1st Days of School

Leading up to the first days of school, the kids took to staying up late and sleeping in the family room.  They would enjoy playing the wii, watching movies, and then crash late into the next morning.

There's quite a mess of kids in here, plus one cat!

It's the first days of school!  William and Anastaya started attending classes 9/8.  The home schoolers started their home work as well, with classes beginning on  Monday the 13th, and Miriam began the 14th. 

Anastaya was excited to get back to school.  This is her first year doing a sport, cross country.  She began practice the first day of school.  She is in the 7th grade this year. 



William is in first grade in a specialized special education classroom.  There are nine students in his class with two full time teachers.  I realized that my life is really changing this year. For the past three years, every day, every thing I do has centered around William. Can we get back before his nap? Can I keep an eye on him while we do that? When is his bus coming? He's attended school the last two years but only for 1/2 days. He'd be gone 2 1/2 hours and there isn't much I could get done in that amount of time. I'd have to decide, do we do some intensive homeschooling that takes my full attention or do I run errands? Now, he's at school all day every day and it feels like there's going to be more time for things so that when he gets home, I have more time for him.

Jacob is a senior this year.  We hope it will be his last year in high school, but he has a lot of classes to finish up that are 90% done but not complete.  He attends Stillaguamish Valley School (SVS), which is a school our district offers for home schoolers which allows them to design their own learning goals and also take advantage of classes offered by the school.  Jacob is also on cross country this year.

Isaac is in 8th grade, also attending SVS.  He's excited because he will again be able to take part in 1st Lego League robot building competition that he did last year.  He's taking Spanish and several computer classes at the school, with the rest of his curriculum happening at home.  Isaac loves being home schooled because it leaves time for his favorite hobby, reading.

Elizabeth is in 4th grade this year.  She likes SVS because she gets to make and visit with friends.  She's taking reading, art, computers, and Zumba.  One thing we're excited about this year is on Thursdays from 12-3, it's just Elizabeth and I at home.  We're both looking forward to doing some fun science experiments during that time, and some Home Economics (cooking).

Miriam started kindergarten as a public school student this year.  It was a very difficult decision to put her into public school but we believe we've done the right thing (although Miriam is no longer so sure).  1.  She really wanted to go, and seemed ready.  2.  We're trying to avoid claims of favoritism.  Anastaya is public schooled because that's what she wants and William is because he needs the special services the district can provide.  The rest have been home schooled because that's what works best for them.  That doesn't cancel out the fact that the adopted kids went to public school while the rest stayed home.   Putting Miriam in public school, as least for now, is the right thing to do.   But, it is tearing out my heart to have her gone.

Miriam's first day of school coincided with Constitution Day at her school.  William and Miriam were proud to wear their red, white, and blue.  They changed district policy this year to accommodate our family.  It is now district policy that siblings of children attending special programs can attend the same school the special program is available at and ride on the "short bus" with their sibling.  William was so excited to introduce Miriam to his bus and his school.  He enjoyed being the knowledgeable big brother.

I try to let each child choose a dinner for their first day of school.  We also use special "You are Special Today" plates.  Luckily, we have three plates because three children started on the same day!  Since there's some days when several children have their first day, we have to spread the meals out over the week.

Here's the meal choices:
Anastaya:  Chicken gyros with homemade pita bread, and Turtle Cheesecake (Oreo crust topped with caramel and pecans topped with chocolate cheesecake topped with chocolate ganache.  Yum!)
Elizabeth:  Cheesy Hamburger Helper and Mud Bars (chocolate chip bar cookie topped with chocolate)
Isaac: homemade corn dogs, Oreo cheesecake
Jacob:  Jerk Chicken
Miriam: pancakes
William: hamburgers