No Longer a Newbie

My little guy is no longer a newbie in school. June 1st he graduated from Kindergarten. I was so excited for him! He had such a great year and part of it was because he had such a great teacher, Mrs. Huddleston. She was exactly what he needed for sure. Gunnar is going to Heritage Community Charter School. This last year was their very first year, so Mrs. Huddleston moved over from the Homedale School District to teach. Then she retired. It has always been her dream to see a dual immersion program in action and this charter school fit the bill and fulfilled her wish. She was ready to retire after seeing it come to life. She taught for 31 years! Wow! She wanted to do more than have the little paper graduation hats so she enlisted the parent's to help make them. Gunnar and I went in one of our last days of spring break to cut out the caps with another parent and then other mom's helped sew them all together. They turned out really cute we all thought. We also had nice refreshments that everyone brought afterwards. There were 60 kindergartners total. It was fun to see both kindergarten teachers together. Mrs. Huddleston was retiring and Ms. Leon was a first year teacher.

Grandma Robin and Grandma Miller were able to come too. Gunnar loved that. I wasn't sure how I would feel about Gunnar graduating his very first year of school. I never get sad about anything really when it comes to my kids growing up but I was taken back how I was a little sad. Gunnar will never be in kindergarten again. He is now a full on school aged boy. Not a little boy anymore that is for sure. This year he was in the Title 1 Reading Program and has done so well. He is where he needs to be and slightly above average because of Ms. Woods. We loved her. If Gunnar tests at standard next year, he will not be in her class. I kind of want him to not so he can be with her. Is that mean? :) For his graduation present from us, we gave him a set of 6 Berenstein Bear books so that he can practice his reading throughout the summer. So far we are reading every day and he has blossomed out of nowhere. I am determined to keep him up to speed during the summer.

Gunnar had many little buddies in his class. We were lucky to have two friends from church in his class.

John Orton is Gunnar's best buddy. His birthday is in December so they are not in the same class at church but were for Kindergarten. They had a blast together this school year. So much that they were constantly getting in trouble because of each other. They would talk too much. Poor Mrs. Huddleston would have to continually find the perfect spot to put them in the classroom so they would not be near enough to talk to each other. John is a crazy good reader. One day they sat by us at church and during the Sacrament, John was reading Gunnar the Book of Mormon. Too cute.

Brandon Settle was another buddy in class. They also rode the same bus. Towards the end of the year Gunnar would tell me that he wanted him over for a play date. I've never met him or his mom really. By the time we got around to really having a chance for him to come over, it was too late. School was over. A couple of days before school was out, I heard Brandon yell out the bus window, tell your mom to call mine so we can play. I totally dropped the ball on this one. Gunnar had a blast with Brandon and I really hope they can rekindle that friendship next year.

Miss Abbie is one of our favorite girlies! We just love her. Her family is moving out of state within the next few months and we are going to miss her and then terribly. We have known her since she was 6 months old. Her and Gunnar are 6 months apart so they have been buddies for a long time. Pretty much their entire lives. They had several play dates at each other's houses throughout the year. Her bus stop was right before Gunnar's so it worked out well. Abbie totally has a crush on Gunnar which is so funny because he is so clueless when it comes to this stuff. Everyone is just a buddy to him.

We are so proud of our Gunnar and he is already looking for to 1st grade!

Today We Got the Call

The call that saddens my heart, makes me wish that my kids could stay 14 months where Brecken is, makes me wish that we really didn't need to go to school to progress in life.

I got the call from Gunnar's teacher today... and I had a "chat" with the school bus driver yesterday.

We'll start with the bus driver. After school the bus driver motioned me over and said, "Mrs. Miller, Gunnar..." First, boy did I feel old with her referring to me that way. How else was she supposed to refer to me if she really only knows Gunnar's last name. Anyway, he has a problem sitting down on the bus. Like constantly won't sit down and apparently doesn't listen either. She mentioned that she has repeatedly asked him to and he quickly "forgets". We had a chat with him last night and hopefully all is good. I asked him if he stands up in the car and he of course said no. He went on to say that you don't wear seat belts on the bus and didn't understand why you couldn't stand up if they weren't there. Hopefully we have that one worked out.

