New Routine, and then I go off on a tangent. But there are pictures!

We've been back to our school year "routine" for a week. I put routine in quotation marks because it's a new routine for us. Actually, this week we will start our REAL routine. Last week was just a transition week.

Colin's first day of Junior Kindergarten (He looks a little tense. He was actually very mellow. I blame it on the word "cheese."). Oh and...(I had a cute outfit picked out for him, which he agreed he'd wear the day before. But that morning, he decided he didn't want to battle with the button and zipper on the shorts, and the grey henley t-shirt didn't have any pictures on it, so he didn't want to wear it. Whatever...get dressed...as long as it's clean I'm cool with it. So he picked mesh shorts and his helicopter t-shirt.).

While my first graders were at gym, art, or music, I picked Colin up at Sandy's and took him to school every day. I am pleasantly surprised at how easy the transition actually has been for him. On Tuesday, I walked him in the building and helped him find is cubby, hang up his backpack, and walked him into the classroom. He did amazing. On Wednesday, I walked him to his cubby but didn't go into his classroom. He sniffled for about 30 seconds and then he was good to go (I think he was especially tired that day because he almost fell asleep in the car on our way there). On Thursday, I walked him to the door of the building. As I was walking away, he called for me and I thought, "Oh great...here we go" but he just wanted another hug :). On Friday, I dropped him off at the end of a path that the parent drop-off kids get dropped off, and he waltzed right up to the building no problem. Seriously, I did NOT expect it to go so smoothly. Every day after school, he gets walked to the office and I pick him up there after I get my first-graders on their merry ways home. He hangs out in my classroom. The first few days were a little hairy, but now he knows that I have to get work done so he has to be quiet. He has been looking at books, watching Curious George on my phone, and every day I give him a snack.

He loves school. He talks about two boys named Reed and Ryland. There's two reasons I think he chose to befriend them first: 1. They both sit at his table and 2. There are boy-girl siblings at Sandy's named Reid and Rylan. He has learned a few new songs, and he's generally anxious to go to school. I think it really helped that his two good friends from Sandy's also went to school this year, so he's the oldest when he's there in the morning, and he really doesn't want to take a nap with all of the little kids.

This week we start our real routine, where I take him to school Mondays and Fridays, and Kevin's mom takes him Tuesdays through Thursdays. That will be nice so I can have some of my prep time back. The 20 minutes it takes to pick Colin up and drop him off isn't a very long time, but enough that I can get a lot done!

I'm teaching piano on Tuesdays from 5-7 and Wednesdays from 6-7. It's a bit late, but it's nice because we don't have to rush home. Right now I have 11 students, but 1 is moving out of town sometime in the near future. 10ish students is the number my studio sustains itself at. The money is amazing, and I love learning how to play piano Simply Music style, but now that Colin is getting to the age where he might start showing interest in extracurricular activities, I have to stop building my studio. My plan right now is to keep teaching the students I have, but not add anyone. If someone drops out, I won't be too heartbroken. Simply Music has been wonderful for me as a pianist and piano teacher. As much as I would love to quit my teaching job and work from home as a piano teacher, I don't want to take that leap of faith. It's too dependent on too many factors out of my control. Plus, I'd be teaching piano mostly in evenings, and when my kids are in school, I won't have a lot of time with them if my evenings are packed with teaching 60 students (the amount I estimate I would need to have to make the same income, plus purchase our own health/dental insurance). Plus I suck at bookkeeping, so there's that. I mean, I manage 11 students "fine," but I could never keep 60 straight. (Sorry, that was so not on-topic, but relevant I guess).

Anyway, so that's our new routine. Hopefully we can add swimming lessons into the mix in October :)

A few pictures Colin's teacher sent me of him at school on Friday:
Plotting his escape:

 School district motto:

The worst they could say is "No."

I think I've mentioned before that we applied for open enrollment for Colin to go to school in Somerset. The first application was due in February and you bet your booty I turned it in on the first day I could :)

Then the wait. From February until May, we waited for the decision from the school board. Turns out, all new open enrollments got denied (the OEs that got accepted were new students who had siblings currently attending, and students who were switching buildings). The reason? Lack of space.

I cried. I asked my principal what I could do. He said I could appeal, and he's only known of two previous appeals--one got accepted and one got denied again.  I cried in his office. Blubbering mess. I talked to the superintendent and asked him what I could do. He was sympathetic, but he's also a rule follower. There's no grey area with him--it's all black and white. He told me to sell our house. "It's a buyers market! You can find a good deal on a new house in the district!" I cried some more. I emailed a former district employee, who is now a school board member, who asked if I had considered the appeal process (and by doing so, kind of got the impression that she was saying we should appeal).

A co-worker of mine, who is a JK (Jr. Kindergarten aka 4K aka 4 year old preschool) teacher also got denied. We decided to appeal the decision, thinking the worst they (Dept. of Public Instruction, aka DPI) could say is no. We had to get all of our ducks in a row, stating why the school board's decision was arbitrary or unjust. We knew, as teachers, that lack of space was a lame excuse. The JK classes had been moved to a different building on campus just a few years ago. There were 3 rooms for 6 sections of students, and so far only 2 rooms (4 sections) were planned. We filled out some paperwork, wrote up an explanation, and crossed our fingers.

