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Post by d on Sept 7, 2004 11:09:05 GMT -5
Feeling a little mixed - melancholy and nervous.
Got my ADHDer off to her first day of middle school ("Mom, no offense but can you please watch me at the bus stop from the living room window not be at the bus stop? You'll embarrass me, after all it's middle school"). She got onto a bus of sullen looking (which I guess translates to "cool") pre-teens and early teens.
And my baby started 4th grade - her first year in the elementary school without her big sis there <sniff sniff>.
Can't wait to see them come home. I've BTDT wanting to hear any & every detail of their day. If memory serves me correctly they will come racing from the bus stop, open the front door to fling the backpack in the house without actually going into the house then run off to play while I'm following them anxiously asking how school was. Their typical response is "It was SCHOOL Mom... how do you think it was?"
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Post by willoweezie on Sept 7, 2004 11:21:56 GMT -5
School started for us today too, second grade, third new school in 3 years...  Unlike the last two years, of crying, clinging, not wanting to get on the bus, Sage wanted me to drop her off at kiss n ride and find her own way to her classroom. She's been there twice and said she knew the way. Just jumped out of the car, waved bye and marched right in! I was very proud of her for her independance but a teeny part of me was sorta sad that she doesn't want to hold mama's hand any more. Can't wait for the rundown of the day, but i'm sure she'll say something like "we did lots of stuff" and want to leave it at that. |
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Post by LurkNoMore on Sept 7, 2004 12:46:51 GMT -5
My kids start tomorrow. Both want to be driven in. There was a message on our machine from C's new bus driver. I was impressed that she called on a holiday! She said she will be at the house at 8:30 am - we'll meet her and then let her know that C wants to be driven in on his first day (but will take the bus home). We went for a visit to the school on Friday (no one was around except for one secretary)...just wanted him to see where his classroom is. We went to the middle school first to walk through my daughter's schedule. The whole time we were there, C was complaining about a stomach ache (nerves, I'm sure). When we got to HIS school, he felt better...there were Disney cutouts in the main hallway (to greet the kids on the first day) and he saw lockers (his old school didn't have them...just coat racks in the classroom). Then when we walked down to his classroom and peeked in the window, he was even happier (the 5th grade self-contained moved down the hall to be next to the reg. 5th grade classrooms - his room used to be the resource room and that teacher had a grant for a webcam for bird feeders/watching)...C loves birds (and has his own birdfeeder - for goldfinches - outside his bedroom window)...so he thought that was very cool. Wish us luck tomorrow! Good luck to your kids D and Willow!!!  |
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Post by Mayleng on Sept 7, 2004 13:14:04 GMT -5
d, the kids probably had a good day, and then you will kick yourself for worrying but I know EXACTLY how you are feeling.
My kids start tomorrow and I can't figure out if I am happy to see them go or not. I am ready for some free mom time but still.........
Ladies, I hope your kids all have a wonderful school year this year. I think they have all matured a little over the summer. They are probably more resilient than their Moms ;D
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Post by willoweezie on Sept 7, 2004 13:28:16 GMT -5
Reminds me of that old adage, your own child/children are payback for all the stuff you put your parents through when you were a child.
I was pretty willfull, I admit, and I remember a few times that I really pushed the limits, but my Mom still insists we were angels. She's the eternal optimist!
;D
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Post by TerryB on Sept 7, 2004 14:47:13 GMT -5
My kids go tomorrow. They have butterflies in their tummies. I have dinosaurs.
Terry
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Post by willoweezie on Sept 8, 2004 8:13:12 GMT -5
Yay! Day 1 went very well! They have point sheets in her new class, and sage got the highest level for the day! She only had a slight incident mid morning when one of her barrettes broke, but got several good comments about her work in her journal and math Interestingly enough, there are 6 boys and 2 girls, including Sage and I asked her how she got along with everyone. She said that she liked the boys, but the other girl threw too many tantrums... I told her that maybe it was because the first day of school was stressful for this other girl and I'm sure they would make friends in time. Doesn't mean that I have given up that feeling of worry that the school will call about some incident or that I expect she will be perfect every day, but at least she started off on a good note! |
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Post by Mayleng on Sept 8, 2004 8:15:58 GMT -5
Willow, that's great. Hope the rest of the year will be wonderful for Sage.
