I am realizing that I posted first day of school photos on Instagram, but never did an update here!
So if you missed it, the girls had their first day of school. They were supposed to start right after Labor Day weekend, but the teacher’s union ended up striking and we missed the first 5 days of school. As frustrating as it was, especially since we didn’t know until late afternoon whether there would be school in the morning or not, we are very much in support of our teachers and staff receiving fair compensation, time and staffing support.
But the girls did finally start last week and it has been so great. I was/am nervous sending them back in-person, but it has been absolutely wonderful for them to be in the school community. They started taking the school bus home right away, and then this week have also been taking the bus to school each morning. It makes for quite an early day for us Lowers (who all like to sleep in) and everyone is up just around 6:30 in order to get the girls on the bus at 7:20. But we’ve been keeping breakfasts simple and the girls have been great about getting dressed and ready for school without too much fuss.
Eloise seems to be enjoying being back at her school and getting back in the groove. This is her first fall returning back to her same school (in the fall of first grade, she was remote even though she was at the same school). I think it’s been good for her confidence to be able to know the basic routine of the school already and then to share that with Daphne as well. She has a brand-new teacher and seems to like him! Third grade feels SO big and I can’t wait to see what she’s up to this year.
Aaron and I were both a teeny tiny bit worried that Daphne would have trouble adjusting to Kindergarten. She’s always had half-day preschool and LOVES to take a nap in the afternoon. Honestly, I thought she might ask to go back to her old preschool . BUT she has been LOVING Kindergarten, pretty much from the first moment. It helps that she gets to ride the school bus too. Every day she gets home with lots of new art work and coloring sheets, and tells me how much fun she had with her Teacher and new friends. The 3 recesses during her school day also help. She’s done SO well adjusting to a big school day; we are so proud of her. A few times since school has started (including today) she will sneak downstairs and climb into bed for a nap. I usually cap it around 20ish minutes, so that she gets a little rest that will help get her through the rest of the day, but not so much that she won’t be able to go to sleep at bedtime.
And finally (if you are still reading!) Aaron headed into work for the first time last week. I think I shared that he left Microsoft and started at a new company at the beginning of the year, but he has a very flexible work policy that allows him to stay remote 100% of the time. And while he will likely transition (soonish) to going into the office 2 days per week, he did have two days of in-person meetings and events to attend. So, he got to meet his co-workers and management team for the first time in 9 months! His new offices are a LOT closer to our house, so he can ride his bike back and forth from work, which is great.
Happy School Year to all the Lowers!
M