Back to School!!

It's official!  School has begun!

We thought we had to get up early in Gainesville and now we are having to get the kids up at 5:30 to get to school on time!  UGH!!  The final bell is at 7:30 and the kids can start arriving at 7:05.  From where we are living now in the apartment it takes about 20-30 min. to get to school and they want to be early.  We are trying to head out by 6:30!  I think it will be a shorter drive from our villa.

Natalie only had 7 kids in her class the first day of school (4 girls and 3 boys).  2 more were added today and I think they have 16 on their roster.  It seems like it is hard to tell if kids have registered and paid to secure their spots but haven't moved here yet, or they are still on vacation, or they decided to go to another school.  They have 4 other 5th grade classes with 15-16 kids each.  Definitely small class sizes here.  She really likes her teacher.  She has a couple of kids from the USA in her class, a girl from New Zealand, a girl from Qatar, and a girl from Canada.  She says she likes it and is having fun.  You can choose to send your child to Islamic studies or not and I was surprised that Natalie, the girl from New Zealand, and a boy from the US are the only ones in her class that don't go.  Instead, they meet with the other 5th graders who also don't go and have a cultural class.  It sounds really interesting. Their homework this week is to research all about their home culture and do a presentation about it.  I think it will be a great learning experience for her.

Chase is also enjoying his class.  His teacher is really nice and bubbly and he came home the first day exclaiming, "I made a new friend!  His name is Charlie and he is from England!"  He made two more friends today, one named Azhad and the other Janan.  He doesn't really know where most of the kids in his class are from.  Only one of the kids, Miguel, doesn't speak English very well.  The school has 2 nurses and the first day we had some miscommunication about entering in the carbs after snack and lunch but today it all went without a hitch.  He is happy that the nurses come to him so he doesn't miss much class time.  Tonya, if you are reading this, he "couldn't" pee for them today either when his BG was over 300.  :)  I am missing the great close relationship that Nurse Tonya and I share but know that Chase is in good hands while at school.  Today he reported that a kid "barfed" and another had a nose bleed so it was an eventful day!!

Avery had a hard time at drop off both mornings.  She was so excited about school starting, but is exhausted about getting woken up.  We are in that vicious cycle where she is tired from getting woken up so she falls asleep in the car picking up Natalie and Chase, and then stays awake too late at night because she took a nap.  UGH!   Her school day will be from 7:30-12:30 but this week they end early at 11:30 to ease them in.  Her teacher did not arrive in the country until 1 day before school started.  Therefore, her room isn't decorated all cute yet and she doesn't have much lesson plan yet.  She has taught pre-K for 6 years in the USA and seems like she is excited to get it all done and it will be great.  Her name is Mrs. Esther.  I love that she was playing music on her laptop for the kids when I dropped off Avery this morning and she is always sitting on the floor in the "soft play" room with kids climbing all over her at pick up.  Despite being sad when I drop her off, Avery says she loves school and that it is "the best school ever".  Today she made 2 friends, Ellen, and when I asked the other one's name she said, "now that is where it gets a bit more complicated".  Mom and I both busted out laughing.    She continues to be a comic relief for us!