last day of school 2008:

Last day of preschool 2008: The last day of school was uneventful. Some of the parents pooled resources and got a gift for the teachers which we distributed on the last day of class. It was interesting to watch the kids go through the steps in their day and compare it to how things went just a few months ago at the start of the school year. Playing on the playground was largely the same with the kids having heart-stopping near-misses at high speeds on the tricycles, but that is where the similarities to the start of the year end. Lining up to go back into the school and walking through the hallways was a much more orderly affair. During snack each child poured their own water from a small pitcher, and after snack each child put their own cup and napkin in the trash without being asked. During story time the teacher did not have to stop and ask the kids to sit back down or to stop playing with each other, they just did what they were supposed to do. Other things my kids have learned during this school year include greatly reducing the amount of time it takes to get on their sock/shoes/coat before getting into the car, and most importantly, we’ve all 3 learned that we can survive a few hours a day without each other. Alex’s verbal skills and willingness to use them have increased dramatically and both kids have improved greatly in their writing/drawing skills. These improvements might have occurred even without school, just as a product of growing older, but over-all I think that going to school for 5 hours a week was a nice introduction to a class room situation, and I’m glad they got to meet so many other nice kids. Alex and Chloe would tell the story differently though. Even at the end of the year the kids would still whine and drag their feet when I told them it was time to go to school. Given a choice they would not have gone to school at all, even Chloe who was so popular with the other kids was not enthusiastic at all.

Everyone always asks me “so, what do you do with your spare time now that the kids are in school?” My plans were to do some projects around the house, and to start doing some research into potential careers since I only had 2 years left until the kids go to school full time. I did manage to paint a few rooms, but other than that, I got nowhere on my plans. I mostly ended up scrubbing toilets, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, and generally doing whatever chores or errands were easier with the kids not around. 2 hours to myself twice a week just didn’t turn out to be as much time as it sounded like it would be. Next year I’ll have 2 hours to myself three times a week, so maybe I’ll do better!