The day after Labor Day, the twins started up their second year of preschool!  Although it is bittersweet seeing the twins grow up, I am definitely not one of those weepy moms who needs therapy after the first day of school drop-off (no judgment to those who are, I just really have personal experience with that at all!) I was singing zip-a-dee-doo-dah and relishing my little break of time with just Meredith three days a week!

There was a little bit of angst at drop off time on the twins’ parts, but it was much better than the months of tears at drop-off we endured last year. The twins’ Montessori class includes kids 3-5, so now that they are a year older, they seem to feel more ownership over their class and have really enjoyed helping the new little ones learn the ropes. They both seem to love being leaders and especially Helper of the Day when it’s their turn, although we have to brace ourselves when either one is assigned to be the Helper, because whoever is NOT the Helper that day is usually inconsolably upset.

It’s also my first year being the official Room Mom for Samantha’s class which means I basically have to send out a lot of emails and bug parents with reminders all the time, but I secretly relish being in charge, even if it means I’m the annoying Room Mom! I’m sure the other parents try and steer clear of me when they see me at school for fear I’ll ask them to bring yet another donation to class or sign up for another volunteer opportunity 🙂

Amelia is in Miss Becky’s class again:

Samantha is in Miss Holly and Mr. Michaels’ class again:

So happy we’re back to uniforms! Makes having their girls choose their clothes for the day so much easier.

GIVE ME THE SIGN BACK.

At drop-off and pick-up, Meredith goes crazy running around with the other kids and is pretty irate when we have to leave her sisters at the school.   She’s so tall that people often mistake her for one of the students.

This is the first year Amelia and Samantha have started staying for lunch and nap at school, which has been very convenient for Meredith’s nap schedule, and the girls have loved being able to stay and eat lunch with their friends.

At nap time, the kids rest on their mats, but a few don’t sleep, and Amelia and Samantha so far have been actually napping maybe 10% of the time. I was shocked since they still take regular 2-2.5 hour naps at home (I often have to wake them so their naps don’t interfere with bedtime).

The first few weeks, they complained that their mats weren’t comfortable and that they wanted to bring their pillows, blankies and stuffed animals (I think the black out curtains that make it pitch black in their room at home, as well as the white noise at home, have been too ingrained in their systems).

Now that school has been in session a few weeks, they seem to be getting used to the nap routine at school, but on the days they don’t nap, they have been incredibly cranky for the rest of the afternoon. We put them to bed early at 6:30 on those days, which has its benefits!

After drop-off, Meredith and I usually run errands, walk Bandit, go to the park or attend her music class. She is a lot less shy than the twins ever were and quickly makes friends wherever she goes. At music class, she loves to play the instruments, “sing,” and do all the hand movements. The twins went to the same Music Together program and it took them more than a year to feel confident enough to get off my lap! Meredith, on the other hand, runs around the classroom and says hi to the teacher and other kids like she owns the place.

With baby, then toddler and preschoolers napping, I haven’t been out of the house in the 2:30 p.m. hour in years, so the new school schedule has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us! I didn’t realize the world keeps spinning without us in those early afternoon hours, when I am usually home with sleeping kids.

On non-school days, by the time everyone wakes up from naps, the girls take forever to get going again (an object that is put in motion, stays in motion), so we normally stay home in the late afternoon, swim in our pool, or play in our own neighborhood. Now on school days, we’ve been out more often than usual in the afternoon. After pickup, we’ve been going out to the park, library, and out to feed the ducks. It feels so weird being out this time in the afternoon!

After a particularly rough week in which mean comments and bad attitudes courtesy of the twins were getting out of control, we instituted the Kindness Jar, in which the girls got to drop a pom pom in a mason jar every time we caught them doing something particularly kind. Once it was filled up, we went out for Golden Spoon after pick-up and rode around the park. It was meant to be a one-time thing to jumpstart them being deliberately more kind, but they were so enthusiastic about it, that we may bring the Kindness Jar back for the occasional refresher.

The twins decided it was okay to let Meredith have some frozen yogurt too even though she didn’t contribute to their jar.

Scootering around the lake.

Meredith loves to read at drop-off.

Have a great day, girls!

I was super excited when Miss Becky texted me a picture of Amelia starting to work on her word boards! Amelia was bursting with pride that day, telling us how she was learning to “read.”

Some school projects so far. I love how Samantha in her “self portrait” drew all three of her sisters. Identity issues?

Some of my projects for school so far have included helping host back to school night and bugging parents to bring donations to our superhero themed class gift basket that will be auctioned off at our fundraiser.

Amelia consistently talks about how silly she and her friends, Mila and Elliana, were that day (coincidentally, all three are usually the non-nappers in her class!).

Samantha’s group of friend seems to vary, but Ella is a constant, with Brooklyn and Kiyomi joining her to play “family” out on the playground.

I volunteered about once a month last year in both classes, but now that I’m the Room Mom, I’m pretty much the default volunteer. I came in Samantha’s class to help out with an art project and with the class platter that the kids paint and auction off at the school’s fundraiser. I had to go home and take a nap afterwards… I don’t know how preschool teachers do it, but all those little kids exhaust me! Here’s to a great school year!

Lots of love,