I just sent my guys off to school, and the house is strangely quiet. They were both anxious, my middle schooler more so than my ADDer.
Can't wait to hear how they day went.
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Post by vickilyn32 on Sept 8, 2004 8:59:39 GMT -5
We have been in school for 3 weeks now, and so far (crossing fingers) it has been the best year yet. DS is 8th and loves all his teachers. His football coach says he has become a very good player, and has devised his plays where Dan does not get a moment to rest. Luckily he likes to keep moving. He has a wonderful girlfriend, and has become the unofficial office helper. He was a runner collecting kids when the power went off in town for 10 hours so the phones and intercom did not work, and helped to set all the jr high clocks to the correct time. He even helped the maintaince guy fix the bells, and set up for a assembley on bullies. DD is 6th, first year of jr high, and her year is 100% better than DSs was when he was in 6th. She is now class reporter, learning flute in band, and seems to be having the time of her life. I hope everyones year goes so well, and continues to go well. Good luck and hug your kids when they let you.
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Post by LurkNoMore on Sept 8, 2004 9:37:35 GMT -5
that's great, Willow...you must have breathed a sigh of relief (1 day down...the rest of the year to go)!
My kids started today. My daughter (7th grade...where did the time go) was slightly nervous because this is the first year she will have a different teacher for every subject (in 6th they team taught, so she had 2 teachers for all of her core subjects). My ds (5th grade) was VERY nervous...his first day in the self-contained. He will be picked up right at the house...we met the bus driver, but told her that he wanted to be driven in today - she seemed very nice and friendly. When we got to the school, everyone was very welcoming. We saw 2 of the aides that used to work w/C at his old school (they will be in the 3/4 Self contained). Saw the aide from his kindergarten class (she will be a one-on-one for 2 of the boys in C's class...makes us feel better since she knows him and will be in his classroom, even if she doesn't work directly with him). We also met the teacher and the speech path that are in his class. There are 7 kids in his class (5 boys, 2 girls). I'm hoping that he tells us SOMETHING when he gets home. He was excited about the bird feeders AND there are 2 hermit crabs in his classroom. His teacher is brand-new, but seems nice. At his old school, parents weren't allowed to walk the kids to the classrooms on the first day (AND the kids had to sit on the bus until they were allowed in at 8:30). Here, lots of parents (even of reg. ed. kids) were walking in the halls AND the kids get off the bus and go right to the cafeteria until it is time to walk to their classrooms. Wish us luck and I'll keep you posted!
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Post by willoweezie on Sept 8, 2004 10:01:26 GMT -5
Good Luck Lurk! I know we have both agonized over the self contained decision, but I hope this year goes great for all of us and in going this route we will see some positive strides!
I think the common thread of all of us here is that we, as parents, are committed to not giving up on our kids. Some of the decisions we have to make are really hard, and at times it's hard not to wish we just had 'regular' kids...but ultimately, our kids are lucky to have parents who care and want to do whatever it takes for them to be healthy, happy and well adjusted.
Again, I say... "WE ROCK!"
(willoweezie's pep talk for the day, brought to you by WMOM radio, hehee)
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Post by JV on Sept 8, 2004 10:07:16 GMT -5
;D Yay! school is going well so far for us too! My adhd'r has been in 7th grade now for almost 2 weeks, so far he's passed two tests with a's and tried out for the football team, out of 70 kids, 35 made it and he was one of them. The coach told him how well he tackles, and how hard he works, he really isnt clued on the fundamentals, but his efforts must make up for this, any way I was very happy for him to have made the team! He seems to be making more friends, although we have not had any new ones to the door yet, Im praying that this will happen since his bestfriend moved away in june. JV
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Post by d on Sept 8, 2004 20:40:56 GMT -5
OK, Mayleng, Lurk, TerryB - we haven't heard from you guys!!! Tonight you are probably inundated with gathering hard to find PIA stuff, covering text books, organizing backpacks, reading and signing a gazillion things, maybe some homework and trying to settle the kids into some semblance of routine.
