Oh Happy Day...

Back to school time in Michigan! Here's how the bus stop went:

The boys were nice enough to pose together (I fear this might be the last year for this type of cooperation...) As soon as the picture was taken, Riley and Shannon went off to trade Pokemon cards.

We were able to get most of the kindergartners together for a picture (one wouldn't get in the shot, one was driven in to school,) and all of these kids are from just our little neighborhood. Sadly, the bus boarding picture didn't do justice to just how many children actually boarded the bus.

All the kindergarten moms were heading up to school to follow their kids in, and I felt like a bad Mommy for plotting my morning of solitude. Giving in to the guilt, I headed up to school to watch the buses unload. Sure enough, the Aide that was supposed to greet Corey at the bus was there and walked him into school. She paused to introduce Corey to the music teacher (Corey is very adamant that he does NOT want to go to music class,) and Riley was right there to ensure that everything was okay. (So proud of him!) Shannon... he was off in his own world marching toward his hallway.

There was a mom watching nearby, and she was new to the school and upset that she couldn't get closer to the bus. She explained her situation and convinced me to go into the school with her to check on the kids. (I was in the first thing I threw on- no shower, no make-up; just HOW did I end up in a school full of people who know me???) Anyhow, it turned out that my presence was a good thing after all.

I went to check on Shannon first, and he'd made it to his classroom. I was impressed, because neither Shannon nor I can ever remember the name of his First Grade teacher. However, Shannon was at his desk talking to the teacher and he looked completely baffled. He started for the door, where I was standing, and I caught his attention. "Mom, you're here? My teacher said you sent in stuff but I don't have it. I just brought my backpack!"

Hmm... suppose if he'd have looked IN his backpack, he may have found it? Especially after I'd drilled into his head what he needed to do with all of his stuff? We walked to his locker to get everything unloaded, and there was Shannon's fully loaded backpack. On the hallway floor in front of his locker. Huh?

So I took everything out of the backpack, showed Shannon where his lunch would be, reminded him where his snack would be, asked him to make sure to put his backpack IN his locker, and sent him back into his classroom. He was still looking a little baffled but also a bit relieved, so I moved on to Corey's classroom.

In no time, the Kindergarten teacher and 20+ children arrived and started piling into the classroom. Corey didn't even notice me as he parted ways with his Aide. (She won't be with Corey all the time, she will just monitor Corey's needs and help when needed.) Mrs. Gordon, the aide, said that Corey was doing just fine, told me about the introductions she made with Corey, and of course reminded me that he was such a sweet little boy. He has them all fooled.

Riley of course knew the ropes, and after seeing him follow up on Corey, I knew he didn't need me to check up on him. Unfortunately, Riley is resigned to the fact that school is a necessary evil and that Mom will not home school under any circumstances. I'm sure this was on his mind as he grudgingly headed on into the school. I'm hoping he gets over his anti-school attitude and starts to like school again soon.

As soon as I could get out of there, I headed to the grocery store to make some quick prints of my pictures I had taken. I've already distributed some to other parents, and now I'm contemplating my next scrapbook layout. But wait a minute... I think I'm getting sleepy. Maybe I'll take a quick nap instead?