quiet, athletic, and loves math. She was so excited to find a Math book in her desk at Open House. It will be fun to see what the year holds for each of them.

Toothless!!
This weekend we were eating at Colton's and Claire bit into a roll and out came a tooth!!! It's her 5th one to lose, the one to the left of the bottom center teeth. Blake has only lost 2 and Anna Kate is trying every which way to figure out how to start loosing teeth. Claire lost her top two in March and one of them is finally coming in. I was really beginning to wonder. We took her immediately to have her pictures made while we had the huge gap and we actually had all summer to wait. I can't stand it. She is no longer a cute little girl, but now we have a beautiful big girl, teeth or no teeth.

This was this spring

This was Friday night!!