So a number I didn't recognized popped up on my phone (maybe I should have put Jeff's instead-just kidding) and answered it. For those that know me well know I hate answering the phone in general, especially numbers I don't know. I did know that it was local and I thought it was my friend's work number that I have never committed to memory. It was his teacher and I immediately knew it wasn't because he was the stellar student of the day. Of course she starts with the good and tells me about a story that happened the first week or so of school He misplaced his backpack or lunchbox and started to panic about finding it. He asked her about 3 different times to say a prayer with him to find it. Now, at home, he has never asked to pray about anything lost and I don't recall a time that we have openly done that with him. She then realized that he is probably LDS and that this was important to him because of his persistence. Thankfully she too is LDS and has raised 4 kids of her own and currently teaches primary in her ward, so she understands the importance of following through on something like that. She took him to a quiet corner of the room and they said a little prayer. She's taught kindergarten for the past, like, 20 years and has never had a child ask her to do that.

Now on to the bad. He spit in the little boys face across the table from him. She'd heard that he had done it one other time but never witnessed it herself (a little kid could have reported it previously and you never know what to believe) until today. He was sent to the principals office and had to miss PE and recess because of it. The counselors also told her that they have stress reliever balls or punching bags that he can go in and use if he feels the need. I wonder how long they have had his name memorized. His teacher said her approach almost made him worked up even more and wanted to know of suggestions that work at home. I am at a complete loss. We are still trying to figure out this kid too. I have noticed that yelling at him or being loud with him does get him worked up even more. I think he is always striving to get attention. For what reasons, I don't always know. He really does get a lot of time at home. Gunnar tells me he has no idea why he did it. Sometimes I really do think he does things just to do them without thinking but then other times I think he "conveniently" forgets. And this was not the time to have an "I forgot" sort of moment.

My heart really is SO sad that my own child chose to do that. This is the one time that I truly want to cry for the choice that he made. If this stuff happens, isn't it supposed to happen when they are older, or better yet, just not happen at all. Some of my biggest fears, is that Gunnar will be so mean to other kids that he will alienate himself and not have friends. I guess that would be considered a bully. But his teacher did say that he is not an angry kid, which I agree. He is not angry, just high energy and makes poor choices for whatever reason. I know he can make friends easily and he tends to be known wherever he goes regardless of other's ages. I want him to make and keep good friends that make good choices, which I know he has because one is in our ward. I'm just saddened by the phone call and can never tell if the conversation sinks into his head. His teacher and I vow to work closely on this. We all know "that" kid that is awful and crazy with a potty mouth and bad behavior. I do not want him to be "that" kid. And his teacher feels bad for always needing to get on him.

One good thing I guess, is that he no longer burps in school. She mentioned that they stopped that one. His name was on the bored for that one. Now his name is constantly on there for other things and Gunnar seems to think that is okay and normal. The joke before he headed to school was that Jeff and I might as well sit in the parking lot because we will be getting lots of calls. Now it is not even a joke and just makes me sad and determined to make him make good choices.

His teacher did suggest that we pray specifically at night or before school for him to make good choices. In all honesty, we have not been praying with him in the mornings. That is something we will start doing with specific requests on his behalf. This school thing stinks. Why can't my boy be the quiet, compliant one. Maybe Brecken...?

I Have a Kindergartner

I can't believe it. I have officially entered the world of the school system and have lots to learn. I can see where it can keep you very busy. I also can't believe my oldest is a kindergartner. Sometimes I have to laugh because this November Jeff and I will have been married 11 years. If we started having kids right away I could have potentially had a 10 year old! Now that seems old. I like my life where it is now thank goodness.

Gunnar was so excited and so ready to go. He was pretty sure that he would ride the bus to and from school the first day. I asked him about every 4 hours leading up to the big day to make sure. I don't blame him for being ready though. We had met his teacher 3 times before that, toured the school the week before. He was ready. They have to wear a very specific uniform at this new charter school in our area. He can wear khaki pants or shorts (but only until fall break and then not again until after spring break), red or blue polo shirt with an embroidered logo and simple white shoes with minimal color on them. In the colder months he can wear long sleeved embroidered polos in red or blue or crew neck sweatshirts in those colors. I actually really like the uniform in the ease of getting dressed in the morning it has provided. We never have to debate clothing and it totally takes the guess work out of what to wear or things being clean. We just wash his clothes at the end of the school week. I love it and he easily dresses himself because of it. Thank you grandma Robin (my mom) and grandma Miller (Jeff's mom) for providing the school clothes he needed. It was a tremendous help to us and Gunnar loves knowing that his grandma's got his clothes.

