Last night was Back to School Night for Kali and Mackenzie. This was the first B2SN I've ever been to. Josh and I took a half day off work so that we could drive down to Long Beach before traffic got bad. What to do with this extra time? Well shucks, we went to Sonic. While admittedly my burger was cold and my fries were old, my Route 44 Cherry Coke was hands down the best I'd ever had. It probably helped that a)it was 103 degrees there (no joke!) and I haven't had real soda in quite some time. But it rocked, and Josh LOVED what he had. (This Sonic venture was for him, so I can't complain!)
Anyway, eventually 6:30 wandered around, so we went in. It started with the principal giving a speech on the gigantic black top playground they have. Once the teachers were all introduced we were instructed to go to our student's classrooms for a presentation. Josh split to Kenzie's while I went to Kali's. Much like the doctor's visit, this is where I suddenly became nervous. As I noticed my heart was beating rapidly, I caught myself going wtf? LOL why? Here's why: I walked in and it was like the teacher zeroed in on me. "HI! What's your name?" Oh crap. I had no idea if Kali has talked about me and if this woman will know who I am. So I said my name, and said I was here for Kali, and before I could get much further, she stopped me to tell me she knew all about me, Kali talks about us a lot and to come on in. PHEW.. high five Kals! Next, I found Kali's desk and sat down. Mrs. Grantham had the students fill out an "about me" packet...Kali's answers were priceless. 5 traits: Pretty, Smart, Blue Eyed, English (lol), Sister. Awesome Talent: Wii. HA! Love it! After the teacher gave us a background on herself (she was a student at the same school back in the day), she began to go over expectations, curriculum, daily routines, behavior, etc. Where I started to worry (again, much like at the doctor's office) was at the guidelines for moving on to the 4th grade. Only 6 of her students were actually ready to move onto the 3rd grade reading level. On top of needing to improve there, Kali has to learn multiplication AND division this year. Yikes! We better get some flashcards.
After Kali's class was done and I'd gone up to sign up for volunteering in the class, I headed back to see if Josh was almost done. The girls had just arrived, so I was excited to get to see them and get lots of hugs. Kenzie walked me around her classroom to show me everything. Josh and I were particularly worried about how Kenzie would adjust. She had NO desire to start Kindergarten, and the development learning center she was previous at had the attitude of "if you don't want to participate, its Ok, go do something else." Ya, that doesn't fly in grade school! The teacher told us that admittedly the first few days were a struggle, but one particular art project got her going, and ever since she's been doing just fine. Another PHEW!
So all in all, it was a great experience. Sure I would have loved it that much more if they were going to school out here, but I think that's pointing out the obvious. Next up, parent/teacher conferences!!
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