We made it! Today is the first day of school. I took this picture of all three of them as LG was waiting for the bus, but I actually drove the girls to school. Check out Princess P with the pout. Oh yes, she is expressing her displeasure with me. I did not have time to get another picture with her in a decent mood, since she did not snap out of it until we were driving. So this is her picture for posterity, her first day of school. I found out in the car she was mad because she does not like her book-bag. Mean mommy is not buying another one right now so she is just going to have to deal.
I enrolled her in Kindergarten, which she is very excited about. We went to open house yesterday and she did not want to leave! Her teacher is a treasure. Little Miss Lady is in the second grade. They are both one year behind their age group, and I can live with that. Although they have some catching up to do, I feel strongly they can succeed at these levels. So I can only hope I made the right decision. Both are enrolled in ESOL, and happily there are some other adopted kids (Nicaragua) in the class as well.
Unfortunately Georgia schools rate consistently low scholastically at the national level. That does not mean there aren't any good schools here, only that there are plenty that have churned out poor results. I am fortunate that I live in one of the best school districts in the state and both of my boys have received very good public educations. The down side is that it is not very diverse, and I have been especially concerned about that with the girls entering public school. The book, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla addresses these issues honestly and without judgement. Even though it was published over 10 years ago, I found her views to be fresh and common-sense. After I read this I felt much better about enrolling them. This morning I peeked into my older girl's classroom (approximately 25 kids) and noticed her classroom is more diverse than I anticipated. Her teacher is AA as well which was a nice surprise. I know these issues have been heavily debated on other forums, but when you live in an area where it's not so unusual to come across a rebel flag flying in some one's yard, one tends to be a wee bit hyperviligent. You see, so far, my girls don't know racism. They have not encountered it. They know our family looks different and they could care less. I overheard one kid asking my older daughter about it at daycare, and my daughter just looked at her like "And??? What's your point?" She did not understand the fuss.
But, I digress. They were both so excited yesterday and this morning. They got up early with no complaint, and I'll enjoy that while I can! Spending time at the open house yesterday really helped alleve some fears. Not sure how they will feel when they get home today, but I'm hoping for the best! And oh yeah, I felt those MOM tears well up after I dropped them off and was walking out to my car. You know those tears. My baby is launched into the real world!
LG, meanwhile is in the 11th grade here, which ranked this year as #744 in Newsweek's nationwide poll of best public high schools in the USA! He is hoping to run Cross Country this fall, which will be exciting (and good for him) so I'm hopeful that works out.
I'll keep ya'll posted...I'm now off to tackle some much needed housework!
6 comments:
I'm loving that Haitian pout, it really is a "symbol" of Haiti! If she's really only mad about the book bag, then I'm sure she got over it quickly! That's awesome that you actually have an AA teacher in a non diverse area, very good news! As a teacher myself, don't worry about the school rankings, you are the most important "teacher" they'll ever have, and with you rooting for them and supporting them, it will all be just fine! Can't wait to hear how it goes. I too will put Morelson at least one year behind his chronological peers, emotional age is much more important!
I can relate so much to no diversity and confederate flags and worry over both. I've been meaning to read Chocolate/Vanilla but just haven't yet. Thanks for the recommendation.
Hope the girls (and LG) have a wonderful first day!!
I know about the famous"Ethiopian pout"....now I know there is a Haitian version also. You got them all sent off....hurrah! Can't wait to hear about their first day and so happy that open house was a big success! Go Mama!!
Wow how exciting!! I cannot believe they are really off to school. I chose to hold Zac back one year also and am having him do a year of preschool this year. I am excited to hear how the school year goes!
You know, I personally believe it is better to place them at a grade in which they will feel success. School becomes so demanding the older they become, and it always helps that they like school rather than the opposite.
Aves
I'm glad that they are enjoying school. While I think schools need to be overall a great place, some of the high ranked (for academics) schools often fail to create a culture of pastoral care, where some middle ranked schools have wonderful wonderful support systems in place.
That is a brilliant book isn't it?
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