getting ready for the new school year

Pre-school starts next Tuesday for the twins. We are continuing with our Carl 3 days/Gretchen 2 days schedule as they move up into the Three year Old Class. yes, they are close to four years old, but because of the cut-off for kindergarten, this is the grade they need to be in now. They have some classmates who will turn 4 before them and even one who hasn't yet turned 3! Big age span for one room.

Monday afternoon, Lew & I met with Carl's therapist, new teacher, old teacher and the director to do a little transition for Carl. Honestly, I was worried the new teacher might not dig deep enough into the quiet little boy to see all he can do, so I wanted his former teacher to be able to give the new teacher an idea of just how smart Carl really is. (No one needs to point out anything about Gretchen - she can manage that all by herself.) The meeting seemed to go well and we'll meet again in November to revise Carl's IEP for the upcoming year. By then, he'll be well settled into his new routine and running that classroom, I'm sure!

Today, we were invited to join the new class for Circle Time, snack and Free Play Time to help the twins better transition. This coming Friday they will have another opportunity, but that is the planned Open House and surely will be chaotic. If there is one thing I know well from my years of teaching in early childhood centers... it is that a three year old class is often chaotic. Give me 10 babies any day over 18 three year olds!!!! I recognized all the kids from their other class and they all know me fairly well, too. But, this room is quite different already. I remain very hopeful that this year will bring growth and challenges for both of the twins.

Tomorrow night is the Parent's Night meeting, Friday is Open House.... and then school starts next week! Where did the summer go????

Here's how handsome Carl looked this morning:

And here's Gretchen. When we got home, she wanted to paint. I had just explained to her that in her new class, they do not allow you to mix the paint colors (like she loves to do) so I told her that at home, she could still mix whatever paint she wanted. Then, I gave her 3 colors; white, red and blue. But, only 2 little brushes. I figured since she was going to mix anyway, she wouldn't care. Well, turns out, her 3 yr old logic told her that since I did not give her 3 brushes for 3 paints, I obviously wanted her to use her hands for the third color. Then, that just turned into a lot of hand painting... and this is how she ended up....