First of all, I could have been doing this post a year ago. Ashton was 5 by 8/31/16 and technically eligible for Kindergarten, but it took us about four seconds to decide to wait another year. I am SO glad we did, for so many reasons. One of the surprising results of Ashton sticking around? How close he and Alex have become. They have had a lot of adventures together this past year and truly, one of the central emotions I have felt about Ashton starting school is sadness for Alex! Alex will be in preschool just MWF from 9 - 11:45 am. Ashton on the other hand will be gone from 8:15 am - 3:15 pm (school is 8:30 am - 2:56 pm) MTWThF! That's.every.day. That's 35 hours a week. That's a full time job!
So, the prep for this new gig has been insane. Sometime last January, I said "Hey Natick Public Schools, I have a student for you next year!" and thus opened the floodgates of the most incredible amount of paperwork you have ever seen. Name, address, demographics, insurances, immunizations, emergency contacts, family history, what was the birth like? I had to present a giant packet, in person, with an appointment. That was first, in April. Followed by bus registration. Then over the summer we started getting weekly e-blasts, signing up for iPass, Virtual Backpack, and the school's Facebook group(s). The playdate schedule came out, I had to bring nametags to one of them. I volunteered to do the book fair with the PTA in October. What was Ashton's daily dismissal plan? Please fill out this form. Has Ashton had a lead test? Please fill out this form. In the event of Ashton needing an Epi-Pen administration, please fill out this form. You think you want to chaperone or be a room parent? Please fill out this form. Do you want to participate in BOKS (before school fitness program)? Yes? No? Regardless, make sure Ashton has a rest mat (tri-fold only), brings in a family picture on the first day, and has a backpack and a lunchbox. The soft kind. On Tuesdays the class has PE so wear sneakers. Oh, and everything needs to be labelled. It wouldn't hurt to label your labels. Your son will need a fresh haircut and of course we recommend getting him microchipped.
Kidding (about that last part). But it's been a LOT. I've lost sleep haha. Overall I'm so impressed with the school but whoa!
So here's the breakdown of the beginning of it all. Last Wednesday, August 30, was the first day for Ashton's group. Only half the class started (the second half went Thursday so Ashton had that day off) and the schedule ran from 9-1. Before school pictures:
We gathered in the lobby at Lilja, the K'ers lined up as their teachers called them and off they went down a lonnnng hall.
And that was it! I didn't even cry? Was I shell-shocked??
At 1 pm the parents came back for pickup and we got to see their classroom. Ashton's class with Ms. K is 19 kids and they are in one of the 6 new modulars at Lilja (and the only K class in there - the other 4 are in the main school). I know they've been really in a rush with the project so the rooms aren't completely done, but this is the quick glimpse I got.
By 1:30 pm it was time to go home and Ashton was fried. He was complaining about everything including the walk to the car and started to cry over a snack. Ms. K warned us that the first days of kindergarten are a lot on children and to expect complete and utter exhaustion. Ashton was the very definition. On the plus side, he was obsessed with the idea that he could buy lunch. It was all he talked about: that there were different things every day, that there was a menu, that you could take money and go to the cafeteria and buy it. And there was PIZZA. He put his lunch money together pretty much as soon as we got home Wednesday and carried it around until Friday, which was the first full official day: drop-off line, school bus home, pizza that you could buy, the whole bit. Jason Facetimed me on Friday so I could "be there" at drop off and when I heard Alex's voice call after him: "Bye Ah-ton! BYE!" that's when I finally cried.
Friday went really well I think, he described in full detail what it was like to buy lunch, how he put his name under "Pizza" on the classroom lunch list and then the lady gave him a HUGE piece of pizza, like the biggest piece he had ever had. "I asked her, I said um excuse me, could you please cut this? But it was TOO LATE, I had to keep pushing my tray down the metal thing and she didn't hear me." The other thing was, he was sooo excited to take the bus home but it was running super late, I was literally panicking because I had no idea where he was, so I called the school and they said he was still there (it was 3:40 pm! He was supposed to be dropped off by 3:10 pm!). So I went to get him and he saw me and was like "AW! You're not the bus!" and I explained that he was going to come with me just today and he was like "THIS IS THE WORST BUS DAY EVER". (Jason's planning to drop him off in the mornings because the ride is way too long, in my opinion: 35 minutes to go 1 mile! Such a long story.)
Anyway today is Tuesday and Ashton's second full day. Jason dropped him off this morning and I have been thinking about him constantly. I need to teach him to tie his shoes. I wonder if he ate his sandwich (we tried turkey today). Lunch is at 11 am and he doesn't get out until 2:56 pm - is he starving? Plus on Friday he got a little lost, I think because his classroom doesn't have a bathroom or a nearby water fountain so he was fretting last night that he was going to "lose his way" again. The school is big when you are six.
It's tough, this Kindergarten business. There's no one watching him or helping him. He's responsible for himself and the lump in my throat hasn't quite dissolved yet. 5 full days a week seems like way too much. But Ms. K created an Instagram account (please fill out this form) and there's been no shortage of letters and emails from the school all about the first few days. We'll settle in... Alex and preschool is next!
Happy Kindergarten Ashton!!
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