The first week of school is over...

Many more left. :-)

The kids had a great week. There wasn't that much homework sent home but I'm sure that'll change very soon.

Jackson missed Friday because he came down with a slight cold. All of Thursday he was very congested and had a runny nose. Then right after dinner he got the chills and bam, had a fever to go with it. Fortunately the fever didn't last very long and he broke it in the wee hours of the night. But we kept him home from school just to be on the safe side.

Taylor ended up coming down with a lighter version of what Jackson had on Saturday night/Sunday. She hasn't missed school yet but did get the fever very early on Sunday morning.

And now, I think Anthony is coming down with something too. He has the sniffles and is sneezing. Thus far his temp is fine though!

Ahhhhh, new kid/back to school germs have hit our household! But I'm optimistic that this will be the first and last colds for this new school year and they'll be stealthy and fine when everyone else gets sick later in the year. :-)
So here's to hoping!

Immaculate Heart Open House 2009

Today was the IHS open house. We dropped off the kid's school supplies, viewed the classrooms, met their teachers, and dropped off pertinent paperwork to the office. Then we went to lunch at Olive Garden and then came on home so Lisa could start working.

A few observations about today:

Kindergarten room:
Mrs. Duplanty (KA). The feel of the classroom is businesslike. It's all about learning. The kids sit at tables. They have implemented Smartboard technology into the classroom which is awesome...for us "geeky tecky folks" the class is on the right path towards technological advancement. There is an open space for circle time and the kids will sit on the rug to listen to the teacher. Mrs. Duplanty has been teaching Kindergarten for over 15 years. She is strict and has distinct rules that the kids in the classroom must follow. I have worked with her on occassion during morning recess when Anthony was in First Grade and she was on duty to monitor the playground along with the parent volunteers. Mrs. Duplanty seems very organized. She welcomed Jackson into the classroom and immediately had him unload all of his school supplies and put them into the appropriate boxes. Then he had to find his seat and bring home his first packet of papers. I have volunteered to be a homeroom parent for her classroom so that'll enable me to get to know Mrs. Duplanty a lot better.

Third Grade:
Mrs. Halbach (3A). She seems like a very nice teacher. Although, she didn't seem to have it all together, at least not for this open house...she didn't have Anthony's name up on the board for the list of officers in the classroom and questioned whether or not he was even assigned to her classroom. UM, YES HE IS!!!! It's up on the piece of paper on your chalkboard. I was pretty peeved by that. I know it's an accidental oversight but to act clueless in front of 3 other families...not a good sign in my book. I didn't say anything but Tony could see the look of disgust I had as well as he knew I would be mad about that!!!! Besides...no one forgets MY child. ;-D But she verified that yes he is in her classroom and she did apologize (but the damage had already been done) for her mistake and Anthony does at least have a cubby in her room. He's the 3rd person on her alphabetical list of students. Hmmmmm, oh well, tomorrow is a new day. Her classroom is very simple and "old school". The other 3rd grade teacher Sister Veronica received the Smartboard and so the kids will be transferring between the 2 classrooms so they all get to take advantage of the new technology. Mrs. Halbach will be teaching English, Handwriting and Art and Sister Veronica will be teaching Math and Science.

Preschool:
Mrs. Sanchez (PS). I love her. The room is in a converted building on it's own campus. Mrs. Sanchez was the aide in Jackson's Pre-K classroom last year and also oversaw Extended Care. We got to know her very well. Her classroom is bright and colorful. She has the kids sitting at tables and there are many centers for their entertainment. There is a computer room across the courtyard and a huge playground area. Last night Taylor kept saying that she wanted to go back to Pusch Ridge with her old friends and old teachers but as soon as we got to her classroom, she immediately ran in and started finding toys to play with. As we were trying to leave, she asked if she could stay and play in her new classroom. That's a very good sign in my opinion. Mrs. Sanchez did ask if she thought Taylor was going to be clingy on the first day or if she was going to act like she did this morning. I believe she'll be just fine and run right in and immediately try to find toys and friends to play with. If she doesn't...oh well, I'll just put her into the room and leave. :-) She'll learn! Nah, Taylor actually told me at lunch that she's not going to cry or hold onto me in the mornings. She knows that she won't get the attention she wants by doing that.

I think the kids are a little nervous but they have all told me they are ready for tomorrow. Taylor is especially ready to play in the sandbox and eat snack. Jackson is fully ready for Kindergarten and Anthony...he hasn't said much one way or the other but is SO excited to see his friends again.

Hmmmm, is mommy ready to let them all go again? I say that I am ready and I'm ready for my mornings to get back into a routine...we'll see how I do on the car ride out of the parking lot. :-)

Last Monday of 2009 Summer...

Well...for my kids anyway before they start back to school. Today is their last Monday before the 2009-2010 school year. This morning I took all 3 to Brandi Fenton for a craftdate/splashdate event. This was our second time ever at the splashpark and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I even got pictures this time!

As soon as we got out of the car, they all RAN across the soccer field to the ramada closest to the splashpark. I kind of hung back and walked but it was so neat to see their joy and excitement. Interesting observation was watching Taylor...she took off like a little rocket across the field and when she got to the edge she noticed that there was a huge muddy area and stopped. Of course being the pessimist, I was thinking that she wouldn't see it and would run right through the mud and end up covered! But I was SO wrong. She stopped at the edge and negotiated and navigated her way around the puddle walking into the ramada clean and dry! The boys kind of followed suit and immediately they left their towels on the tables and went into the splashpad. Taylor wanted to do the craft first and then ran inside to play.

Anthony and Taylor fight over who will sit on the sprayers that shoot water straight up into the air.

Jackson is such a hambone! Little does he know that he's standing on a sprayer that'll shoot water up into the air...and into his swimsuit.

I got the three kids to stop just long enough under the spraying arches to capture this picture. It was very difficult considering how much they move around! And surprisingly, the water was actually cold on a hot muggy day like today was.

Hee hee, yes Water CAN spray upwards! Jackson thought this was one of the neatest things to see. The first time we played, these sprayers weren't working and neither were the buckets. Jackson spent a lot of time trying to figure out the timing of when the water was going to spray upwards as well as he asked me a LOT of questions about how the sprayers worked. Geez, kid...I don't know...pipes and water pressure?

After cooling off in the splashpad, the kids toweled off and headed towards the playground equipment. Taylor really wanted to do EVERYTHING her brothers did such as climbing the rock wall.

But most of all, she wanted to slide down the slides. Fortunately, her bottom was still wet and this slide was still under the playground cover so it didn't "burn" as much going down as the other playground slides did.