We made it through the first week of school, and it already feels like we’ve been back for ages.
We were a bit groggy the first week, as we were all suffering jet lag quite badly. Kids had to be shaken out of bed on the first day. I myself was up the night before until 4am, unable to sleep.
Not sure if it was nerves (on behalf of my children) or jet lag, or perhaps a bit of both.
W was also having a lot of problems sleeping as we took his nanny (i.e. blanket) away when we got back, to stop him sucking his fingers once and for all (after some serious words from the dentist this summer). So, he had several nights where he was awake until 11 or 12 before he could manage to sleep. He was however quite chipper on the way to school that first day and each day of that week the teacher would tell me how wonderful he’d been! (This was a pleasant surprise… Perhaps he matured over the summer?!)
All the kids seemed happy after school but the twins came home with homework!! On the first day! Ugh! So the homework struggle begins again.
I am worried about Im’s teacher as she seems to be a bit of a crack pot, but she keeps insisting she LOVES Im, so I am hopeful that she will nurture her appropriately, as the youngest and slightly behind child.
W has taken a step up to Key Stage 2 (he’s in year 3) this year, with a “big boy” uniform of long pants and a button down, an extra hour and a half of school, and permission to leave school without a parent. (Doesn’t 7 seem young for that? I guess it is pretty safe here but still…) So after 3 days of me doing 2 separate pick-ups in broiling heat, he said to me: “Mommy, I don’t need you to pick me up any more. I can get home myself.” As happy as I was to save myself from the extra dose of torturous heat, and as proud as I was of him, I felt a little sad.
At the end of the week, we are finally back in the right time zone, sleeping and waking when we should, and back in old habits (good and bad!) The summer feels like a distant memory.
Image Credit: jurvetson