Then we waited. In the meantime, I had another conversation with the superintendent who told me that I could apply for an open enrollment exception, which is usually reserved for cases of bullying, a military family, etc. but there's an "other" box you could choose, and submit your reason why attending school in Somerset was in the best interest of your child. He also told me we could sell our house again (sigh...). But overall, he was sympathetic. I told him I hope he took my appeal as a compliment, that I believe in our district and I want my child to go there too. He said he did.

My co-worker and I applied for the Open Enrollment Exception. We wrote up our reasoning and submitted it for the school board to read (they make the decision over these, not DPI).

A few weeks ago, the boys and I were having a lemonade stand. Kevin was home and had gotten the mail, and an envelope came from DPI. He called me and told me the news that "by the order of DPI" Colin was approved to go to Somerset. I was unbelievably excited :)

So, of course, the next day I pranced into the office where I declared, "MY KID IS OFFICIALLY A SPARTAN!!!!!" and got his registration information. Since then, Colin has gotten his backpack and school supplies, he has met his teacher (the co-worker who also appealed) a few times because we've had a few playdates, and he said he's ready for her to be his teacher. We will see if he feels the same way next Tuesday!

Sometimes, you gotta fight for what's right. Just because someone says no doesn't mean someone else will too :)

Preschool Woes

I had this vision that Colin would go to preschool in the district I teach in (Somerset). I'd drop him off at Sandy's house in the morning and then he'd go to school with his buddy Rece from daycare in the afternoon. I started talking to him about where "his school" was and how he'd be going there with Rece. He was finally getting excited. We open enrolled him. I thought we were a shoe-in. We got denied. All 81 applicants got denied. The superintendent is not likely to change his mind. Apparently there's not enough space for us. Way to go me, counting my chickens before they're hatched.

I'm super sad about it. I don't want him going to school in New Richmond. The district just doesn't impress me. I think back to my days as a substitute teacher and when I worked at the teen center at the Y and how I wasn't impressed. I'm not impressed that we weren't sent any information about registering for preschool. I'm not impressed that we weren't sent any information about early childhood screening. There's just so much that gets me fired up about it.

I will fill out the papers to appeal, hoping it works.
I've got the principal on my side, who says he doesn't understand why. He said there were only 3 preschool applicants. He said he'd talk to the superintendent and see what he can do.
I asked Kevin to talk to a friend/co-worker/"boss"-type person, who is also the school board president to ask him what we can do.

Just in case those don't work, we need alternative plans.
1) He doesn't go to preschool. He stays at Sandy's full time. Not a fan--I want him to have a nice transition year before he goes to kindergarten all day.
2) He goes to preschool in New Richmond at our church. I really want him to go to Sandy's for the other half of the day though, so I'm not sure how we'd figure out transportation there. It's a 30 minute round-trip gig every day.
3) Sell the house this summer (if even possible. Good lord...we'd have to get on that like, yesterday) and find a place to rent in Somerset, then save money for a down payment on a house.

Sucks when a vision disintegrates at your feet. Sucks. :(

Colin's haps

I talk a lot about Ben because he changes so fast, but you know...there's Colin around these parts too. I thought I'd give you a little update on him with some pictures.


Colin wrote his name about a month ago and I was quite impressed. I didn't help him write this. I traced my finger on the paper, and then he wrote it with a pen.

Dude loves smoothies. Here we were at Target and shared a strawberries and cream from Starbucks.

He came to school with me so I could do something really quickly and listened to a book on CD. Seriously. He looks huge here.

He loves playing Starfall on my laptop and using Kevin's iPad to watch PBS and Disney Jr. shows. I wish he liked playing games a little more than watching shows, but it does provide for some good consequences ("stop yelling or no iPad tonight.").

 I forget what he was talking about here, but he looks huge in this picture too.

His current favorites:
TV Shows: Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Phineas and Ferb, Little Einsteins
Foods: Mac & Cheese, hot dogs, pears, clementines
Toys: Legos and other building things, anything that can me made into a rocketship/airplane
Games: "Spiderman," Chutes and Ladders

He's a great shopping buddy. Most Sundays he comes with me to Target and Aldi. We were at Target yesterday and I was trying on some t-shirts (I got 5 shirts for $20!) and he said they looked pretty on me. I mean...how can I not buy them if they look pretty on me? :)

Colin continues to prove that he's an excellent builder. It's amazing what he can create with Legos, Tinker Toys, etc. He drew a stage on the whiteboard at daycare. What 3 year old draws a stage? I love his creative mind :)

Colin is SO ready for spring. He doesn't want to wear his boots anymore. He is anxiously awaiting the snow to melt so he can get his Gator out of the shed. Every time it rains and the sun shines, he gets super excited that the snow is melting, and he groans when it snows. Can't say I blame him :)

We open enrolled in the school district I work in for Jr. Kindergarten (4K/preschool) next year. It's a half day every day, and then he'll be able to still go to Sandy's for the other half of the day. We won't find out if we got accepted until June. Then we have to figure out transportation between Sandy's and school since the bus can't stop at Sandy's.

We're gearing up for his 4th birthday. 4TH BIRTHDAY. ::jaw drop:: So far it's Jake and the Neverland Pirates themed. Kevin and I are taking the day after his birthday off to do something fun with him. Not sure what yet...waterpark, Skyzone, zoo...we'll see what he picks.