New School Year!

Hooray! It's a new school year, and it's off to a great start.

CC has been a bundle of nerves the last few days. She had trouble sleeping; she complained of stomach pain; she barely ate anything. She's starting at a high school where she doesn't know anyone at all, and the campus has multiple buildings that she'll have to navigate to get to her classes. But when I picked her up at the end of the day, she was all smiles. "I made two friends!" she squealed. One of them even has her same major -- Costume Design -- so they'll be taking classes together for the next four years. She only experienced half her eight classes today, because the school has an A/B day schedule. She'll have the other four tomorrow. But she is feeling much more comfortable now that she knows a few kids and is more familiar with the buildings.

Sweet Pea had her outfit planned out for weeks (discussed at length via a huge group chat with other 7th grade girls). She was up early, fully packed and ready to go an hour early. She didn't even bring the schedule I printed out for her, because she already had her classes memorized. After school she couldn't wait to tell me all about which classes she had with which friends and how her teachers were. But I know it was still a really big day for her, because after school she also had two hours of cirque. By the time I picked her up, she was in tears over multiple perceived slights (which is what happens when Sweet Pea gets overtired).

Little Man rolled out of bed and, in typical Little Man fashion, wore the clothes he slept in to school. "What?! I just put them on last night. They're clean!" 

He was happy to report that he has recess with one of his best friends, which is great news. And he's really excited about the robotics class he's taking this year. He told me about his plan for school this year: "If I do all my homework, and all my projects, and do well on all my tests, I'll get good grades!"

Um ... yes. That is literally how one gets good grades.

Little Man and Sweet Pea have all the same classes and teachers, but not at the same time. This is the ideal situation for me -- they will have the same projects and homework and teachers, but they won't be talking for each other (Sweet Pea) or teasing the other (Little Man). They also happen to have almost all the same teachers CC had when she was in 7th grade, and those were the best teachers she had in all of middle school. So I'm very thankful for that!