My boys started kindergarten this fall. It’s an all-day program in our district, so from the time they get on the bus in the morning until they’re returned to me in the afternoon, they’re gone 7 hours. This is a big step from last year’s preschool program of 2 hours a day, 3 days a week.
I asked to have them placed in the same classroom this year, and the school accommodated us. I’ll refer you to this post about their adjustment to preschool, so you have some frame of reference for their progress. Go ahead, click. We’ll wait for you.
Okay, everyone back?
We’ve made immense progress from last year’s desperate screaming and clawing as though they were being abducted. This year they happily hop onto the bus with their sister and neighborhood friends. Each boy cried the first day – G because he got separated from his class, and P because he was too scared to get his snack from his lunch bag because the classroom aide was yelling at people who got out their lunch bags at snack time. So he skipped snack. Poor baby. (The aide really is mean – I witnessed it firsthand and want to mention it to the teacher, but I think I’m skating on thin ice with her already because my boys don’t know any letters of the alphabet by their real names. They’re rocking a twin-language thing when it comes to the alphabet.)
But otherwise, no tears. The teacher let everyone choose where to sit the first few days, then she assigned seats and my boys are at different tables. They have no problem with this.
I’m so happy with how well they’ve adjusted. They’ve come so far in just a year, in terms of their ability to separate from us and from each other. This has given me greater confidence in the idea of letting them choose when to be separated, because I see the progress they’re making.
How’s the new school year treating the multiples in your lives?
Jen is a work-from-home mom of 6-year-old twin boys, and two girls ages 3 and 8. She also blogs at Diagnosis: Urine, where she examines the finer points of potty training failure.
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I’m really happy to hear your boys are adjusting to all-day kindergarten. I’m really leaning toward full-day for my girls, but I have to figure out if that’s the time to begin separating them. (Two and two? One, one and two? decisions, decisions!)
Quadmama recently posted Lessons Learned from the Birthday Bash
First grade IS a huge adjustment! I wish they had all-day kinder when my kids were little. It seemed by the time I dropped them off, went home and cleaned the kitchen, it was time to pick them up again! My “babies” just started high school. Fortunately, they love it.
Christina Tinglof recently posted Just Say No…Yeh- Right