There are numerous things that make the twins' elementary school a cut above the rest. National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, Red Carpet Award for being "family friendly," Everyday Math, reading and literacy programs, etc. Most recently I discovered they have a full kitchen in their classroom cluster and why - they baked a cake! Together! At school! Last week they were learning colors and talked about primary and secondary colors. On Friday all four classes baked their own Rainbow cake. That's cool. Also, the principal still leads the school in the Pledge of Allegiance, God Bless America and a moment of silence every day. Elizabeth's teacher sings a thank you song with her class every day before lunch. We are so pleased with our first public school experience.

Last night during family devotions we read about evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and the righteous man Naboth and his vineyards. Elizabeth prayed that good people like Naboth get to go to Heaven. So Sean asked her, "What do people have to do to go to Heaven?" She said, "Tell people about God." Not exactly, Sean told her. "Believe in God," she said. Yes! "I've always believed in God," she said. That's probably true.

Time to brag. Elizabeth is a star. Mrs. Hilton sometimes gives out Skittles as rewards for sitting quietly, following instructions, etc. Elizabeth doesn't like Skittles so she has her own special Hershey Kisses and Hugs. On Wednesday Mrs. Hilton said Elizabeth was going to go home with a bag full. Elizabeth didn't, of course, but she understood the compliment and was so pleased. Then yesterday during "Literacy Centers" Mrs. Hilton said that she and Mrs. Huck were going to have big heads when their students go to First Grade. Elizabeth didn't exactly understand that one, but she knew it was because they were the smart kids.

Looks like a pro, aye? And Beckham-handsome, too. 

It's been a big week for starting new things. Wil had his first ever soccer practice last Saturday and Elizabeth went to Daisy Girl Scouts for the first time. Wil told Sean, "Soccer is cool," when Sean got home on Saturday. Elizabeth was happy they did a craft at Girl Scouts on the very first day. I had warned her it might just be an information meeting.

Wil had soccer again on Monday evening and got to try his skills as a sweeper. He was very enthusiastic and I thought he played well. During both practices he started asking me 'how much longer?' after the first 30 minutes, but he assured me later that everything was fun, just long. His team is the Waves.

At long last Elizabeth started ballet and tap classes at the Community Rec Center. Parents weren't allowed to stay in the room, but we got to watch through the one-way window. She looked as though she was concentrating hard on what her dance teacher told her to do and equally hard at what she looked like in the mirror. I wish I could have gotten a picture. I certainly thought she was the most graceful of the ten little girls there!

We have 'homework' assignments now. They're just short activities about counting, patterns, the alphabet, etc. For example, "Name two words that rhyme with tree." That's it. We've got a calendar and the twins can choose what they want to do that day and then we check it off. There's something for every day but right now they only have to do one a week. We're having fun with it, however, and have done more. Yesterday Wil picked, "Draw a picture of your teacher and list three things you like about her." He said:

I like (Mrs. Wertz) because she teaches me.
I get to help her because I like her.
I like her because she wears cool shirts.

The twins get to check out books from the school library now. It's a big deal at our house. Elizabeth has been talking about it since school started. "We get to check out books after Labor Day. When is Labor Day?" She picked the same Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer book that my parents have at their house. Wil picked out a Rosemary Wells book about a mouse called Shy Charles. Charles looks a lot like Max even though Max is a rabbit.

When I asked Wil what he had to do to borrow the book, he said, "I paid for it." I was a little surprised by that answer, but a upon further questioning I figured out that the librarian scanned a barcode that must go to Wil's name, ("It went beep like at the grocery store,") and then the barcode on the book, ("It beeped again.") I think he understands that he didn't actually buy the book, but we'll find out when he has to return it on Friday.

This is the time of day when I try to keep one eye or ear on Wil. He used to fall asleep at this time and ruin his sleeping pattern, which is much more critical now that they're in school. This has only happened once since they started school, so he seems to have broken the pattern, but I'm still anxious about it.

Christine and Elizabeth were in the other room counting and I hadn't seen or heard Wil in a while. So I went to check on him in his room. He was sitting under his table.

Me: Whatcha doin?
Wil: Finkin.
M: OK, just wanted to check on ya.

pause

W: Daddy, can I keep finkin?
M: Sure.
W: Because I need people to leave me alone in my room to fink.
M: OK, no problem. I just wanted to make sure you were OK.

I guess this is what introverts do when they come home from school.

Christine tried to quiz him on his PIN (for school lunch) after they got home, and he just couldn't pay attention. Maybe later.

We met Wil's friend Chandler and Elizabeth's friend Brooke at lunch last week. Chandler didn't have much to say although he seemed to enjoy sitting with us and talked a bit to Wil. Wil was so pleased that we'd come to meet his friend. Brooke on the other hand chatted happily about everything. She may have talked even more than Elizabeth.

I put the "popcorn words" will, go, and we on the refrigerator to see if the twins would notice. Elizabeth did and she rearranged them to write We will go. Brilliant!

Sean asked Elizabeth "What did you learn today in school?"

Her answer: "You can write numbers as numbers, in a set, or as a word!" She was fascinated by the last. She told me later that two numbers start with f but she couldn't remember which ones. And then Wil piped up that he couldn't remember how to spell one. But I know they'll learn.

Wil's got a great new repertoire of songs from Kindergarten. Some of them are definitely geared towards 5-year-olds, like Food Fight, Herman the Worm, and one about a stinky diaper. He's also learned the days of the week in School is Cool and the months of the year. The one that makes me laugh the most is "Who let the Y out? Yuh, yuh, yuh, yuh, yuh."

Popcorn Words

"I see two popcorn words," the twins said, "'Will' and 'go'."

