Second day of kindergarten

This was Jack's second day of kindergarten.  Every Wednesday is a short day, when they get out two hours earlier than normal.  I don't really see the point, but I guess I'm glad to have the extra time with my boy.

Once again, the first thing Jack told me about his day was that he got green and that same poor boy from yesterday got orange again.  At today's morning assembly, I noticed quite a few little boys crying and clinging to their moms.  (Interestingly, none of the crying children were girls.)

Jack said that his teacher spoke more Chinese today than she did yesterday.  He already picked up two words: the word for "no" and the word for "turn."  He told me that he really likes his teacher, which is very reassuring to hear.

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I think I am the room mom for Jack's class.  His teacher had sent home a packet of information yesterday, and I e-mailed her saying that I would like to volunteer in his class and also to assist the room parent.  I don't know if she read that as "assist as the room parent," but she wrote back, "Thanks for volunteering to be the room parent!"  Ugh, darn me and my giving nature.

One good thing about this recent correspondence with his teacher is that she told me that Jack listens very well.  And then today, Jack's English teacher, Mrs. N, called just to touch base and share thoughts about the first couple of days.  She said that she could already tell that Jack is a really strong reader.  They apparently did an exercise today where they had to describe a picture of a kid.  Jack spelled "happy" correctly, which greatly impressed her.  It was really nice to be able to exchange observations and impressions.  She eased some of my concerns that Jack might not be challenged enough with the reading.  She said that she would definitely tailor certain exercises for him so that he would, for example, be given the harder words when they do certain activities.  I was also gratified when Mrs. N. also told me that Jack was very respectful.

The biggest downside for Jack - well, all of us, really - about school is that it makes it really hard for him and Violet to spend much time together.  These last two days, she hasn't woken up before we've had to leave for school.  On one hand, that makes getting ready so much easier.  But then she goes down for her nap shortly after we pick Jack up, and then he goes to bed earlier than he used to.  There's not that many hours in the day when they are both at home and awake.  I think Jack has been missing her.  When she was taking her nap this afternoon, he was just sort of bored and listless.  I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said, "Play with Violet."  I may need to think about having her skip her naps every now and then.

The other downside for Jack is that obviously he doesn't see his old friends as much as he used to.  But I told him that he can make new friends, and he seemed a little appeased by that.  I'm also going to try to be very good at scheduling after-school playdates with our old friends.  It turns out that a whole day of kindergarten doesn't tire my child out the way it seems to with others.

We've all been doing pretty well with the new schedule.  Last night was the first time in a long time that I've fallen asleep before 11 PM.  I think that we can maybe push back our departure time - and consequently our wake-up time - a little bit now that I have a better sense of what needs to be done and how long everything takes, although of course traffic and parking always complicates the timing of things.

Slowly but surely, though, we are finding our groove and settling into our new lives as a family of a school-aged child.  It really is a whole new world.