School Days: First Day of Kindergarten {Riley}

My Riley-bean is officially a kindergartener! School started yesterday for him, but he only went for an hour and a half. He goes again today for another hour and a half, and his first full day is on Monday.

Kenny and I attended parent orientation on Monday night to see his classroom and “meet” his teacher. I say “meet” because I already know her: he got Mrs. Allison, the same teacher he had for Kindergarten Readiness Camp back in June! He was very excited to hear that, although sad at the same time because Claire is unfortunately not in his class. That makes two years in a row that they’ve been separated; perhaps the third year will be the charm.

Mrs. Allison had her first baby right after Kinder Camp, so she is technically still on maternity leave. But she was there Monday night and Wednesday through today. Then she’ll be out for two more weeks, returning to school for good on Monday, August 31.

Her first day back will be the August birthday celebration day. In kindergarten they celebrate birthdays once a month. And it just so happens that Riley and Mrs. Allison share the same birthday. How fun is that?

Mrs. Allison’s classroom is completely decked out in frogs. And y’all know what that means: lots and lots of green everywhere. (She even has two live frogs sitting on top of the cubbies in the back.) Riley was thrilled to learn that, although he did ask why she didn’t do turtles instead of frogs. Silly boy.

Kenny was out of town Tuesday through Thursday, so Rory and I dropped Riley off at his new classroom yesterday morning. But not before I took back-to-school photos outside on the driveway! Riley complained about having to do it, but he cooperated very nicely. (If you look closely, you can still see some remnants from our sidewalk chalk painting.)

 

Then this happened:

 

Just like this time last year, I think Rory is really going to miss having his brother around. They have been two peas in a pod for three solid months.

When we walked into his classroom, Riley immediately went up to Mrs. Allison and gave her his beginning of the year gift, a mason jar full of cookies. When I went to pick him up at 10:30, she told me she had already sampled one. :)

I showed Riley where his desk was, and he immediately honed in on his beginning of the year gift from Mrs. Allison and her assistant Mrs. Ceci: two bouncy balls. Rory spotted them as well, and Riley was very sweet to share one with his little brother.

I snapped a few more pictures and then Rory and I headed off to find something to do until we had to pick Riley up.

We ended up at Barnes and Noble, so I could get coffee and because I figured Rory would love looking at books for an hour. I also thought I would look for a little “Happy New School Year” gift to surprise Riley with. I found something perfect: a new Lego Star Wars book all about the Dark Side, complete with an exclusive Emperor Palpatine minifigure. Riley was so happy to discover it waiting for him in his carseat.

Riley reported that Mrs. Allison read them a story about a gingerbread man and that they went on a hunt for one afterwards. They found him hiding in the library, and he had brownie treats for everyone. Bouncy balls and brownies; I’d say that was an awesome first day.

I think this is going to be a really fun year for Riley. I think it will definitely challenge him in certain ways, but we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them. I am excited about his teachers, I am excited about what they will be learning, and I am excited for him to be with all of his friends again.

I am also excited to be one of the kindergarten room moms this year. Stay tuned for lots of fun things coming your way as we go through Riley’s kindergarten experience together!