Elizabeth's teacher, Mrs. Hilton, sent a message home and the twins recognized those two words when we opened it up to read it. Elizabeth also knew 'we' and 'P.E.' as in "We will go to P.E. and Music today." They can read! It was a proud moment in the Meade household.

Elizabeth got a "Blue Ribbon" for solving the Alphabet Riddle today. She is so proud and we are very proud of her too. Sean and I went to lunch yesterday and her teacher told us Elizabeth is very good about volunteering to help, raising her hand when she wants to talk, and she always knows the correct answers. We watched her in class for a little bit after lunch. Sure enough when Mrs. Hilton asked a question, Elizabeth's hand was first in the air and she knew the answer.

Wil was so happy to have us come to lunch. His teacher asked if he would like to have someone sit with him. She meant one of the other students, but Wil pointed to us.

Stories from Days 3 & 4

When I dropped Wil and Elizabeth off at school on Monday morning, they didn't even turn around to say good-bye. That may have been because Wil was deep into a story he was making up about a stray dog we'd just seen. Elizabeth said the dog needed a leash. I suggested the dog had followed its owner to school, and Wil took up the story from there.

Yesterday I watched them go in. They didn't need help and headed straight to their classroom. They're so BIG!

According to the schedule, Wil's "Special Areas" yesterday were Spanish and Computer Lab. I asked him what he learned in Spanish. He said, "I raised my hand when I wanted to talk. I learned where to put my hands (in his lap) and where to put my feet (crisscross, not sticking out.) "Did you learn any Spanish words?" I asked. "No." What about Computer Lab? "We saw the computers, but then it was all talk, talk, talk."

Elizabeth got to play in the Kitchen Center yesterday with Brooke. She was thrilled! Brooke was wearing green and pink and had a green scrunchie in her hair.

Elizabeth's teacher taught them some Number Games. So we spent a lot of time last night writing numbers on each others' backs. Elizabeth would mimic her teacher, "You are so smart," except you know when Elizabeth says it it comes out, "You are so fart." She also says, "Round the tree, round the tree, that's the way we make a 3," and "Down and over and down once more, that's the way you make a 4."

This one is for my mom and sister: Wil said Max and Ruby were in the story about Jack and Jill. Check out your Rosemary Wells' Mother Goose books. The bunnies do look a lot like Max and Ruby. Elizabeth will, however, be quick to tell you all the ways they don't look like them. Wil told us the nursery rhyme this morning at breakfast with Max and Ruby in it. Then he went on to Shoo Fly, so they must have done that one yesterday too.

Day Two

Today was much better. They both said so. Elizabeth said, "I love you Leaphart," when we left this afternoon and was sad to learn that there was no school tomorrow. They got to play outside. They had their first day of Spanish. Wil made a book about his friends which included himself, Freckles the Dalmatian puppy, and LarryBoy. He also colored a picture of Angelina the Ballerina for Elizabeth. And he made a chart when he got home so our kitchen could be like Kindergarten. Elizabeth got to play with shells in the Science Center, although she was sad about not getting to play in the Kitchen Center because it was already full. She played with Brooke who sat beside her during Circle Time and was wearing pink today. As a follow-up to yesterday, Wil taught us a song about Herman the Worm at supper. He said, "Momma I learned a funny story at school. It's a song. You make sounds and it goes like this...." We probably sang it and some made-up verses for 30 minutes. So there were some good things about yesterday too.

In related news, I registered Elizabeth for ballet and tap at the community center. She starts in about a month. Tomorrow we'll register Wil for a Fall soccer clinic. It starts next Tuesday. Elizabeth brought home a flier about Girl Scouts today, so of course we'll look into that too!

First Day of School

Well, we all survived the first day of school pretty well. No one cried this morning. They had lots to do when I dropped them off in their classroom so that made things easier. Wil's teacher, Mrs. Wertz was taking a group of day care kids to their bus when I picked the twins up this afternoon. We didn't have time to talk but she said Wil had a very hard day. All Wil has told me is that he didn't get to play on the playground, (it stormed most of the day here,) it was too long, and he doesn't want to go back tomorrow. However, when we got home, the first thing he did was get out our "Gingerbread Man" book and tell himself the story. The Gingerbread Man was part of the theme this week and, I learned from Elizabeth, they read the story and made Gingerbread Man crafts. I also learned from her that she saw Aubrey 4 times, where and when, but they didn't get to play. In typical Elizabeth fashion, she told me a lot about the things they didn't do.

Transient Synovitis. How's that for a couple of big words? It causes hip pain in children and Wil's got it. Oh the things you learn once you become a parent! The good news is with rest and regular doses of ibuprofen he should starting feeling better in 3 or 4 days. The bad news is he has been limping for over a week. He only complained occasionally about pain in his leg and, obviously, I wasn't too concerned. Perhaps the times he had trouble standing should have been a clue. Anyway, we spent the afternoon at the hospital for blood tests and an x-ray just to make sure it isn't anything more serious. Poor Wil was exhausted. He fell asleep in the car almost as soon as we left the parking lot. But he and Elizabeth are playing their usual loud and silly games now.

I know I've been saying it for almost a year but I love this age! The twins are almost 5 years old and their play has become increasingly more elaborate, imaginative, and imitative. Yesterday they played 'family.' Elizabeth was in the living room pushing a baby in the stroller while shopping and Wil was in her room tending to the other babies. They were talking to each other on their pretend cell phones:

Wil: Sweetheart is feeling better, so we don't need medicine.
Elizabeth: Okay. I'll be home soon after I buy some more Disney toys for Katie.
Wil calls back: We need milk. Can you get some before you come home?

Me: You sure look pretty to me.
Elizabeth: I always do to you.

Mission accomplished.