Back to School

I guess all good things must come to an end, and the awesome lazy days of summer are now gone too. This past week has been a hectic one. We've had first swimming lessons without Josh in the pool, Ethan's birthday (more on that later), first week of school for me, first week of homeschooling for Maddy and first time at preschool for Ethan.

Back to school for me is always an adjustment for the entire family. Josh had to take a few days off here and there so that I could go in to school to prepare. That actual being back at school has not been too stressful since in the first week we still have our classes from the previous year. The real work will come in the next few weeks as we get our classes and the real planning/work will begin. It's been hard getting into the routine of waking up earlier than usual on Thursday and Fridays in order to make it out the door in time.

On Saturday Ethan had his first swimming lesson on his own. I was a bit anxious about this because I remember when Maddy transitioned to her child-only class and there were many tears. At one point I was asked to leave the pool area in order for her to calm down. Ethan had already told us that he didn't want to go without Papa, so I was wondering if the tears would come too. When the time came, Ethan sat on the steps with Josh just behind him. I was so happy to see that his teacher was the same one that he's had in the Parent/Tot class. Right away she played the "Pick up the balls and put them in the basket" game and that helped ease Ethan in bit. He's played this game over and over in the other lessons and he was eager to play. Shortly after Josh came round to the other side of the pool and I breathed a sigh of relief. Actually I cried a little. Yes, a little sappy I know, but it was probably a mixture of a release of stress I had been feeling about his first time, and also because it was a sign that he's growing up.  He did pretty well the rest of the class. He was serious as ever and did everything the teacher asked him to. During the last 3 minutes of the class they had the kids stand at the edge of the pool. The teacher sang a song and they were to jump in one at a time. We could see that Ethan was getting anxious and not to mention cold. When it was his turn, he hesitated so the instructor on deck tried to encourage him by saying, "Come on Ethan, just like you used to do with your Papa." She had very good intentions but that was the wrong thing for our little guy. It was likely suddenly the flood gates were opened and he let all his tears that he tried so hard to hold in during the last 27 minutes out. Luckily it was the end of the lesson, but I could hear the tears coming from the mens change room the whole time I dressed Maddy. Hopefully this week will be better.

This past Monday I officially started homeschooling with the kids. Ethan is enrolled in preschool for Tuesday and Wednesday morning so he joins Maddy and I on Mondays. I was so thankful to be homeschooling the kids on Monday because it was such a busy weekend and it was great to know that if we were a little late getting started it was no big deal. We still managed to get started on time and we had an awesome morning. We got through all the lessons I had planned, enjoyed a nice 'recess' break out in the beautiful weather and even had time left over to play with the many new toys Ethan received for his birthday.

It is a little hectic with both kids there, mainly because Ethan's attention span is still rather short. Both kids want to have my attention, so it's a bit of a juggling act. Luckily it's WAY EASIER than juggling the needs of 23 kids, so I have nothing to complain about. On Tuesday and Wednesday it was just the two of us after circle time (Ethan leaves for preschool after our circle time).  It was just incredible. Maddy loves all the attention she gets and I purposely plan lots of activities that we wouldn't be able to do with Ethan there. I'm loving the one on one time I have with her, kind of like the one on one time I had with Ethan last year. So, so far so good on the homeschooling front.

Finally, this past Tuesday was Ethan's first day of preschool. We've been talking about it a lot, actually it's a fine balance between talking about it enough so that he feels prepared, but not talking it about it so much that it gives him time to create any anxiety over it. As you can see from the pictures he was all happy in the morning and went off with Josh quite easily. Josh called me later in the morning to report that he went in fine, went to the washroom and joined the circle with no problem. When Josh left, he gave a little wave and turned back to the teacher. Phew! When I went to pick him up, one of the teachers told me he did ok, but had some tears. Another told me he had an up and down day with  tears on and off. When I first saw him outside he didn't appear to be crying. He came running to me and gave me THE. BEST. HUG. EVER. It was like he didn't ever want to let go. I could hear some sniffling a bit and it was all could do to not burst into tears myself because I didn't want to forget this moment. We came home and the minute he saw Woa Woa he ran to pick him up and gave Woa Woa the biggest hug too. The whole rest of the day Ethan was stuck very close to me. We went to the library and he stayed right by my side the entire time. I can't say that I didn't enjoy this extra "I need you mommy"-time.

Today was a different story. After our circle time, Ethan didn't want to go to preschool. The tears came and the big crying started. Josh held him while I put his shoes on. Still tears. Josh carried him to the car and after strapping him in, Maddy and couldn't only faintly see a little hand waving through the tinted windows. After school, the teachers said that he had a better day than yesterday but there were still tears. I got a big hug and he was still sniffling a bit. I'm sure that it will get better as the days go by, but I sure am glad to be over the 'first week'. Well, except for the big bear hugs and extra cuddles.

 One last looks for mama before heading off for school. Sorry, Shauna. I loved your picture that I had to copy it for Ethan. 

So there you have it, our first week back to school. Boy, is it ever stressful sending your kids off on their own to navigate the world. I cannot imagine what my post will be like when they leave for university! I'll be a mess, that I know for sure.

Thanks for reading. I'll have a post about Ethan's birthday soon.