Back to school!

Okay so I'm a month behind with this, but oh well!

I think both kids were excited to head back to school, despite Reed's protests to the contrary. I think by the end of summer, they've had more than enough of camps and field trips and want to use their brains a little more.

First day!

Amy's teacher, Mrs. Maynard, seems to be a good fit for her so far. Amy's pal Guiliana is in her class, along with a couple of other pals from previous years. She has fallen into a pretty good routine with her homework, doing it at CASA many days, and finishing at home others. The dreaded Word Searches that caused Reed so much consternation are still part of the spelling homework, much to my chagrin. She's handled them much better than he did (thus far, anyway) and hasn't complained a whole lot.

Reed's homeroom teacher is Ms. Coughlin and she is new to the school. Everything seems to be going well so far, his grades are good and he gets a lot of positive feedback. He also has Mrs. Sgroi for Virginia Studies and math, and I think this might be his first real connection with a teacher. He's been really into learning about Virginia, and I think it's due in part to Mrs. Sgroi (perhaps it has something to do with the fact that she's beautiful? maybe!). He's even done EXTRA homework for Virginia studies, which is unheard of. He also decided to join the chorus, which meets weekly after school. I'm looking forward to their first appearance of the year, which is next week.

By now we've mostly settled into our routines and things are going well. The rhythm of the school year is comforting for all of us, I think. It's hard to believe that Reed has only one more year of elementary school!

Will they remember?

When I try to think back to my own childhood, I don't remember a lot of details. Did my Mom read to me? Play with me? What were our evenings like? Did I have homework in elementary school? Sadly, I can't remember. I have a few early-ish memories - falling off the monkey bars at Blake Preschool and needing stitches in my forehead (I was 5), being scared out of my mind on Space Mountain in Disneyworld (I was also about 5), driving trips to Florida in Mom's Firebird or Grandma and Graddaddy's big conversion van (probably ages 7-9).

When Tod's sister Martha visited this summer, she talked about when she and their sister Jennifer made the HUGE trip from Montana to Florida to go to Disneyworld with their kids. This had to have been a big financial commitment for them, they probably saved for a year or more. Martha was sure they'd be making memories that would last forever. They stayed at a Disney resort ($$$) and were there several days. Martha recalled her oldest, Derek, was about 7. As it turns out, the kids have zero memories of this trip. Zero. Not one.

Which makes me wonder about the value of all the trips and activities we do with our kids. Will they remember that we have read to them pretty much every single day of their lives up until now? That each of them got a trip to Disney (and Sea World, etc.) when they turned 5? That we spend time checking in with them on their homework, giving help when it's needed?

I guess only time will tell if they'll remember these things or if they'll only have memories that are based on the photos we've taken. But I hope that all these things we do are helping our kids to know they are secure and loved, and giving them life experiences they can build on.

It's worth it.