First Day of School

Today's the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean! The boys officially started school at Bradford School, a bilingual British school, on Tuesday, and so far it's going as well as it could go. School starting was the last big thing on the horizon before we settle into normal life here. I am personally very excited to get into more of a routine, and I know the boys are excited to play with kids other than each other. Don't get me wrong, I think they've grown alot as brothers in the last few months, and I think they will continue to learn to depend on each other through this journey. But a variety of playmates is a good thing too. On Monday, we had a 1st grade orientation as well as a new family orientation. It basically meant we got to meet the teachers, tour the classrooms, see where their desks were, where they hang up their backpacks, etc. Prior to this, the boys were feeling a bit anxious, mostly just dealing with the unknown. But once they saw it all, and they could visualize it in their heads, they felt much better. The anxiousness was now only about "how will I make friends when I can't speak Spanish with my classmates?" But, we kept reiterating that they will find a way to communicate and that we do hard things, and the boys seemed to accept this. So Tuesday morning was actually very easy. They were excited to go, and there weren't any tears or battles. Now, as most parents know, the first day can be easier; it's exciting and new. It's the start of week 2 when they realize that this is their new normal for the foreseeable future that they start pushing back. So, I'm well aware their feelings about school will fluctuate, as most things do. But, so far, everyone has been extremely kind to us, and teachers seem amazing. The boys will be speaking 70% English/30% Spanish in actual classes, but most of the kids are native Spanish speakers, so they will default to Spanish at breaks, lunch, etc. This is exactly what we wanted, so hopefully the boys don't feel underwater with too much Spanish in class, but they still get exposed at a level that they become conversational if not fluent after the two years. I'll keep you posted!

Because March is considered a warm weather month, they boys are allowed to wear their shorts, so, so far, we haven't had any pushback on wearing uniforms. But, I know I need to start getting Emerson used to the idea of wearing his dress pants once we get to April, and the weather cools off. And we need to practice wearing a belt. But luckily two days a week, he gets to wear his "sports uniform" which consists of a dry fit shirt and either shorts or sweat pants, so he'll be all about that. 

School is an easy 12 min walk from our apartment, and I'm very grateful we chose to live within walking distance, because the drop-off traffic is impressive and is not something I would have enjoyed dealing with every day. 

After dropping Avery off at his classroom, there were building blocks on his table that I think he had at his old school. He grabbed them immediately and started building. I could see his brain going "I recognize these! I know what to do with these! Yes!" And away he went.

Emerson chose his desk right at the front when we had our tour on Monday. He came home saying he had a twin at school. When he said he had a twin, I assumed he meant someone that looked like him, and I wasn't sure how that was possible, because I had seen the class photo, and he's the only blonde boy in the class. Is this an imaginary friend? But that was a misconception on my part, he just meant they have the same interests. He's just like me! His birthday is May 8th, and mine is May 9th! We both like building with legos and playing football (soccer!). He lives in our building! (not actually true). Duh, Mom. You don't have to look like another person for them to be similar to you. Isn't that the whole point of this? Emerson was talking about the kid sitting right next to him, his name is Matias.

As expected, Emerson came home saying he had made 3 friends, and it was great. Avery came home saying it was a 3/5 day, and he didn't make any new friends, but he wasn't upset or sad. For those of you who know the boys well, you'll know this is spot on for these two. Emerson is my more outgoing friend maker. Avery is more reserved and an independent player. So, it was not surprising whatsoever that Emerson came home with friends and Avery didn't. But Avery will in time, he just takes it slow. And he also always has more friends than he lets on. One little girl ran over and rubbed his hair while saying goodbye at the end of the first day, so he was clearly interacting to some degree. Also, funny coincidence, Avery is in the Kinder "B" class, and their class mascot is the Ballena (whale!). As is also normal for the first week of school, the boys hold it together at school and then release all of the pent up emotions, frustration, and tiredness at home, so we've had a couple tantrums and early bedtimes. But, about what I expected.

In addition to the boys getting to make new friends, Drew and I have been ingratiated into the parent world at Bradford. During the 1st grade tour, all of the parents were sitting the classroom listening to a presentation by the teachers, where they named us as the new family, and we got to wave to everyone. I didn't know this, but, apparently, when all of the families join the school in pre-kinder, the school keeps that class and the families together all the way through 3rd grade. They don't mix up the classes each year like the did back at McKinley-Thatcher. So these parents have all known each other for two years already. This will be both nice and not so nice. Nice because as the "new family," Drew and I are getting alot of attention, I suppose because we are shiny and interesting in our newness (and foreignness). But, the kids also all know each other really well, and there might be cliques. I'm hopeful they will include the boys, but you never know. Only time will tell. The main form of communication is through Whatsapp, there are groups for both of the boys' classes, which his very helpful for us. We are also getting thrown into the world of birthday parties. These are "the entire class gets invited" birthday parties, which is actually great for us, because they will be obligated to invite the boys regardless of how close the kids are. We already have 4 on the books for March and April! And I need to take some notes, because we'll be needing to do the same thing for Emerson in May! The last interesting thing about the parent world is that the parents dress way more formally than I am used to. But, this is actually not a Bradford phenomenon, but a Santiago one. They just dress way nicer than we do in Colorado. My plan is to continue my yoga pants and exercise shirt routine, because 1. I just can't wear nice clothes all the time. I don't enjoy it; it's uncomfortable, and I don't have a good sense of style anyways, so why bother. (I see now where Emerson gets it from.) 2. I don't care if they judge me for being too casual. I'm going to stick out as the foreigner anyways, so trying to "fit in" is a losing battle. This is partly a self-esteem preservation tactic, but I'm changing enough in this process, I don't need to change my wardrobe too. :)