School Begins

Ruth, Kate, and Johnny started their first day of school in a new state and a new school the morning after we moved into a new home (which we are renting, so it may not be permanent even though we have the highest offer on it). They got to bed around 12:30am and I woke them up at 7:15. We ate breakfast on the kitchen floor. (If Emily had not brought us milk and cereal, and Grandma had not given us paper bowls and plastic spoons we would have had no breakfast. So Thank you family for helping us. Emily also brought us 3 days of dinners and school supplies.) I had registered the kids and taken them to see their teachers and classrooms just the afternoon before. So I think in many ways, I had set my kids up for a very difficult first day of school. here is how things went.

To my surprise Ruth came home from school with a friend and a big smile. Ruth asked if she could go to her friends house to do homework, and since they live right in the same set of town houses and we were still drowning in boxes, I said yes. When Ruth got home she said that she made a lot of friends and that the girls are really nice and friendly. She also said that she loved her teacher. After a week, Ruth has maintained that school is great, she has lots of friends and she loves her teacher. I wanted to mention that before we left Wichita Ruth was praying that when we moved she would be able to find just one best friend that would like sports and not talk about boys all of the time. Ruth had a hard time with the girls in 5th grade in Wichita. They were often mean to her and called her a tomboy because she played football and basketball at recess, instead of sitting with the girls and talking about what boys they liked. This was hard for Ruth not only because it would be hard for anyone, but because these girls were her best friends the year before. Well, this morning, Ruth told me that all of the girls in her class like playing sports. She has been playing tag, four squares, and football with the girls instead of the boys this year. Plus, Ruth's friend, Hannah, who got off the bus with her the first day goes jogging with her. I am so glad that Heavenly Father answered Ruth's prayer. She is so happy here. If we don't stay in this house, we have every intention of staying in this community and school.

Kate came home saying she did not make any friends, she liked her morning teacher, but not her afternoon teacher. I told Kate to give her afternoon teacher another chance to decide if she liked her or not. We also found out that Kate would not talk to any of the girls, so everyday I told her to talk so she could make friends. Now Kate has a couple of friends. She even had a friend over for several hours after school yesterday. One funny thing that Kate told me was while she was sitting with a group of kids, she noticed that they were talking about their wards. She said she was surprised and thought, "You guys are all Mormons!! That is so weird!!!!!!" Kate has also said that she wants to work very hard to impress her teacher because she likes her teacher so well. I think Kate will do fine this year.

Johnny came home and said that his teacher is nice and he has one friend named, Andrew Smith who lives near us. I asked Johnny if any other kids in his class were as ahead as he is, and he said, "Well, no one is as smart as me. The teacher asked us how to get the number 7. I raised my hand and said 100 - 93. My teacher said that I am a budding mathematician. None of the other kids knew that 100 - 93= 7." Johnny also said that the only thing he doesn't like about school here is that his bus ride is too short. He can't even get through an entire level on his DS.

I wanted to mention a couple of the changes in schools. In Wichita, the kids got on the bus at 7:45 and home at 4:20. In Lehi, UT the get on the bus at 7:30 and off at 2:30. The kids love it. I think it is better for them, but I miss my lost free time a little bit. The other real noticeable change is recess. In Wichita it was against the rules to play tag and often the kids weren't allowed to play organized sports because they fought over who would be on whose team and they had indoor recess if it was a little bit cold, too hot, or wet, and they weren't allowed on the playground in the mornings. Here they can play tag and whatever sports they want and they can play on the playground in the mornings. On the whole, I think my kids are happier here.