I really didn't want to spend money on a backpack. For one they are way spendy and for another they are just too darn HUGE for a smaller kindergartner. Totally not necessary. I also did not want to spend my money on one of those cheaper character ones. They totally drive me nuts and the quality is aweful. This summer I was at a yard sale (haha) and spotted this awesome little Quicksilver backpack with a great Hawaiian print in even better condition. I don't even know what I spent on it because I had a pile of baby clothes for my sister in law in the mix. I paid $3 for a huge pile of clothes and this backpack. I washed it up and it looks brand new. It looks so good and I love it. It fits Gunnar perfectly. The other mom at the bus stop even asked me where I found a smaller backpack like that.

(Ugh...when is the bus going to come!)

Gunnar had a great first day. He loves his teacher and tells me that pretty soon he will be able to completely shut off his voice and get a new voice...it is Spanish! I really wish you could hear the way he says the word Spanish because it is too funny. He is getting the numbers down in Spanish pretty quickly but learning other things obviously. He plays with his friend John from our ward as well as another little boy named Henry who I don't know. After his first day I made him a candy crayon made from Rolos and a Hershey kiss. It was so cute.

(waiting and waiting for the bus)

Gunnar had a slight meltdown about the 4th day of school. It was not good and his problem was that he didn't take sleep seriously. I don't blame him when it is still light outside. Don't you remember laying there at night with bright light coming through the windows wondering why your parent's put you to bed.Thankfully it is getting darker earlier for his sake. Anyway, we were supposed to see our friends that day to go to the church orchard so I tried to bribe him with that. I then tried to bribe him with swimming at our friends house the next day. Nothing worked. All I heard to the school bus was, "I hate school. I hate kindergarten. I hate Paige (his little friend). I hate Carol (our friend's house that we were going to swim at)." Over and over again. But he got on the bus.

This last Monday he had a MAJOR meltdown! He would NOT get on the bus. He clung to me like a monkey. I was holding up the bus and decided to drive him in instead. Now I did not do it happily. This was the first week that Jeff was going in to work at 8am so he was able to stay home with Brecken so he could continue sleeping. I had been waking up Brecken early to take Gunnar to the bus stop which resulted in a super tired baby that went back to bed at about 8:15am. His schedule was so out of whack so I was happy Jeff could be home. Anyway, we marched back to the house, Gunnar was ordered to get in the car, Jeff left for work and I had to wake up a baby. I was TICKED! On the way there, Gunnar told me he was so upset because he was tired. I sternly told him that was NOT my problem and he did not have a choice about school like preschool. He has to go and I was NOT going to be driving him to school again. Since then he has been waking up happy knowing fully that it would all result in a mad mom. Our school bus is currently around the corner about a block. Not a huge deal if all 8 kids showed up. No, instead it is Gunnar and another little girl who lives across the street from us. We've put in our request to move the stop by us so I can just walk out my door to the stop, leaving babies to sleep. See I watch Cami twice a week and the bus pickup is smack in the middle of their naps. I have to entertain two babies for about an hour and half before the bus comes. Then they completely crash when we get back. Doesn't make for a very good nap. I will be so happy when the route is changed just one street over.

Overall Gunnar is doing great in all day kindergarten. About once a week he comes home exhausted but overall happy with lots of energy left. I was not a super sad mom to see him go. Instead I was super excited for this next chapter in his life. He was so excited for school. How could I not catch some of that excitement. And yes, Brecken is a whole new baby with Gunnar not around. He cracks me up.

Sick

Literally.
Really what I have is a simple sore throat that is causing my ears to hurt and excess flem. Sore throats drive me nuts. They linger on and on and on. Everytime you swallow, it takes a lot of work to minimize the pain and it always feels like there is a bowling ball in there restricting the pipe. And for me there is no built up...wham! Congratulations you have a sore throat. Sadly, I think Brecken may be suffering from the same thing a little.

