A few more straggling pictures from our momentous back to school day last week. I’m pretty sure I take more pictures on this particular day than I do the whole month of September and November combined. (Notice I didn’t include October – Halloween tends to be a heavy photography day as well!) And for those that don’t have kids in still yet and think that I’m bragging…well maybe I am just a little. We’re a couple days in now and we’re finding our rhythm and it feels good!
One thing we learned real quick was if lunches aren’t made the night before, Steve and I end up making them which is not how we roll and our kitchen is a disaster when they walk out the door for school. It took us the first day to realize the schedule needed reworking. I’m from the mindset that kids are fully capable creatures if taught and trained properly (which we all know requires a lot of follow up.) Since the time our kids start kindergarten they are responsible for their lunches which gives them little room to complain what ends up in their lunch. Each kid makes sure they have something from every category – Main item, fruit, veggie, treat and drink – and everyone ends up happy with their lunch. In the past we haven’t had much trouble making that work in the morning, but with more kids it was growing more chaotic and messy. Making them at night when the dinner mess is still fresh is working much better.
Briggs was a trooper most the day. He wasn’t quite sure what happened when the tornado of excitement left the house in the morning, but it made for a quiet day for him. He stayed close to me and even when the kids got home from school I found him playing at the edge of the photo backdrop as I shot away. Each day is getting a little better for him.
I love taking my kids the first day of school because the playground is a flurry of hugs and nervousness as kids reconnect from a long summer away and they anxiously wait in their teacher line to see who else will be in the class this year (they usually know a few friends in their class which makes it a little easier). I’m not sure how all three of my kids lucked out with their best friends in their classes. Sadly, we’ve taken a first day of school picture with Hallie’s friends every year and this year the bus didn’t show up on time to get a picture. We snagged one with one of her friends after school amidst the crazy cousin photo shoot.
Cannon had a little back to school event two days before class actually started where he got to meet his teacher and check out the classroom that his brothers had told him every detail about. He got to decorate and eat a cookie which he promptly started to eat and then talked about it the whole day. He’s going to love preschool. His excitement is through the roof.
