School

Pictures from the first day.



Athena started kindergarten a week and a half ago. So far she is absolutely loving it and it makes me so happy! Choosing which school to send her to was a complete nightmare. We had it narrowed down to 3 very different choices: 1) our neighborhood school 2) a German immersion school 3) a new charter school with an emphasis on gardening, art, creativity, play based learning, multi age classrooms. Each of these schools I was confident was a "good" school, but ultimately I wanted to choose the school that best suited Athena. If you know Athena at all, then it comes as no surprise that we chose the 3rd option, the new charter school. So far she is really thriving there and seems to be becoming a part of the community there. Every day they practice yoga which she loves. She also works on signs and mail for the classroom everyday. She has made signs that tell kids where to stand, how to behave, etc. It is so funny to see her working so hard and to feel like she has a purpose. She is so lucky to have 3 playgroup buddies in her class, and one in particular has become a VERY good friend of hers. She has made a couple of other new friends as well. Her favorite times of the day are open choice, lunch, and rest!
So, I couldn't be happier with the choice we made. I still have my doubts from time to time, and wish we wouldn't have had to give up the language immersion program, but she would have had a male teacher and that is something she is super uncomfortable with so I know I made the right choice for now. And of course, sometimes I wish I weren't driving so far each day, but her smiling face at the end of the school day makes it all worthwhile. I keep waiting for her opinion of school to change, but so far she can't wait for school each day. She lays out her clothes the night before, and gets ready pretty quickly each morning, eager to start her day. What more could I ask for?