Unpack your Backpack and First Days of School!

It has been an exciting few weeks in our house!!  Brody and Briana have both had "Unpack your Backpack" nights prior to the start of school.  This allows the kids to meet their teachers, drop of supplies and get a feel for the classroom.  The preschool has never done this before so it was something new this year that Briana got to experience and I thought it was a great idea (and she really enjoyed getting to do the same thing as big brother)!!

It has been a wirlwind of a few weeks but we offically have a Kindergartener and a Preschooler. Brody loves Kindergarten and I am so happy for him.  He has a great teacher (Ms. Ruefer) and is making a lot of good friends already.  He loves the structure and all the activities he gets to do on a daily basis.  He especially loves recess!  He has Spanish class once a week which I think is great!  He has homework about 3 to 4 nights a week which usually is a math worksheet and then twice a week he brings home a guided reading book.  School comes easy for him so the math and reading homework are pretty easy for him to complete (so no complaining about homework just yet :)  I pack a lunch for Brody each day and he gets to help pick out what he wants in his lunch box.  He says he likes to go to lunch because he gets to sit and talk with his friends. He has gym, music and art on a rotating schedule (so one of those each day) except for on Wednesdays when they get out an hour early.  I have started to become involved with various parent activities at the school which is keeping me busy. We are currently planning Fun Night which is going to be a lot of fun for the kids!

Briana started preschool last week and is adjusting very well. She is going 3 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hours each day.  I was a little nervous this year as she had a hard transition last year being away from Mom and she cried almost every day when I dropped her off. :(  This year has been much better! I think it helps that she has the same teacher that Brody had so she is familiar with her and knows her well.  We voluntered a lot in the classroom last year so she is very familiar with the sourroundings as well.  Miss Deb has been a true blessing in our lives and I am glad that both of my children have had her. Briana is making friends and working on her basic preschool skills.  She knows all her colors and shapes and can recognize most of the alphabet.  She knows all the letters in her name and can spell her name as well, we have started working on writing her name too. I have started to teach her the letter sounds for each letter. She will have another year of preschool after this so we are just getting started!