School starts early in the South. Like, early August early.
I am now a full-time graduate student and graduate assistant at the University of South Alabama. I'm working on a Master's in Community Counseling, but my long-term career goals change weekly.
John and Eleanor are attending the half-day Pre-Kindergarten program at a local Episcopal school, conveniently located next door to Mike's college. A word about schools here: insanity. People put stickers on their cars (really, SUVs) with the name/crest/motto of their children's schools. In some circles, it's a very big deal. We looked at what colleges graduates of these fancy-pants schools attend and were further convinced that Alabama really is a lot like the Hotel California. No one ever leaves. Most graduates go to either the University of Alabama or Auburn.
Mike and I looked half-heartedly at a few schools and picked the one with the nicest fence. (I'm kidding! UMS Wright has a much nicer fence. We toured St. Paul's and it had a very nurturing atmosphere, a program with hours that fit our needs, and most importantly, spots for two more kids.
To reference more classic rock, it's very true that the first days really are the hardest days. Just look at Eleanor's face in the photo above. John missed the first two days of school due to the Swine Flu. He missed another day due to unexplained vomiting, and Eleanor missed a day because she had a cough.
Pre-K is much more intense than day care. John and Eleanor are now judged on how well they color, cut, and follow directions. Each day we receive a folder with their daily work, and while we know that parents should not compare their twins it's very hard not to when you have two identical coloring pages in front of you.
Since the beginning of school Mike and I have had serious talks about John's ability to cut and stay in the lines when he colors. We even talked about it with the teacher and wonder aloud if this will prevent him from entering certain occupations. Each day, Eleanor comes home with three monkey stickers on her papers while John's paper has the obligatory "good try" monkey sticker and suggestions that he follow directions. One paper had the directions underlined in red ink twice.
But, I am happy to report that Mrs. Ritchie says this is typical and that most of the non-repeating boys in her class can't cut, color, or follow directions. We were also thrilled when John came home yesterday with a beautifully colored, cut, and pasted picture with three monkey stickers.
