Pre-K, Pre-Pare for the Twinadoes!!

Trey and Lindy won't be 5 until December...so they could not start Kindergarten this year. Our school district announced last spring that if they had enough interest, they would start a full-day pre-K class! I signed the two up for that one, and waited (and waited) to hear. We finally found out at the end of July that they were going to be in the full day program!

They had their screenings in August...that was an experience! A little tip for moms of twins who have pre-K or Kindy screenings: don't take both by yourself! My son took most of his tests all by himself, I stayed with my daughter because she was shy and clingy in the beginning. They were going to have to classify her as "slow" because she wouldn't talk or answer any questions or do any of the tasks/activities they asked her to do. Sighhhhhhh. Eventually, her teacher won her over and got her to answer everything - and she was one of the highest scoring students!!

So on September 3, I got up early, got the kiddos up and we got dressed in our fancy new school clothes (ok, not so much fancy, but new and really cute). We had NO idea what time the bus was coming, so we went outside super early -- way earlier than I would have chosen, but they were SO excited they were about to burst! So we waited....and waited....watched a bus drive by...and waited some more! After a call to the school's bus garage (can you say "nervous momma?") and reassurance that the bus would be by within 10 to 15 minutes...a little more waiting...and there it was! The big school bus -- the very first time my children would be riding in a vehicle without being restrained in any way (yikes!!). I got them on, and waved as they went on their way. I did not shed one tear -- while they could still see me, anyway.

While they were in school, I took the baby girls shopping. Had to get out of the empty house - it was much too quiet!!! The day took forever to go by...finally it was after 3:00 and time to wait for the bus. When it finally got here, my kiddos came running to give me hugs! Yay! Then the bus driver calls me over and tells me I need to talk to my son about sitting still and listening (oh boy!). OK, I will do that. As I'm walking in the house with the kids, talking to Trey about how to behave on the bus, his teacher calls my phone! She wanted to discuss Trey's behavior -- seems he did okay in the morning, but as the day wore on he became beligerent and disrespectful. He wasn't listening, and he was sticking his tongue out at the teachers -- and she told me this was unacceptable behavior. And if it continued, I would have to pick him up from school. That sent me right over the edge! I handled the phone call just fine, agreeing with the teacher that it was unacceptable behavior and I would talk to him about it.
But here are my issues:
1. He's FOUR!
2. He has never been in school all day long -- remember this was his first day!
3. The teachers were insisting on calling him his "proper" name (which is Randall)

I suggested maybe if they called him Trey, he might respond better. She agreed to call him that, even though she reminded me that they would teach him his proper name (Oh, he knows that already!! Sheesh!).

Apparently, the second day of school went much better. I didn't receive any phone calls, the bus driver just waved, and when I asked what his teachers called him, he told me "Trey." He loves school, he loves riding the bus, he loves learning! I really hope that this is a positive experience for him.

Meanwhile, Lindy has really clicked with the teacher and is doing just fine. My shy little wallflower is blossoming into a beautiful young lady (now if only I could get her to behave as well at home as she does at school!! lol)

One (and a half) week down...many, many more to go! =)