I went grocery shopping yesterday at Winco and Costco and just about died. My stomach was turning the entire time, wondering what the grand total would be at the checkstand. I didn't even buy that much. I coupon, and usually I do okay keeping up with what I need. However they also come in cycles so summer stuff like salad dressing, mayo, mustard...you get the idea, start going on sale with coupons about now. I have been out of mayo and salad dressing for a while now but I can't bear to pay full price for any of those. Again, I didn't get any this trip. Sales are just around the corner. I bought fruits/veggies and stuff to make gyros. I also bought stuff to make artichoke dip to only come home, look at the recipe and realize that I didn't even get all of the ingredients. Annoying.

This lady and I were getting bananas. For the longest time they were $.38/lb until recently and they shot up to $.48/lb. Yesterday they were $.52/lb. What!? When did that happen. Gunnar was telling Heidi the other day that he really wanted grapes but we couldn't get them because I told him they weren't cheap right now. haha. He knows me well and we try to eat what's in season. Don't you? I just wish asparagus would go down a little more and that is in season right now. I'm just not used to the "new" price of everything especially when Jeff's wage at work is not changing at all. I'm not a huge foodie and could really care less about food so some days I wish we didn't have to eat period.

Yesterday we registered Gunnar for kindergarten at the new charter school in the district. I am excited and we were able to meet one of two kindergarten teachers. She was awesome! She taught in the Homedale school district for 25 years. 17 of those were in kindergarten. She got to the point where she started teaching some of her old student's kids. I just loved her. I'm not sure what the other teacher was like but I wouldn't mind having this one. But what made me sick? The cost for the school uniforms. I am not opposed to uniforms at all. Acually it will make getting dressed in the morning a mute point and we will definately know what is school clothes and play clothes. Plus the entire school district at the elementary level wears them so no big deal. What is a big deal is the specifics. I personally think the founders are being a little to picky. This is what Gunnar has to wear:
red or navy polo WITH the school logo embroidered
*now red and blue are the only colors the other schools are NOT allowed to wear because they are gang colors and here our school proudly does. Oh brother and Jeff just doesn't get it given that he is a juvenile probation officer in our school district/county.
*in the handbook they say that all the shirts have to be from the same dye lot. Oh brother...so that automatically makes you feel like you have to order them directly from the embroidery place. The lady doing the shirts probably can't even get all of the shirts from the same dye lot over the years herself. I do understand that one student will come to school wearing royal blue and not navy thinking that they did the right thing if they didn't specify but dye lot...
*it costs $5 to put the logo on the shirts if we were to find our own. The cheapest shirt would most likely be about $5 and the shirts cost $12 through the embroidery place. Might as well go through them and save my time and gas driving the dang things around. Nice...totally sarcastic.
*the logo has to be there. We have no choice. They can also wear long sleeved ones and crew neck sweatshirts are allowed with the logo. The cost is obviously a little more than the shirts.
Pants and shorts
*they have to be khaki but not any khaki. They have to be middle colored khaki. No cargo pockets or painter style. Might as well buy these through the embroidery place too at $11.25 per pair. Boys pants are so spendy anyway at other stores. I might get a couple and then match them to other stores if I can find them.
*they can wear khaki shorts too.
Miscellaneous
*he has to wear khaki socks if he wears the khaki pants and white socks if he wears shorts. They recommend solid white shoes (yep don't have solid colored ones) for K-5 because of the play that they do. I am assuming they can wear them all day.
*can only wear a brown or black belt.

Can you see where this all adds up quickly. We would have had to buy uniform stuff anyway but not this particular. The school district just requires a solid colored polo in any color but red and blue and I can't rermember the pants. Should be interesting to see where we come up with the money for this one and how much it all comes too. I am just thankful he is not in 6-12 yet. They have to wear khaki pants or girls can wear khaki pleated skirts or plaid pleated skirts and all have oxford shirts with cardigans. All of these dress codes make me think of the Seventh Day Adventist School down the road or St. Marks Catholic School in Boise. The founders were really wanting a diverse group of students for good reason since it is a public school, so I kind of wonder how the cost of uniforms will work with some of these families that may not be able to afford them. Can you imagine having more than one student starting where hand me downs haven't even happened yet.