I was afraid to post this yesterday but am happy to report that my older dd with ADHD who started middle school yesterday had a VERY GOOD day today.
She had an ok to good day the first day but short circuited and completely fell apart when she got home from school that first day. Haven't seen a meltdown of that epic size in quite a while. It was like she tried to keep it together in school and just lost it when she got home. My "anti-sleeper" actually asked to be tucked in early that night - never saw that happen before except at the beginning of Strattera. We've got some color coded binders going on now so she is feeling a bit better - she NEEDS that organization.
Today, the second day she was almost bubbly telling me school was a lot easier than yesterday (she also thought she was lucky that seperately she lost her earrings and KEYRING but found both - ack! this child will be the death of me). Got lots of details - all good & happy.
And my baby who is my low maintenance child (nicknamed "angel baby" till age four) sailed calmly and effortlessly through both days. I talked to her teacher today who is already getting her down (all positive things too) fairly accurately.
(willow we all need that pep talk sometime)
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Post by LurkNoMore on Sept 9, 2004 11:06:14 GMT -5
Hi d...sorry I couldn't check in until now...you were right, last night was full of "mom" homework...all that beginning of the school-year paperwork.
My non-adhder (7th grade) daughter had a good day...likes all her teachers etc. etc.
C (started self-contained yesterday, 5th grade)...absolutely LOVED it! What a relief it was to see this smiling, happy kid get off the bus bursting with information (usually, I get the one word answers). He made 2 new friends in his class. He reported that he worked independently (and was happy that he wasn't one of the kids that needs a helper/aide...I never realized before how much it bugged him to have an aide). He had one (in his words) easy math sheet (still needed my help b/c it was a graph and he wasn't reading/responding to the questions correctly)...but set right to work when he got home. They had a "raffle" to name the hermit crabs (none of his choices got picked...but he was OK with that)...they are Nigel and Lucy. His job this week (he got to pick first) is to feed the hermit crabs (and he explained in detail exactly what he has to do and when) He saw the PT (from hell from the old school)...she just stopped in to say hi to him...he didn't know if he would be working with her this year (I hope not)! He got to go to music with the reg. ed. class (4 kids from his class went...the other 3 went with the other 5th gr. class to a different special). He was with the man teacher's class (we had requested this). Obviously, I haven't spoken to the teacher and am just hearing his version, but I am so RELIEVED that day 1 went so well. He got on the bus willingly this morning (and was concerned that he had all of his papers and homework)...
I'll definitely keep you posted...thanks for all the pep talks and good advice last spring when we were going through the decision making process!
and, Willow, you're right...we need to keep each other posted (and sane)...and compare notes!
;D
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Post by Mayleng on Sept 9, 2004 11:20:43 GMT -5
d, lurk (don't know how I missed this thread this morning).
So glad to hear the day went well with your kids.
d. was right, I was packing, signing a million forms, wrapping etc. I was on the run yesterday with my OBGYN appointment (looking like it will be beginning of October for the surgery, I am seeing a urologist today to make sure my bladder is ok for the surgery), then went to lunch with a friend and before you know it the middle schooler was back with all the stuff. Then his friend and mother dropped in. My ADDer came back half an hour later (had a great day, said he "won" the farthest vacation destination award from his teacher). Then I had to run the Dog to the Vet. He had an eye infection on one eye and an ulcer on the other. But the Vet could not confirm it, so sent me to a Dog Eye Doctor . So straight away I had to drive across to another town in the pouring rain to get him checked out - $200 poorer, I got home and it was dinner time, still had to sign, sort, wrap etc. By the time all was said and done, I felt like I was in a whirlwind.
So today, I am off to the Urologist and tonight Open House at my son's middle school, kids are not allowed to attend only parents. What's up with that? They have only been in school for 2 days.
We are having Frances swing through now, and there are a lot of flooding in the area, roads were blocked, cars were stucked and quite a few schools were closed.
So the kids had a good day, mine was madness.
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